Each Fights Their Own Battle

Yu, perched on the Somersault Cloud Slime, was feeling quite awkward. He had originally planned to get ahead of Yamashiro Aoba and the others, then make a dramatic entrance from the sky to show off. But as it turned out, he couldn't find them anymore.

The Somersault Cloud Slime was too fast. The group running on the ground couldn't keep up, so Yu shot ahead, leaving them in the dust. However, when he turned back, he couldn't find anyone.

The Death Forest was filled with towering ancient trees. Trying to find a few people in there was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, Yu was lucky and found them in just a few minutes. Otherwise, he would have had to go back and wait.

Controlling the Somersault Cloud Slime to descend to the ground, Yu sheepishly said to the three of them, "I was going too fast just now, and before I knew it, I lost sight of you. I'm very sorry for delaying everyone."

The three of them were still stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief.

"It... it's okay."

Yamashiro Aoba spoke, but his gaze was fixed on the Somersault Cloud Slime. He never would have imagined that Yu could fly through the air.

After all, the ability to fly was something every ninja dreamed of. It had extremely powerful applications in travel, reconnaissance, and combat.

"Classmate Yu, this is..."

Yamashiro Aoba, unable to contain his curiosity, pointed at the Somersault Cloud Slime and asked Yu. The biggest characteristic of an intelligence operative was their thirst for knowledge.

"This is my Summoning Beast—Somersault Cloud."

Yu generously cleared up their confusion. There was nothing that couldn't be said. Moreover, he wanted to make the Slime Summoning Beast his signature, just like the Sannin—Orochimaru's Summoning Beast was a snake, Tsunade's was a Slug, and Jiraiya's was a Toad.

"Summoning... Beast?"

After hearing Yu's answer, the three of them took a closer look at the Somersault Cloud Slime on the ground. In their understanding, Summoning Beasts were all sorts of beasts: Ninja Cats, Ninja Dogs, Ninja Tigers, Ninja Birds... These were Summoning Beasts. But the Somersault Cloud Slime before them looked like it was miles away from the word "beast."

"I know you'll find the Somersault Cloud's appearance unusual, but it really is my Summoning Beast. It's a bit difficult to explain too many things, but you'll understand when we spend more time together," Yu said to the three with a smile, then dispelled the Summoning Technique. The Somersault Cloud Slime turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.

The Summoning Technique could be considered an essential skill for traveling and living anywhere. However, ordinary ninjas had no chance to learn it. But within the Uchiha clan, there was a method for practicing the Summoning Technique.

Although his Uchiha identity hadn't granted him powerful Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan yet, his current strength was also due to his Uchiha identity. Therefore, Yu strongly identified with his Uchiha clan heritage.

Although Yu appeared friendly, Yamashiro Aoba and the others could tell from his tone that he didn't want to discuss the Summoning Beast further.

Since the main party was unwilling to say more, they couldn't press the issue. Even with a thousand questions in their hearts, they could only suppress them for now.

This was especially true for Yamashiro Aoba, whose mission from the Hokage was to observe Yu and gather all related intelligence.

And this strange Summoning Beast called Somersault Cloud was definitely an intelligence target. However, Yamashiro Aoba knew that it wasn't wise to ask too many questions at this moment, as it might arouse Yu's suspicion and even backfire.

They would be spending a long time together, so he would definitely be able to gather information about Yu in the future. There was no need to rush.

Many valuable pieces of information were often revealed inadvertently in daily life, and Yamashiro Aoba was skilled at capturing these subtle details.

"Alright! Since everyone has arrived, consider the first trial passed. Now, for the second and final trial." Yamashiro Aoba spoke as he took out a pair of bells from his Ninja Tool pouch.

He shook the bells towards the three of them, producing a clear ringing sound.

"Now, I want you to take this pair of bells from me before sunset. If you succeed, you will have passed the test and become true Genin. But if you fail, you'll have to go back to the Ninja Academy."

After speaking, Yamashiro Aoba adjusted his green sunglasses, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Are there any restrictions for this task?"

Fujiwara Chima, who had been quiet until now, asked at this moment.

Yamashiro Aoba gave Fujiwara Chima a thumbs-up.

"That's an excellent question. During the process of taking the bells, you have no restrictions. You can use any means necessary as long as you can take the bells from my hand," Yamashiro Aoba said with a smile.

Although he was only a Special Jonin now, it was still very easy for him to crush these graduates from the Ninja Academy in terms of combat power. Fujiwara Chima was not a graduate of the Ninja Academy, but her strength had been assessed by Konoha and deemed to be at the Genin level.

Therefore, after Yamashiro Aoba's comprehensive calculations, the conclusion was that the chance of failure was infinitesimally close to zero.

The bell-taking test was a unique characteristic of Konoha, designed to foster teamwork and encourage mutual assistance among team members, building initial trust.

However, not all Jonin instructors conducted such tests. One reason was the hassle, and another was the potential for problems. After all, getting injured by one's own students would be incredibly embarrassing, making it difficult to even talk to other ninjas. Konoha was a small place, and many ninjas knew each other.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not fully explained Yu's true strength to Yamashiro Aoba. This was to allow Yamashiro Aoba to gather intelligence more smoothly. If Yamashiro Aoba had known how strong Yu was, he would have inevitably revealed his hand during their interactions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want Yu to know that Yamashiro Aoba was his man. After all, no one liked being spied on, especially those with greater strength.

"Alright, you have half an hour to discuss tactics among yourselves. Of course, you can also choose to enter the test immediately." With that, Yamashiro Aoba leaped onto the trunk of a towering tree nearby, indicating that he would not eavesdrop on their tactics.

The three standing on the ground looked at each other. Although they were now members of Team 99, forming a team for combat would be somewhat difficult, as they didn't know each other's abilities.

"So, shall we discuss how to proceed first?" Yu broke the silence.

"Let's see each other's strengths first."

Fujiwara Chima said, taking the longbow from her back.

"Then let's fight individually and discuss tactics after assessing the situation!" Yu added.

"I agree."

Sai smiled.

In the end, the decision to "fight individually" was the result of their discussion and a form of tactic.