that.First Mission

answer.Yè Wúyuè rolled his eyes and replied, "Alright, Sensei Itachi."

Itachi looked at his perfunctory attitude and couldn't help but smile helplessly.

"This is the other member of our squad, Sōi."

The two walked to the entrance of the Ninja Academy, and Sōi walked over to them.

"Hello, I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I look forward to working with you." Yè Wúyuè extended his hand to Sōi and said.

A fake smile was obvious on Sōi's face, as he tried to earn others' trust. To be honest, Yè Wúyuè thought he looked more trustworthy when he wasn't smiling.

He squinted and smiled in a way that reminded Yè Wúyuè of Ichiro Miyagi, making him look like a bad person at a glance.

"Hello, I'm Sōi. I hope we get along well." Sōi smiled as he shook Yè Wúyuè's hand.

Upon close observation, Yè Wúyuè noticed Sōi's skin was even paler than his own, and his looks could rival his—of course, that referred to when he wasn't faking a smile.

"Alright, let's find a quiet place to talk. You two stay close." Itachi said, then used a flash step to sprint in one direction.

"We'll follow, Sasuke‑kun." Sōi turned back, still smiling falsely, and said to Yè Wúyuè.

Yè Wúyuè said nothing, flashed forward to keep up with Itachi, and Sōi, seeing this, also used a flash step to catch up.

Soon, the three arrived in a clearing within Konohagakure's forest. Yè Wúyuè glanced at Sōi and saw his breathing remained steady; his physical condition and chakra reserves seemed fine.

"Hmm… you two, introduce yourselves so we can get to know each other." Itachi thought for a moment before speaking. It was his first time leading a squad as a jonin, and he was still unsure about the procedure for forming a ninja team. After consulting his former squad leader, Mizunotsuki, he roughly figured out what to do.

"Hey? Shouldn't Sensei Itachi introduce himself first? Other squad leaders usually introduce themselves before letting the students introduce themselves, right?" Yè Wúyuè asked with a mischievous grin. Although he could guess what Itachi would say, making a quiet person introduce himself in front of others still made him happy.

"Oh, I almost forgot. It does seem that way, so I'll go first." Itachi, unable to escape this, had to start himself.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi. My favorite food is three‑color dumplings. I hate war. My dream is that one day the entire shinobi world will no longer see war, and everyone will understand each other." Itachi gave a brief self‑introduction, then looked at Yè Wúyuè, indicating it was his turn.

Sōi listened quietly beside him.

Yè Wúyuè sat on a wooden post and said, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like grilled fish, fried eggs, and hot pot…"

Itachi listened and silently noted the foods Yè Wúyuè mentioned.

"I hate… um… uh, I can't think of anything I hate right now, but my dream is to keep defeating strong opponents, surpass myself, and live happily with the people I love and who love me." Yè Wúyuè spoke honestly; in his original world he had no family.

He was abandoned by his parents at eight or nine, and the grandparents who raised him died a few years after he entered high school. He used all the inheritance to bury them, then worked part‑time while studying and relied on government assistance to get into university. Less than a year later he was bound by a system and transported to this world.

He wasn't sure if his sudden death during an online class—where he fell asleep from overworking part‑time jobs before the transfer—was actually a heart attack.

Because of that, he yearned for a happy family life, though he rarely showed it.

His daily rigorous training also stemmed from his past experiences.

"Alright, it's Sōi's turn." Yè Wúyuè looked at Sōi.

Sōi thought for a long time after hearing that, then said, "I'm Sōi. I don't have any favorite foods, nothing I dislike, and no particular dream."

Yè Wúyuè wasn't surprised by Sōi's answer. He had been trained as a killing machine in the Root; Danzo's will was his will, leaving him with essentially no personal will. Concepts like likes and dislikes were probably unimaginable to him.

Itachi felt a pang of sympathy for Sōi after hearing his self‑introduction. He still didn't know Sōi's true background; the file Itachi had received listed him only as an ordinary chunin of the village who had passed the chunin exam last year.

"Since everyone has introduced themselves, let's go straight to our first mission for Team Eleven."

After hearing the two introductions, Itachi said directly.

Yè Wúyuè was stunned; he thought his role wasn't really suited to be a squad‑leading jonin, and they were jumping straight into a mission without the usual procedures.

"What's up, Sasuke? Do you have any questions?" Itachi noticed Yè Wúyuè seemed confused and turned to ask him.

"Um… Sensei Itachi, aren't we supposed to compete for a bell or something?" Yè Wúyuè asked.

Itachi looked at both of them and said, "Our squad currently consists of just the two of you besides me, so the bell‑stealing test isn't appropriate, and you already know how it works, so it wouldn't be effective. Besides, Sōi is already a chunin in the village, and I don't have the authority to make him retake the Ninja Academy.

For your assessment, I'll observe you during the upcoming mission to see if you're fit to become a ninja."

After Itachi's explanation, Yè Wúyuè felt a bit foolish for not noticing such an obvious issue and asking about it.

"Alright, then let's take the mission."

Having learned