Li Zhenwu leisurely arrived at a clearing where he was supposed to meet up with his teammates and their supervising teacher.
Of course, there was one more thing—they were to undergo an 'assessment'! When Li Zhenwu got there, he realized that even though he had woken up early, he wasn't the first to arrive.
Inuzuka Hana was already there, with the Three Haimaru Brothers lazily lying at her feet.
"Woof woof!" From a distance, before Li Zhenwu approached, the Haimaru brothers had already called out a few times.
The Inuzuka clan was renowned for their instincts, with each member being a master tracker, and their collaboration with their ninja dogs makes them practically unbeatable.
"Good morning!" Li Zhenwu greeted Inuzuka Hana. They had split into teams yesterday, and Li Zhenwu was quite pleased to be paired with Inuzuka Hana.
After all, she was the person he was most familiar with at the Ninja Academy, and they had developed a 'deep bond.'
As he approached, Li Zhenwu playfully wagged his tail and teased the Haimaru brothers.
During their time studying together, he had become quite familiar with them.
Not long after Li Zhenwu joined Inuzuka Hana, their other teammate arrived. This teammate was dressed in a typical Konoha ninja outfit, wearing a black uniform and a green vest, with quite a handsome appearance, a head of long hair partially concealed by a black hood.
"Hi, Zhenwu, Hana." This teammate was called Shiranui Gensui, a distant cousin of the special Jonin Shiranui Genma from Konoha.
"Hi, Gensui-kun," Inuzuka Hana nodded.
"Hey there, full of youthful energy!" Before they could chat further, the figure of Guy Sensei appeared, radiating enthusiasm and vitality.
Under the sunlight, his pearly white teeth sparkled.
"Guy Sensei!" Inuzuka Hana and Shiranui Gensui greeted him.
Li Zhenwu had known Guy Sensei too well to feel the need for a formal greeting; instead, he just lazily raised his hand as a sign of acknowledgment.
"Seeing your energy puts me at ease," Guy Sensei said, giving a thumbs up and winking, his teeth gleaming.
"However, you're not real ninjas yet! You must pass my assessment to become true ninjas, or… you'll have to remove your headbands and return to school for re-education!"
"Understood!" Inuzuka Hana and Shiranui Gensui replied seriously.
"Guy Sensei, let's get started!" Li Zhenwu said, casually breaking the mood.
"Alright, the assessment is quite simple!" Guy Sensei smiled broadly, his teeth shining.
"You just need to do your utmost to defeat me! If you can get the better of me, or force me to use more than Chunin level strength, you'll be considered victorious!"
Upon hearing this, Li Zhenwu asked suspiciously, "Guy Sensei, you won't use the Eight Gates, will you?"
If Guy Sensei actually used the Eight Gates, even if he suppressed his strength to Chunin level, opening even one of the gates would unleash terrifying power.
It was well known that even the eternally low-ranked Dai was still a chunin, but once he opened the Eight Gates, who in the ninja world could hope to defeat him at lower ranks?
"Don't worry, Li Zhenwu," Guy Sensei shook his head. "I will only use physical techniques that are entirely at the level of a chunin."
"That's a relief," Li Zhenwu chuckled, then turned to his two teammates. "I'll go first, and you two support from the side."