"…Alright, that's our plan."
Half an hour later, Kenjiro looked at Hinata and Shino in front of him and smiled. "I'm counting on you two tomorrow—Hinata, Shino."
"Mm! I'll do my best!" Hinata nodded earnestly.
"Don't worry."
Shino also gave a slight nod, though inside he wasn't nearly as calm as he looked. In fact, his mind was churning.
The insects living in his modified body—his personal hive—were feeding him intel.
Kenjiro's chakra was… intense.
Among their peers, only that loudmouth Naruto Uzumaki had comparable chakra levels.
No wonder Kenjiro knew so many jutsu, and even created some of his own.
'A guy with no family name, huh? Maybe his ancestors weren't just commoners after all.'
It was possible that, in some era, his family had produced someone legendary.
Otherwise, there's no way he'd have this kind of chakra capacity.
"Well then, let's head back."
Seeing that both Hinata and Shino agreed with his plan and accepted his strategy, Kenjiro nodded in satisfaction and prepared to call it a day.
"Kenjiro, aren't we setting traps?" Shino suddenly asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
"No need."
Kenjiro shook his head. "Basic traps are useless against a jonin. And advanced traps that are actually dangerous require expensive tools and could even end up hurting us instead. Besides, I'm pretty confident that if my plan is solid, we won't need them."
Hinata and Shino both paused, then nodded. What he said made sense.
"In that case, I'll head out first."
Leaving those words behind, Shino turned and walked off with his hands in his pockets.
Kurenai only realized something was going on between Kenjiro and Hinata during their self-introductions.
Shino and their classmates? They'd known for years.
So of course he wasn't going to third-wheel the couple. No way was he tagging along like a buzzkill.
Even though, deep down, he did kinda want to gossip a little.
Still, in the name of preserving the cool and mysterious aura of the Aburame clan, Shino restrained himself.
Once Shino was gone and out of sight, Kenjiro gently took Hinata's hand and smiled. "Hinata, it's been a while since we had a little picnic. How about grilled fish for lunch today?"
"Yeah!"
Hinata's eyes lit up at the memory of their childhood riverside cookouts, especially after training sessions.
Ever since her father silently gave his blessing, and Hanabi started joining in, Hinata and Kenjiro hadn't gone back to the old abandoned training field in years.
Now, they usually trained in Kenjiro's courtyard or his family's dojo.
As for meals, they either brought food from Hinata's house or cooked at Kenjiro's place.
Those grilled fish, the wild hunts, and those peaceful moments had become precious memories to Hinata.
So when Kenjiro brought it up again, she really did want to relive those old days.
Hand in hand, the two of them headed for their familiar little river.
The fish-catching? Left to their shadow clones.
As for the main bodies, they danced across the flowing water, sparring with taijutsu.
Each clash of chakra sent shockwaves through the air, kicking up spray and ripples across the surface.
The noise startled birds and beasts alike, sending them scattering into the forest.
Eventually, calm returned. Smoke curled in the air, and the scent of grilled fish wafted around them.
They spent the entire afternoon outdoors, reliving their childhood.
-----🍥-----
The next morning, 8:30 a.m.
Kenjiro and Hinata arrived at the training ground.
Shino was already there by the tree stump, as if he'd been waiting for a while.
"Morning, Shino." Kenjiro raised a hand in greeting.
"Morning."
Shino nodded back.
And then silence fell.
Kenjiro, having read the original story, knew Shino had a hidden quirky side.
Even so, he still couldn't find a topic to chat about with him.
Shino's presence was just too quiet. He had no friends in class, and his only hobby was bug collecting. They had zero shared interests.
So after that short greeting, Kenjiro didn't know what else to say.
Plus, knowing about Shino's secret side didn't mean he wanted to test whether the guy had insects eavesdropping. So he kept his thoughts to himself and didn't whisper to Hinata either.
Instead, he leaned against the tree stump and closed his eyes, conserving energy while they waited for Kurenai.
Hinata, hands in her own pockets, leaned gently against him.
Time ticked by.
Then—whoosh!
A sudden burst of wind broke the silence.
Kenjiro opened his eyes. Kurenai had arrived and was now standing before them.
"Good morning, sensei." all three of them greeted politely.
"Morning. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Kurenai smiled and nodded, then took out three bells from her pouch.
"Your next task is simple. Within the next hour, do whatever it takes—even if you have to kill me—to take these three bells from me."
She tied the bells to her waist, then set a small alarm clock to ring in one hour and placed it on the tree stump.
Turning back to them, she said.
"And… begin."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the three genin vanished.
Wind rustled the leaves. That was the only sound left.
Kurenai looked around the forest, a confident smile on her lips.
She didn't go after them. She stepped calmly into an open area, waiting for them to make the first move.
This wasn't arrogance. It was experience.
Kurenai had been through ninja school too. She knew exactly what they taught.
No matter how talented these kids were, they were still fresh graduates, only good at basics and maybe some beginner-level clan techniques.
The Hyūga and Aburame clans were legendary, sure—but their techniques and styles were well-documented, even outside the village.
She specialized in genjutsu, but she was a jonin through and through, with at least two nature transformations under her belt.
Forget these three—stack on a couple more genin teams and they still wouldn't be able to beat her.
That's what Kurenai believed.
Until, one second later… cold sweat broke out across her back.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
A girl's shout echoed through the forest—rapidly approaching.
Then, a massive shockwave slammed forward like an invisible wall, roaring straight toward her.
Dust and leaves exploded into the air.
Kurenai's pupils shrank. She didn't even have time to focus chakra into her feet for a Body Flicker.
All she could do was leap back on instinct.
The blast swept past her, the dust cloud swallowing her whole.
BOOM BOOM BOOM…
The shockwave crashed into the trees behind her, snapping thick trunks like twigs—proof of just how powerful the attack had been.
Back at the source of the attack, under a tree, stood two identical girls—back-to-back, palms still raised.
Hinata and her shadow clone.
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