"Yue Ying, you're hurt. Let me treat you."
He removed the shuriken from Yue Ying and used Healing Jutsu, placing his palm over her wounds as a green light shone from it.
In no time, he had healed the wounds on her arm and thigh.
Yue Ying replied awkwardly.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing. We're teammates."
Li Yu said matter-of-factly.
"You looked so nervous, but in battle, you stepped in front of me several times."
"Maybe you gave me the courage to do it."
Yue Ying lowered her head and said quietly, "Zi Yu, you're still so strong. You don't really need me to protect you."
Li Yu looked at Yue Ying's purple hair. Thinking of the women in the Naruto story, Uzuki Yugao also had purple hair.
"We're teammates. We should help each other."
Just then, his clone dispelled, and a stream of memories appeared in his mind.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Li Yu's mouth. The mission was complete.
As they chatted and waited where they were, Captain Yan Xing and the other two Anbu Jonin returned.
The patrol mission was cut short, and they returned to the village with the Anbu to report.
Back at the Hokage Office Building, they met with Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and reported on the patrol.
In the battle, they had captured one enemy Jonin and three ordinary Chunin.
They had killed one Jonin, one Elite Jonin, three Elite Chunin, and three ordinary Chunin.
The enemy shinobi had no identifying insignia. Based on their jutsu, they were suspected to be from Iwagakure; the Torture and Interrogation Force would confirm the details.
The Third Hokage pondered for a moment.
"Sakumo, now that information has leaked from inside the village, we need to increase patrols and surveillance both inside and outside the village."
"Fortunately, Yan Xing's team was on patrol. They noticed something was wrong in time and returned to support us."
"Because the team performed exceptionally well in completing the mission,"
"I hereby promote Shui Qi, Yue Ying, and Zi Yu to Chunin."
Li Yu raised an eyebrow. He had become a Chunin. Anbu really did rank up faster than ordinary shinobi. Even after all those exam events and Chunin Exams, only Shikamaru had become a Chunin among Naruto's group.
After leaving the Hokage Office Building,
because there had been a medical ninja during the incident, three shinobi had survived.
At the postwar meeting, Tsunade had proposed assigning a medical ninja to every team. The incident had accelerated the implementation of her proposal.
With this mission over, he could finally take a break for a while.
Since Li Yu was resting, he didn't wear his Anbu mask or uniform. He wandered along Konoha's streets, unsure where to go.
At this point in time, Kakashi and Might Guy had only just been born, and the Konoha Twelve were nowhere to be seen.
Wandering aimlessly, he found himself at a training ground, where he spotted a blond-haired man practicing throwing shuriken and kunai.
A sudden thought struck him. Namikaze Minato, the future Yellow Flash and Fourth Hokage.
Anyone who knew the story knew of Minato's charm as a person—a gentle man.
I wonder how things are going between him and Kushina.
Li Yu immediately quickened his pace.
Hearing someone approach, Namikaze Minato looked back and greeted him first.
"Nawaki, what brings you to the training ground? Here to practice too?"
"How is Lord Orochimaru?"
As a fellow student of one of the Sannin, how could they not know each other?
Li Yu replied politely.
"My teacher is absorbed in his research. I hardly ever see him, so he told me to train on my own."
"Minato, how is Lord Jiraiya? Hasn't he been training you?"
Namikaze Minato gave an awkward laugh. "Jiraiya-sensei went off to gather material for his book."
He went to peep on women bathing—or else he's off drinking with women.
"I happened to see you training here, and I'm itching for a fight."
Li Yu was challenging Minato. He really wanted to know how strong Minato was at this point.
Hearing Li Yu's words, Minato also extended an invitation.
"Sounds good. A fight will help us improve."
Li Yu took his place opposite Minato, kunai in hand, ready to strike at any moment.
At that moment, the bored Third Hokage had just finished admiring the women at the bathhouse. He held a handkerchief and wiped the suspicious red liquid beneath his nose.
