That night, in celebration of Kurenai's graduation from the Ninja Academy, her parents had prepared a lavish feast. Usually, a table full of delicious food would make her eyes light up with anticipation. However, given that she had been assigned to an uncertain team, she sat down with a gloomy expression.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Kurenai's father, Shinku Yuhi, put down his chopsticks and looked at his daughter with concern.
Shinku, as well as his wife, looked at their daughter with questioning expressions. This should have been a joyful occasion, but it seemed Kurenai was troubled.
Meeting her parents' concerned gazes, Kurenai put down her chopsticks and said gloomily, "I've been assigned to Team 9, and the team leader is Ye Zi."
"Ye Zi?" Kurenai's mother was startled. She had heard of Ye Zi frequently and was familiar with his reputation. She hadn't expected him to be assigned as her daughter's teacher. What would they do now? As an ordinary person, she felt powerless in this situation.
In contrast to Kurenai's mother's shock, Shinku remained calm. He had been informed by the Third Hokage about the assignment beforehand, so he was aware of it and had no objections. Although Ye Zi's reputation in the village might not be stellar, one undeniable fact was that he was a powerful ninja with impressive skills and task completion efficiency. Having such an elite jonin as a teacher wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Looking at his beloved daughter, Shinku said, "Even a father cannot compare to Ye Zi, especially his taijutsu, which is extremely powerful. Your weakness has always been taijutsu, so this could be an opportunity to improve your shortcomings."
"But I feel like he doesn't seem like the type who should be a team leader," Kurenai said with a frown. She was bothered by the day's events and felt that Ye Zi's style didn't suit the role of a team leader. For students with relatively poor skills and talent, Ye Zi might actually be a hindrance. If one wasn't capable enough, being assigned to Ye Zi's team could mean only one outcome—death.
Guy, who had been overtraining for a long time, might be better off, but for Kurenai, whose weak point was taijutsu, the situation was quite dire. The death rate would likely be high.
Her inexperience made her overlook Guy's promise to protect her. Little did she know that Guy, who had made such a vow, would be her steadfast shield.
The suitability of Ye Zi as a team leader was already evident. From his previous experience, he had only led one team, whose three members had grown into capable jonin in a few years. This was Ye Zi's second batch of students, so Shinku was quite hopeful that his daughter would quickly grow under Ye Zi's guidance.
"Don't overthink it. Regardless, Ye Zi's strength is widely recognized," Shinku reassured her.
Kurenai sulkily puffed up her cheeks, thinking to herself that if things went wrong, her parents might lose their beloved daughter. Kotoe's parting words had left a deep impression on her.
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On the other hand, Guy had recently lost his father, so he was living alone.
After his intense daily training, he needed to replenish a lot of energy. At that moment, he was eating a large bowl of boiled meat.
Meat was the most energy-rich food, so Guy ate a lot of it every day. Since he didn't know how to cook, he simply added some salt to water and boiled the meat to eat directly.
This routine had been going on for some time and would likely continue until he could complete more challenging missions.
In just a few minutes, Guy finished eating the large bowl of meat. After a brief rest, he eagerly ran to the yard and began training with stones weighing hundreds of pounds.
He needed to quickly increase his physical strength to take on the only treasure his father had left him.
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The night was cloudy, obscuring the stars and moon, making the darkness even more profound.
On top of the highest building in Konoha, Kotoe sat on the edge of a chimney, gazing up at the accumulated clouds with a pensive look.
She hadn't returned to the Grass Village in a long time. Since the death of her only family member, she seemed to have lost any attachment or desire to go back.
If it weren't for the achievements she had gained in Konoha being taken over by the Grass Village, she might have been forced to leave Konoha and return to the Grass Village as a Grass Village ninja, contributing her strength to the village.
Sometimes, in the dead of night, she would wonder what she truly wanted.
She felt no sense of belonging to the Grass Village, and she had no special feelings for Konoha either. Here, she had very few friends—only two or three.
Yet, she didn't want to leave, or rather, she didn't want to leave that person.
Originally, she had been troubled by the thought of leading a team of kids, but she hadn't expected to end up with this arrangement.
The gentle breeze ruffled her deep green hair.
Kotoe gently brushed aside the stray strands and smiled slightly at the dark night sky, revealing a charming curve of her lips.
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The next morning, Team 9's members arrived at the meeting place ten minutes before the agreed time.
Kurenai, having not slept well, sat on a bench looking a bit listless.
Guy, who was used to staying up late and getting up early, was full of energy. He was doing various push-ups in the open space next to them, starting with one-handed push-ups and eventually moving to push-ups on his little finger with apparent ease. He truly was a taijutsu monster, or at least that's what Kurenai thought.
As for Kotoe, she was leaning against a wooden post, resting her chin on her hand and staring off into space.
Ten minutes quickly passed, and the agreed time arrived, but the person who was supposed to come hadn't shown up.
"Could it be that they're just showing up on time?" Kurenai rubbed her temples, feeling quite helpless, while Guy and Kotoe didn't seem to think much of it.
As time went by, another five minutes, then ten minutes, Kurenai suddenly felt a headache coming on. They were late—really late!
As a team leader, it was unacceptable to be late!!!
She glanced at her teammates. Guy continued diligently training, while Kotoe appeared to be daydreaming, seemingly unaware of the lateness, or perhaps they didn't think it was a big deal.
Reluctantly, Kurenai kept her frustration to herself and didn't mention the lateness.
An hour passed, and the person still hadn't arrived. Kurenai clenched her fists, visibly angry.
Two hours passed, and the person still hadn't arrived. Kurenai's expression grew darker, and Kotoe and Guy also started to notice.
"Why hasn't Teacher Ye Zi arrived?" Guy, who had done countless push-ups, looked at Kurenai with confusion.
"Ask me? Who should I ask?" Kurenai's voice rose in frustration.
"Uh." Guy scratched his head and went back to doing push-ups.
Seeing this, Kurenai's head drooped in defeat.
By noon, when the three were starting to feel hungry, the person still hadn't arrived.
Realizing that such a serious delay couldn't just be an oversight, Kurenai dreaded the possibility.
Could it be… forgotten?
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