Reliving Childhood, Empty Wall Palm

"...All right, that's our strategy."

Half an hour later, Izayoi looked at Hinata and Shino Aburame standing before him and smiled. "I'm counting on you two tomorrow, Hinata, Shino."

"Mm, I'll do my best." Hinata nodded firmly.

"Don't worry."

Shino Aburame nodded slightly as well, but unlike his calm exterior, his heart was in turmoil.

Inside his body, which had been transformed into an Insect Hive, several insects were feeding information back to him.

Izayoi's Chakra was astonishingly powerful.

Among those their age, only Naruto Uzumaki could compare to him.

No wonder he knew so many ninjutsu and had even developed such powerful techniques himself.

This guy with no surname might not have come entirely from a line of civilian ninja.

Perhaps some remarkable figure had emerged from his ancestors in some era.

Otherwise, there was no way his Chakra reserves could be this exaggerated.

"Then let's head back."

Seeing that Hinata and Shino Aburame both agreed with his strategy and accepted his arrangements, Izayoi nodded in satisfaction and prepared to dismiss the group.

"Izayoi, aren't we setting any traps?" Shino Aburame asked after coming back to his senses.

"There's no need."

Izayoi shook his head. "Ordinary traps are useless against Jonin. Powerful traps require highly destructive and expensive tools, and they might not even work on Jonin. They could even injure our own side."

"If my analysis is correct, this strategy alone will be enough for us to pass the test."

Hinata and Shino Aburame both nodded in realization, finding Izayoi's reasoning very convincing.

"Since we don't need to set traps, I'll head back first."

Leaving those words behind, Shino Aburame shoved his hands into his pockets, turned, and left.

Red Yuhi had only discovered that Izayoi and Hinata had an unusual relationship after their self-introductions.

But classmates like Shino Aburame had known for years.

Naturally, Shino Aburame had no intention of going with them and becoming an unwelcome third wheel.

Though his reserved nature hid it well, he actually wanted to gossip a little.

Still, to maintain the Aburame Clan's cool image—or rather, its character—Shino Aburame refrained.

After watching Shino Aburame leave until his figure disappeared from sight, Izayoi finally took Hinata's little hand and smiled. "Hinata, it feels like it's been a long time since we had a picnic. How about grilled fish for lunch today?"

"Mm!"

Remembering the picnics she had shared with Izayoi after training several years ago, Hinata's beautiful eyes immediately lit up, and she nodded eagerly.

Ever since they had discovered Father's tacit approval and Hanabi had joined them, Izayoi and Hinata had not gone to the abandoned Training Grounds for several years.

They trained either in Izayoi's yard or in the Training Hall on the first floor.

Their meals were either brought from Hinata's home or freshly prepared at Izayoi's house.

The grilled fish and hunting barbecues from childhood, along with those warm moments spent together, had all become precious memories for Hinata.

Now that Izayoi had stirred up those memories, she truly wanted to relive the feeling from years ago.

So, hand in hand, the two headed toward the familiar little river.

Izayoi and Hinata left the task of catching fish to their Shadow Clones.

As for their Main Bodies, they stood atop the flowing water and engaged in Taijutsu Sparring over the river.

The shockwaves produced by their colliding Chakra sent ripples and sprays of water flying everywhere.

The roaring sounds also startled the beasts and birds in the forests along both banks, sending them fleeing in panic.

Once everything had settled down, white smoke rose into the air, and a fragrant aroma spread around them.

Izayoi and Hinata spent the entire afternoon outdoors, reliving their childhood.

The next day, 8:30 in the morning.

Izayoi and Hinata arrived at the Training Grounds.

Shino Aburame was already standing beside the wooden post, seemingly having waited for quite some time.

"Morning, Shino." Izayoi raised a hand in greeting.

"Morning."

Shino Aburame nodded in reply.

The atmosphere immediately fell silent.

Having read the original work, Izayoi knew that Shino Aburame actually had a secretly passionate side.

However, Izayoi still could not find a topic to chat with him about.

After all, Shino Aburame had far too little presence. He had never had any friends in class, and his hobby was searching for insects. They had absolutely nothing in common.

So after greeting each other, Izayoi had no idea what else to say.

Moreover, although he knew about Shino Aburame's hidden side, he did not know whether the other boy had insects capable of eavesdropping, so Izayoi did not whisper with Hinata either.

Thus, he leaned against a tree stump, closed his eyes to rest, and waited for Red Yuhi to arrive.

Hinata likewise stood beside Izayoi with both hands tucked into her pockets.

Time passed second by second.

Then, with a sharp whoosh, the sound of something cutting through the air reached their ears.

Izayoi opened his eyes to find Red Yuhi already standing before them.

"Teacher Red."

Izayoi and the other two immediately greeted her politely.

"Good morning. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Red Yuhi smiled and nodded. Then she took out three bells and said, "Your next task is simple. Within one hour, you must seize these three bells from me at any cost—even if you have to kill me."

After tying the bells around her waist, Red Yuhi took out a small alarm clock and set it to ring automatically in an hour.

She placed the alarm clock on the tree stump, then turned to Izayoi and the others. "Now... officially begin."

The instant she finished speaking, Izayoi and the other two vanished into thin air.

Only the sound of wind rustling through leaves remained by Red Yuhi's ears.

Scanning the surrounding forest, Red Yuhi wore a confident smile.

She did not use the Body Flicker Technique to pick them off one by one.

Instead, she deliberately walked into an open clearing and waited for Izayoi and the others to attack first.

This was not arrogance, but a matter of understanding.

Red Yuhi had attended the Ninja Academy too, so she knew exactly what the school taught.

No matter how outstanding Izayoi and the others were, they merely had solid fundamentals and had mastered low-level escape techniques and Clan Secret Techniques passed down by their families.

The Hyuga Clan and Aburame Clan were both renowned Ninja Clans in the Ninja World. Not only did their own people understand what their clans excelled at and their fighting styles, but even outsiders from other villages had studied them thoroughly.

Though she specialized in genjutsu, she was still an All-Rounder Jonin who had mastered at least two Nature Transformations.

Let alone Izayoi and the other two—even if several more Genin squads joined forces, they could not possibly be her opponents.

That was what Red Yuhi believed.

But the next second, she broke out in a cold sweat.

"Eight Trigrams: Empty Wall Palm!"

A young girl's cry rang out, drawing closer from afar.

Then a terrifying shockwave, like an invisible wall, hurtled toward Red Yuhi at incredible speed.

Wherever it passed, it kicked up enormous clouds of Dust Mist.

Watching the Dust Mist sweep toward her, Red Yuhi's pupils contracted. She had no time to gather Chakra beneath her feet and use the Body Flicker Technique, and could only instinctively leap backward.

The shockwave shot past her, but the Dust Mist swallowed her whole.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

The shockwave tore into the forest, smashing several massive trees thick enough to require several people to wrap their arms around them, showing just how powerful it was.

At the point where the shockwave had originated, beneath a large tree, stood two identical Byakugan girls, back to back and palm to palm.

They were Hinata and her Shadow Clone.