Different Evaluations

Hanabi Hyuga walked over and asked seriously, "I'd like to ask about Inuzuka Ye Fan. Do you know him?"

"Inuzuka Ye Fan?" Hinata Hyuga froze. The name was unfamiliar to her.

"You haven't heard of him?" A trace of disappointment flashed across Hanabi Hyuga's face.

"One of my teammates is from the Inuzuka Clan. I can help you ask around," Hinata Hyuga said softly.

"Then tell me when you find out!" Hanabi Hyuga turned to leave.

"Hanabi!" Hinata Hyuga called after her sister. "Why are you asking about this Inuzuka Ye Fan?"

"You don't need to know that!" Hanabi Hyuga tossed out those words and left.

At the same time, Kiba Inuzuka returned home. Before he had even entered the room, he shouted, "Brother Ye Fan, Sis, I'm back!"

Kiba Inuzuka was twelve years old and had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy. Active, competitive, and confident, he was on the same team as Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame. Not long ago, under the leadership of Jonin Kurenai Yuhi, they had left the village on a mission and had only just returned.

A small white ninja hound named Akamaru lay sprawled atop his head.

He was Hana Inuzuka's younger brother.

Strangely enough, the person Kiba Inuzuka admired was Inuzuka Ye Fan, whom so many people mocked.

"Fang, was it fun outside the village?" Ye Fan's voice drifted over.

Seeing Ye Fan emerge from the room, Kiba Inuzuka became excited. "Brother Ye Fan, you have no idea! During this bandit-clearing mission, I defeated six of them all by myself."

"Looks like you're really happy. If I get the chance, I'd like to go outside the village too," Ye Fan said with a smile.

Ever since crossing over into this world, he had never once left Konoha Village.

"Brother Ye Fan, are you free now? Teach me some more fighting techniques. The moves you taught me before were amazing!" Kiba Inuzuka looked at him expectantly. That was why he admired Ye Fan.

Kiba Inuzuka knew that Ye Fan had incredibly sharp eyes. He could easily spot flaws in other people's taijutsu and quickly come up with ways to correct them.

"You really are a handful."

Ye Fan sighed softly. He still took rather good care of this younger brother who was unrelated to him by blood.

That night, a full moon hung high above Konoha Village.

Ye Fan quietly slipped out of his room. Without even disturbing his own ninja hound, he went alone to the roof, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Primordial Spirit Beast-Taming Scripture, beginning his own cultivation.

In this world, spiritual energy filled heaven and earth. As the true essence within his body circulated, the spiritual energy dispersed throughout the world slowly flowed into him. Part of it merged into his cells, while the rest gathered in his dantian.

An hour later, Ye Fan opened his eyes and felt that his cultivation had advanced by another great step. His five senses had become even sharper, and his entire body seemed filled with inexhaustible strength. The feeling was simply wonderful.

"My efforts over the past five years haven't been in vain. My cultivation speed has finally improved. If I can get some supplementary medicine, it won't be long before I enter the Beast-Taming Stage, Second Layer. That's really something to look forward to!"

A faint smile appeared on Ye Fan's lips. Then he suddenly leaped from the roof, landing without a sound, like a fallen leaf carried down by the wind.

The next day, Kiba Inuzuka got up intending to ask Ye Fan for more guidance, only to find that Ye Fan had gone out early with Shadow. No one knew where he had gone.

After a simple breakfast, Kiba Inuzuka went to find his teammates, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame, to discuss where they would train later.

If nothing unexpected happened, their three-person team would remain together until they became Chunin.

In other words, they would act together and carry out missions together until they took the Chunin Exams.

"Fang, can I ask you about someone?" As the three headed toward the training ground together, Hinata Hyuga, who was walking behind them, suddenly spoke in a timid voice.

Kiba Inuzuka stopped and looked at Hinata Hyuga, who had her head lowered and her two index fingers pressed together. "Who do you want to ask about? Don't tell me it's Naruto Uzumaki!"

"N-No... not Naruto..."

Hinata Hyuga's face instantly flushed to her ears. She really did blush easily. No wonder both her father and younger sister looked down on her.

"Then who do you want to ask about?" Kiba Inuzuka stepped closer.

"His name is Inuzuka Ye Fan. He should be from your clan!" Hinata Hyuga spoke so quietly that she was nearly inaudible.

"What? Why are you asking about Brother Ye Fan?" Kiba Inuzuka froze.

Hinata Hyuga looked up at Kiba Inuzuka in surprise. "Inuzuka Ye Fan is your brother?"

"Yeah. We aren't related by blood, but Brother Ye Fan has always lived with us. Hinata, why are you asking about my brother? Don't tell me you've noticed his charm and fallen for him?" Kiba Inuzuka suddenly flashed a wicked grin.

At those words, Hinata Hyuga's face turned so red it looked as though steam might rise from it. She waved her hands and kept backing away as she stammered, "N-No... it's not that... My younger sister asked me to find out."

"Oh, so it was your younger sister. Why is she asking about Brother Ye Fan?" Kiba Inuzuka looked disappointed.

"I don't know either. Fang, could you help me? My sister rarely asks me for anything. I don't want to disappoint her," Hinata Hyuga said.

Kiba Inuzuka fell silent for a moment, then said, "Brother Ye Fan is a genius. He can pinpoint your shortcomings with a single glance. The advice he gives is even better than what our Jonin teacher teaches us. Brother Ye Fan likes reading and knows all kinds of strange things. He can accurately predict tomorrow's weather, and he even knows bone-setting methods that medical ninja don't know..."

Kiba Inuzuka went on and on, praising Ye Fan the whole time.

Hinata Hyuga's mouth hung slightly open. She clearly had not expected the person her sister was asking about to be so impressive.

"This Inuzuka Ye Fan... I've heard some rumors about him, and they don't seem to match your description. Could there be two Inuzuka Ye Fans in the Inuzuka Clan?" Shino Aburame, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

"Shino, what rumors have you heard?" Hinata Hyuga quickly asked. She was especially concerned about the matter her sister had asked of her.

"The Inuzuka Ye Fan I heard about is fourteen this year. He still hasn't passed the Ninja Academy examination and is called by many people a piece of trash even worse than Naruto Uzumaki..."

Before Shino Aburame could finish, the agitated Kiba Inuzuka grabbed him by the collar.

"Say one more bad thing about Brother Ye Fan. Go on, try it!" Kiba Inuzuka looked ready to fight.

"Are you trying to fight me?"

As Shino Aburame spoke, small black insects suddenly crawled out from his collar.

A fight was about to break out, and Hinata Hyuga, standing nearby, panicked helplessly.

Just then, Ye Fan's voice drifted over from afar. "Fang, what are you doing here?"