"…All right, that's the plan."
Half an hour later, Izayoi glanced at Hinata and Shino, smiling. "I'm counting on you two tomorrow, Hinata and Shino."
"Mm. I'll do my best!" Hinata nodded vigorously.
"Will do." Shino also gave a faint nod.
Underneath his calm exterior, though, waves of surprise were churning. His body—which he'd long converted into a "hive" for his insects—was feeding him data: Izayoi's chakra was enormous. The only classmate that compared was Naruto Uzumaki. No wonder Izayoi could use so many jutsu, even invent some on his own. Maybe his ancestry wasn't purely civilian after all; his chakra capacity was too crazy to be explained otherwise.
"Then let's head home." Pleased that Hinata and Shino agreed with his strategy, Izayoi nodded and was about to dismiss them.
"Aren't we going to set traps?" Shino asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
"No need," Izayoi replied, shaking his head. "Basic traps won't work on a Jonin. Advanced traps require expensive, high-powered tools – and they still might fail. Worse, they could hurt us instead. If my analysis is right, this strategy is more than enough to pass Kurenai-sensei's test."
Hinata and Shino exchanged a look. Izayoi's logic made sense.
"In that case, I'll be going." Shino shoved his hands back in his pockets and headed off. He'd known for years that Hinata and Izayoi were close, so he had no desire to be a third wheel. As quietly curious as he might be, maintaining the "cool" façade of the Aburame clan won out.
Once Shino was out of sight, Izayoi grasped Hinata's hand with a smile. "Hinata, it's been ages since we did any outdoor cooking. How about we have grilled fish for lunch?"
"Sure!" Hinata's eyes gleamed with excitement, remembering the outings they used to have after training, back when they'd grill their own fish or go hunting. Ever since her father started giving them more freedom—and especially with Hanabi joining in—she and Izayoi hadn't visited that abandoned practice ground in a while, and they hadn't cooked outdoors together in forever.
Training usually happened at Izayoi's home these days, and all their meals were either brought from the Hyuga place or prepared at Izayoi's. Fond memories of roasting fish and spending cozy times with Izayoi made Hinata eager to revisit that feeling.
So the two walked off hand in hand, heading for the familiar stream. Leaving the fish-catching to a couple of shadow clones, the real Izayoi and Hinata sparred atop the flowing water—waves of chakra colliding, creating splashes and shockwaves that startled birds and beasts on both riverbanks.
When things calmed down, white smoke rose and a delicious smell spread. They spent the whole midday outside, reliving childhood memories.
…
Next day, 8:30 AM.
Izayoi and Hinata arrived at the training area. Sure enough, Shino was already there by the stump, looking like he'd been waiting a while.
"Morning, Shino," Izayoi greeted with a slight wave.
"Morning," Shino acknowledged with a nod. The mood lapsed into silence. From reading the original storyline, Izayoi knew Shino had a hidden "deadpan snarker" side, but he still couldn't find much to talk about.
Shino spent years with barely any presence in class, and his main hobby was bug-hunting. They really had no overlap. Plus, considering Shino might have eavesdropping insects around, Izayoi wasn't about to whisper with Hinata right now, so he simply leaned on a tree stump and closed his eyes, waiting. Hinata stuffed her hands in her pockets and stood quietly next to him.
Minutes ticked by until—whoosh—the sound of something slicing through the air reached their ears. Izayoi opened his eyes to find Kurenai standing before them.
"Good morning, sensei."
"Morning, Kurenai-sensei."
"Morning. Sorry to keep you waiting." Kurenai smiled and gave them a polite nod. Taking out three small bells, she continued, "Your mission's simple: in the next hour, by any means necessary—even 'killing' me if you have to—snatch these three bells from me."
She looped the bells onto her belt, then produced a small alarm clock set to ring an hour from now. Placing it atop the stump, Kurenai turned to Izayoi's trio. "Starting…now."
No sooner had she said it than all three of them vanished without a trace, leaving only the rustling of leaves.
Kurenai surveyed the surrounding woods, her face confident and poised. She didn't chase them down for a quick victory, instead strolling to a clear area as though waiting for them to attack.
That wasn't arrogance—just perspective. She remembered all too well what the Academy taught and was sure that, no matter how talented these fresh Genin were, they only had the basics. Even with clan inheritance, how strong could they be? Kurenai herself specialized in genjutsu but could also handle at least two elemental transformations—she was a well-rounded Jonin. In her mind, even multiple Genin squads combined wouldn't pose a threat.
That was what she believed—until a second later, she felt a chill down her spine.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Wall Palm!"
A teenage girl's shout cut through the air, coming closer at frightening speed. A terrifying shockwave—like a giant invisible wall—hurtled toward Kurenai, kicking up a huge swirl of dust. Kurenai's pupils shrank.
She had no time to gather chakra in her feet for a Body Flicker, so she leapt backward on reflex, just barely avoiding the brunt of the impact. Dust swallowed her whole.
Boom, boom, boom…
That shockwave plowed into the forest behind her, snapping several thick trees. The raw force left Kurenai reeling—she'd never expected that.
Panning back to the origin of the shockwave beneath a large tree, you'd see two identical girls, backs pressed together and palms meeting. Both had bulging veins around their temples, Byakugan active.
They were Hinata…and her shadow clone.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!