Chapter 138 (Patreon)

Tsunade stared at the two girls before her, stunned by what they had just said.

“Stop spouting nonsense!”

Her cheeks flushed as she brought a fist down hard on each of their heads.

“H-How can your situation possibly be compared to mine?”

“What kind of nonsense do you two little idiots spend all day thinking about?”

After giving Uchiha Izumi and Uzuki Yugao one final glare, Tsunade turned and marched straight into the house.

Her warning clearly failed to reach them. Instead, the two girls exchanged a knowing look and began considering how they might get Tsunade involved as well.

Meanwhile, at Konoha’s Training Ground Eight...

Konoha’s numbered training grounds were all designated practice areas covering roughly the same amount of land.

Within their boundaries were forests, dense groves, valleys, rivers, and nearly every other type of terrain a shinobi might encounter during a mission.

On the grass at the center of Training Ground Eight, Kurenai Yuhi was leading the members of Team 8 through their training.

“Kurenai-sensei, are we really going to meet Yujiro-sama today?” Kiba Inuzuka asked excitedly.

“Yes. I already made arrangements with Yujiro. He should be here any moment,” Kurenai replied with a smile.

“I’m really going to see Yujiro-nii-san... I’m so excited...”

Standing nearby, Hinata Hyūga nervously pinched the corners of her clothes with both hands.

Her face was already bright red before he had even arrived. There was no telling what would happen once she actually saw him.

To Hinata’s left, Shino Aburame was also eagerly awaiting Yujiro’s arrival, though his expression remained hidden behind his dark glasses.

After all, Yujiro was already a legendary figure in Konoha.

Two minutes later, a dark figure suddenly descended from the sky.

His black martial arts uniform snapped in the wind as he landed. A pitch-black blade rested across his shoulder, and his entire presence felt as sharp as its edge.

In the next instant, however, every trace of that overwhelming presence vanished.

“Yujiro-sama!” Kiba shouted excitedly.

Akamaru, perched atop his head, barked just as enthusiastically.

“Mm.”

Yujiro gave them a faint smile.

“Kurenai-nee asked me to give you three some special training today.”

“I’ll begin by testing each of you in a one-on-one fight.”

“The rules for the rest of the training are simple.”

“Once your fight with me ends, you’ll hide immediately while I face the next member of your team.”

“After all three of you have hidden, I’ll come looking for you. If I fail to find you before noon, you win.”

“The three of you specialize in tracking and reconnaissance. Your ability to hide from an enemy and evade pursuit could determine whether you survive a future mission.”

After Yujiro finished explaining the training exercise, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata nodded together.

“All right.”

With the black blade still resting across his shoulder, Yujiro leisurely walked to one side of the field.

“Then let’s begin.”

He pointed his blade toward Kiba, who was already eager to test himself.

“Kiba, you’re first.”

“All right!”

Kiba grinned and immediately leaped in front of him.

“The test begins,” Yujiro said with a faint smile. “Use your strongest technique from the start. Don’t hesitate.”

Kiba quickly nodded.

He knew better than to underestimate the man standing before him.

“Beast Human Clone!”

Kiba formed a hand seal, and a cloud of smoke engulfed Akamaru. When it cleared, the ninken had transformed into an exact copy of Kiba.

Seeing this, the corner of Yujiro’s mouth lifted slightly.

He already knew which technique Kiba would use next.

It was the signature move that would carry Kiba through practically the entire Naruto story.

“Fang Over Fang!”

Kiba and the transformed Akamaru began spinning at tremendous speed.

Two roaring tornadoes formed on the grass before tearing straight toward Yujiro!

Yujiro took a quiet breath, raised his right fist, and casually punched forward.

Boom!

The air exploded with a deafening roar.

A violent shock wave surged across the training ground and struck the two spinning figures head-on.

Kiba and Akamaru were hurled away. They flew across the field before finally managing to stop themselves in the distance.

“That’s enough. Shino, you’re next,” Yujiro said casually.

Kiba could only grimace.

He had used his strongest technique, yet Yujiro had defeated him with a single punch without even touching him.

However, Kiba had no time to complain. His fight was over, which meant the test of his concealment skills had already begun.

Taking Akamaru with him, Kiba immediately fled into the surrounding forest.

Shino stepped forward and faced Yujiro, his gaze unusually solemn behind his dark glasses.

Yujiro studied him in return.

Within the Naruto story Yujiro remembered, Shino possessed a rather impressive distinction.

He was practically an undefeated legend.

Throughout the original story, Shino never failed a mission or suffered a clear defeat, including during the Chūnin Exams. Whenever he was given a proper opponent, it was usually the other person who ended up losing.

As for the Shino from the Boruto era, he had been reduced to a shadow of his former self, so that version did not count.

“Hidden Jutsu: Parasitic Destruction Insects!”

Countless insects emerged from Shino’s body, rapidly gathering into a dense swarm.

The cloud of kikaichū blotted out the space before him before surging toward Yujiro from every direction.

Yujiro raised his head, the corner of his mouth curving upward.

“Intimidation.”

An invisible wave of pressure erupted from his body.

Yujiro had released only the faintest trace of his intimidating presence.

However, the instant the kikaichū sensed that terrifying pressure, the entire swarm recoiled and hurried back to Shino.

Cold sweat ran down Shino’s back.

The Yujiro standing before him no longer seemed human. For one dreadful instant, it felt as though death itself was staring directly at him.

Yujiro immediately withdrew his pressure and smiled.

“That’s enough. Hinata, you’re next.”

Shino took a deep breath before turning and sprinting into the forest.

With a faint whoosh, he vanished without leaving a trace.

Only Yujiro and Hinata remained on the grass.

“Hinata, it’s your turn.”

Yujiro looked down at the girl standing before him and smiled.

Hinata gazed up at him nervously, her entire body beginning to tremble.

How could she possibly defeat Yujiro-nii-san?

Yujiro immediately noticed her fear.

However, unless Hinata learned to overcome that fear, it would be difficult for her to become stronger.

“Hinata, attack me with everything you have,” Yujiro instructed.

“O-Okay...”

Hinata pursed her lips and fixed her pale eyes upon him.

“Byakugan!”

Her Byakugan activated in the next instant, and its enhanced vision immediately locked onto Yujiro.

“Ah!”

However, as soon as her vision focused completely on him, Hinata abruptly squeezed her eyes shut and covered her burning cheeks with both hands.

“What’s wrong?”

Yujiro blinked in confusion. Why had she suddenly become so flustered?

“I-It’s nothing... I’m fine...”

Hinata took two deep breaths and forced the distracting thoughts from her mind.

“Byakugan!”

She opened her eyes and activated her Byakugan once again.

This time, Hinata maintained her concentration and prepared the strongest technique she had mastered so far.

“Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!”