The squad formation was complete; their Academy life had ended, and everyone had departed with their teammates to different places to get to know each other better.
Of course, that included Team 13, Seimei, Reina, and Hyuga Natsumi.
Right now, they were inside a football stadium-sized private training facility, looking at each other in silence.
Reina was scrutinizing Natsumi, and Natsumi, as a proper young lady from the Hyuga main family with impeccable manners, stood there aloofly without a shred of emotion on her face.
Her attitude clearly screamed, 'If you're not talking to me, I won't talk to you either.'
What a troublesome situation!
Seimei rubbed his forehead in exasperation and decided to break the ice.
He said, "We still have to go to the Hokage Office to formally register our team's data and grab our Chunin vests. But before that, we should at least introduce each other, so we can have a better understanding of each other's capabilities."
"Unless something unexpected happens, we will work as a team to participate in missions and battles together for at least a few years."
"We need to build enough trust to leave our backs to each other without any worry in the critical moments if we want to survive in this meat grinder of a world."
"Of course, I know that building trust takes time. It's not going to happen in one or two days. But we need to start somewhere."
"So, let's start by introducing each other first. At the very least, we need to be aware of our strengths and capabilities to complete the upcoming missions more efficiently."
Seimei stopped and looked at the two girls in front of him.
One was from the Uchiha clan, and the other was from the Hyuga clan.
They were the two most prominent Kekkei Genkai clans in Konoha, known for their impressive combat prowess and Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai.
The problem was that the ninjas of these two clans hardly got along with each other.
What a troublesome situation!
Hmm?
Why did it feel like he muttered something similar to the phrase "what a troublesome situation!" just a few moments ago?
It looked like he did.
But it doesn't matter.
Thinking about the same thing twice in a short time only meant that the situation was indeed very troublesome, so troublesome that he didn't want to deal with it and just wanted to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique to disappear from this place in an instant.
However, that wasn't an option.
The First Great Ninja War would probably start in less than two years. And before that, he needed to make sure he had a solid, capable team of his own.
And from what he heard about Hyuga Natsumi in his Academy days, she wasn't a bad girl. Just a bit stoic, expressionless, and introverted.
But she should have the strength of a full-fledged Jonin.
And with her presence, he could blatantly use Tenseigan's farsight ability, chalk it up as finding enemies with sensory ninjutsu, and make her use her Byakugan to pinpoint enemies and expose their identities without rousing suspicion.
With that, when in public, nobody would doubt that he had a Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai.
What?
You said Byakugan can observe the chakra activity of his Tenseigan?
What Tenseigan? He was just using the old Chakra Eye Technique to achieve night vision and extend his vision.
What? You said his ocean-blue eyes and the white rotating tendrils were too mysterious and beautiful, and they couldn't possibly be common eyes?
What are you talking about? That was just a rare, beautiful eye pigmentation.
Anyway, in short, a Hyuga teammate was indeed good, especially someone like Hyuga Natsumi.
Seimei saw that both Reina and Natsumi were listening to him carefully.
He gave himself a mental thumbs-up and continued, "Now, since I am the one who started the topic, I will introduce myself first."
Hearing this, Natsumi nodded expressionlessly, seemingly signaling him to continue.
And Reina? She just shrugged her shoulders.
Of course. That was to be expected.
Reina already knew him inside out (not literally). She knew his strengths and perhaps his weaknesses as well. After the countless duels with her in the last five years, it would be strange if she didn't.
Well, time to introduce himself.
Seimei smiled and said, "My name is Senju Seimei. My dreams…Well, I have a lot of dreams. For example, traveling the entire world, including the Shinobi continent."
A fine dream, but a very difficult one, especially when every other major elemental nation's ninja forces will hunt me down if they see a Konoha ninja roaming their lands. And crossing the sea before getting strong enough is suicide. Who knows what kind of horror is lurking in the depths of the vast ocean?
Seimei thought darkly before continuing his self-introduction.
"The things I like…Hmm? It's training, more training, and then chilling like it's no one's business. Tasty foods, too."
"There is nothing in particular that I dislike, really. Honestly, who openly tells people what they dislike? Isn't that weird?"
"As for my combat skills…"
"My Taijutsu is pretty good, but I specialize more in Ninjutsu. I have a decent chakra reserve, so I usually rely on firing ninjutsu to take down chakra beasts. To deal with other ninjas, I usually rely on a mix of kenjutsu and ninjutsu."
"I also utilize sealing techniques and Fuinjutsu Battle Formations to help us deal with large-scale operations. If you need to restrain the enemies and seal things, I am your go-to guy."
