Beauty in Contrast, the Two Gatekeepers

For the next few days, Ryusuke stayed indoors, even sending a Shadow Clone to buy ingredients.

He spent all day inside the house, and no one knew what he was up to.

Meanwhile, Konoha Central Street had seen a large number of unfamiliar faces over the past few days.

They were all genin from other countries who had come specifically to participate in Konoha's Chunin Exams.

After arriving in Konoha, these ninja had not been idle. They used all sorts of methods to gather intelligence on Konoha's recent classes of genin.

As the Top Student of Konoha's sixtieth class, Ryusuke naturally became one of their targets.

Whether it was his real body staying at home or his Shadow Clone going out to buy groceries, Ryusuke noticed quite a few watchful gazes.

However, since they had not been bold enough to sneak into his home, Ryusuke ignored them.

During this time, the three girls—Ino and the others—had not come to see Ryusuke either.

Clearly, they were all preparing for the upcoming Chunin Exams.

Sakura was better off, but Ino and Hinata, as heirs to ninja clans, had been receiving guidance from their fathers these past few days and working hard to cultivate their clans' secret techniques.

As heirs to their respective clans, being eliminated too early would be far too embarrassing.

This concerned their clans' honor!

Ino had it easier; Yamanaka Inoichi was not that strict.

As the heir of Konoha's last great clan, Hinata had definitely been having a hard time these past few days.

July 1st, 10:50 a.m.

After being a shut-in for several days, Ryusuke finally stepped out of his house.

When he arrived at Team 8's usual meeting spot, Ryusuke spotted Hinata, who had arrived long ago, from a distance.

Hinata had both hands tucked into the pockets of her white trench coat. Her small face was stern, as though she were vigilantly watching her surroundings.

Click!

Ryusuke did not immediately go over to greet Hinata. Instead, he reached into his black trench coat—actually opening his Space Backpack—and took out the Film Camera inside, snapping a picture of Hinata's current appearance.

The sound of the photograph being taken reached her ears, and Hinata immediately shot a sharp look his way.

When she saw that it was Ryusuke, her imposing demeanor visibly softened at once.

A blush appeared on her cheeks. Hinata almost instinctively lowered her head, pulling her hands from her pockets and nervously twisting her fingers in front of her already very noticeable chest, which was unquestionably far more impressive than that of her peers.

Click, click, click...

Rather than restraining himself at that sight, Ryusuke kept pressing the shutter, capturing Hinata's entire transformation.

If time had permitted, Ryusuke would have dearly loved to return home and develop the photos right then.

After taking the pictures, Ryusuke put away the camera and walked up to Hinata. He gave her a thumbs-up and praised, "Hinata, you looked really cool just now. Your presence was completely different from usual. Looks like you've grown a lot these past few days."

"Ryusuke-kun, you flatter me," Hinata said with her head lowered, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.

But inside, she felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey.

"Be more confident. Don't always keep your head down."

Ryusuke patted Hinata's fragrant shoulder and smiled. "I like the way you looked just now even more."

"...Mm."

Hinata responded, then raised her head.

But she still did not dare meet Ryusuke's eyes. She only darted furtive glances around her, and the blush on her cheeks deepened.

Even cuter was the fact that Hinata herself did not notice that her hands were repeatedly poking her index fingers together in front of her chest. The rapid rhythm completely exposed her nervousness.

If he had not known that the girl had already reached her limit, Ryusuke really would have wanted to take out his camera again and capture this scene.

The slightly ambiguous atmosphere was quickly ruined.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Aburame Shino's voice reached their ears, startling both Ryusuke and Hinata.

Looking at Aburame Shino, who had appeared beside them at some point with his hands in his pockets and a cool pose, Ryusuke asked, "Shino, when did you get here?"

"When you were secretly photographing Hinata. It wasn't convenient to interrupt you," Aburame Shino said flatly.

In an instant, Hinata's already flushed cheeks turned bright red, and white steam began rising from her head.

"Cough, cough..."

Seeing that Hinata was about to faint from embarrassment, Ryusuke quickly coughed and changed the subject. "Since we're all here, let's go to the Ninja Academy. Did you bring your completed application forms?"

"They're ready."

"So did I."

Aburame Shino and Hinata both nodded.

Ryusuke grinned. "Then let's go meet our seniors, along with the genin from the other ninja villages!"

Thus, Team 8 set off for the Ninja Academy.

Along the way, they saw quite a few genin from other ninja villages. Those genin glared at them fiercely, seemingly intending to use their stares to put Team 8 in its place.

However, Ryusuke merely glanced at them lightly, and the hostile genin immediately looked dazed.

A moment later, they came back to their senses, breaking out in cold sweats.

"G-Genjutsu? How did I get caught in genjutsu?"

"W-Who was that guy?"

"Remember what he looks like! If you run into him during the exam, run immediately!"

Ryusuke knew nothing of their reactions. He had merely given those guys a simple lesson, letting them know whose home ground this was.

They had come to an enemy nation's ninja village and still dared to be so arrogant. Anyone who did not know better would think they were ninja from the great village.

Upon entering the Ninja Academy, Team 8 followed Yuhi Kurenai's instructions and first went to the Administration Building to find the registration point for submitting their applications.

At the stairwell, Ryusuke and the others saw a sign stating that the registration point was on the third floor.

However, as soon as they reached the second floor, the expressions of all three changed slightly.

After exchanging glances, they each raised their index and middle fingers, disrupting the flow of chakra within their bodies and dispersing the Yin Release Chakra that had just invaded them.

On the second floor, Ryusuke and the others saw a large number of genin searching for the registration point.

With a Genjutsu Expert as their teacher, Ryusuke and the others could tell at a glance that these people had fallen under genjutsu and subconsciously believed the second floor was the third floor.

At the staircase leading to the third floor hung another sign for the third floor. Two chunin in green flak jackets were also standing there, watching the examinees make fools of themselves.

These two chunin were Konoha's two great gatekeepers... Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki.

Ignoring the crowd, Ryusuke and the others headed straight for the stairwell guarded by the two chunin.

Seeing the approaching trio, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were slightly surprised. Then, after seeing Hinata's eyes, they looked faintly enlightened.

The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan—no wonder she could break Demonic Illusion: This Place Is Not Here!

But such cheating would not earn their approval.

Just as Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki exchanged glances and smiled knowingly, preparing to give these juniors a taste of reality—

When they turned to look at Ryusuke, they became dazed, just like the genin on the road.

By the time they came back to their senses, Ryusuke and the others had already disappeared.

"Izumo, did you notice anything just now?" Kotetsu Hagane asked.

Izumo Kamizuki shook his head and asked in return, "No. What about you?"

"Me neither."

With horror in his eyes, Kotetsu Hagane said, "There was no sound, so it wasn't auditory genjutsu. There wasn't any smell either, so it wasn't olfactory genjutsu. He... didn't even form a single hand seal!"

Izumo Kamizuki suddenly smiled. "He doesn't have the traits of those ninja clans, yet he put us under genjutsu with a single glance. This year's Chunin Exams are going to be interesting."

"Hehe... He's a Konoha genin. His genjutsu is already this powerful at such a young age. He might become Konoha's Genjutsu Expert in the future."

Kotetsu Hagane smiled as well. "I'm really looking forward to seeing whether the next genin have any more geniuses who'll make our eyes light up."