A fierce iron body slam collided with Uchiha Aozora's back—he didn't even have a chance to react!
Boom!
A massive chunk of wood shattered into pieces in midair.
"Substitution jutsu?"
Aburame Shiho's eyes flickered beneath his glasses. He felt a trace of confusion.
Substitution jutsu was simple, but it required time to form the hand seals. And just now, he was certain that Aozora hadn't formed any.
What Aozora had used was not a substitution but the Taoist technique taught by the Heavenly Book: Disguised Form. It could alter the body's appearance and even use other objects to take his place, evading lethal attacks.
Unlike substitution jutsu, Disguised Form required no hand seals and was much faster. At the critical moment, Aozora had escaped unscathed.
Shiho, usually quiet and reserved, unexpectedly felt like talking.
"You are indeed impressive, but this ends here!"
With that, he extended his hand from his wide sleeve and quickly formed the hand seals.
"Secret Technique! Insect Tornado!"
Aozora suddenly felt the wind rise around him. At some point, he realized he had been surrounded by insects.
He smiled bitterly. He had wanted to save a Great Fireball Technique to surprise the teacher, but now there was no chance.
The force of the insect tornado was so strong that attempting fire-style jutsu now wouldn't harm Shiho—it would harm Aozora himself.
Shaking his head, Aozora fixed his hair and called out loudly, "Sensei, I surrender!"
His voice carried clearly to Shiho, who immediately dispelled his technique, muttering quietly to himself, "Truly, a rare breed of Uchiha."
Moonlight Gale and Inuzuka Aya, rushing to help, froze in shock at Aozora's declaration, almost stumbling to the ground.
Seeing Shiho's gaze shift toward them, they exchanged a glance and muttered resignedly, "Surrender!"
Thus ended the "getting-to-know-each-other" exercise of Team Three.
Shiho, noticing the slight gloom on Gale and Aya's faces, suddenly said, "You've both performed well!"
Aya, initially dejected, immediately revived, jumping excitedly while spinning her small white dog in the air.
Gale's disappointment vanished as well, and he sheathed his sword behind his back.
Aozora offered a small smile, accepting the teacher's praise.
Once Aya had calmed down, Shiho removed his glasses and formally introduced himself.
"Let's officially meet. I am Aburame Shiho, specializing in combat using insects."
"This is my first time teaching—please take care of me."
The three quickly responded with introductions of their own.
"Inuzuka Aya, and this is my companion, Shiro. Don't let his size fool you—he's quite powerful!"
"Moonlight Gale. My dream is to elevate the Konoha-style sword techniques to new heights."
"Uchiha Aozora, skilled in ranged weapons and ninjutsu."
Having heard their introductions, Shiho put his glasses back on.
"Most of my abilities are tied to my clan's secret techniques, so I may not be able to teach you many new jutsu. But I will do my best to help you grow."
He then announced with a smile, "To celebrate the formation of Team Three, lunch is on me!"
"Anything available in Konoha—you can choose whatever you want!"
Gale and Aozora stayed composed, but Aya's eyes blazed with excitement.
"Meat! I want meat!"
"Woof! Woof!"
Seeing Aya and Shiro so enthusiastic, Gale and Aozora exchanged a glance and shrugged. Neither wanted to argue with her in this state.
With the decision for grilled meat settled, the trio realized they didn't know much about Konoha's barbecue spots.
Guided by Shiho, they arrived at a somewhat secluded barbecue restaurant.
Despite the location, the restaurant was bustling and nearly full.
After greeting the staff, the four of them entered a small private room.
No sooner had they sat down than a waitress approached with menus.
Shiho let them order first.
Aya eagerly chose a variety of meats: beef, pork, ribs, fish—you name it.
Gale, in contrast, leaned more toward vegetables, though he included some meat.
Aozora struck a balance, selecting both meat and side dishes.
Once everyone's orders were noted, Shiho also ordered drinks and side dishes for the table.
Returning the menus, he instructed, "Preparing the dishes will take some time. Use this opportunity to reflect on the battle. Afterwards, share your thoughts."
A few minutes later, the grill was lit, and the meat and vegetables were prepared.
Shiho placed the slices on the grill and asked, "Have you thought about it? Who wants to go first?"
Aozora hesitated. With just two kunai, he had blown up Shiho's shadow clones twice. If he went first and acted modestly, what about his teammates?
Normally talkative Aya now fidgeted, embarrassed by her earlier poor performance.
Gale stepped in to ease the tension. "At the start of the battle, when Sensei used a strategy of taking hits to gain advantage, I hesitated and retreated. That put me in danger. Without Aozora's kunai, I would have been defeated."
"In the following fight, I still performed averagely."
Shiho nodded, then shook his head, neither confirming nor denying.
Seeing her teammate acknowledge his errors, Aya also set aside her pride.
"Sensei, at the beginning I made a rookie mistake. Faced with the unknown, I should have thrown shuriken to test the situation, rather than putting myself directly at risk."
She added solemnly, "I promise not to do that again."
After hearing their reflections, Shiho said, "Very good. You've both recognized your shortcomings. Aya, you are impulsive and underestimate danger. Gale, you lack real combat experience and teamwork training."
After a pause, he continued, "However, you also have strengths."
"Aya's senses are keen, reactions sharp. An ordinary genin would have been caught by the first trap, yet you handled the follow-up melee well."
"Gale's swordsmanship is polished—his close combat is no worse than a typical chunin."
Aya's face lit up at the praise, shyly scratching her head. Gale suppressed his excitement but allowed a small smile.
"If you can work on your weaknesses, in one year you can become chunin-level, capable of standing independently."
Hearing Shiho's feedback, the two nodded in full agreement, clearly respecting and trusting him.
Observing how quickly Shiho earned their respect, Aozora gained a new understanding of the Aburame sensei from the original stories. Silent didn't mean incapable—it simply meant he chose not to speak unless necessary.
Finally, Shiho picked up his chopsticks and said, "Let's eat!"