Genye's Despair

Shimura Hofu's icy words caused the expressions of Genye and the others to shift slightly.

"This guy... he really is infuriating!"

Asuma let out a cold snort, flipped his hands, and produced two sharp trench knives.

Genye and Kurenai stared at Shimura Hofu vigilantly, both having prepared themselves for combat.

"I won't need blades to deal with the likes of you."

Shimura Hofu released his grip on his sword, lifted his eyelids, and looked at the three of them.

"I will restrict my strength to the level of a Chunin. Try... to defeat me!"

Before Shimura Hofu's voice had even faded, Asuma and Genye were already in motion.

Boom!

The distance between them was already short; Asuma and Genye stomped the ground simultaneously and charged, appearing on Hofu's left and right sides in an instant.

"Sword Technique: Twin Striking Fangs!"

The two trench knives danced up and down in Asuma's hands, crossing like the fangs of a giant python as they thrust toward Hofu's neck.

"Byakugan—Gentle Fist!"

The veins around Genye's eye sockets bulged. After pinpointing the weak points in Hofu's chakra pathways, he threw a punch imbued with chakra.

"Hmm, the power is acceptable."

Hofu casually shifted his body to dodge Genye's Gentle Fist, his arm whipping through the gap between the two trench knives like a lash, his two fingers jabbing forcefully into Asuma's wrist.

"Damn it!"

Caught off guard, Asuma took the hit. His wrist throbbed with pain, his trench knife nearly slipping from his grasp, and his offensive momentum stalled.

"Gentle Fist!"

With his first strike missing, Genye stepped forward and switched hands, throwing a backhand punch toward Hofu's ribs.

"Genjutsu: Mirage!"

At the same time, Kurenai seized the opportunity to launch a genjutsu at Shimura Hofu.

In Hofu's eyes, Genye suddenly transformed into a figure with three heads and six arms, all six fists descending upon various parts of his body at once.

"Heh, your timing for casting genjutsu is decent, but compared to the Uchiha clan, you're still far behind."

Hofu shook his head slightly. Relying solely on his physical senses, he caught Genye's fist with a casual movement and used the momentum to kick Asuma, who was standing beside him, flying.

Bang!

Asuma rolled across the grass to dissipate the force, endured the pain, and leaped back up, raising his trench knives to charge at Shimura Hofu once more.

"Genye, try to strike his center! Kurenai, provide support from the side!"

"Understood!"

Half an hour later, the three of them lay in a row on the ground, staring at the sky with expressions of utter defeat.

"We can't beat him, we absolutely can't beat him..." Asuma said, feeling somewhat dejected.

"Yeah, we're no match for him at all," Yuhi Kurenai added bitterly.

Genye didn't speak; his entire body ached, and he didn't even want to move a finger.

Actually, repeating a year isn't all that bad; it means we can delay going to the battlefield, he consoled himself.

"Your performance just now wasn't bad."

At this moment, Shimura Hofu walked over to them, looking down from above with a smile appearing on his cold, stern face.

"Eh—???"

All three exclaimed in surprise, propping themselves up in disbelief to look at Shimura Hofu.

"Could it be...?"

As if he understood the look in their eyes, Shimura Hofu nodded.

"In you three, I saw teamwork and decent potential. You have passed the assessment."

What Hofu didn't mention was that during the fight just now, he had long since used strength far exceeding that of a Chunin.

Furthermore, when he had casually caught that Hyuga kid's punch midway, he had been so careless that he nearly had the wind knocked out of him!

"That's great, Genye-kun, Asuma, we did it!" Kurenai said happily.

"Phew, at least I didn't embarrass the old man."

Asuma also let out a sigh of relief, then shared a smile with his two companions.

Through fighting side-by-side just now, a faint bond had begun to form between the three of them.

"Alright."

Shimura Hofu clapped his hands and said, "To celebrate the formation of Team 8, we shall..."

