Chapter Eight: Team Thirty-One
In Konoha, considering that newly graduated genin from the Ninja Academy were all inexperienced rookies who were still confused about missions and training, the village usually organized them into three-man squads. Each squad would be assigned an experienced, mature ninja as their instructor, and they would operate collectively as a unit.
Under normal circumstances, among genin who graduated in the same year, those who came from the higher-ranked classes would be assigned outstanding jōnin as their team leaders.
As for genin like Ryūya and his peers—whose overall strength was insufficient and who had only graduated early because of the war—their team leader would usually be at the chūnin level.
Ryūya didn't feel any resentment about such treatment.
The ninja world was a place where strength reigned supreme. To receive better treatment, one naturally had to possess matching ability or potential.
The squad Ryūya and Sagawa belonged to was Konoha's Team Thirty-One of that graduating class. Their original instructor, Nomura, had been a chūnin.
However, during the recently concluded Third Great Ninja War, their instructor Nomura had been killed in action.
At the time, Team Thirty-One had been carrying out a reconnaissance mission on the edge of the battlefield when they unfortunately encountered a surprise assault squad from Iwagakure.
Facing an elite assault team from Iwa, Team Thirty-One had no power to resist. Their instructor Nomura and another teammate, Yamanaka Oniwolf from a branch of the Yamanaka clan, were killed on the spot. Ryūya himself was gravely injured and nearly didn't survive.
Only Sagawa, who had been responsible for relaying information, was relatively fortunate and avoided serious injury.
After the battle, Team Thirty-One was essentially completely disbanded.
This time, according to the latest news Sagawa had heard, the village had assigned them a new instructor and a new teammate.
As for their names and strength, nothing was known yet. Today would be their first meeting with the new instructor and the new teammate.
"Ryūya, you really feel different from before," Sagawa suddenly remarked, glancing at him while Ryūya was lost in thought.
As a teammate from the same squad, Sagawa was fairly familiar with the old Ryūya.
But at their first meeting after Ryūya's recovery, he felt as if Ryūya had become a completely different person.
"Is that so? After going through so much, people have to grow up eventually," Ryūya replied lightly, withdrawing his gaze and looking at Sagawa.
There was more than a hint of posing in his tone.
"Yeah… being able to survive something like that means we were already very lucky," Sagawa said, his expression dimming and his voice lowering.
As ninja, they had long been prepared for life and death, but the brutality of the Third Great Ninja War had still left an indelible impression on these newly graduated fledglings.
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Since we were lucky enough to survive, we should work even harder to improve ourselves and protect this hard-won peace. Tell me about our new instructor and teammate instead," Ryūya said, waving his hand to interrupt Sagawa's melancholy.
Sagawa shook his head. "You're right. But I don't know who our instructor or new member is either. The notice to assemble today was delivered to me by the ANBU."
"I see. Then let's just keep waiting," Ryūya said.
At that point, Ryūya and Sagawa stood together, waiting for their new instructor and teammate to arrive.
During this time, the two occasionally chatted with a few acquaintances in the crowd.
Through casual conversation, Ryūya learned that among the dozens of genin gathered here, a large portion of their squads were in situations similar to Team Thirty-One.
A small number of teams had lost only one or no members, but most had lost two or more members. There were quite a few teams whose instructors had all been killed in action.
This made it clear just how brutal the Third Great Ninja War had been.
The only consolation was that the tempering of war had allowed all the genin present to grow to some extent.
This growth might not have been a direct increase in strength, but rather a tremendous improvement in their resolve and awareness as ninja.
"You two are Akimichi Ryūya and Sagawa, right? My name is Ichikawa Shin. From now on, I'll be the instructor of Team Thirty-One."
After about half an hour, a chūnin holding a small stack of documents approached Ryūya and Sagawa with a genin beside him, smiling as he spoke.
The chūnin appeared to be in his thirties, with a gentle smile on his face, giving off an approachable impression.
Standing behind him was a genin about the same age as Ryūya and Sagawa, with handsome features and a slightly aloof demeanor.
"Akimichi Ryūya (Sagawa), greetings, Sensei,"
Hearing the chūnin's words, Ryūya and Sagawa immediately realized that this middle-aged man was their instructor and promptly bowed respectfully.
"Mm, very good. It looks like you've both recovered well.
The one behind me is your new teammate, Yūhi Teru. Let's get acquainted first."
After briefly scanning Ryūya and Sagawa and nodding in satisfaction, Ichikawa Shin turned slightly and introduced the genin behind him.
"Hello."
At Ichikawa Shin's introduction, the three exchanged nods and greetings.
During this time, Ryūya couldn't help but take a few extra looks at Yūhi Teru.
Ryūya was quite familiar with the Yūhi surname from his previous life—Yūhi Kurenai's beauty had once captivated countless young men. Ryūya had always appreciated beautiful things, so upon hearing the name Yūhi Teru, he naturally paid extra attention.
He hadn't expected the men of the Yūhi clan to be this good-looking as well!
Looking at Yūhi Teru's nine-out-of-ten-level looks, Ryūya couldn't help but mutter inwardly.
From what he remembered, the Yūhi clan was famous in the village as a genjutsu-specialist clan. Though their numbers were small, every member was an expert in illusions.
"Could this Yūhi Teru also be a weakling? Otherwise, how would he end up in the same team as us?" Ryūya thought to himself.
"Alright, since everyone is here, let's find a suitable place to deepen our understanding of one another.
After all, we'll be operating as a team from now on. If we don't understand each other's abilities, that won't be good for cooperation," Ichikawa Shin said.
Seeing that the team was complete, Ichikawa Shin immediately led Ryūya and the others away from the training ground to a nearby forest.
The assembly point had been a centralized location designated by the village and wasn't suitable for squads to demonstrate their abilities and get to know one another.
For their first meeting, Ichikawa Shin didn't set up a special test like Kakashi's bell-grabbing exercise for Team Seven. Instead, he simply had the three of them perform basic demonstrations of their abilities.
The aloof-looking Yūhi Teru stood out the most. His fundamentals—kunai throwing and the Three Basic Techniques—were extremely polished, while his clan's genjutsu was still in the learning stage.
Sagawa, though a civilian-born ninja, also had a solid foundation.
If not for the fact that Ryūya had recently used a biological chip to rapidly improve his mastery of the Three Basic Techniques, his strength would have unquestionably placed him at the very bottom among the three.