Itachi vs. Anko

When they heard Yusuke would make the first picks, the other Genin present all looked eager—except Anko, who kept her head lowered.

Yusuke keenly noticed that, although Anko kept her head down, she stole the occasional glance at him from the corner of her eye.

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

As Yusuke's student, Itachi would undoubtedly have a spot on the team.

Yusuke looked over the remaining ninjas and considered his choices.

He had already decided to pick Anko. He also had no intention of separating the childhood friends Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao, while Mizuki simply didn't interest him.

"Kurama Naki."

When Yusuke finished naming his second pick, Anko's shoulders gave an involuntary twitch.

Deep down, she hoped he would choose her for his team. Although she had acted like she didn't get along with Yusuke when they'd met before, she still considered him one of her few friends.

Why isn't he picking me? Is he trying to avoid any association with me because Lord Orochimaru defected?

Anko couldn't help thinking to herself. Her little fists clenched tightly without her realizing it.

"Anko."

Just then, Yusuke called her name.

Anko was still a child at this age. Hearing that Yusuke had chosen her after all, she immediately looked up at him, unable to hide her happiness.

But when she saw Yusuke's bemused expression, she immediately guessed that he'd saved her for last just to tease her. Annoyed, she forced her happy expression away.

Once Yusuke finished making his selections, the three remaining Genin automatically joined Hayama's team.

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

A new team always went through this essential step when it was formed. Yusuke already knew Itachi and Anko fairly well, but with Kurama Naki joining them, they still needed to get to know one another for the team to work well together.

"During the Chunin Ninja Exams, I'll be your jonin instructor. I already know Itachi and Anko, but since Naki's joining us, let's all introduce ourselves."

"Uchiha Yusuke, jonin. I specialize in ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu."

Itachi remained calm at Yusuke's introduction. Anko pursed her lips, unconvinced, while Kurama Naki looked thoroughly impressed.

Yusuke turned to Naki and smiled, giving her a nod.

But to his surprise, Naki, who'd seemed to admire him moments earlier, recoiled as if startled. Fear showed on her face.

"Uh..." Yusuke's smile froze.

What's going on? Is my smile really that scary?

Naki's reaction dealt a serious blow to Yusuke, who had always thought he looked pretty good. He couldn't help doubting himself.

"Pfft!" Anko burst out laughing at Yusuke's discomfiture. Then she realized that laughing didn't fit the gloomy air she'd been cultivating lately, and quickly set her face in a stern expression again.

"I'm Uchiha Itachi. I'm seven years old, and I'm Teacher Yusuke's student. I'm currently a Genin. I can use a little ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu. I look forward to working with you." Thoughtfully coming to his teacher's rescue, Itachi introduced himself.

"I'm Mitaraishi Anko. I'm eleven, and I'm a Genin. I'm good at ninjutsu and Taijutsu. I like rice dumplings and red bean soup!" Anko introduced herself after Itachi, adding her favorite foods as well.

When Itachi heard that Anko liked dumplings too, he glanced at her without thinking.

After the three of them had finished, they all looked at Kurama Naki, who hadn't introduced herself yet.

With all three sets of eyes on her, Naki suddenly turned purple in the face, then dropped to the ground in fright, a few tears glimmering at the corners of her eyes.

Yusuke, Itachi, and Anko looked at one another, unable to figure out what was wrong with the girl.

"S-s-sorry. M-my name is Kurama K-Kurama Naki. I'm eleven, and I'm pretty good at gen-genjutsu."

"A-also, I'm a little shy around people. I'm really sorry!"

Naki managed to get back to her feet and stammered out her introduction, then bowed to the three of them apologetically.

After hearing Naki introduce herself, the three understood why she had been acting so strangely.

Yusuke shook his head helplessly. He hadn't expected to pick a teammate with such a serious personality flaw.

Given that the village had selected someone with such a serious flaw to represent Konoha in the Chunin Ninja Exams in Sunagakure, she must have exceptional skill in genjutsu. That made Yusuke a little curious about her.

"These Chunin Ninja Exams are both an exam and a mission."

"Since you've been chosen to join my team, during the exams you'll be both my students and my subordinates."

"You must obey my orders completely. Otherwise, I'll punish you as I see fit!"

Yusuke's expression turned stern as he addressed the three Genin.

"Yes!"

Seeing Yusuke get serious, all three answered respectfully.

Even Anko, who usually talked back to Yusuke, didn't dare joke with him when he was being serious.

Yusuke nodded in satisfaction, then softened his expression and smiled. "Good. We're not on a mission yet, so you can relax."

