Itachi vs Anko

Hearing that Uchiha Yusuke would be the first to make his selections, the genin present—with the exception of Mitarashi Anko, who kept her head bowed—all wore expressions of anticipation.

Yusuke keenly noticed that although Anko kept her head down, she would occasionally steal a glance at him from the corner of her eye.

"Itachi." Yusuke named the first member of his team.

As Yusuke's disciple, there was no doubt that Itachi would occupy one of the spots.

Glancing at the remaining ninja, Yusuke began to ponder.

He had already decided to pick Anko for his team, and he didn't intend to split up the childhood sweethearts Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao, while Mizuki simply failed to pique his interest.

"Kurama Naki."

Upon hearing Yusuke call the second name, Anko's shoulders twitched involuntarily.

Deep down, she had hoped to be selected for Yusuke's team. Although she had acted as if she didn't get along with him when they first met, she still considered him one of her few friends.

Why didn't he pick me? Could it be that he doesn't want to have anything to do with me because of Orochimaru's defection?

Anko couldn't help but think to herself, her small fists clenching subconsciously.

"Anko."

Just then, Yusuke called out Anko's name.

Anko was still just a child at this stage, and upon hearing that Yusuke had ultimately chosen her, she immediately looked up at him, unable to hide the joy on her face.

However, after looking up and seeing Yusuke's half-smiling expression, she immediately guessed that he had chosen her last just to tease her, and she angrily suppressed her happy expression.

Once Yusuke finished his selections, the remaining three genin were automatically assigned to Hayama's team.

After leaving the Hokage Office, Yusuke took Itachi, Anko, and Kurama Naki to the training ground, intending to have everyone introduce themselves first.

This was an essential step when forming a new squad. Although Yusuke was quite familiar with Itachi and Anko, the addition of Kurama Naki meant they still needed to get to know each other to facilitate the team's future synergy.

"During the Chunin Exams, I will be your jonin instructor. I know Itachi and Anko, but since Anko is here, let's all introduce ourselves."

"Uchiha Yusuke, jonin, proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu."

Hearing Yusuke's introduction, Itachi's expression remained calm; Anko curled her lip in disapproval; while Kurama Naki wore an expression of deep admiration.

Yusuke turned to look at Kurama Naki and nodded with a smile.

To his surprise, however, the girl who had just been looking at him with such admiration recoiled two steps as if startled, a look of fear appearing on her face.

"Uh..." Yusuke's smile froze on his face.

What is this situation? Is my smile that terrifying?

Kurama Naki's reaction was a heavy blow to Yusuke, who prided himself on his good image, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of self-doubt.

"Pfft~" Anko, who was watching from the side, burst into laughter at seeing Yusuke get snubbed. Realizing this didn't fit the melancholic temperament she had been maintaining lately, she immediately adjusted her expression and straightened her face again.

"I am Uchiha Itachi, seven years old, and I am Master Yusuke's disciple. I am currently a genin, and I can use a bit of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Please look after me in the future." Itachi, being very considerate, stepped in to help his teacher out of the awkward situation by taking the initiative to introduce himself.

"Mitarashi Anko, eleven years old, genin, decent at ninjutsu and taijutsu. I like rice balls and red bean soup!" Anko followed Itachi's lead, even mentioning her favorite foods.

Hearing that Anko also liked rice balls, Itachi subconsciously glanced at her.

After all three had finished, their gazes turned toward Kurama Naki, who had yet to introduce herself.

Seeing the three pairs of eyes focused on her, Kurama Naki's face turned purple, and she was so frightened that she sat down on the ground, a few tears hanging from the corners of her eyes.

Yusuke, Itachi, and Anko looked at each other, unsure of what was wrong with this girl.

"S-sorry, I... my name is Kurama... Kurama Naki, eleven years old, I'm quite good at gen... genjutsu."

"A-also, I'm quite shy. I am truly very sorry!"

At this point, Kurama Naki struggled to stand up, then stammered out her words and bowed to the three of them to express her apology.

Hearing her introduction, the three of them finally understood why she had been acting so strangely.

Yusuke shook his head helplessly, never expecting that he would end up with a team member who had such a personality defect.

Since she was selected to represent Konoha at the Chunin Exams in Sunagakure despite such a significant personality flaw, she must have exceptional attainments in genjutsu, which made Yusuke feel a slight sense of anticipation.

"This Chunin Exam is both a test and a mission."

"Since you have been selected to join my team, during this period of the Chunin Exams, you are not only my students but also my subordinates."

"You must obey my orders one hundred percent; otherwise, I will punish you according to the circumstances!"

Yusuke put on a stern face as he looked at the three genin.

"Yes!"

Seeing that Yusuke was serious, all three answered with solemn expressions.

Even Anko, who would usually talk back to Yusuke, didn't dare to joke around when he was being serious.

Yusuke nodded with satisfaction, his expression softening as he smiled, "Very good. We are not on a mission right now, so everyone can relax a bit."

