Team 7's Official Debut

"Children, these are the ninjutsu I carefully selected for you. Consider them gifts to prepare you for becoming Genin. Minato, make sure you teach them well."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as he pushed the scrolls to the front of the desk, giving off the distinct feeling of handing out New Year's red envelopes.

"Ah, this... On behalf of the three children of Team 7, thank you, Lord Hokage!" Minato said, flattered and overwhelmed, as though his own children had just received red envelopes.

"Thank you, Grandpa Hokage!"

The three youths bowed in unison to offer their greetings, then each received their own scroll.

"Open them and take a look. They were all carefully chosen for you, though none of them are easy. Children, train diligently. Grandpa Hokage will be checking on your progress."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke kindly. Looking at the three children before him, he seemed to see the Legendary Sannin of old.

Yes, in the blink of an eye, so many years had passed.

He had never expected the most unreliable one, Jiraiya, to be the first to take on a disciple—and to teach him so well.

And naturally, his disciple's disciple's disciple had to be absolutely outstanding as well.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, but as though he had recalled something, his gaze toward Ying Shu suddenly flickered.

What a good child...

His talent was so high. A technique Minato had spent three years developing had taken him only two months to learn.

He could even develop combination ninjutsu with his companions. That kind of team spirit was what Hiruzen Sarutobi valued most.

That was the very essence of the Will of Fire!

No, he absolutely could not let that bastard Danzo ruin him!

Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled the agreement between them, then glanced at the scrolls he had given away. A confident, sly smile immediately appeared on his face.

Old friend... didn't see this coming, did you?

This old man had started taking action long ago! You won't get a single one! Hehe!

Ying Shu opened his scroll and discovered that it contained a Water Release ninjutsu—Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet.

He was familiar with this technique. Not only did it appear frequently, but he had seen it just last night, down to every single word.

Ying Shu immediately lost interest. Damn it, after learning that he was a descendant of the Senju Clan, it felt like he had suddenly lost so many things!

Ying Shu turned to look at Obito beside him, only to find Obito staring at him expectantly as well.

He probably can't read. Ying Shu instantly understood. He glanced over Obito's scroll for him, then gave Obito a reassuring look.

It was a B-rank Fire Release ninjutsu: Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.

It was considered one of the stronger techniques among the many ninjutsu taught by the academy. Jiraiya's Fire Release: Flame Bullet advanced into the pseudo-senjutsu Great Flame Bullet, which had some connection to Mount Myoboku.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not have Sage Mode, yet he had upgraded and combined Fire Dragon Bullet with Flame Bullet to create the even more powerful Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.

Fire Dragon Bullet plus Flame Bullet—this technique was practically two techniques in one. Like Ying Shu's Water Dragon Bullet, it was a B-rank ninjutsu. It had a certain level of difficulty, but it was not hard to learn.

More importantly, once mastered, it would take one's chakra control to the next level.

As a gift, it was definitely top-tier.

Ying Shu glanced at Kakashi as well, only to find that Kakashi had already finished reading his scroll and was secretly nodding. It seemed to be a B-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu.

As expected of master and disciple. Even their taste in gifts was so on point; they were both essential for Hydrogen Release.

"Minato, here are the recent D-rank missions. This old man has selected several suitable ones. Consider them carefully."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took out another scroll. This was already the fourth one.

"Yes!" Minato immediately nodded. Actually, he had wanted to ask whether it was too early for them to take on missions right after graduating.

They should at least learn some basic ninja skills first.

But when Minato thought of the battle two days ago, he instantly understood why the Hokage had arranged things this way.

It seemed that Lord Hokage truly held high expectations for the three of them...

Minato carefully selected a mission—helping an elderly man prune his trees, with a reward of six thousand ryo.

Six thousand ryo was considered the lowest reward among D-rank missions, but it was still an enormous sum that Ying Shu and Obito had never seen in their lives.

As laborers, ninja naturally earned more than ordinary civilians.

Minato had chosen this mission because he also intended for them to train while doing it.

And just like that, after accepting their mission, Team 7 officially made its debut.

However, Minato was in no hurry to take them on the mission. Instead, he first took them to get a photo.

Ying Shu stood in the center. On his left, Obito flashed a peace sign; on his right, Kakashi gave a thumbs-up. Minato, with his crew cut, stood behind the three of them with a sunny smile, while Ying Shu struck the signature pose of some macho man from his previous life—turning sideways, smiling, and extending one hand.

May the Shinobi World be nuked into peace, with war no more.

After receiving their certificates and taking their photo, Team 7 had officially debuted.

Ying Shu had gotten his wish and taken Rin's place, saving an innocent girl while incidentally making himself a candidate to become the Three-Tails' jinchuriki. The Shinobi World was one step closer to nuclear peace.

By then, it was already noon.

"Children, let's meet at Park Number Two at two this afternoon. We'll dismiss for now, all right?"

Minato announced the dismissal with a smile, then vanished immediately, seeming somewhat rushed.

This greatly displeased Obito. "Damn it! Shouldn't he be treating us to lunch? I deliberately skipped breakfast because I was waiting for this noon meal!"

"...Minato-sensei might treat us tonight. You can stay hungry until then," Kakashi suggested darkly from the side.

Ying Shu watched the direction Minato had left in. He roughly knew what they would be doing that afternoon.

Though it did not seem particularly necessary, if they really skipped it, it somehow felt like they would be missing a sense of ceremony.

"Let's go, let's go. Hurry home and eat. This afternoon probably won't be so simple."

As Ying Shu spoke, he immediately headed toward home.

Obito sighed bitterly. Damn it, he had really lost out this time.

After returning home, Ying Shu tossed the scroll Hiruzen Sarutobi had given him directly onto the bed, then began boiling water to make instant noodles.

He was a ninja now, and he would soon be completing missions. From now on, he would stop eating instant noodles.

But he could not waste them either... He still had five or six cups in storage. Throwing them away would be such a pity.

Ying Shu planned to finish them all in one meal. Do not ask why he had such a huge appetite; some things were not merely beyond Obito's expectations...

Ying Shu waited for the water to boil as he stared blankly into space.

There had been a lot to process from last night. He needed to sort it all out properly.

For example, besides that old man, did anyone else know that he was a descendant of the Senju Clan?

Other than Tsunade, himself, and that old man, how many members of the Senju Clan were actually left?

Just who was that old man? Why did he care so much about Ying Shu in particular? Could there be some other reason?

The mountain of questions sent Ying Shu into deep thought. He did not even notice that the water was nearly boiled dry.

Knock, knock, knock—

At that moment, a rapid knocking sound jolted Ying Shu back to his senses.

"Fuck!" Ying Shu was about to open the door when he noticed the water had boiled dry. He hurriedly turned off the heat before running to answer it.

But the moment he opened the door, Ying Shu froze on the spot upon seeing the visitor.

No, more accurately, he could not see the visitor's face at all, because the person wore a mask.

The visitor radiated killing intent and a fierce presence. The patterns on the mask were also a completely different artistic style from those of the ANBU Ying Shu had seen before.

"Genin Ying Shu, Shimura Danzo, elder of Konoha, has taken notice of your talent as a ninja and specially approved your admission into Root."

"Get ready and come with me."