Introduction × Assessment

Before long, the other two team members arrived one after another.

The second to arrive was a girl. Her white pupils revealed her unmistakable identity—Hyuga—while the tightly bound forehead protector indicated another, less obvious status: Hyuga Branch Family.

The girl seemed to recognize Hatake Kakashi. She initially wanted to greet him, but recalling his reputation for being difficult to deal with, she thought better of it and remained standing in place.

The third to arrive was a boy with an ordinary appearance, short brown hair, and a standard-issue forehead protector. His slightly faded ninja uniform suggested that his financial situation was not particularly good.

The three were not familiar with one another, and none possessed an outgoing personality, so they kept a certain distance while waiting for their jonin instructor to arrive.

"Thump, thump, thump."

Footsteps far heavier than those of an ordinary ninja approached, and Nara Dan, walking slowly from the Hokage Office, appeared.

Seeing their instructor arrive, the three Genin stood in a neat, orderly line.

"Very good. No one is late."

Nara Dan scanned the three Genin with piercing eyes and nodded. His burly frame cast a shadow over the trio, and an intuitive, ferocious pressure spread across the training ground.

Hatake Kakashi, the most sensitive of the three, couldn't help but clench his fists. A chill ran down his spine; he felt that the man before him didn't belong to the category of humans, but was some kind of dangerous, large-scale creature. His ninja sixth sense kept sounding alarms, urging him to stay away from Nara Dan.

The other two also felt the atmosphere become incredibly oppressive; the pressure radiating from the jonin before them was immense.

Nara Dan.

Hatake Kakashi knew a little about this name. He was a recently renowned taijutsu jonin who reportedly already had a title outside the village, much like his father, White Fang. He was undoubtedly a formidable ninja.

More importantly, this Nara Dan seemed to have had some dealings with his father while he was alive.

"Since this is our first meeting, mutual understanding is a prerequisite."

"I'll start with my own self-introduction."

As he spoke, Nara Dan secretly observed the expressions of the three, basically determining the level of their talents.

Hatake Kakashi was undoubtedly the most outstanding; he could keenly perceive his pressure, and while he remained calm, the subtle defensive posture he adopted showed that his quality as a ninja was absolutely up to standard.

The Hyuga girl wore a polite smile, but the faint sweat on her forehead indicated she was under significant pressure, though her endurance was quite good.

As for the commoner boy, he appeared restless in the face of Nara Dan's intense pressure, his hands and feet fidgeting as if he didn't know where to put them.

"Nara Dan, from the Nara Clan, Special Jonin. I specialize in taijutsu. My favorite thing is a hot bath after training, and my favorite food is anything hard."

"If you want to talk about a dream, let's call it a goal: to become the strongest."

Nara Dan stated his staggering dream in a nonchalant tone, then looked at the three people in front of him, his meaning self-evident.

The three Genin looked at each other, and it was the Hyuga girl who spoke first.

"My name is Hyuga Nana, from the Hyuga Clan, Genin. I specialize in sensory perception and the Hyuga Gentle Fist. My favorite thing is traveling, and I don't have a favorite food yet."

"My dream is to be a traveler and travel everywhere."

Hyuga Nana was dressed in a female ninja uniform, standing tall and graceful with delicate features. She carried herself with the poise of a young lady from a traditional, prominent ninja clan.

If not for Nara Dan's keen eyesight, which allowed him to clearly see the faint seal mark behind her forehead protector, he would have mistaken Hyuga Nana for a young lady of the Main Family.

"My name is Ino Rinya, a commoner ninja, Genin."

The plain-looking boy spoke next, appearing somewhat nervous.

"I don't have any particular area of expertise. I know some taijutsu and Water Release. My favorite thing is doing handicrafts, and I don't have any favorite food."

"As for my dream, I hope to become a handicraft artist."

Ino Rinya was quite ordinary, just like all commoner Genin. He had no specialized ninjutsu and only knew basic taijutsu; on the battlefield, he would likely be cannon fodder with a very low survival rate.

"Hatake Kakashi, Genin. I specialize in ninjutsu and Kenjutsu. I like training."

Hatake Kakashi spoke abruptly, introducing himself like a robot. His introduction was particularly brief, much like the author's update schedule.

However, his youthful voice betrayed that he was the youngest of the three, not even seven years old yet.

Nara Dan sized up the three Genin. In reality, those assigned to his team were naturally not pushovers; they all had something unique about them.

Hatake Kakashi went without saying—a troubled youth. Hyuga Nana, as a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, was undoubtedly caught in constant strife; her large eyes were fixed on Nara Dan, though he didn't know what her goal was.

And even the most inconspicuous one, Ino Rinya, was not ordinary. According to the intelligence Nara Dan had obtained, the reason this guy was reassigned to a new team was that all the members of his previous team had been killed in action during a mission.

He was the only one who survived; one could say he was a real jinx to his teammates.

"Alright, that's enough small talk."

Nara Dan revealed an intrigued smile. All that talk about instilling the Will of Fire or how unity is strength didn't work on him; training the little ones was the main event.

"Come on, let me see what you're made of."

"Treat it as if you are trying to kill me."

"Otherwise, it might very well be you who die."

Having said that, he unleashed his killing intent without reservation.

Instantly, the air stagnated. A pressure as tangible as Mount Tai pressed down upon the three of them.

Is this the pressure of a powerhouse at the level of Father?

Hatake Kakashi's expression behind his mask went blank. Cold sweat poured down his body, and he was almost unable to move. Although he was in contact with White Fang every day, White Fang naturally could never use his full strength against his own child.

"You can't even manage to draw your Kunai."

For the first time, Kakashi had a clear realization of his own strength; when facing the top powerhouses of the Ninja World, his title as a so-called genius held no advantage compared to other ninjas.

I would die in an instant if I fought him head-on.

Thinking this, the pressure on Kakashi's body actually eased, giving him the resolve to fight to the death.

Kakashi's entire body began to flicker with purple lightning, his cells entering a state of hyper-activation as he drew the White Fang Blade and slashed directly toward Nara Dan.

"Oh?"

Nara Dan watched with keen interest as Kakashi displayed such proficient Lightning Release nature transformation; so he had already come into contact with it at this age, or was this part of the White Fang's legacy?

The short distance between the two vanished in an instant as Kakashi lunged forward, and the short blade from his back was already gripped firmly in his hand before anyone could notice.