"We'll leave for Sunagakure in two days. Before then, I want to assess your current strength so I can give you some focused training."

"Anko, Naki, you two will team up against Itachi. I want to see how you perform in a real fight," Yusuke told them.

Yusuke had complete confidence in Itachi's strength. In the original story, Itachi was already a ruthless fighter capable of carrying out the Uchiha Clan massacre at thirteen. Obito had helped him slaughter the Uchiha Clan, but that still didn't change the fact that Itachi was strong.

And now, with Yusuke's guidance, Itachi was already at least as strong as he had been in the original story. In Yusuke's view, even though Anko and Naki were considerably older than Itachi, they still wouldn't be able to beat him.

"You're underestimating me! Just watch—I can take this little brat down all by myself!"

Anko was very displeased by Yusuke's dismissiveness. She refused to believe that, as one of the Sannin's students, she couldn't handle a seven-year-old kid.

"Naki, don't help. Leave him to me!" Anko told the girl beside her.

"O-okay. Please be careful," Naki replied softly.

Itachi remained calm at Anko's words, seemingly unfazed.

But Yusuke noticed Itachi's eyebrow twitch. Clearly, he wasn't very happy about being called a "little brat."

Itachi and Anko faced each other from about ten meters apart. Yusuke announced the start of the match.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

The moment Yusuke finished speaking, Anko struck first, using the Orochimaru-style technique she was best at.

Seven or eight light brown snakes shot from Anko's sleeves and lunged at Itachi.

Itachi remained calm in the face of the snakes, but Naki, watching beside Yusuke, turned pale with fright. Yusuke shook his head, wondering how such a fragile girl could survive the brutal battlefield of a ninja.

Itachi jumped backward and up, dodging Anko's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. At the same time, he swiftly formed Hand Seals, moving so fast that he nearly matched his teacher.

Watching Itachi's Hand Seals, Yusuke nodded with satisfaction. Itachi had already been extraordinarily fast at forming Hand Seals in the original story. Now, after Yusuke's intensive training, he'd gained that astonishing ability ahead of schedule.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

The Hand Seals were completed almost instantly, and seven or eight chakra flames shot toward Anko in a dense volley.

Itachi's counterattack was so fast that Anko was taken aback. She immediately recalled her Hidden Shadow Snake Hands and dodged the oncoming fireballs.

While Anko focused on dodging, Itachi had already leaped onto a nearby tree. His Sharingan activated, and he threw a large number of kunai and shuriken into the air around her.

Anko noticed what Itachi was doing, but couldn't understand his purpose at all. The kunai and shuriken were far away from her, and they hadn't been thrown with much force. They moved so slowly that even an ordinary person could have dodged them, never mind a ninja.

Just as Anko finished dodging all the fireballs and charged toward Itachi, he threw a large number of kunai. This time, they flew extremely fast, catching up with the kunai and shuriken that were still hanging in the air.

When Itachi's new kunai struck the others, they miraculously changed their original trajectories and all closed in around Anko.

Anko hurriedly tried to break through and dodge, but the kunai and shuriken surrounding her were all connected by nearly invisible threads. They wound around her body and bound her.

The threads were so fine they were hard to spot, but they were incredibly strong. Anko tried to break free by force, but couldn't.

Oh no! Anko was alarmed. She immediately took out a kunai and tried to cut the threads binding her.

But Itachi, up in the tree, had no intention of giving her the chance. Holding the other ends of the threads, he looped them around a thick branch, then leaped from the tree. Using the branch as an anchor, his body weight rapidly pulled the threads tight, binding Anko completely and leaving her dangling from the branch.

"Damn it, let me down! That was a really underhanded trick!"

Anko swung in the air as she shouted furiously, her legs kicking helplessly.

Watching Itachi's performance, Yusuke couldn't help marveling at what a natural he was at combat.

The entire fight had lasted less than a minute. Itachi had used very little energy and had cleanly captured Anko, who was considerably older than him.

I can't wait to see how strong Itachi will become when he grows up. In this life, he's on the right path, and he'll reach heights beyond imagination!

Yusuke looked at his prized student with approval and thought to himself.

Kurama Naki looked completely dumbfounded too. Itachi's move had left her brain short-circuiting; she'd never imagined kunai and shuriken could be used that way.

Looking up at Anko, still struggling as she hung from the tree, Itachi left her with a cool remark.

"Thank you for the pointers, Anko. Also, since you like dumplings, I recommend the three-colored dango from the Tomoda Shop!"

Thanks, as always, for your support! Only 32 days left until the author starts posting two chapters a day!

(●`●)(●`●)