Eight o'clock the next morning.
Fourth Training Ground.
Ning Xue arrived on time with a small water flask. The weights on his feet made his steps slightly heavy, but his expression remained calm.
Sugiyama Tetsu and Nakamura Daisuke had already arrived as well. Both looked somewhat nervous, especially at the thought that last place would have to treat everyone to a meal.
Kotetsu Hagane leaned against a tree. Seeing the three arrive on time, he nodded.
"Very good. No one is late."
"Then the test begins."
Unlike Kakashi, he wasn't going to pull some bell-grabbing stunt. He chose to start a proper test directly.
Still... speaking of which, bell-grabbing was probably Team 7's tradition, wasn't it?
"First event: taijutsu assessment. Fight me one-on-one. The longer you last, the higher your score." Kotetsu Hagane was succinct.
Sugiyama Tetsu went first.
With a shout, he gathered his courage and charged at Kotetsu Hagane. He did have some foundation in taijutsu; his movements were powerful but lacked flexibility.
Kotetsu Hagane didn't even use any flashy moves. With simple blocks, evasions, and the occasional precise counterattack, he knocked Sugiyama Tetsu to the ground in less than a minute.
Kotetsu Hagane clapped his hands.
"Next, Nakamura Daisuke."
Nakamura Daisuke walked forward with a miserable expression.
His taijutsu was clearly much weaker than Sugiyama Tetsu's. His movements were sluggish and full of openings.
Seeing this, Kotetsu Hagane lost what little interest he had. With a casual trip, he sent Nakamura Daisuke tumbling to the ground.
"Next, Hyuga Ningxue."
Ning Xue took a deep breath and stepped forward.
He needed to keep himself at a moderately above-average level. He used the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist, but the weights on his feet slowed his footwork. That suited him perfectly.
Kotetsu Hagane easily blocked Ning Xue's attacks while observing him closely. He could tell that this boy had solid fundamentals and clean, decisive movements.
However... his gaze fell on Ning Xue's feet and eyes.
As a ninja of the Interrogation Force, he had that much discernment. It was obvious that there were weights on his feet.
And this brat's Byakugan should already have awakened, right? Why wasn't he using it? He wasn't even attacking his opponent's chakra points much. Was he hiding something?
Kotetsu Hagane pondered inwardly, but he did not expose him.
After about three minutes, he spotted an opening Ning Xue had deliberately revealed and lightly chopped the edge of his hand against Ning Xue's wrist, ending the fight.
"The taijutsu assessment is over. Next is ninjutsu." Kotetsu Hagane announced expressionlessly.
"Demonstrate the ninjutsu you're best at. I will score you according to power, control, and practicality."
Sugiyama Tetsu demonstrated the Fire Release Fireball Technique he had practiced so diligently. Though it was not large in scale, its form was stable and fairly standard.
Nakamura Daisuke awkwardly demonstrated an Earth Release Earth Style Wall. It only raised a tiny dirt wall half a person's height, which looked ready to collapse at any moment, making Kotetsu Hagane shake his head repeatedly.
When it was Ning Xue's turn, he formed hand seals and used Water Release: Water Wave.
A stream of water struck a target in the training ground. The amount of water was moderate and the control precise, but its power was unremarkable.
Seeing the ninjutsu of his three subordinates, Kotetsu Hagane secretly shook his head. He was somewhat disappointed in their ninjutsu.
Next came shuriken throwing and several tactical questions. Through each assessment, Ning Xue consistently kept his performance just slightly better than Sugiyama Tetsu's.
Sugiyama Tetsu proudly planted his hands on his hips. After these rounds, he felt that he was clearly in first place.
Nakamura Daisuke, meanwhile, had gone pale. It was as though he could already see the little money in his wallet flying away from him.
"The final event," Kotetsu Hagane said as he looked at the three with their different expressions, the corners of his mouth lifting in an almost imperceptible curve.
"A practical team coordination test."
His hands rapidly formed seals.
"Ninja Art, Hidden Mist Technique!" (It was actually the False Surroundings Technique.)
Dense fog instantly enveloped the entire training ground. Visibility plummeted, and even the Byakugan's vision was disrupted to a certain extent.
"Last ten minutes in my mist, or find me and land an attack on me, and you pass."
"Of course, you may use any means necessary. Any means."
As his words fell, a cold killing intent instantly spread through the air, pressing down on the three's nerves as though it had substance.
"Urgh!" Sugiyama Tetsu and Nakamura Daisuke immediately turned deathly pale. Their bodies trembled involuntarily, and they could barely even hold their kunai steady.
Ning Xue could not help growing tense as well. He felt that this was for real.
Once he roughly understood the situation, he took several deep breaths and forced himself to remain calm as he spoke to the other two beside him.
"Stay calm! Back-to-back!"
Ning Xue's low shout jolted the two who were still trapped in fear awake.
They hurriedly moved together, forming a triangular formation.
Ning Xue grew serious as well and activated his Byakugan.
But strangely enough, he still could not see through the thick fog.
Then, the sound of something cutting through the air abruptly rang out from within the mist!
Shuriken! From different directions!
"Left!" he warned, swinging his kunai to block at the same time.
Clang, clang, clang! The three frantically defended against attacks coming from all directions.
As for Kotetsu Hagane, he was like a ghost. Each time he appeared at one edge of the fog, he came with a fierce offensive.
They were not lethal attacks, but every one of them left the three in a sorry state.
