Seeing that Uchiha Chiri did not respond to him, Watanabe shifted his gaze to Hiruzen and Hyuga Rei beside her.
The two had their eyes wide open and looked completely lost, appearing trapped in an illusion and unable to extricate themselves.
"Were they hypnotized by an illusion?"
Watanabe had heard that some supervising jonin would give fresh graduates a reality check during their first gathering to solidify their authority within the squad; Hiruzen and Hyuga Rei must have been subjected to Chiri's reality check.
"Sensei..."
"Don't call me sensei," Chiri said sullenly.
"You're already talking back to me on the very first day, so you're definitely going to be worse in the future. I don't want to take you into my squad anymore."
Watanabe: "..."
Ah? Can she do that?
"I will be very respectful to the sensei," Watanabe said, relenting, as he was genuinely a bit afraid that she might kick him away in a fit of anger.
"I'll ask you a question. If you can answer it, I'll take you," Chiri looked at him and said.
"What question?"
"Why--"
Just as she was speaking, Chiri's pair of clear, beautiful eyes instantly became covered by a crimson color, and six tomoe emerged, spinning rapidly like pinwheels.
Subjected to illusion hypnosis: Willpower +42, Spirit +40, Sleepiness -35...
Watanabe felt as though he were swimming in an ocean of cooling ointment, his brain thoroughly clear from the inside out, and his entire person incomparably awake.
"My illusion is ineffective against you?"
Watanabe gave a wry smile: "Did the sensei find out?"
"Hmph, you can't hide it from me."
Chiri curled her lip and put away her Sharingan. Her beautiful eyes returned to normal, and while she appeared nonchalant on the surface, inwardly she cared immensely about Watanabe's upcoming answer.
Hesitating a little over her phrasing, Watanabe explained: "I also discovered by chance once that no illusions work on me. Because of this, I went to the library to check, and I figured I must have awakened some special Kekkei Genkai."
"Kekkei Genkai..."
Chiri suddenly understood.
This explanation was quite reasonable. Although Chiri had never heard of any Kekkei Genkai that could immunize someone against illusions, the Shinobi World was vast and nothing was truly strange. It made no sense that their Uchiha Clan could awaken the Sharingan while others couldn't awaken a Kekkei Genkai that immunized against illusions.
Only, with things this way--
Chiri suddenly had a bizarre thought, and she looked at Watanabe with a peculiar expression.
Would this boy not turn out to be her natural enemy?
How novel; she was neither a pig nor a dog nor an animal, yet she actually had a natural enemy.
Chiri had to admit that she, who was proficient in illusions, staying together with Watanabe, who was immune to illusions, was indeed a mutually reinforcing and restraining combination, and furthermore, the kind where she was thoroughly kept in check...
"Sensei."
Watanabe's voice interrupted Chiri's wild train of thought as he asked:
"As an Elite Jonin with vast experience, do you know what kind of Kekkei Genkai I awakened?"
Chiri glanced at him sideways and instantly felt a guilty conscience. Where on earth would she know what kind of freakish bloodline Watanabe had?
However, if she couldn't answer, wouldn't she lose face as a supervising jonin once again?
"Ahem, your ability is merely immunity to illusions, nothing worth mentioning."
She feigned disdain while muttering to herself that it just happened to restrain her...
Watanabe nodded modestly: "Compared to the sensei's Sharingan, it's indeed far inferior."
Feeling too guilty to speak with him anymore, Chiri saw a red gleam flash in her eyes, and the next second, Hiruzen and Hyuga Rei, who had been trapped in the illusion, regained their clarity one after the other.
"I, I pay my respects to Senior Chiri!"
Hiruzen hurriedly bowed in salute, becoming so nervous that he even started stuttering.
He felt that being able to enter Uchiha Chiri's squad was hitting the jackpot, and he wished he could kneel down and kowtow to Chiri a few times to show his loyalty.
Hyuga Rei was more natural than him. She first glanced at Watanabe, and then said with a beaming smile: "As expected of Senior Chiri, the illusion she cast was completely impossible to withstand."
Faced with an existence who was not her natural enemy, Chiri was clearly much more forceful as she said coldly: "The illusion just now was my test for you. Your performance..."
Chiri originally wanted to say it made her very disappointed, as this could both establish her authority and motivate the squad members, but when her gaze swept past Watanabe, she didn't have the face to say the word "disappointed," so she made an awkward pivot and said:
"Your performance leaves room for improvement. Useless waste is not allowed to exist in my squad. If you still haven't made progress after a period of time, you might just be chased away by me."
Hearing this, Hiruzen's heart tightened, and he thought to herself that she truly was Konoha's most renowned Elite Jonin—simply strict enough to make one's hair stand on end.
"I will definitely work hard to improve my strength and will absolutely not let Senior Chiri down!" He was the first to express his stance.
Chiri nodded in satisfaction. This was what a fresh graduate should look like; unlike Watanabe, who not only talked back to her, but even dared to turn the tables and lecture her in return.
"Although I couldn't withstand Senior Chiri's illusion, I should at least not be so wretched as to be driven out of the squad." Hyuga Rei wore a pure smile, fully displaying a well-behaved and docile posture.
Watanabe silently echoed: "Me too."
Chiri commanded: "You will introduce yourselves in turn. The more detailed, the better, so that I can have a more comprehensive understanding of you. The white-haired one, you go first."
Being called out by name by Chiri, Hiruzen was instantly flattered.
"My name is Hiruzen. I'm a com... commoner. I'm best at the Substitution Technique, and my dream is to become the Hok... Hokage..."
The more Hiruzen spoke, the weaker his tone became. Watching from the side, Watanabe felt embarrassed for him, thinking that Hiruzen's performance was far too pathetic and that he was way too nervous.
He really wanted to tell Hiruzen that there was no need to be like this, and that Uchiha Chiri was not a very difficult superior to get along with. As long as one mastered the correct way to communicate with her, she wouldn't actually chase people out of the squad.
As for Hyuga Rei, there was even less need to be nervous when dealing with a girl like that.
"My name is Watanabe. I'm proficient in ninjutsu, I hate war, and my dream is world peace."
Watanabe said simply, causing Chiri and Hyuga Rei to turn their heads to look at him one after another.
"Watanabe-kun's ambitions are truly great!"
Hyuga Rei smiled sweetly: "This is the first time I've heard of someone having this as their dream."
Watanabe was noncommittal, thinking to himself that you'd better stop putting on an act, as deep down inside you probably wish you could hang me up and beat me wildly with the Gentle Fist Style.
"It's my turn."
"My name is Hyuga Rei, a branch family member of the Hyuga Clan. There isn't anything I particularly like, nor is there anything I particularly hate. As for my dream, I hope that one day I can openly and aboveboard defeat Watanabe-kun."
Hiruzen had listened very attentively at first, thinking Hyuga Rei's smile was so gentle and charming, but he froze upon hearing the end.
Defeat Watanabe?
Could this even count as a dream?
As one of the judges for the graduation exam, Uchiha Chiri knew very well the grudge that had formed between Hyuga Rei and Watanabe, and she wasn't surprised by her words.
She didn't care what Hyuga Rei wanted to do to Watanabe, as long as she maintained respect toward her and didn't cause trouble for her during the execution of missions.
"According to custom, ninja squads usually have a gathering for their first assembly. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
"Can we have roast meat? I rather like that."
Hyuga Rei blinked at Watanabe and Hiruzen.
Before you continue