Team 7 and Team 8

Shintaro's ever-smiling expression made Shikaku feel as if he were being mocked, suggesting that as a Jonin, he had been fooled by a Genin.

He grew angrier as he thought about it, then changed the subject and began, "Even though your mission was successful, it doesn't mean your performance was flawless."

"Firstly, your formation is still unstable. A simple kunai trap from me disrupted it. If I had taken the opportunity to kill your client then, the mission would have ended."

"Secondly, your power isn't concentrated. Asuma and Shintaro took turns handling offensive duties, while only Kurenai guarded. If the enemy had more people or stronger forces, it would have been easy for them."

"Finally, Shintaro's battle plan was unstable. First of all, the mountains on either side weren't necessarily the type that could be blown up with explosive tags."

"Moreover, even if the explosion succeeded, your enemy might not be wiped out by the collapsing mountain. For instance, I could have used [Kagemane no Jutsu] to shield myself in shadows. If it were another ninja skilled in defensive ninjutsu, they too could survive the collapse."

Shikaku's pointed out shortcomings that might seem picky, but they were indeed accurate and well-founded.

Therefore, Shintaro nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Shikaku felt satisfied and said, "Alright, you've worked hard for the test. Now I'll treat you to something to eat. What would you like?"

Asuma replied softly, "I don't mind."

So Shikaku looked at Shintaro and Kurenai.

Kurenai pointed at Shintaro with a smile and said, "He definitely wants to eat barbecue again."

Shintaro admitted honestly, "I have a few ideas."

Shikaku took out his wallet, inspected it carefully, and said, "Barbecue... Alright, let's have barbecue."

Shintaro sensed a hint of reluctance in his tone and teased, "Does that mean even Jonin are in a pinch?"

Shikaku awkwardly touched the beard on his chin and said, "Ah, it's just that my salary is controlled by my wife, but I should still be able to manage a barbecue meal."

Perhaps this was the tragedy and stubbornness of an adult man.

Barbecue Q, this restaurant had been open in Konoha for several years and had grown more popular.

Luckily, the four of them arrived early, so there were still seats available.

Shikaku entered the store and was warmly greeted by the waiter, "Hello, table for four?"

He nodded. The waiter was about to lead them to a seat, but Shikaku pointed in a direction and said, "No, we can sit over there."

Kurenai looked in the direction Shikaku pointed and saw a familiar figure with yellow hair.

Kurenai asked hesitantly, "Shintaro, isn't that...?"

Shintaro nodded with a smile and replied, "You're right, that's Namikaze Minato."

"Namikaze Minato?" Asuma lifted his head upon hearing the name. He often heard his father mention this name, praising him highly.

Seeing Minato, Shikaku chose to sit there.

He walked over with Shintaro and the others.

Naturally, Minato noticed Shikaku and greeted him with a bright smile, "Long time no see, Shikaku... Oh? Are these your students?"

He greeted Shintaro and the others, a bit surprised to see Shintaro and Kurenai among them.

Shikaku said, "Yes, these three are not easy to handle."

Minato laughed and invited Shikaku and the others to sit at the table next to them.

Shintaro noticed that the three people with Minato were Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, and sighed internally, 'As expected, class assignments and other things have been arranged. It's not all fate.'

Although Kakashi was a Chunin, he was transferred back to form Team 7 with Obito and Rin due to various reasons such as age and experience.

Kakashi and the others also greeted Shintaro and Kurenai when they saw them.

The people at both tables were colleagues and classmates, and since today was their first team-building, the atmosphere between them could be lively.

However, Shintaro initially didn't care about the atmosphere; he only cared about whether he ordered barbecue and whether the toppings contained sugar.

"Did you also have training today?" Minato asked curiously.

It was his first time being a teacher and he had little experience, so he wanted to know how other Jonin did it.

Shikaku glanced at Minato, feeling that this Jonin was somewhat naïve. Of course, the first day of forming a team involved training to get acquainted.

Nevertheless, he detailed the training they had today, "Yes, we simulated an escort mission, and I acted as the enemy."

Minato was immediately interested and asked, "Oh? How exactly does it work? I only know the bell-grabbing exercise, which I learned from Jiraiya-sensei."

"Haha, it's nothing. I just used a scarecrow as the client and asked the three of them to escort it. But Shintaro's performance was quite interesting." Shikaku explained today's escort training in detail.

Minato was intrigued upon hearing it and praised Shikaku's idea and the three's performance in the training.

Obito sitting beside Minato, heard about the next class's escort task and sighed enviously, "Escort training sounds fun. It's not like our class, where three people compete for bells, but in the end, we can't even touch Minato-sensei."

Hearing this, Minato scratched his cheek in embarrassment and laughed a few times.

Rin agreed with Obito's viewpoint, as the three of them were still too young to compete with Minato at their current level, so they were bound to fail when trying to grab the bells.

Kakashi didn't pay attention to this. His focus was on Shintaro's performance in Shikaku's narration.

After hearing Shintaro praised highly by both Shikaku and Minato, Kakashi felt competitive again.

He thought to himself, 'I am still a Chunin, but Shintaro has been recognized as a special Jonin by both Shikaku and Minato-sensei. It seems I'm falling behind again.'

Kakashi held his father's White Fang tanto, and the stubborn look in his eyes made others feel heartbroken.

Seeing Kakashi sitting in the back, Asuma felt a slight comfort in his heart: 'Even Kakashi can't compare to Uchiha Shintaro...'

Perhaps, in his heart, being born in the same era as Shintaro was a tragedy.

The culprit, Shintaro, was running to the kitchen to ask for a can of sugar. When he returned, he noticed Asuma and Kakashi were in a bad mood and felt a bit puzzled.

But soon, the aroma of barbecue made him forget the matter.

Grilled meat dipped in sugar was Shintaro's favorite way to eat it.

After a good meal, Shikaku's wallet suddenly deflated, and he went home feeling worried.

Asuma also went home alone, and Shintaro also returned home after escorting Kurenai.

❀❀❀

At dusk, Shintaro came to his yard.

A black crow was perched at the door, turning to look at him curiously.

Shintaro used the Six Eyes to confirm that the crow was just an ordinary crow, not a summoning animal or anything.

So he formed a special seal with his hands, and the shadow beneath him immediately showed black lines, merging with the crow's shadow.

The crow's figure was instantly imprisoned.

"Got it."

The Six Eyes completed the analysis of [Kagemane no Jutsu] and found that the chakra attribute used in this secret technique was not one of the usual five attributes but rather a special chakra containing pure spiritual power.

It would take others years to learn it, even if they knew the principle.

But Shintaro was different.

Cursed Energy was pure spiritual power.

That's right, the [Kagemane no Jutsu] he used earlier was not the genuine one.

Shintaro hadn't mastered the Y element yet. It was just a magically modified version of [Kagemane no Jutsu] using Cursed Energy.

"Shadows... Cursed Techniques..."

"Why do I feel disgusted by the combination of these two things..."

There was a strange emotion in Shintaro's heart, which seemed to be related to experiences from his previous life.

"Forget it, let's think of a name first."

"Let's call it... Ten Shadow."

He created his first Cursed Technique in this world.