"Damn it, failed again."
Aburame Shiken watched as another test subject in front of him disintegrated into nothingness.
"There are plenty of rogue Mist ninja, but catching them is still a pain."
"Isn't there anyone I can catch once and keep using forever?"
Right then, a spark of inspiration flashed through Aburame Shiken's mind.
That's right.
A reusable experimental subject... how did I forget about that guy?
He immediately sent a message to Ryoha.
"Friend in danger. Come quickly. Rear mountain laboratory."
At that moment, Inuzuka Ryoha was out shopping with Inuzuka Rinko. The instant he received the message, he hurriedly said,
"Something came up."
Then he rushed off, leaving behind a fuming Inuzuka Rinko.
She only wanted to quietly spend some time alone with her husband. Why was that so hard?
Ryoha sped all the way to Aburame Shiken's rear mountain laboratory.
He shoved the door open with one palm—
—and saw Aburame Shiken leisurely drinking tea.
"Oh, Ryoha, you're here."
Veins instantly bulged on Ryoha's forehead as he cracked his knuckles.
"You'd better give me a good reason for dragging me here, or I swear I'll flatten this entire lab."
"Oh? Then smash it. I'll come back out after it's turned into flat ground."
As soon as he finished speaking, Aburame Shiken dissolved into a swarm of insects and vanished.
Ryoha stared blankly at the now-empty laboratory.
His mind was spinning a little.
Wait, you actually want me to smash it? Then what the hell am I supposed to do now? I can't seriously destroy it, can I?
"Get out here already. Fine, I lose. Just tell me what this is about."
Ryoha suppressed his chakra aura.
Frustrating. Too damn frustrating. Aburame Shiken, just wait until I get dirt on you someday!!!
A pile of insects gathered together once more, reforming into Aburame Shiken.
"Sigh, look at that. You chose not to smash it yourself. I never stopped you."
Ryoha: Where the hell is this guy's real body hiding? If I dig three feet into the ground, can I find him? I seriously want to beat him up.
"Take this. Go on a trip for me."
"Why me?"
"Because if this works, your gains might actually be bigger than mine. So naturally, you should be the one doing the hard work."
"Gains?"
Ryoha quickly opened the item Aburame Shiken had tossed over.
Inside was a map of the Land of Hot Water, along with information about an organization called the Jashin Cult.
"Hidan? An immortal body? You're planning to research this now? I thought you were only interested in eternal life, Aburame Orochimaru."
"I do have a tiny bit of interest in immortality. Without enough experimental material, how could I ever walk the path to eternal life? And those cultists with immortal bodies are basically perfect experimental subjects gifted to me by heaven."
(Jashin: They weren't gifted to you by heaven. I gifted them to you. So come worship Jashin too.)
"Got it. I'll make a trip to the Land of Hot Water."
"Mhm."
...
Ninja Academy.
The first-year placement tests officially began.
"First match: Haruno Sakura versus Ono Nanbu."
"Haruno Sakura wins."
"Second match: Hyūga Hinata versus Kishibe Jiro."
"Hyūga Hinata wins."
...
"The first round has concluded. Everyone will have a lunch break. The second round will continue this afternoon."
Nara Shikamaru: Awesome. All I need to do this afternoon is surrender immediately, then I can spend the whole day relaxing. This is great.
During lunch break—
Even though they'd already seen it once before, everyone was still utterly shocked by Hinata's appetite.
Especially the girls.
Their eyes were practically turning green with envy.
Why?! Why?!
How can she eat so much and not gain weight, while I gain weight just by drinking water?!
Over with the boys—
Akimichi Chōji burst into tears once again.
Dammit! Why do I eat less than Hinata?! Dad, I've disgraced the Akimichi Clan!
(Akimichi Chōza: Uh... Chōji, relax. Every generation in the ninja world ends up with one or two—or three or four or five—monsters nobody can understand. Like...)
Happy times always pass in an instant.
"Second round of testing: Haruno Sakura versus Uchiha Sasuke."
Uchiha Sasuke lightly leapt into the arena.
On Sakura's side—
"Sakura, do your best!"
"Sakura, your opponent's actually kinda handsome. You're so lucky."
"Hey, you lovestruck idiot, get out of the way already! Don't interfere with Sakura's fight! Oh right, Sakura, after the match, can you help me ask him out to lunch tomorrow? I'll bring lots and lots of delicious food!"
Cold sweat ran down Sakura's face.
Girls... are you actually cheering for me?
After Sakura and Sasuke formed the hand seal of confrontation—
Sasuke immediately rushed forward, his gaze firm and unwavering.
This is a battle. Even if you're a girl, I absolutely won't hold back.
He threw a punch straight at Sakura's face.
Nearby, Iruka, acting as referee, was completely dumbfounded.
Kids these days really are ruthless.
Don't they know a girl cares most about her face?!
Sakura quickly formed hand seals with both hands.
The moment Sasuke saw it, his expression changed.
He instantly stepped backward to retreat, while rapidly forming seals himself during the retreat.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Flames and water collided violently.
A massive cloud of white mist instantly rose into the air.
Iruka, caught off guard, was completely swallowed by the mist.
Who am I?
Where am I?
Wasn't I supervising the first-year placement test?
Can someone explain to me why these two are using ninjutsu?! Aren't you both only six years old?!
Many of the children watching nearby were equally horrified.
These two are my classmates?!
What have I done to deserve this?!
As the mist dispersed—
Sasuke's face became solemn.
He hadn't expected that besides himself, there would be someone else capable of using ninjutsu.
Just like Kamito-san said... the Ninja Academy truly hides monsters.
Sakura kept her eyes locked firmly on Sasuke's position.
Hideki-sensei had warned her before: when facing an enemy—especially an Uchiha—never let them disappear from your sight.
"Uchiha Style: Shuriken Manipulation Technique!"
Sasuke pulled several shuriken from his ninja pouch and hurled them outward.
Iruka immediately became tense again.
Crap, I forgot to check their ninja pouches! What are these parents thinking?! How can they give children such dangerous weapons?!
After colliding several times in midair, the shuriken suddenly changed direction, attacking Sakura from every angle.
One especially tricky shuriken even slipped into Sakura's blind spot from behind.
Just as Sakura seemed about to be turned into a pincushion—
And right as Iruka was preparing to intervene—
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
????
At your age, you can cast ninjutsu twice?!
How much chakra do you even have?!