"We will be departing for Sunagakure in two days. Before that, I want to see what your current strength is like so I can provide you with some targeted guidance during this time."

"Anko, Kurama Naki, the two of you will team up to spar against Itachi; let me see what your combat capabilities are," Yusuke said to the three of them.

Yusuke had great confidence in Itachi's strength. After all, in the original story, Itachi was a ruthless individual who could carry out a clan-wide massacre at the age of thirteen. Although Obito had assisted Itachi in slaughtering the Uchiha Clan, it still could not be denied that Itachi's strength was formidable.

Now that Itachi had Yusuke's guidance, his strength was even greater than in the original story. In Yusuke's view, although Anko and Kurama Naki were quite a bit older than Itachi, they still would not be his match.

"You're underestimating me too much! Just watch, I can handle this little brat all by myself!"

Anko was very dissatisfied with Yusuke's dismissal. As a disciple of the Sannin, she didn't believe she couldn't handle a seven-year-old kid.

"Kurama Naki, don't interfere, just watch me!" Anko instructed the girl beside her.

"Alright, please be careful," Kurama Naki replied in a low voice.

Hearing Anko's words, Itachi remained calm, seemingly indifferent.

However, Yusuke noticed that Itachi's eyebrows twitched involuntarily. It was clear that Itachi was not very happy about being called a "little brat."

After Itachi and Anko stood facing each other about ten meters apart, Yusuke announced the start of the spar.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

As soon as Yusuke's voice fell, Anko took the initiative, unleashing the Orochimaru-style ninjutsu she was most proficient in.

Seven or eight light brown snakes shot out from Anko's sleeves, biting toward the position where Itachi stood.

Itachi remained calm in the face of these snakes, while Kurama Naki, watching from the side, turned pale with fright. Yusuke shook his head, sighing internally at how such a delicate girl could survive on the cruel battlefield of ninjas.

Itachi jumped backward and upward without panic, dodging the attack of Anko's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, while his hands quickly formed seals with a speed that was almost catching up to his teacher, Yusuke.

Watching Itachi's hand seals, Yusuke nodded with satisfaction. Itachi already possessed extraordinary seal-forming speed in the original story, and now, after Yusuke's intensive training, he had acquired this shocking ability ahead of time.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."

The seals were completed almost instantly, and seven or eight missiles made of chakra flames flew densely toward Anko's position.

Anko was also startled by the speed of Itachi's counterattack; she immediately retracted her Hidden Shadow Snake Hands and dodged the incoming flame missiles.

Just as Anko was focused on dodging, Itachi had already jumped onto a nearby tree. His Sharingan activated, and he threw many kunai and shuriken into the air around Anko.

Anko noticed Itachi's movements, but she didn't understand his goal at all. These kunai and shuriken were far away from her, and they lacked force, moving very slowly—not to mention a ninja, even an ordinary person could dodge them.

Just as Anko finished dodging all the flame missiles and charged toward Itachi, he threw another large number of kunai. However, this time, the kunai Itachi threw were extremely fast, catching up to the kunai and shuriken that had not yet landed in the air.

After those kunai and shuriken were struck by the new ones, they miraculously changed their original flight paths, all of them surrounding Anko.

Seeing this, Anko hurriedly tried to break through and dodge, but the kunai and shuriken surrounding her were actually wrapped in extremely thin wires, binding her body.

Although these wires were very thin and impossible to notice without careful observation, they were incredibly sturdy. Anko tried to use her strength to break free, but it had no effect.

"Oh no!" Anko was shocked and immediately pulled out a kunai, wanting to cut the wires binding her.

However, Itachi, who was in the tree, did not intend to give her that chance. Holding the other end of the wires, he wrapped them around a thick branch, then leaped down from the tree. Using the branch as an anchor, he used his own body weight to quickly tighten the wires, completely restraining Anko and leaving her dangling from the branch.

"You jerk, let me down! Your methods are just too despicable!"

Anko shouted angrily while swaying in mid-air, her two free legs kicking uselessly in the air.

Seeing Itachi's performance, Yusuke couldn't help but sigh that the boy was truly a genius at combat.

The entire battle lasted less than a minute, and without much exertion, he had cleanly and neatly captured Anko, who was much older than him.

"I really look forward to seeing Itachi grow up. In this life, walking on the right path, he will surely reach an unimaginable height!"

Looking at his prized disciple with approval, Yusuke thought to himself.

At this moment, Kurama Naki was also wearing a dazed expression, clearly having her brain short-circuited by Itachi's display; she never imagined that kunai and shuriken could be used in such a way.

Looking at Anko, who was still struggling while hanging from the branch, Itachi left behind a calm remark.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior. Also, if senior Anko likes eating dango, I recommend the three-color dango from the Tomoda Shop!"

As usual, thank you all for your support!! There are 32 days left until the author starts double-posting!!

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