"I can perform all five-element releases. I also know medical ninjutsu, so I will work as our team's medic in need. I have learned sensory ninjutsu from a young age, too. So, I can help Natsumi with scouting to avoid her straining her eyes too much."
"Well, that's all. Now, it's your turn."
Hyuga Natsumi stayed silent for a while before speaking, "Well, that was quite enlightening."
Then, she shifted her gaze to Reina. Her featureless, pure white pupils with a hint of lavender hue stared earnestly at the Uchiha girl, as if she were eagerly waiting to know her other teammate.
Being subjected to such a gaze, Reina felt weird all over.
In the end, she sighed and said, "Then, I will go next, I guess."
"But first, let me arrange something to sit and relax."
Reina formed a single-handed seal and channeled earth-natured chakra to the ground. Then, in the blink of an eye, three thigh-high earth pillars with smooth surfaces emerged, one behind each of them.
They were nothing but makeshift chairs for sitting and relaxing in the open training ground.
Seimei quickly sat on the one behind him, and Reina also did the same.
Seeing her new teammates' actions, Natsumi was a bit bewildered. But she still followed their actions and sat on the earth pillar behind her.
Reina, who disliked standing idly for too long, hummed in satisfaction and continued.
"My name is Uchiha Reina. My dream is to have a peaceful life where I won't be bothered by random foreign kappas trying to disturb my and the village's peace."
"I know that's a pipedream. But it's worth pursuing anyway. We all need a goal to move forward, don't we?"
Reina pointed toward Seimei and said, "Just like my friend here, I also like tasty food. And if I can mooch off tasty food from others and empty their wallet, that's even better."
"As for the things I dislike? There are indeed many things. Let's skip that for now. You will discover that in the future, anyway."
Uchiha Reina crossed her right leg over her left one, rested her right elbow on her right thigh, and used the palm to rest her chin.
"Now, the most important thing…my combat skills…"
"I am a Uchiha. So, obviously, I rely on the Sharingan to overwhelm my opponents. I am well-versed in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. I like to fight head-on using my ninja sword and chakra flow techniques."
"I can manipulate enemies using my shurikenjutsu to make them fall into various disadvantages."
"I can also use the ninjutsu of all five chakra natures. But I mainly rely on Fire Release, Wind Release, and Lightning Release."
"Well, that's everything."
She looked at Hyuga Natsumi and said, "Now, it's your turn."
Natsumi looked at Seimei and Reina, and then she nodded silently.
She opened her mouth and said in an ethereal voice, "Hello, I am Hyuga Natsumi…"
Hearing her voice, Seimei couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
No, he wasn't lovestruck by her voice. It was just that her voice kinda reminded him of a silvery-blonde film character from a certain magical school.
Yeah, Luna Lovegood.
Natsumi's ethereal voice was a lot like hers. Fortunately, this new teammate of his wasn't quirky like the silvery blonde girl from a certain magical castle.
Hyuga Natsumi was perfectly normal.
If anything, she liked to challenge people to hone her combat skills.
For ninjas, that was normal.
With that, Seimei quickly put his distracting thoughts away and listened to his new teammate's self-introduction.
Hyuga Natsumi continued, "My dream is to become a powerful kunoichi and make both my clan and Konoha prosper."
A simple, yet extraordinarily hard-to-realize dream, indeed. Unfortunately, if my memory isn't wrong, she died in the first great ninja war. She fought an S-ranked Werewolf to protect her camp and died a brutal death. I didn't think that she would become my teammate after the regression.
Reina thought silently.
On the other side, Hyuga Natsumi opened up, "I like flowers. I even grew a lot of them in the garden. I also like practical combat a lot. It helps me hone my skills. The feeling of becoming stronger is exhilarating."
"As for the things I don't like…probably noisy people who distract me when I do something I like. Oh, and I don't like sushi, sashimi, or any raw food. They feel a bit disgusting."
Hyuga Natsumi's face stiffened a little as she remembered the sushi or other raw food in the banquets of the clan. She had no idea why people liked them.
Weird people.
Finally, she added, "As a Hyuga ninja, I specialize in Gentle Fist and related nintaijutsu techniques. I can perform reconnaissance with my Byakugan and help you in troublesome situations that may hinder our vision."
"I am also proficient in Water, Earth, and Wind Release ninjutsu, which I use to deal with opponents who are difficult to approach."
"That's all."
With that, Hyuga Natsumi stopped speaking and blinked at her teammates innocently.
Seimei and Reina looked at each other and smiled.
At this moment, Seimei said, "Nice. Now, we have a basic idea about each other's combat specializations."
"But words can only convey so much."
"To understand our strengths and limits better, words alone aren't enough."
Seimei grinned and said to Natsumi, "So, Natsumi…let's spar!"
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