Uchiha Izumi's Graduation and Team Assignment Test

"It's already five o'clock. Why hasn't anyone shown up yet?"

Training Ground 1.

The agreed-upon time was five in the afternoon, but Uchiha Izumi had arrived at the training ground to wait as early as four-thirty.

Accompanying her was Uchiha Sasuke, who was interested in the future members of Uchiha Izumi's ninja squad, and the two chatted casually.

"They must have been delayed by something. After all, it's an elite ninja squad, and the instructor is a Jonin."

They're already here? Hearing Sasuke pretend not to know the other party's identity, Uchiha Izumi felt a stir in her heart. Then, sensing a faint feeling of being watched, she instinctively gripped her long sword, suppressing the urge to turn her head.

Immediately, Sasuke's deliberately lowered voice reached her: "Don't pretend; they'll see through it."

Hearing this, she followed her body's intuition and turned her head.

Sasuke took the opportunity to ask in confusion, "Izumi-chan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just had the feeling of being watched..."

"Watched? Could it be your future teammates?"

"I'm not sure..."

After more than two years—nearly a thousand days and nights spent together—Sasuke and Izumi had already achieved seamless coordination.

In the dense forest not far from the training ground, atop a large tree.

A member of the Hyuga clan, dressed in a maid outfit with shoulder-length dark green hair, had veins bulging at her temples as she stared in the direction of Uchiha Izumi and Sasuke.

Beside her, a girl with long purple hair, wearing a Konoha ninja vest, stood with her arms crossed and spoke, "Natsu, what do you think of this Uchiha Izumi?"

Hyuga Natsu narrowed her eyes and said, "Her internal chakra is several times stronger than her peers, even stronger than mine. Her organs beat with vigor, and her cells contain immense power."

"Her vigilance is also very high; she has already discovered me."

"The moment she discovered me, her muscles tensed. I can see the powerful explosive force contained within her body."

"Judging by her instinctive move to grip her long sword after sensing she was being watched, it shows she is confident in her swordsmanship, so she must be proficient in it."

"Finally, her eyes contain a special chakra. Combined with her identity as an Uchiha, she must have awakened the Sharingan."

"Based on all of this, I believe she is a ninja proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu."

Sharingan?

And proficient in swordsmanship?

Proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu?

The purple-haired girl looked stunned.

She remembered that the student file at the Ninja Academy only noted that her taijutsu was outstanding, she was skilled with shuriken, and she had mastered the basic Three Body Techniques and two Fire Style ninjutsu.

There was no mention of swordsmanship or the Sharingan at all...

Hyuga Hizashi, who had been silent and leaning against the tree with his eyes closed, opened them after hearing Hyuga Natsu's analysis, then performed a hand seal with one hand.

"Byakugan!"

Sure enough, the moment Hizashi cast his gaze, the muscles on Uchiha Izumi's body tensed and coiled again instinctively. If she were to explode, the destructive power would certainly be impressive. Everything else was exactly as Hyuga Natsu had judged.

He deactivated his Byakugan and said with a look of approval, "Not bad, Natsu. Your ability to gather intelligence using the Byakugan is becoming increasingly precise."

Hyuga Hizashi's words undoubtedly confirmed Hyuga Natsu's judgment. The purple-haired girl couldn't help but be stunned. "In other words... this Uchiha Izumi was able to crush her peers during her time at the Ninja Academy without even using her full strength?"

"That must be the case." Hizashi nodded, believing that Uchiha Izumi possessed such strength because the Uchiha clan was good at recognizing talent and teaching students according to their aptitude.

He couldn't help but envy their clan's meritocratic system, and a severe psychological gap formed as he compared it to his own clan's branch-family slave system.

Unaware of what was on Teacher Hizashi's mind, Hyuga Natsu felt a little excited after receiving the praise. She deactivated her Byakugan, turned to the purple-haired girl, and said solemnly, "Yugao, I have never seen a ninja of this age possess such superior physical fitness and vast chakra, and she even has the Sharingan. You need to be careful..."

As for the swordsmanship, she didn't mention it.

Because she believed that no matter how good Uchiha Izumi's swordsmanship was, it couldn't possibly be better than her companion, Uzuki Yugao's!

"The more excellent she is, the more beneficial it will be for our squad." Uzuki Yugao didn't care; instead, she became interested in Uchiha Izumi. Her fighting spirit soared, and she said impatiently, "Time is almost up. I'm going to go meet her!"

Leaving those words behind, she activated the Body Flicker Technique, and her figure vanished.

"How could she..." Hyuga Natsu felt a bit helpless.

In her heart, Uzuki Yugao was a battle maniac, especially when encountering experts in swordsmanship; otherwise, she wouldn't have applied to join the Anbu.

It was just a pity that adding personnel to this squad meant that the time for her to join the Anbu was becoming indefinitely delayed.

"Let's go, Natsu," Hizashi said. "We should head over too. Let's not let them accidentally injure the second young master of the Uchiha family."

Hyuga Natsu bowed slightly and said, "Yes, Lord Hizashi."

They were coming... Seeing the leaves sway where the gaze had originated, as if brushed by something, Uchiha Izumi quickly stepped in front of Sasuke. Her long sword unsheathed with a metallic ring, held horizontally across her chest, and she shouted, "Who's there!"

There was no response.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Uchiha Izumi, her long sword transforming into a sharp, cold glint!

Uchiha Izumi did not choose to meet the attack head-on. "Worried about hurting" Sasuke, she quickly grabbed Sasuke's clothes and leaped backward. While dodging the opponent's strike, she closed and opened her eyes, revealing scarlet two-tomoe patterns, and activated the Sharingan genjutsu.

The opponent was clearly well-prepared, however; avoiding eye contact, they pushed off the ground and gave chase with lightning speed.

Why do they start fighting without even a word? Uchiha Izumi complained inwardly. Forced to "distract herself to protect" Sasuke, she retreated while swinging her long blade in a passive defense. The sound of metal clashing rang out incessantly as sparks flew in every direction!

Behind her, Sasuke helplessly put on a look of utter panic.

At this moment, Hyuga Hizashi and Hyuga Natsu appeared. Sasuke performed the look of someone seeing a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation to perfection: "Help... help... help me!"

What a veteran actor!

Hyuga Hizashi used a Body Flicker technique to arrive behind Sasuke, hoisted him up, and with a few leaps, carried him dozens of meters away.

"Phew, saved!" Sasuke let out a sigh of relief. Then, seeing that neither Hizashi nor Natsu made any move to intervene, he immediately urged, "Why aren't you going to help?"

"Young Master of the Uchiha," Hyuga Natsu bowed slightly with courtesy before explaining, "We are the examiners for Uchiha Izumi's graduation test, so there is no need to worry."

"You are Izumi-chan's examiners?" Sasuke was stunned for a moment, then feigned a sigh of relief. "That's good, then."

"Of course. Because of Yugao's recklessness, you were frightened. As her teammate, I must apologize to you on her behalf. I am sorry, and I hope you can forgive us."

After speaking, Hyuga Natsu bowed once more.

Is this girl really this polite? She even used honorifics?... Sasuke was taken aback again, then hurriedly waved his hands in a show of panic. "N-no need. Dealing with special situations is part of the test, right? I can understand that. You really don't need to apologize."

Hearing this, Hyuga Natsu breathed a sigh of relief. She tilted her head, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. "Thank you for your understanding."