SR! This Was a Huge Win!

[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the skill: [Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash] (from Demon Slayer). Quality: SR.]

SR!!

A golden legend!!

Ling Yue's heart nearly leaped out of her throat! She had actually drawn an SR-grade skill!

A torrent of information, far greater and sharper than when she had obtained the R-grade skill, flooded into her mind.

It was a unique breathing technique, violent yet focused! And along with it came—

A sword technique that concentrated all the body's strength into a single point before launching an ultra-high-speed charge at the limit of speed! Like becoming lightning itself, killing with a single strike!

No Nichirin Blade? No problem! The skill information clearly included techniques for combining the power of the breathing technique with chakra, coating it onto one's limbs or weapons to unleash it!

"I've struck it rich! I've really struck it rich this time!" Ling Yue excitedly spun around her tiny room, nearly crashing into the table.

An offensive skill! And one that looked this cool and this powerful!

She could not wait to try it.

First came the most basic [Thunder Breathing].

She adjusted her breathing rhythm, trying to find that sensation of electricity coursing through her entire body.

"Breathe in... breathe out..."

After several attempts, she finally caught that peculiar feeling.

Following the specific breathing rhythm, the chakra within her seemed to become more active, carrying faintly stimulating sensations as its circulation speed increased considerably.

Amazing! This feeling was incredible!

Next, she turned her attention to the offensive technique, [Thunderclap and Flash].

This move placed extremely high demands on physical ability and chakra control. She definitely could not use it yet; even assuming the starting stance made her muscles feel as though they were tearing apart.

"Looks like I need to train up my body first, then improve my chakra control." Ling Yue was somewhat disappointed that she could not immediately try out the ultimate move, but she felt even more motivated.

She now had [Super Recovery Physique] to speed up her recovery, [Zetsu] and [Ten] to assist with chakra control, [Paper Arts] to improve her evasion, and now [Thunder Breathing] and [Thunderclap and Flash], both with enormous potential...

The future was looking bright!

The next day, all the graduates gathered to await their team assignments.

Ling Yue was in high spirits as she watched the excited yet nervous students around her.

Naruto had dark circles under his eyes, but he was bursting with energy and making a racket. It seemed he had spent quite a night sneaking off with the scroll to learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.

"Hmph, dead last will always be dead last." Sasuke still wore that cool expression as he leaned against the wall, showing nothing but disdain for Naruto's noise.

"What did you say, you bastard Sasuke?!" Naruto immediately exploded.

"Okay, okay, quiet down!" Sakura tried to mediate from the side, though her eyes kept secretly darting toward Sasuke.

Ling Yue did not join in. She silently sensed the chakra inside her, trying to maintain the rhythm of [Thunder Breathing] and gradually acclimate her body to it.

At last, Iruka entered with the list in hand.

"Now, I'll announce the team assignments! Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke."

"What?! Why do I have to be on a team with this stuck-up Sasuke/idiot Naruto?!" Sakura and Naruto cried out at the same time.

Sasuke merely frowned without saying a word.

Ling Yue's heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, she was not included? Was it because she had transferred in, or because there was one extra person?

Just then, Iruka cleared his throat and continued, "And the fourth member: Yue."

"Huh?" x3

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all froze at once, looking toward Ling Yue, who stood a little farther away.

Ling Yue herself was stunned as well. A fourth member? This lineup was a little strange.

"Ahem, this is the Hokage's arrangement," Iruka explained. "Team Seven is a special case, so an additional member has been assigned. From now on, you must get along well and carry out missions together."

Naruto was the first to react. He immediately leaped to Ling Yue's side and burst into laughter. "Great, Yue! We're on the same team! Now we're going to be the strongest Team Seven ever!"

Sakura's expression was somewhat complicated. She was relieved that another person might ease the conflict between Naruto and Sasuke, but she was also worried that another girl would steal Sasuke's attention.

Sasuke merely gave Ling Yue a faint glance. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, as though he had noticed something different about her aura today—slightly sharper than before? But he said nothing and returned to his cold demeanor.

"Your jonin instructor will arrive shortly. Wait here," Iruka said before leaving the classroom.

What followed was a long wait.

An hour passed...

Then two hours...

"What is this?! That jonin teacher is way too slow!" Naruto wailed, sprawled across his desk.

Sakura was getting impatient too. Sasuke had his eyes closed in rest, but his tightly pressed lips showed that he did not have much patience either.

Ling Yue, on the other hand, had not been idle. She maintained a faint [Thunder Breathing] rhythm the whole time, sensing the subtle flow of chakra while trying to incorporate the technique of "Ten" into it as she quietly trained.

Finally, the classroom door was lazily pushed open.

A man with silver hair walked in. Most of his face was hidden behind a mask, while his forehead protector was slanted over his left eye. He held a copy of Make-Out Paradise in one hand and looked as though he had not woken up yet.

"Um... sorry. I got lost on the road of life..."

Before Kakashi could finish, Naruto exploded. "You're too slow!!!"

"Well, everyone seems pretty energetic." Kakashi smiled with his eyes as his gaze swept across the four of them, lingering an extra second on Ling Yue. "Hmm, Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and... Yue, right?"

"Yes!" x4

"Alright, tomorrow morning we'll have a survival exercise at Training Ground Three," Kakashi said lazily. "Remember, don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up. That's all. Dismissed."

With that, he vanished in a puff of white smoke.

"A survival exercise? What does that mean?" Naruto looked utterly confused.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound like a good thing." Sakura looked worried.

Sasuke snorted. "Boring."

Ling Yue knew exactly what it was: the bell test. And Kakashi's warning not to eat breakfast was definitely not a joke.

Early the next morning, at Training Ground Three.

The four of them waited on empty stomachs until nearly noon before Kakashi finally sauntered over.

"Yo, morning, everyone."

"Too—slow—!" Naruto roared again.

Kakashi ignored him and took out an alarm clock and two bells. "Today's assignment is to take these two bells from me before noon. Whoever fails to get one will not have lunch. And they'll be tied to that wooden post and made to watch us eat."

He pointed at the training post beside them.

"There are only two bells, which means at least two of you will be tied to the post.