Naruto : Konoha Light

The Next Morning

In a spacious classroom, Shimizu and his teammates arrived early.

"The teacher sure is taking his time," Asuma muttered impatiently.

Asuma sighed, a tinge of melancholy in his voice. "Growing up sure comes with a lot of goodbyes. Feels like in just a blink, so many familiar faces are gone."

Kurenai shot him a sidelong glance. "And yet, I bet we'll still run into them again someday. Just make sure you don't slack off in the meantime, idiot."

Asuma shrugged indifferently. "By the way, I heard our team leader is from the Yamanaka clan."

Kurenai nodded. "Yeah, so?"

A grin spread across Asuma's face. "Well, the Yamanaka aren't exactly known for direct combat. Think the village assigned a weaker commander on purpose, just to balance out how ridiculously strong we are—mmph!"

His sentence was cut short as Kurenai stuffed two pens into his nostrils. She smirked as he flailed, flashing a victorious peace sign.

Just then, the door slid open, and a young shinobi—seemingly in his twenties—strode in.

"Never underestimate another ninja. That's the first lesson I'll teach you," he said, a lighthearted smile on his face. "And by the way, Asuma, talking behind someone's back is a bad habit."

Shimizu and Kurenai immediately straightened up. "Good morning, Sensei."

Asuma rubbed his nose resentfully. "Noted…"

The man walked to the front of the room. "I'm Yamanaka Junichi. My hobbies include gardening, and my dream is to raise an exceptional shinobi—probably my own kid one day."

Asuma muttered under his breath, "Why does he seem less motivated than the old guys?"

Junichi ignored him and continued, "As for my specialty, I use the Yamanaka clan's mind techniques to control enemies. So, Asuma, your earlier comment wasn't entirely wrong—my role is to compensate for our team's weaknesses in intelligence and sensory abilities."

Asuma narrowed his eyes. "Wait… does that mean you can take control of my body?"

Junichi twitched. "Asuma, do you have to phrase it like that?"

Shimizu, however, remained focused. He knew that any elite shinobi who had survived countless life-or-death missions couldn't be underestimated—even if they specialized in intelligence.

Meanwhile, Asuma muttered to himself, "Why do all intel ninjas say the same things? Even Ebi told me something like that before…"

Junichi glanced at the three of them. "I've already read up on your files, so no need for introductions."

Asuma looked genuinely disappointed. "What? I even prepared a speech last night!"

"Your abilities are best understood through action rather than words. So, to properly assess your strengths, we'll begin with a combat exercise."

Asuma's brows furrowed. "Wait, we're fighting you?"

Junichi waved dismissively. "No, no. I'm just a support-type ninja. I'll be observing from the sidelines."

Asuma was skeptical. "Really? But I heard some of the other teams had to fight their captains…"

Junichi remained composed. "Unlike them, I specialize in analysis. I don't need to fight to gauge your skill. Besides, those other battles were meant to show rookies the vast power gap between them and seasoned shinobi. You three are exceptionally talented—I don't think that lesson is necessary."

Asuma smirked. "I see, I see."

Kurenai rolled her eyes. "Where does your confidence even come from?"

Junichi, meanwhile, sighed in relief. If he hadn't already studied their files, he might've made the mistake of challenging them today. And considering two of them were highly resistant to genjutsu, his techniques wouldn't have been very effective.

Then there was Shimizu—his abilities were still somewhat of a mystery.

That boy… even Kakashi graduated at six and is rumored to be close to Jonin level now. But Shimizu's talent rivals his. Given enough pressure and experience, his potential is limitless…

Junichi made up his mind. There was no way he was going to embarrass himself on the first day.

"Alright, let's begin the test."

The Training Grounds

The group stood in a quiet forest clearing.

"Asuma and Kurenai, you'll be one team. Shimizu, you'll be solo. Any objections?" Junichi asked.

Asuma raised his hand. "Yeah, actually, I do."

Junichi nodded. "Ah, you'd rather be on a team with Shimizu? Makes sense. After all, the Hokage himself—"

"Nope," Asuma cut him off. "I have no issue with Kurenai. The real problem is, if you want to see our true abilities, this setup won't work."

Junichi frowned. "And why's that?"

Kurenai sighed, crossing her arms. "Because the fight would be over too fast."

"…What?"

Asuma added, "It's Shimizu's Flying Thunder God technique. If he doesn't use it, we can have a normal fight. But if he does use it, it'll be over in seconds."

Junichi's eyes widened. The report mentioned that Shimizu had exchanged knowledge of the Flying Thunder God technique, but he had never thought the boy had actually mastered it. After all, space-time ninjutsu was considered one of the most complex S-rank techniques.

Shimizu spoke modestly. "I've only recently started practicing it under Minato-senpai."

"But… you're a medical ninja?" Junichi was still processing the revelation.

Before Shimizu could reply, Asuma clapped him on the back and grinned. "Well, yeah! I mean, if he wants to reach injured allies instantly, what better technique to learn?"

Junichi stared at him.

This team was going to be something else.