After waiting at home for about three days, Chao Yiqian received the notice from the group.
At 7 o'clock tomorrow morning, they were to meet at Konoha Gate.
Since Chao Yiqian did not graduate through the usual academy route, there was no need for any tests. If any group lacked a member, Chao Yiqian could be directly assigned to fill the gap.
This was undoubtedly good news for Chao Yiqian. Teaming up with experienced ninjas was much better than working with newly graduated genin.
At 6:50 the next morning, Chao Yiqian gathered all his ninja tools and headed to Konoha Gate, fully prepared.
Chao Yiqian had become very conscious of time. Back in the academy, he often arrived just as the bell rang, but he had since realized the importance of discipline. Training was grueling, and he didn't want to waste even a minute of rest.
He arrived ten minutes early to leave a good impression on his teammates.
However, when he arrived at Konoha Gate, he found that his teammates were already there, looking at him with indifferent expressions.
Chao Yiqian had received some information about his new teammates the previous day. The leader of the team, Uenome, was a veteran Jonin with considerable experience. It was said that his strength was not bad, even among Jonin.
The other two teammates were also interesting. One was named Hoshinohara, a civilian ninja like Chao Yiqian. According to the data, he knew some medical ninjutsu and had worked at Konoha Hospital.
The other teammate was even more intriguing to Chao Yiqian. He was a boy around ten years old, handsome but with a bit of stubbornness on his face. However, it was his eyes that drew the most attention. His large eyes were white and opaque, giving them a hazy look.
He was from the Hyuga clan.
The boy's name was Hyuga Keita, proficient in taijutsu, though it wasn't clear whether he belonged to the branch family or the main family of the Hyuga clan. Chao Yiqian suspected that the Hyuga clan wouldn't let a member of the main family take on such a mission, so Keita was likely from the branch family.
"Hello!" Chao Yiqian greeted them as he approached.
"We're running late. Let's talk on the move," Uenome said casually, glancing at Chao Yiqian before tossing a kunai through the gate and dashing out.
The other two followed Uenome in silence, and Chao Yiqian had no choice but to follow.
It was clear that his new teammates weren't thrilled about his presence. The day ahead looked challenging.
Chao Yiqian had anticipated this. Just as he didn't want to be grouped with fresh graduates, Uenome and the others likely didn't want to work with someone like him, who had just graduated.
After leaving the village, the team kept a relentless pace throughout the morning. Uenome seemed to be testing them, as they pushed forward without rest.
Fortunately, Chao Yiqian had kept up with his basic training and was able to manage the pace. Otherwise, the mission would have been quite embarrassing for him.
At noon, Uenome finally waved for them to stop, announcing, "We'll take a short break before continuing in the afternoon."
During the break, the team remained mostly silent. None of them seemed to be particularly talkative, which suited Chao Yiqian, as he wasn't much for conversation either.
But after eating, Hoshinohara broke the silence, asking Chao Yiqian, "Hey! What's your name?"
Chao Yiqian thought to himself, So they don't even know my name yet. It seems that Hideyoshi Yamamoto must have helped me get their information.
"Chao Yiqian. Nice to meet you," he replied.
"So you're Chao Yiqian. I heard your name when I was at the academy. You're the guy who defeated Kakashi, right?" Hyuga Keita asked with curiosity, now showing more interest in Chao Yiqian.
"You know Kakashi?" Chao Yiqian asked.
"Of course! That guy was on our team before!" Hoshinohara responded, sounding annoyed.
Hyuga Keita added bitterly, "Kakashi's strong, but he's too arrogant. He cares more about completing the mission than about his teammates' lives."
Keita glanced at Chao Yiqian. "But if you managed to beat Kakashi, you must be pretty skilled."
It turned out that Kakashi had recently been kicked off their team, just in time for Chao Yiqian to graduate and take his place.
Through this brief conversation, Chao Yiqian realized that Hoshinohara and Hyuga Keita were actually quite talkative once they got going. They had bad feelings toward Kakashi after nearly dying on a mission with him, even though the mission was a success. When Kakashi returned to the village, they made sure he was removed from their team.
Because of this, they had been wary of Chao Yiqian joining the team, fearing he might be another reckless rookie.
Once the group had finished getting acquainted, Uenome cleared his throat and addressed them. "Our mission is to enter the Land of Rain and gather intelligence. The Land of Rain lies between the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Fire. It's often a battlefield during the Ninja Wars. Our goal is to gather information on Iwagakure and Sunagakure within the Land of Rain."
"Understood!" the three responded in unison.
"Let's go," Uenome said, waving his hand as they resumed their journey.
Chao Yiqian knew from history that both the Second and Third Ninja Wars had devastated the Land of Rain, turning it into a battleground for the great nations. War had always been a nightmare for the people of the Land of Rain, one they could never escape.
But the Land of Rain wasn't entirely defenseless. Although Amegakure was relatively small, its leader, Hanzo of the Salamander, was a legendary figure known as the "Demi-God."
As long as it wasn't during a full-scale war, life in the Land of Rain remained relatively peaceful. But once the ninja wars began, even Hanzo couldn't protect the Land of Rain from the chaos.
I wonder if we'll run into the Akatsuki trio. I hear they've been making waves recently, Chao Yiqian thought as they traveled, curiosity sparking in his mind.