Chapter 22: Team 8 vs. Kurenai

The next morning, at 7 a.m.

Yagyu had already finished his daily training and was taking a shower. Meanwhile, his shadow clone was preparing breakfast. When the clone brought the food out and dispersed into a puff of smoke, Yagyu emerged from the bathroom just in time.

After finishing breakfast, Yagyu headed to his room to change clothes. He put on a white inner shirt, a black windbreaker, black ninja pants, and ninja shoes. After fastening his ninja tools pouch and headband, he went to the bathroom to put in his red-colored contact lenses.

Dressed and ready, Yagyu left his house, heading toward the training grounds. It was only 7:25 a.m.

When he arrived at the training ground, Yagyu was surprised to find that he was the last one to arrive.

"Good morning, Hinata, Shino," Yagyu greeted them with a wave.

"Good morning, Yagyu-kun," Hinata replied immediately, still using honorifics when addressing him.

Shino Aburame, who stood with his hands in his pockets leaning against a wooden post, gave a slight nod. "Morning."

Yagyu didn't mind Shino's reserved attitude. While others might think Shino was acting cool, Yagyu, as someone who had lived in another world, knew that Shino was simply not very talkative and had a more reserved personality. Deep down, Shino was eager for friendship and acknowledgment.

By the time of the Boruto series, Shino had even let go of his old demeanor and became much more relaxed.

With a shy Hinata and a reserved Shino, Yagyu wasn't sure what to talk about. If Shino weren't around, he might have teased Hinata a little. But with Shino's insect-based sensory abilities nearby, Yagyu thought better of it. Even if Hinata didn't faint from embarrassment, Shino would surely record the moment in his mental log of Yagyu's potential blackmail material.

So, Yagyu simply leaned against a post, closed his eyes, and waited for Kurenai to arrive.

Time passed slowly, and soon it was 8 a.m.

Whoosh—

Kurenai Yuhi appeared right on time, instantly arriving in front of Yagyu, Hinata, and Shino.

If the three of them had wristwatches, they might have checked the time and wondered if Kurenai had been waiting nearby all along, since her timing was impeccable.

"It looks like you're all ready, so let's get started."

Seeing the three of them alert and prepared, Kurenai took out three bells from her ninja pouch and dangled them in front of Yagyu, Hinata, and Shino. She smiled and said, "Your task is simple: try to take these three bells from me."

After speaking, Kurenai attached the bells to her waist and faced them. "Now... begin!"

Whoosh—

As soon as Kurenai finished speaking, all three of them vanished in a blur.

Kurenai stood in place, one hand resting on her hip. She didn't immediately rush to find Yagyu and the others, nor did she use any sensory jutsu to locate them. Instead, she stood there, waiting like a target to see what they would do.

Unlike Kakashi, who had only two bells and imposed a time limit, Kurenai's test for Team 8 was the least difficult among all the jonin instructors.

Perhaps... this was just a show of her gentle nature.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Seeing that Kurenai hadn't moved and appeared to be inviting them to attack, someone in Team 8 quickly lost their patience. Three kunai flew out from a dense tree, whistling through the air and aimed directly at Kurenai's head.

The precision of the throws, even from such a distance, showed the impressive skill of the person behind them.

Faced with the incoming kunai, Kurenai didn't dodge. Instead, the kunai sank into her head—thunk—and with a puff of smoke, she transformed into a log.

When the smoke cleared, a piece of wood with the three kunai stuck in it lay on the ground, while Kurenai emerged from behind another wooden post.

Substitution Jutsu!

It seemed Kurenai was telling them with her actions that she wasn't going all out but would be holding back to test them.

Next, three black spheres flew out from another tree. The precision was again remarkable—the spheres landed in front, to the left, and to the right of Kurenai.

Poof, poof, poof— White smoke burst from the ground, shrouding Kurenai in a thick cloud.

"Eight Trigrams Palm: Air Palm!" a young girl's voice called out.

Hinata appeared in a blur, striking her palm toward the smoke. A twisted gust of air shot from her hand, flying straight into the cloud.

The smoke dissipated as the wind blew it away, revealing Kurenai's figure. However, Kurenai's body appeared distorted, like a mirage, gradually fading until she disappeared completely.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure emerged behind Hinata. Since she hadn't activated her Byakugan, it seemed Hinata hadn't noticed the figure.

Just as the shadowy figure was about to attack, Hinata's body exploded into a puff of white smoke—poof—vanishing from sight.

Seeing this, Kurenai stepped out from behind another wooden post, a surprised look on her face. "A Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Just like how Sasuke Uchiha had surprised Kakashi by using the Fireball Jutsu, Hinata's use of the Shadow Clone Jutsu at her age shocked Kurenai.

This meant that Hinata's chakra reserves far exceeded the norm for someone her age.

But Kurenai's surprises weren't over yet.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"

A voice called out from behind, and a massive torrent of water, towering at least five or six meters high, came crashing toward Kurenai.

Turning her head to glance at the approaching wave, Kurenai's eyes widened in shock before she quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to evade it.

Boom!

The massive wave crashed onto the ground with a deafening roar.

As the water began to recede, two figures raced across the surface, charging toward Kurenai. The two identical figures were both Yagyu.

Watching them approach, Kurenai's eyes were still filled with shock. "Creating such a huge volume of water in a dry environment... such chakra reserves—can he really be a genin?"

But with Yagyu and his clone closing in, Kurenai didn't have time to ponder Yagyu's secrets any longer.

Instinctively, she pulled out a kunai from her pouch, preparing to test Yagyu's close combat skills.

However, what happened next made her eyes widen even further in disbelief.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"

One of the Yagyus leaped backward, forming hand signs in mid-air, and unleashed another torrent of water from his mouth. The massive wave wasn't aimed at Kurenai but at the other Yagyu ahead.

The Yagyu in front raised his right hand, palm facing upward, as if he intended to catch the oncoming wave.

---

Read 20+ Chapters ahead of WN:

Patréon.com/RoseWhisky