"Us...?"

Including Asuma, all three looked at Shimura Hofu with great anticipation.

"We... shall begin training!"

After a brief pause, Shimura Hofu said exactly that.

(ÒωÓױ)! Nani?!

Genye was shocked: "Hofu-sensei, do you not intend to let us rest for a while?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai nodded frantically from the side.

Shimura Hofu tilted his head, appearing very puzzled: "But, didn't I already let you rest for four minutes and thirty-five seconds just now?"

"Ah, this!" Genye smacked his lips.

He had a premonition that the days ahead following Shimura Hofu would likely not be very easy.

The sky grew dark, and the setting sun draped a golden veil over the grass.

When other teams were formed, the teachers would treat them to a big meal at a restaurant; by now, they were probably full and satisfied, lying comfortably in their beds.

Yet at the training ground, there were still three starving wretches who had been drilled from morning until night.

"Come on, three more, and we'll end today's training!" Hofu said, trying to pump up the three listless little ones.

"One... two..."

Genye gritted his teeth and completed two more movements, already seeing the dawn of victory, but in the next second, he was completely broken by Hofu.

"One, two, one! One, two, one!" Shimura Hofu clapped his hands, even calling out the cadence.

Genye: ???

"Have you been to military training before? Why are you just like our drill instructor?"

"Ah!" Yuhi Kurenai's pretty face flushed red, and with a sharp cry, her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

Genye and Asuma couldn't hold on either; their legs were as soft as noodles, and without another word, they simply lay down.

"Alright, that's it for the first day of training. We'll meet here again tomorrow morning."

Looking at the three salted fish on the ground who had lost their dreams, Shimura Hofu left behind a single sentence before turning and walking away.

"Ah, just kill me!" Genye wailed.

He had a cheat, he was the protagonist of a power fantasy, why did he have to suffer this kind of torture!

Genye dragged his body back home, trembling. Just as he was about to open the door, he discovered that his door was actually unlocked.

"Damn, did a thief get in? Byakugan!"

Genye activated his Byakugan and looked into the house through the door, discovering a person sitting upright in the room, as if waiting for him to return.

"This chakra... is it Hyuga Hiashi?"

Genye frowned slightly, not knowing why this guy had broken into his home.

After a moment of contemplation, Genye pushed the door open and entered, bowing to Hyuga Hiashi in the living room.

"Greetings, Hiashi-sama. I wonder what business you have with me?"

Although he hated this feeling of being servile, until he had the strength to get rid of the Caged Bird Seal, he had better keep his head down!

"Hm?"

Hiashi looked at Genye, puzzled, feeling a bit suspicious in his heart.

For him, Hyuga Hiashi, to visit in person was a tremendous honor for a branch family member.

But this kid in front of him... seemed a bit impatient?

It must be his imagination, Hiashi thought, shaking his head and smiling at Genye.

"Genye, now that you have officially become a ninja, you can begin to serve the clan and the village. I just happened to be passing by to give you a few pointers."

"Oh." Genye nodded: "Please, go ahead."

Hiashi said: "The members of your Team 8 all come from prominent clans, and that includes your jonin leader."

"If you can build a good relationship with them, it will be beneficial for you and for the Hyuga Clan. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand what you mean, but..." Genye stammered.

Hiashi furrowed his brows: "But what?"

"But to build a good relationship with them, I'll probably need to spend quite a bit of money, like treating everyone to a meal every now and then."

"But Genye is truly strapped for cash," Genye said, feigning embarrassment.

Hiashi looked at Genye in astonishment.

Was this kid trying to shake him down?

After a long while, he nodded slowly: "What you say makes sense. The clan will add ten thousand ryo to your monthly allowance. How does that sound?"

"That works, that works. Thank you, Hiashi-sama," Genye replied with a grin.

After seeing Hiashi off, Genye collapsed and fell asleep. Tomorrow, there would be another bitter battle ahead...