Leader

Red Yuhi led Eighth Squad out of the School Building. Instead of heading to the playground, they left the school and arrived at a set of Training Grounds in the wilderness.

Training Grounds like this could be found everywhere in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Stopping before a tree stump, Red Yuhi turned to face Izayoi and the other two, smiling. "Until one of you becomes a Chunin squad leader, I'll be the one leading you on missions for quite some time."

"So, let's introduce ourselves and get to know each other first."

"I'll demonstrate."

With one hand on her hip, Red Yuhi smiled. "My name is Red Yuhi. Yuhi is my surname, and you can call me Teacher Red. My specialty is genjutsu, and I'm proficient in all kinds of it. There are lots of things I like—for food, there's Wasabi Octopus, as well as Shochu and Vodka. As for my dream, it's to become a female ninja like Lady Tsunade."

"Your turn."

Red Yuhi's gaze swept across the faces of the three before finally settling on Izayoi.

Seeing this, Izayoi slowly spoke. "My name is Izayoi. I don't have a surname. My specialty is ninjutsu, and I'm fairly good at Fire Release and Wind Release. I also know a little Medical Ninjutsu and Sensing Technique. I like training and fighting others. There are many things I dislike. My dream is to become an outstanding ninja."

Red Yuhi nodded, forming an initial assessment of Izayoi's strength and personality.

Then she looked at Hinata beside him.

"My name is Hinata Hyuga. My specialties are sensing and my clan's Gentle Fist. I like training with Izayoi-kun and my little sister, and I also like Red Bean Paste and Cinnamon Rolls. The foods I dislike are shrimp and crab. My dream is also to become an outstanding ninja," Hinata said softly.

After hearing Hinata's introduction, Red Yuhi looked Izayoi over again, her gaze shifting back and forth between their faces. Only when Hinata's little face flushed and she could not help lowering her head did Red Yuhi reveal an amused smile and nod in understanding. "I see."

Finally, Red Yuhi's gaze fell on Shino Aburame, who had wrapped himself up tightly. His hood covered his hair, his Forehead Protector hid his forehead, his Sunglasses concealed his eyes, and his collar covered his chin and nose, leaving only a tiny patch of skin visible on his face.

"My name is Shino Aburame," Shino said evenly. "My specialties are likewise sensing and Clan Secret Techniques. I usually enjoy searching forests for insects. My favorite foods are Vegetable Salad and winter melon. I dislike things with overly strong flavors. My dream is to discover new species of insects."

"Very good. Now everyone has a basic understanding of one another."

Red Yuhi smiled in satisfaction. "However, before we begin taking missions, I'll need to test your abilities. Tomorrow morning at nine, right here, we'll have a Survival Exercise."

"By the way, the theme of this Survival Exercise is a Capture Battle, and your opponent... will be me."

Red Yuhi pointed at herself, then waved with a smile. "See you tomorrow. Don't be late."

As soon as she finished speaking, Red Yuhi turned into an afterimage and vanished, giving Izayoi and the other two no chance to react or ask questions.

The three looked at one another.

"Izayoi, what do you think?"

Shino Aburame spoke, intending to sound Izayoi out.

Though he had been suppressed by Izayoi and the others for years, Shino Aburame felt that aside from his academic grades, which were inferior to Izayoi's and Hinata's, he was no worse than them in any other respect.

Unrestricted duels only began in the sixth grade and were held once a month as monthly exams.

Until graduation, Shino Aburame had never been matched against Izayoi or the others.

The other students were not worthy of making him use his Clan Secret Techniques, either.

So no one knew that Shino Aburame had been hiding his strength all along.

He had already noticed the hint Red Yuhi had left behind.

If Izayoi had not noticed it, then it meant his mind was not as quick as Shino's.

Considering Hinata's relationship with Izayoi, Shino Aburame was still willing to yield the leader's position to him.

But if Izayoi's decisions were wrong, then Shino would not hesitate to openly refute him.

Naturally, Izayoi had no idea what Shino Aburame was thinking.

After hearing Shino's question, he slowly gave his analysis. "There's no need to wait until tomorrow. We can already know the outcome now. As newly graduated Genin, we're no match for a Jonin at all."

"Even if tomorrow's Survival Exercise is only a Capture Battle, if the Jonin is unwilling, we won't be able to take anything from her. After all, you've probably noticed that during the school's Survival Exercises, those Chunin instructors actually held back. As long as your performance wasn't particularly bad, you wouldn't be eliminated."

"So if our performance satisfies Teacher Red in tomorrow's Survival Exercise, she'll likewise go easy on us."

"Then... how do we satisfy her?"

Leaning against the tree stump where Red Yuhi had just stood, Izayoi continued, "Teacher Red just said that she's testing our abilities, not our strength! A ninja's battle is a battle of intelligence. During the introductions, Teacher Red already revealed information about herself to us—she's proficient in all types of genjutsu."

"It's still morning. We could have started the Survival Exercise immediately, but she gave us a full day to prepare and even made the theme and location clear. She's obviously giving us time to formulate a battle plan and set traps."

"As long as our tactics and teamwork are up to standard, Red Yuhi should deliberately go easy on us and let us successfully seize the Clearance Item."

As she watched Izayoi speak with such confidence, Hinata's beautiful eyes sparkled, her admiration for him utterly undisguised.

Shino Aburame still had his hands in his pockets, wrapped up so tightly that no change in his expression could be seen.

However, deep down, he had completely acknowledged Izayoi and even felt inferior to him.

Although he had also noticed the hint Red Yuhi had left, Shino Aburame had not thought things through as thoroughly as Izayoi had.

No wonder he was the Top Student.

It seemed he was not the only one hiding his strength. Aside from Hinata, who had just said she liked training with Izayoi, perhaps no one in their class had seen Izayoi's true strength.

So Shino Aburame asked again, "Then what is your tactic, Izayoi?"

Unlike before, when he had merely been probing, Shino Aburame now acknowledged Izayoi's position as leader and was prepared to follow his arrangements.

"If we want to formulate tactics, the prerequisite is that we need a deeper understanding of one another."

Izayoi waved Hinata and Shino Aburame over and said, "Come over and lay our cards on the table. Tell each other about the techniques you're best at and what they do."

At that, Hinata and Shino Aburame immediately walked over.

The three of them then formed a circle and began speaking in low voices.

Not far away, Red Yuhi stood atop the branches of a large tree, watching the three converse with a pleased smile on her face. She felt even more satisfied with these three students and subordinates of hers.

She had indeed deliberately left that hint behind earlier.

Her purpose was to test Izayoi and the other two's observational skills—to see how long it would take them to realize it.

Yet she had not expected the three of them to be this outstanding.

She had barely left when they immediately guessed that the Survival Exercise and its time limit were meant to test their abilities and teamwork.

"What an excellent group. It's not like they have no hope of winning. When the time comes, I'll definitely make you pay for underestimating me."

Red Yuhi recalled the wager before the teams were assigned—the way neither Kakashi Hatake nor Asuma Sarutobi, who had always tried to curry favor with her, had taken her seriously—and thought to herself.

Then, her body warped like a mirage before vanishing.