Teammates and the Leading Jonin

Watching her classmates being led away in groups, Uzuki Yugao began to fidget restlessly.

"Hey hey, Makoto, what do you think our leading jonin will be like?"

"How would I know? Look, Yugao, I don't mind you treating me like a know-it-all, but could you stop treating me like a fortune-teller? I can use ninjutsu, but I really can't do divination magic."

"I'm just curious."

"Please, strangle that curious little voice in your head. A ninja needs patience. You'll find out soon enough."

Higashino Makoto looked calm and composed, but inwardly he dismissed his earlier guess. He was, after all, the top graduate this year, with a perfect score.

Even if the Third was muddle-headed, he wouldn't hand him over to the Uchiha.

And even if he wanted to, his good friend Shimura Danzō wouldn't allow it.

Seriously, you won't give me this year's top graduate, but you'd give him to the Uchiha? Monkey, you've changed.

After a while, a middle-aged ninja walked in. He had a lean, capable build, wore the standard green vest, a ninja hat with a metal forehead protector, and had medium-length brown hair.

So, it's true that Konoha has the most black-haired and brown-haired people. Yellow, white, red, blue, purple—those are all heretics.

Uzuki Yugao exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, Uncle Yun Jian, what are you doing here? Oh, don't tell me you're our...?"

"Yes, you guessed right. Third Squad—Higashino Makoto, Uzuki Yugao—follow me."

That's right, the man was named Gekko Yugao, father of Hayate Gekko, an old family friend of the Uzuki Clan, and a senior student and friend of the Higashino Couple.

The three families all knew each other. Both the Gekko and Uzuki were barely considered clans—they could be called commoners too—and were staunch members of the Hokage Faction. So, Konoha's leading jonin weren't chosen at random.

Seeing that the leading jonin was Gekko Yugao, Higashino Makoto already guessed who the last teammate would be.

Sure enough, when the two followed Gekko Yugao to a concealed training ground, a familiar figure jumped down from a tree.

Hayate Gekko!

His appearance had changed a bit. Like his father, he wore a ninja hat. Apart from his height and age, he already matched the image in Higashino Makoto's memory.

This really was... father and son fighting together.

Uzuki Yugao was extremely surprised: "Hayate Brother, how is it you?"

It seemed she hadn't known beforehand that Hayate Gekko would join this team. After all, there was no need to ask for a newbie genin's opinion on such matters.

Higashino Makoto asked curiously, "You graduated a year ago. Why are you alone? Where are your teammates?"

"Well, it's a long story." Hayate Gekko looked a bit helpless. "About half a year after graduation, our team went on a C-rank mission and ran into a Sunagakure rogue ninja."

During the war period, aside from Kumogakure being a bit quieter, every village had plenty of rogue ninja active across the shinobi world. Running into one was normal.

"So? Did your teammate die in action?"

Hayate Gekko shook his head. "No, we killed him. But... sigh, my teammate Amatsu suddenly ran over to search the body. Before we could stop him, he triggered an explosive tag, lost a leg, and became crippled. He can't be a ninja anymore.

The other female teammate was terrified and quit the mission squad. I recommended her to Aunt Sakura's code analysis class. She's pretty talented in that area."

This Sakura was Uzuki Sakura, Yugao's mother, a functional chunin assigned to Konoha's Intelligence Analysis Class.

Higashino Makoto hadn't expected things to be so ridiculous. The shinobi world wasn't for the faint of heart. Some ruthless people, even in death, left behind gifts on their bodies.

Only protagonist's plot armor could block it—like Naruto. Without that, a simple explosive tag trap could send you flying. Nawaki, am I right?

Nawaki: "???"

After hearing this, Higashino Makoto and Uzuki Yugao both tilted their heads to look at Gekko Yugao, who was about to become their leading jonin. Their meaning was clear: we didn't expect you to be so unreliable.

Gekko Yugao was a mature jonin. He could tell someone was looking down on him.

