Uzuki Yugao

The next morning.

Iruka arrived at the Hokage Office early and reported that Su Yu had learned the Shadow Possession Technique.

The Third Hokage smiled faintly after hearing him out.

"Don't worry. The Nara Clan won't pursue this."

"Then I can relax."

Iruka breathed a sigh of relief.

"Go tell Su Yu that there's no need to hide the Shadow Possession Technique. It's a secret technique, and even if people know how to train in it, many still won't be able to learn it," the Third Hokage said with a smile.

"Yes." Iruka bowed and left the Hokage Office.

The Third Hokage watched the door close.

"Go fetch Nara Shikaku."

"Yes." A figure slipped away silently.

It was an Anbu unit under the Hokage's command.

When Su Yu arrived at school,

the other students wearing Forehead Protectors were already there.

Naruto Uzumaki spotted Su Yu and greeted him with a smile.

Su Yu nodded.

Today was the day the graduates would be assigned to teams.

As someone who knew the story, Su Yu was only curious about which team he himself would end up in.

There was no way he'd be placed on the protagonist's team.

The Reconnaissance Squad and Ino-Shika-Cho were even less likely.

Su Yu sat in his seat, gazing out the window.

Before long,

the first Chunin arrived and called out the names of three Genin.

The three Genin hurried after him.

Next came a second Chunin.

As the number of students in the classroom dwindled,

Su Yu's expression grew a little strange.

When Asuma finally showed up and took Ino-Shika-Cho away,

his expression grew even more puzzled.

That was because only seven students remained in the classroom.

One team was the protagonist's, and another was the Reconnaissance Squad.

A few minutes later,

Kurenai Yuhi appeared and took the Reconnaissance Squad away.

Only four people were left in the classroom.

Haruno Sakura couldn't help looking at Su Yu.

At that moment, she was nervous too.

One of the four of them would inevitably be left without a team.

Maybe the atmosphere felt off, because Naruto Uzumaki, who had planned to play a prank on their new teacher, sat quietly in his seat.

More than ten minutes later,

Kakashi opened the door.

"You three, come with me."

He was referring to Naruto Uzumaki, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke.

As Naruto Uzumaki and Haruno Sakura left, they glanced at Su Yu.

"???" Su Yu.

What was going on?

Had they forgotten about him?

Or were there too few spots, and he'd been left out?

Su Yu watched the classroom door close.

After a long while,

he was just about to get up and leave

when the classroom door swung open.

A purple-haired woman walked into the classroom.

"Come with me," she said to Su Yu.

Su Yu froze for a moment, then hurried after her.

As he stepped out of the classroom,

he finally understood.

He'd been assigned to the Anbu.

At Konoha's training ground,

"I'm Uzuki Yugao, a Special Jonin in the Anbu. I was on a mission with your parents when the enemy discovered us. Your parents died protecting our retreat. I learned about you from Lord Hokage and specifically requested to become your teacher. I won't leave until you become a Chunin," Uzuki Yugao said slowly.

Su Yu opened his mouth,

then bowed.

"Teacher Uzuki Yugao, I look forward to learning from you."

"I know you have little experience with Taijutsu, so we'll start there. Attack me," Uzuki Yugao said with a nod.

Su Yu straightened up and immediately attacked Uzuki Yugao.

His Taijutsu was at the beginner level, about on par with a prospective Genin.

Uzuki Yugao dodged his attacks with ease.

There was no need to explain the gap between a Special Jonin and a newly graduated Genin.

After Su Yu had attacked for several minutes,

"That's enough. Stop," Uzuki Yugao interrupted.

Su Yu stopped and looked at her.

"Your Taijutsu needs improvement. Your most obvious weakness is your lack of stamina, which could be fatal. To master Taijutsu, you first need to train your body. Here's a training method for Taijutsu specialists, along with one for Konoha-Style Kenjutsu. If you're interested, you can start with Taijutsu and then move on to swordsmanship." Uzuki Yugao took out a scroll and handed it to Su Yu.

"Thank you, Teacher Uzuki Yugao." Su Yu accepted the scroll, his face lighting up with delight.

Although Yakushi Kabuto had also given him a Taijutsu training method, Uzuki Yugao's was meant for Taijutsu specialists.

The greatest trait of Taijutsu specialists was their formidable Taijutsu, far beyond that of ordinary ninja.

Yakushi Kabuto had given him a training method for ordinary ninja, while Uzuki Yugao had given him one for Taijutsu specialists. There was a huge difference between them.

"My specialty is Konoha-Style Kenjutsu. If you want to learn swordsmanship too, study the Konoha-Style Kenjutsu training method carefully. I'll give you a week to train in Taijutsu. After that, I'll test you. If you pass, you can take on official missions," Uzuki Yugao said softly.

"Yes. I'll train hard," Su Yu replied earnestly.

"Come here a week from now, in the morning." After saying that, Uzuki Yugao disappeared.

Su Yu put away the scroll and headed home.

In Su Yu's bedroom,

he looked at the symbols recorded on the paper.

They were the Flying Thunder God Formula.

Unfortunately, to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, he first had to master the Body Flicker Technique.

The Body Flicker Technique was practically essential for a Jonin.

Su Yu would need to reach at least Chunin level before he'd be qualified to learn the Body Flicker Technique.

As for whether he could learn the Flying Thunder God Technique,

that was up to luck.

Su Yu put away the Flying Thunder God Formula and opened the scroll Uzuki Yugao had given him.

After reading through it, he sighed.

"No wonder this is a training method for Taijutsu specialists."

The training regimen demanded far more exercise than his own, but it had been developed by Taijutsu specialists, after all. It stood to reason that the more hardship he endured, the stronger he would become.

Su Yu put away the scroll and left home.

He needed to buy some weighted training gear.

Over the next few days,

Su Yu got up early to train every day, and never returned before midnight.

Besides training in Taijutsu, he also practiced the Shadow Possession Technique and the Three Body Technique.

Perhaps because of the Uzumaki Clan bloodline, he felt his chakra increase every morning when he woke up.

His training seemed to be activating the Uzumaki Clan bloodline.

To be safe, he never activated his Sharingan anywhere outside his room. He only activated it when he returned home at night, using it to observe his training.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten about completing achievements.

Tree Climbing and Water Surface Walking went without saying. His Shadow Possession Technique had also reached the beginner level, and the achievement for defeating a Genin had been marked complete when he defeated Mizuki.

The only troublesome achievement was killing ten beasts.

With his strength, killing beasts wouldn't be a problem. The problem was that beasts were extremely rare in the forests around Konoha.

After all, most people in the village were ordinary civilians, and to keep them safe, Konoha Ninja regularly cleared the forests of beasts.

That meant he'd have to travel farther away to complete the achievement.