Practical Combat Exercise

Hayate Gekko was overjoyed at this, replying excitedly, "Really... cough cough cough! Really?! Thank you so much, Asuma!"

Asuma grinned and patted his chest, chin raised with a confident look.

"Leave it to me!"

"Alright, enough with the digression. Your turn, Asuma." Mo's voice interrupted their conversation.

Asuma came back to his senses and shuddered when he met those calm black eyes. Lowering his head, he said:

"I... I'm Asuma Sarutobi. I like sausages and yam noodles, I hate bitter melon, and my dream is to live a life unconstrained by others!"

He had been somewhat frightened at first, but when he spoke of his dream, his voice suddenly grew louder. He raised his head and puffed out his chest, looking far more spirited.

Uchiha Mo nodded. "Alright, that concludes the first day. Gather here again tomorrow morning. I'll be giving you a test. Pass, and there'll be rewards. Fail, and there'll be punishments. Prepare yourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo used the Body Flicker Technique and left the training ground before the three could react.

The moment Mo vanished, Asuma let out a long breath and complained:

"That old man, honestly. Even though this guy... is indeed strong, isn't he being way too strict? And being disciplined like this by someone our age, I..."

He did not finish, but the other two understood what he meant.

Kurenai Yuhi smiled, while Hayate Gekko replied somewhat awkwardly:

"I... cough! I think it's pretty good. Although Teacher Mo looks very strict, he actually... is very strict. But at least with a genius teaching us, we'll definitely improve quickly in the future!"

Kurenai was in a good mood and picked up the conversation to comfort him:

"Alright, Asuma, stop sulking. Mo said there'll be a test tomorrow. Do either of you have any ideas?"

Once she said that, the three immediately began chattering as they discussed it.

Hokage's Office.

With a pipe in his mouth, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the harmonious scene in the crystal ball and could not help smiling.

"Though I wasn't able to arrange for Uchiha Mo to join the ANBU as I wished, having him serve as a squad leader seems like a good choice too. He can help this old man teach Asuma, that little brat, a lesson."

As he spoke, he seemed to recall Asuma trembling in fear and could not help laughing.

"Hehe, hahaha~ So this little brat knows how to be afraid now? With Biwako stopping this old man, I can't do anything to you. But the Uchiha won't put up with your antics."

Meanwhile, after leaving the training ground, Uchiha Mo quickly returned home.

He spread the map of the Land of Birds' underground black market branch across the table and studied it carefully with a frown.

Mo planned to choose the Land of Birds for Asuma and the others' first mission outside the village once they had accumulated enough low-level missions. While there, he could conveniently handle Cat Granny's mission and get his hands on that Kusanagi Sword.

The Land of Birds was not large, but as one of the main gathering places for underground black market merchants, its black markets were extremely widespread. Yet the murderer had wiped them all out in only about half a month. Either it had been the work of a group, or it had been an exceptionally powerful ninja.

Unfortunately, he did not know the specific conditions at the scenes. Otherwise, based on the traces of battle, Mo could have narrowed down the possibilities considerably.

After tentatively identifying several locations in the Land of Birds as key investigation sites, he folded up the map. There were too few clues at present; no amount of thinking would help.

"Shisui."

Mo called out in a low voice. A large-eyed boy with a red nose immediately ran out from the inner room and asked in confusion:

"What is it, Brother? Did leading the team go smoothly today?"

"Come to the training ground with me tomorrow and fight those people from Team 8. You're allowed to use your Sharingan. From now on, you'll train with them and me as well."

Mo put the map back into his ninja tool pouch and spoke calmly.

Shisui immediately became excited. "Really? Then will there be a reward if I win?"

Mo glanced at him and replied evenly, "No. But there'll be a punishment if you lose."

"Huh? How can that be?!"

The next day.

The warm morning sun hung over the mountaintop. Asuma and the other two stood in the training ground, their faces still carrying traces of sleepiness.

"We came so early... Mo won't be late again like yesterday, will he?" Asuma frowned, looking somewhat worried.

But the moment he finished speaking, two figures—one tall and one short—suddenly appeared before them.

"Hi~ Hello, everyone!"

With a sunny smile on his face, Shisui greeted them enthusiastically.

"?"

The three stared in confusion, then turned their gazes toward Uchiha Mo.

Mo introduced him calmly. "This is my younger brother, Uchiha Shisui. He'll be your examiner today, and he'll train with you from now on."

"Your younger brother?!"

All three cried out in surprise. They looked at Shisui's bright, sunny smile, then at Uchiha Mo's cold expression...

"Um... this is your younger brother?"

Asuma shot him a sidelong look, his face full of disbelief.

"Blood brothers, guaranteed!" Shisui's eyes curved as he grinned proudly.

"Even if he is... your little brother, isn't he way too young? You're having a child test us? You—"

Asuma had wanted to say more, but when he met Mo's calm, rippleless black eyes, he suddenly choked on his words. Then he added quietly, "Don't regret this later. That reward is as good as mine."

Mo gave a disdainful smile and said:

"The three of you can come at him together. If you can beat him, I'll reward each of you with an A-rank ninjutsu suited to you."

After saying that, Mo turned his gaze toward Shisui.

"Shisui, if you dare lose, I'll release every crow you've raised."

"Really? Don't regret it!" Asuma's face lit up with excitement. If I can't deal with you, can't I deal with this little brat? Heh-heh~ Beating up his little brother and getting to learn an A-rank ninjutsu...

Shisui's face fell at those words, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Uchiha Mo spoke first:

"Alright, enough chatter. Both sides, get ready!"

As soon as those words fell, Shisui immediately pulled himself together, his gaze turning resolute.

The two sides faced each other. Shisui raised his right hand and formed the Seal of Confrontation, saying softly, "Sorry, everyone. For my crows, I'm going all out!"

The flock of crows Shisui kept had already grown quite intelligent. He expected to raise ninja crows in the next generation, which would let him give his brother a surprise, so he absolutely would not give up.

"Don't talk like you've already won."

Asuma gritted his teeth and irritably raised his hand in a sword-finger seal. Now, he could see the resemblance between the two brothers—they were equally arrogant.

"Team 8, first practical combat drill—begin!"

Mo swept out his right hand, and Asuma immediately charged forward!