Charmander snapped its jaws open, unleashing a searing torrent of fire directly at the examiner.
If the blast connected, Hideki Sato’s evaluation would be over in a flash.
However, a seasoned Chunin proctor was not so easily dispatched.
With a powerful leap, the examiner sidestepped the incoming inferno, maneuvering into Charmander’s blind spot while drawing a razor-sharp kunai.
Yet, just as the blade was about to pierce the creature’s skull, Charmander reacted entirely on instinct, deploying a brutal Slash attack.
Clang!
To the examiner’s utter horror, the Pokémon’s seemingly fragile claws met the reinforced steel, shearing the kunai perfectly in two.
Decades of hard-fought combat experience saved the proctor; the moment the steel gave way, he triggered a Body Replacement Jutsu, vanishing just before he could be severely mauled.
Seizing the opening, Hideki shouted across the dirt field, “Charmander!
Fire Spin, eight o’clock direction—maximum output!” A violent, roaring vortex of flame instantly erupted, sealing off the arena in a cage of heat.
Sensing the danger, a Jonin overseer stationed at the boundary quickly wove a sequence of hand signs, unleashing a powerful Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu to intercept the expanding blaze.
When the opposing elements collided, the entire stadium was instantly consumed by a blinding screen of scalding steam.
The Jonin leaped onto the platform, executing a simple wind-style flick of his wrist to disperse the vapor.
“Exam concluded.
Sato Hideki passes with an Exemplary mark!” As the steam drifted away, the examiner’s miserable state became visible to the crowd.
He stood there thoroughly scorched, his flak jacket riddled with smoldering holes.
Had the Jonin’s water style been even a second late, the consequences would have been catastrophic.
A low, collective murmur rippled through the student gallery.
No one had expected the habitually quiet Hideki Sato to systematically dismantle a seasoned Chunin proctor with such casual ease.
Feeling the heavy, reverent stares of his peers, Hideki allowed himself to relish the thrill of playing the hidden prodigy.
But just as he crossed his arms to pose alongside Charmander, that familiar, crushing force slammed into his shoulder blades.
“Haha!
I knew you’d crush it, Hideki!” Kushina yelled, her voice brimming with unearned pride as she practically shook him.
“You really are my partner—you didn’t embarrass me at all out there!” Looking at the grinning redhead, Hideki offered a long-suffering sigh and gently pulled her down from the platform.
It was one thing for Kushina to be loud in private, but acting this eccentric in front of the entire faculty was enough to make him die of embarrassment.
The rest of the examinations proceeded precisely according to expectations.
Emerging pillars of the generation—Minato Namikaze, Hiashi Hyuga, and Mikoto Uchiha—each dismantled their respective proctors with textbook efficiency.
Kushina, while not outright defeating her examiner, glided through her ten-minute trial with effortless grace.
Yet, the moment she cleared the ropes, she marched over to Hideki, puffing her cheeks in irritation.
“Unfair!
If they gave me five more minutes, I would have put that proctor in the dirt!” Hideki merely patted her head, offering silent comfort.
The following morning brought the official squad assignments.
To no one’s surprise, Hideki found himself grouped alongside Kushina.
In the current political climate of the Hidden Leaf, Hideki was the only individual who had formed an unshakeable bond with her.
For the village elders keeping watch over the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, fostering such a “tether” to the village was of paramount strategic importance.
However, the third member of their cell caught Hideki entirely off guard: Mikoto Uchiha, the young lady of the prestigious Uchiha clan.
Hideki couldn’t help but question the sanity of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Placing a scion of the Uchiha in the exact same cell as the village’s living superweapon seemed like an existential disaster waiting to happen.
The reverence and deference shown to Mikoto by the surrounding Uchiha students only solidified her high standing within her clan.
Before long, the crowded academy room emptied as various Jonin captains collected their charges.
Within minutes, the cavernous classroom was left to just three occupants: Kushina, Mikoto, and Hideki.
Mikoto, who had been sitting quietly to their left, watched the last of the students leave.
Gathering her things, she smoothly relocated to the desk directly in front of them, turning around to offer a flawless, serene smile.
“Hideki-kun, Kushina.
We are teammates from this day forward.
Please look after me.” Despite her elite bloodline, Mikoto carried none of the insufferable, arrogant posture typical of the Uchiha clan.
She was, by all accounts, exceptionally pleasant.
With her immaculate lineage, striking features, and gentle demeanor, her popularity within the Academy was practically unrivaled.
Had there been an official vote for the academy’s choice beauty, she would have won by a landslide.
Kushina was equally striking, of course, but her tomboyish volume and foreign origins isolated her from the student body.
Hideki remained the sole anomaly who ran in her circle.
“Likewise.
I look forward to working with you, Mikoto,” Hideki replied with a polite, measured smile.
Kushina, entirely bypassing basic etiquette, vaulted over the desk in one fluid motion, sliding into the seat right beside Mikoto and slinging an arm around the Uchiha girl’s neck.
“The three of us are going to be the absolute strongest cell in the Leaf!” Kushina declared, her eyes burning with ambition.
“Once I take the Hokage mantle, you and Hideki will be my left and right hands.
Under our leadership, we’re going to take this village to heights it’s never seen before!” Faced with Kushina’s overwhelming intensity, Mikoto froze, entirely unsure of how to process the physical affection.
She could only share a brief, wonderfully awkward glance with Hideki before offering a strained smile.
A long silence stretched over the room, lasting so long that Kushina had begun to drift off against the mahogany wood of the desk.
Finally, the heavy slide of the classroom door cut through the quiet.
The identity of their assigned Jonin commander was immediately unmistakable.
Standing in the doorway was the disciple of the Third Hokage, the granddaughter of the First, the undisputed princess of the Senju clan, and the future absolute apex of medical ninjutsu across the shinobi world—Tsunade.
( End of Chapter ) CREATORS’ THOUGHTS imyou23 Creation is hard, cheer me up!
VOTE for me!
Have some idea about my story?
Comment it and let me know.