Sure enough.
Ye Chuan was not surprised.
During one part of the graduation exam, he had revealed a little of his extraordinary perception to get a reasonably decent score.
It made sense that he would be assigned to Kurenai Yuhi's team, which specialized in tracking and perception, replacing Shino Aburame.
In the end, Shino Aburame had been assigned to another team.
Barring any surprises, the genin teams that ultimately remained would most likely still be Kakashi's Team 7, Asuma's Team 10, and his own Team 8.
Still, Shino Aburame came from a clan of secret techniques, after all. Becoming a genin was only a matter of time.
Once the team assignments had been announced, each team gathered at its designated location.
Ye Chuan followed Hinata and the loud, boisterous Kiba Inuzuka to Team 8's meeting place.
Their jonin instructor, Kurenai Yuhi, was already waiting there.
With curly black hair, red eyes, and a standard Konoha jonin vest outlining her mature, shapely figure, she truly was an exceptionally beautiful kunoichi.
Kiba Inuzuka seemed rather annoyed when he saw Ye Chuan, probably feeling that this cold-looking pretty boy had stolen the spotlight. He bared his teeth at him and let out a threatening grunt.
Ye Chuan ignored him outright.
He was just a child. Ye Chuan could not be bothered to argue.
Hinata was still a little shy, but her gaze grew noticeably steadier after she saw Ye Chuan.
Kurenai Yuhi looked over her three students, her red lips parting slightly.
"All right, since everyone is here, Team 8's first mission-which is also your real graduation exam-begins now."
She shook the two little bells that had suddenly appeared in her hand.
"The rules are simple. Take a bell from me before noon, and you pass."
"Anyone who fails..." Kurenai Yuhi's gaze sharpened. "Will be eliminated! You'll go back to the Ninja Academy!"
Snatching bells again? Still, with Kurenai Yuhi as the instructor, it should be a little easier than with Kakashi, right? Ye Chuan pondered.
"Then..." Kurenai Yuhi glanced at the sky. "Begin!"
The instant she finished speaking, Kiba Inuzuka let out a wild yell and charged ahead with Akamaru!
Hinata immediately took up a Gentle Fist stance as well.
Ye Chuan, however, stayed where he was and slowly closed his eyes.
"Hmm?" A trace of surprise flashed through Kurenai Yuhi's beautiful red eyes at the sight.
Closing his eyes against a jonin? Has he given up, or...
A thought flashed through Kurenai Yuhi's mind.
I see. Is he trying to resist my genjutsu by shutting off his vision? A clever countermeasure. This child is rather interesting.
As one of Konoha's foremost genjutsu experts, Kurenai Yuhi knew very well that the vast majority of genjutsu invaded an opponent's mind through sight.
Shutting off one's vision did indeed grant immunity to a large portion of low- and mid-level visual genjutsu.
But in front of her, that little trick was nowhere near enough.
Almost the instant Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru reached her, Kurenai Yuhi swiftly formed several hand seals.
Without a sound, strange chakra fluctuations spread outward.
Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru, who were charging at the front, suddenly stiffened. Their eyes instantly went blank, as though they had fallen into some illusion. They spun in place and even began attacking each other.
Beside them, Hinata trembled as well. Her Byakugan lost focus, and she too fell victim, standing motionless as though locked in battle with enemies that did not exist.
In a single exchange, without even touching the hem of her clothes, two members of Team 8 had been easily taken down.
This was the nearly insurmountable gulf between an elite jonin and a genin, especially when facing a genjutsu specialist like Kurenai Yuhi.
"Two down... hmm?"
Kurenai Yuhi was just about to focus all her attention on the boy with his eyes closed when her pupils suddenly contracted.
Ye Chuan's eyes remained closed, but like a leopard poised to spring, he suddenly stepped forward!
Clang!
The Wado Ichimonji he had been wearing at his waist flashed out of its sheath!
Without the slightest hesitation, the gleaming blade traced a swift arc through the air, slashing straight toward where Kurenai Yuhi stood!
Where the blade's light passed, a distinct shallow furrow opened in the ground!
What?! Kurenai Yuhi was stunned.
She was certain that not a single trace of chakra from the genjutsu she had just cast had leaked in that direction. She had also used a technique to conceal her presence.
How did he find my position? And with his eyes closed?!
Shocked as she was, Kurenai Yuhi's reflexes were first-rate.
As the fierce slash was about to strike her, chakra erupted beneath her feet, and she activated the Body Flicker Technique!
Her figure vanished from the spot and appeared on a tree trunk several meters away, narrowly evading the slash skimming across the ground.
She looked down at the slash mark in the earth, her gaze filled with gravity. "Such a fast blade... such precise perception!"
Yet Ye Chuan, whose strike had missed, stood holding his sword as though he had expected it all along. His eyes remained closed, and he tilted his head as if listening for something.
"A sensory ninja? No... that feeling just now was more like some kind of... intuition?" Kurenai Yuhi analyzed quickly.
Ye Chuan was equally calm.
Had that last strike been part of a fight to the death, Kurenai Yuhi would certainly have been injured even if she had managed to dodge.
Although his Observation Haki was still rudimentary, it was more than sufficient to detect a jonin who was not concealing herself with all her strength.
Still, for her to dodge so easily, this beautiful jonin's strength was certainly not to be underestimated.
"Looks like I'll have to get a little serious."
"Interesting kid."
On the tree trunk, the corners of Kurenai Yuhi's lips lifted slightly as she formed hand seals again.
"Since visual genjutsu doesn't do much to you, try this!"
In an instant, several illusory Kurenai Yuhis appeared throughout the clearing, each one lifelike, their presences difficult to distinguish.
At the same time, their surroundings began to warp. Trees swayed, light and shadow shifted, attempting to interfere with Ye Chuan's perception.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several shuriken shot out from unexpected angles, heading straight for Ye Chuan with his eyes closed!
Relying on his Observation Haki, Ye Chuan swayed like a willow in the wind, precisely evading every shuriken.
Just then!
A figure carrying a faint fragrance closed in like a ghost!
Then a warm fragrance with a peculiar sweetness slipped gently from Kurenai Yuhi's slightly parted red lips, brushing directly past the tip of his nose.
Hmm?! Ye Chuan's heart tightened.
This isn't visual genjutsu, or auditory genjutsu, but... smell?!
Caught off guard, he felt that sweet fragrance invade his senses in an instant!
Even with his eyes closed, a boundless sea of flowers immediately appeared in his mind. His five senses seemed to fall into instant disarray, and even his sense of balance began to blur!
"Hehe, got you, handsome."
An amused voice seemed to come from every direction.
Under cover of the genjutsu, Kurenai Yuhi's real body had already slipped behind him to one side, a knife-hand strike aimed straight at the back of his neck!
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