Test

Kaguya was not surprised; she had already noticed Gaara with her Byakugan.

"Kankuro," Gaara said with a hint of tension, sweat forming on his forehead.

Gaara stood with his arms crossed, glanced at Kaguya, and said to Kankuro, "You're just embarrassing our village. Do you think we came all the way to Konoha to fool around?"

"Let me explain, Gaara," Kankuro quickly said. "They started it."

"Shut up," Gaara said coldly. "Say another word, and I'll kill you."

"Understood, it's my fault," Kankuro said hurriedly. "I apologize, really."

Temari also quickly offered an apologetic gesture with her hands.

"Sorry, everyone," Gaara said, his face cold as he surveyed the group. He then turned to Kankuro and said, "Let's go. We're not here to play."

"Yes, understood," Kankuro agreed quickly, following Gaara as they left.

Kaguya watched them leave with a slight smile. This Gaara certainly had a strong presence.

"Thank you, cool big sister," Konohamaru ran up to Kaguya, his face full of gratitude, then pouted. "Boss, you were so lame."

"Ah," Naruto's face fell, looking defeated.

"It's nothing; I'll be going now," Kaguya said with a smile and started to leave. Halfway, she turned back and said, "That Gaara is dangerous. Be careful if you run into him."

"Thanks, Kaguya-chan," Naruto said cheerfully, his earlier dejected expression gone. "When you have time, I'd like to treat you to ramen."

"Maybe another time for ramen," Kaguya said, waving as she left.

"Yes, yes," Naruto nodded excitedly.

That idiot probably took my offhand comment seriously.

"What's so special about her, just because she's a bit pretty," Sakura grumbled, feeling annoyed.

In the following days, Kaguya stayed home, diligently training. Not only was she refining her chakra, but she was also practicing ninjutsu. Although Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's abilities were powerful, they required an enormous amount of chakra, which couldn't be increased overnight.

At this time, relatively low-level ninjutsu became a better choice.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Kaguya slightly parted her lips as chakra frantically circulated within her body. After forming the hand seals, a thin stream of fire shot from her mouth, transforming into a massive, scorching fireball.

The fireball shot forward, hitting a large tree not far away. The explosion was violent, sending shockwaves and flames skyward.

Kaguya sighed in relief as she watched the tree engulfed in flames.

Suddenly, a gust of wind came from behind her. Kaguya turned and jumped away just in time.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Five kunai embedded themselves in the ground where Kaguya had just stood.

In the distance, a masked ninja wearing a hat and a raincoat appeared, holding a large umbrella.

The ninja's headband had four slanted lines, indicating he was from the Hidden Mist Village.

"Who are you?" Kaguya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm here to kill you," the Mist ninja said gruffly. "Prepare to die."

The Mist ninja took out his umbrella, gripping the handle tightly. With a twist, the umbrella began to spin, releasing countless black dots that shot towards Kaguya—shining kunai.

"Rotation!"

Kaguya's body began to spin, with concentrated chakra emanating from her acupoints. As she spun, a blue chakra shield formed around her.

The barrage of kunai hit the chakra shield and were deflected away.

"Impressive," the Mist ninja said gruffly. "Let's see you handle this!" He spun his umbrella again, launching even more kunai at her.

Kaguya had stopped spinning and had to jump back. Rotation couldn't be used continuously for long, as the release of chakra would affect her meridians, potentially causing damage with repeated use.

At that moment, the Mist ninja shot a barrage of shuriken at Kaguya. Being in mid-air, she had no way to control her direction.

"You're dead now," the Mist ninja sneered.

Just as the shuriken were about to hit Kaguya, she flicked her left hand, throwing a kunai, and simultaneously formed hand seals with her right hand.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A scorching fireball erupted, colliding with the incoming shuriken, deflecting them.

"What? Single-handed hand seals?" The Mist ninja was shocked. He dodged the kunai Kaguya threw, but his umbrella had to stop spinning.

"Got you," a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

"What?" The Mist ninja turned around, his expression changing drastically. Somehow, Kaguya was behind him. "A shadow clone?"

A large Eight Trigrams symbol appeared beneath Kaguya's feet, with the Mist ninja at its center. Before he could react, Kaguya's chakra-infused palms struck him.

"Slap! Slap!"

The Mist ninja was overwhelmed by Kaguya's relentless attacks.

Finally, with a heavy thud, the Mist ninja was sent flying like a broken kite, crashing into a distant tree, leaving a large hole in its trunk.

Lying on the ground, gasping for breath, the Mist ninja was completely incapacitated.

"How was that, Iruka-sensei? Did I pass?" Kaguya asked with a smile, pulling the Mist ninja up from the ground.

"How did you know?" With a puff of smoke, the Mist ninja transformed back into Iruka, looking rather battered, with blood at the corner of his mouth.

"I knew from the beginning," Kaguya said with a light smile. "As for how I knew, that's a secret."

"I see," Iruka smiled, but it aggravated his injuries, causing him to cough. "Still, knowing it was me, you didn't hold back."

"I'm really sorry," Kaguya said, clasping her hands in apology. "To make up for it, I'll treat you to ramen."

"Sure," Iruka laughed, "but not now. I have other students to test. Let's go after that."

"Alright," Kaguya nodded lightly, not pushing further.

"Lastly, good luck on your exam," Iruka said with a squinting smile, waving at Kaguya. "I'll see you later."

"Goodbye."

Iruka's figure slowly receded, eventually disappearing into the darkness. Despite his average strength, he was undoubtedly a responsible teacher.

Kaguya's lips curved into a slight smile as she turned and walked away.