Attacks like these rapidly drained their stamina as well.
Before long, Sugiyama Tetsu and Nakamura Daisuke ran out of strength and temporarily lost their ability to fight.
"This can't go on..."
Ning Xue's gaze sharpened. He realized that Kotetsu Hagane was forcing them to reveal their true abilities, forcing them to react under this pressure.
"Fine! If that's how it is, then I'll give you something big too!"
At that moment, Kotetsu Hagane's figure silently appeared behind and to Ning Xue's side once more, his hand chopping fiercely toward Ning Xue's neck.
This time, however, it was faster and more powerful, giving Ning Xue a tangible sense of mortal danger.
Ning Xue's thoughts raced. Soon, out of instinct, the strength he had been suppressing erupted at that instant.
With a fierce push from his feet, he instantly left his original position. During the brief slide that cushioned his movement, he swiftly opened the water flask that had been hanging from his waist.
He was not drinking water. Instead, he aimed its mouth toward the direction from which Kotetsu Hagane had attacked and violently flung it.
A colorless, odorless liquid sprayed outward in a fan-shaped arc.
"Hm?"
Kotetsu Hagane had not expected Ning Xue to have such a trick. Though he retreated in time, some of the liquid still splashed onto his sleeve and the back of his hand.
He had assumed it was ordinary water or perhaps acid, but the next second, an intense numbness instantly spread from the contaminated areas.
"Poison?"
That word flashed through his mind.
Kotetsu Hagane was shocked. He immediately mobilized chakra in an attempt to resist it, but the paralytic toxin was extraordinarily potent, making his right arm and half his body stiffen for an instant.
And at that very moment—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Three metal needles whistled through the air and embedded themselves in Kotetsu Hagane's leg, bringing an even more intense tingling numbness to the right side of his body.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
At the instant Kotetsu Hagane stiffened, the surrounding mist gradually dispersed, returning the area to its original appearance.
Well, it was just a bunch of trees and rocks.
So it had been genjutsu.
Sugiyama Tetsu and Nakamura Daisuke stared dumbfoundedly at the scene before them.
Hyuga Ningxue, who had performed so ordinarily the whole time, was actually this strong?
And their instructor, Kotetsu Hagane, was actually half-kneeling on the ground, his right hand and right leg trembling slightly, his face filled with shock and a trace of... appreciation?
"Cough, cough..." Kotetsu Hagane circulated chakra, forcibly breaking through the blockade on his chakra points and dispelling most of the numbness before standing up.
He looked at his still-uncomfortable arm, then stared deeply at Ning Xue, especially at the water flask on his right waist and the small bag on his left.
"Needles? Poison? And that hidden weapon technique... Hyuga Ningxue, you've hidden yourself well."
Kotetsu Hagane's tone revealed neither pleasure nor anger.
Ning Xue's heart tightened, but he quickly calmed down again. His face remained tranquil.
Those were all insignificant things. It was fine.
"In an emergency, I had no choice. Please forgive me, sensei."
Kotetsu Hagane stared at him for several seconds, then suddenly smiled.
"Forget it. The purpose of the test has already been achieved. Being able to decisively use every available means to counterattack in a life-or-death crisis... You're not bad, kid."
He turned to Sugiyama Tetsu and Nakamura Daisuke, who were still completely dazed, and spoke flatly.
"You two still need more practice."
Finally, he announced the results. "Overall score: Hyuga Ningxue, first. Sugiyama Tetsu, second. Nakamura Daisuke, third. So..."
His gaze shifted to Nakamura Daisuke, whose face had gone ashen. "As agreed, Yakiniku Q tonight. You're treating."
Nakamura Daisuke let out a miserable howl.
"NO!!!!!"
BGM.
Snowflakes drift~ The north wind howls~.
That evening, inside Yakiniku Q.
The four members of Team 11 sat around a table piled high with various cuts of meat and vegetables.
Kotetsu Hagane truly did not hold back. He had even called over his good partner, Izumo Kamizuki.
After hearing about Kotetsu Hagane's test that day, Izumo Kamizuki could not help slamming the table and mercilessly laughing at him.
"Hahaha, Hagane, are you saying you got played by your own student?" Izumo Kamizuki sat beside Kotetsu Hagane, clutching his stomach as he laughed without stopping.
Kotetsu Hagane shot him an irritated glare and stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth.
"Cut the crap and eat your meat! Someone's treating today." As he spoke, he pointed at Nakamura Daisuke, who looked heartbroken but had no choice but to force a smile.
Izumo Kamizuki studied Ning Xue curiously.
"Oh? So this is the kid? From the Hyuga Branch Family? You managed to make Hagane suffer? Not bad!"
Ning Xue merely grilled meat in silence, eating a little now and then and responding calmly to Izumo Kamizuki's scrutiny.
Sugiyama Tetsu, on the other hand, was extremely excited. He kept talking about that day's test, utterly impressed by Ning Xue's final performance.
Nakamura Daisuke turned his grief and indignation into appetite, burying his head in food as he tried to eat enough to get his money's worth.
Kotetsu Hagane looked at the three subordinates before him, countless thoughts running through his mind.
The hot-blooded and simple Sugiyama Tetsu, the lazy Nakamura Daisuke who might have some special talent—such as making cookies?—and Hyuga Ningxue, who hid himself so deeply...
Perhaps my Team 11 can become one of Konoha's pillars in the future too?
Before you continue