He shifted his attention to the match between Li Yu and Namikaze Minato at the training ground.
"I wonder how the younger generation of Konoha is coming along."
"I can hardly wait to see."
Li Yu and Namikaze Minato formed the Seal of Confrontation with one hand.
The match began.
Li Yu was the first to fling several shuriken at Minato. Minato immediately retaliated with several of his own, knocking them all down.
Minato then threw several more shuriken and rapidly formed Hand Seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
A mass of shuriken shot straight toward Li Yu. Since he wasn't wearing his mask, he couldn't activate his Sharingan without exposing its abilities.
Seeing that there were too many shuriken, Li Yu could only use a jutsu he had copied with his Sharingan in battle a few days earlier. He formed Hand Seals, then slapped one hand against the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
Then he leaped backward, formed Hand Seals, and shaped them in the sequence of Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, and Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The Third Hokage, in the Hokage Office Building, had a pipe in his mouth. He exclaimed in surprise,
"Nawaki can use Fire Release too?"
"I wonder where he learned the Uchiha Clan's Great Fireball Technique."
"I wonder how many Chakra Nature Transformations this child can use."
He launched an attack at Minato, who had just leaped over the earthen wall and was still in the air. The timing of the Fire Release was perfect.
As expected of Minato—his battle reflexes were incredible. He used the Substitution Technique in midair.
Minato himself charged at Li Yu from the side, leading with shuriken and thrusting his kunai at Li Yu. There was no time to form Hand Seals, so Li Yu blocked the strike with his own kunai. He was ready to retreat, hoping to open some distance and wear down Minato's chakra from afar, since he had plenty of his own.
But Minato gave Li Yu no chance to back away. He followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks, and the two began fighting with Taijutsu.
Li Yu wasn't about to back down. Even without activating the Sharingan, the Senju Clan's Taijutsu was no joke.
Li Yu threw a punch with Super Strength. Relying on his battle instincts, Minato leaped backward.
The punch missed. Its force was too strong to pull back, so Li Yu could only redirect it and drive it into the ground beneath his feet.
"Boom! Boom!"
The ground cracked and caved in over a wide area, leaving Namikaze Minato unsteady on his feet.
Namikaze Minato had misjudged the force of Li Yu's punch. Its destructive range was immense.
Now was his chance. Li Yu quickly formed Hand Seals, pressed his fingers together, and shouted,
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Trees and vines rapidly grew, winding around Minato from several directions.
Minato stared in astonishment.
"That's Wood Release!"
Minato reacted and prepared to use the Body Flicker Technique, but vines suddenly sprang from the ground and wrapped around his ankles.
In an instant, the vines that followed bound him so tightly he couldn't move.
At this point, Namikaze Minato hadn't yet learned the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God, nor had he created the Rasengan.
Otherwise, how could he have been captured so easily? Li Yu had also relied on the advantages of Wood Release and Super Strength. In the future, to deal with Minato, he would have to use the stronger Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
Thinking this, Li Yu immediately dispelled the Wood Release jutsu and lowered Minato to the ground.
Minato's face was a little pale.
"Nawaki, that was the First's Wood Release, wasn't it?"
"It can absorb chakra too?"
"As expected of the First's jutsu. I never thought someone from the Senju Clan could awaken Wood Release again."
"And that punch just now was Lady Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred, right? I've only ever seen Lady Tsunade use it when beating up Jiraiya-sensei."
As he spoke, Minato gave Li Yu a warm smile and held out his hand to form the Seal of Reconciliation with him.
Li Yu smiled back.
"Minato, you'll definitely achieve your dream one day."
"My dream is yours too, isn't it?"
"Let's work hard together."
They smiled at each other.
Behind the Crystal Ball, the Third Hokage smiled.
"Nawaki only awakened Wood Release recently, yet he's already reached a level that looks three or four-tenths as impressive as the First's."
Watching Minato and Nawaki face off, he sighed.
"New leaves have begun to sprout."