"What are you looking at? I wasn't leading the team back then." He shot them a fierce glare, shoving the blame off himself, then spoke seriously, "Hayate's experience is a warning for you. As a ninja, you must stay alert at all times, or you'll easily lose your life."

"After that incident, I had Hayate train at home for a few months, waiting for you to graduate. Since the three of you grew up together, you're familiar enough with each other."

For a Konoha jonin to meddle in his own son's class assignment—such a small matter, the village would accommodate.

After all, Higashino Makoto had been the top student every year since Shisui graduated, leaving everyone else in the dust.

For a genius like that, the Hokage Faction would keep an eye on him. Arranging childhood friends as teammates after graduation—that bond was as solid as it got. Perfect.

"Alright, enough small talk. Now, the Third Squad of this year's graduates is officially formed. Introduce yourselves."

Uzuki Yugao didn't understand: "Uncle Yun Jian, do we really need introductions? You should know us well enough."

"It's procedure." Gekko Yugao's expression turned stern. "And from now on, I'm your leading jonin and direct superior. On duty, address me by rank.

Remember this: during missions, you can call me Teacher or Captain, but not Uncle or Father. That's a form of information leakage, and enemies will exploit it.

Most importantly, obey orders!"

The little girl shrank back, not daring to resist, and obediently stated: "My name is Uzuki Yugao, age 9. I like flower viewing. My dream is to have a big private garden."

"My name is Gekko Hayate, age 10. I like the feeling of growing up with friends. My dream is to become a sword master."

"My name is Higashino Makoto, age 9. I like training. My dream is to protect Konoha's comrades."

This dream was very politically correct, but the interpretation belonged to Higashino Makoto. Protecting Konoha's comrades was fine, but who counted as a comrade—the definition was still in his hands.

Gekko Yugao was naturally very familiar with the three of them, given the relationship between the families.

"Good. Normally, there would be another test before officially forming the squad, and anyone who failed wouldn't graduate. Given what I know about you all, we can skip that test."

"But I still need to assess your abilities to plan for future missions. Now, each of you report your areas of expertise."

Uzuki Yugao: "I specialize in Konoha Style Swordsmanship, mid-to-low level Wind Release Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu."

Hayate Gekko was similar: "I'm also skilled in Konoha Style Swordsmanship, mid-to-low level Wind Release, Water Release, and Genjutsu."

Their Wind and Water Release techniques had both been taught by Higashino Makoto, but he hadn't taught them much—mainly reminding them to focus on Nature Cultivation.

As long as their Nature Transformation was refined enough, learning the corresponding jutsu later would be very simple, and they could even develop techniques suited to their own combat systems.

But the two were still Regular Ninja after all, with no bloodline boosts. Their progress couldn't compare to a Cheating Player's, and they needed considerable time to polish their skills.

As for Genjutsu, it was part of the sword techniques passed down through their clans.

When it came to Higashino Makoto's turn, he thought for a moment and said, "I guess I'm an all-rounder ninja. Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, Sensing—I'm decent at all of them. Hmm... I know a bit of Sealing Jutsu too."

He wasn't bragging. Over the past year, he had indeed studied basic Sealing Jutsu theory and runes, mainly because they were useful when developing Defensive Jutsu, so he'd picked them up along the way.

The three of them stared in shock. What kind of godly statement was this? Were you even speaking human language?

Hayate Gekko and Uzuki Yugao were especially taken aback. We grew up together. Sure, you're strong, and Medical Ninjutsu makes sense, but what the hell are Sensing and Sealing Jutsu?

Yugao Gekko gave Higashino Makoto a long, hard look. Before taking on this squad, he had specifically contacted his Old Friend Higashino Jiro and Uzuki Yuwa.

From Jiro's letters, he thought he already had a solid understanding of Higashino Makoto. But now it seemed his old friend's intel from the Frontline was outdated—he had no idea what kind of monster his own son had become.