Just as Yamada Shumu and Motoya Tada finished speaking, another man walked into the classroom.
He looked to be in his forties, with a burly build that hardly resembled a typical ninja.
The fierce aura emanating from him instantly silenced the previously noisy room.
He stepped onto the podium and swept his gaze across the classroom.
It quickly locked onto Yoru and the other two.
"Team Eleven. With me."
Concise and to the point.
This man was their jonin instructor.
After speaking, he turned and walked out of the classroom without another word.
Shumu and Tada were visibly shaken.
"Our teacher looks terrifying…"
Shumu muttered.
Tada looked worried as well. "It feels like we're doomed."
Yoru, however, remained calm.
That presence is intense. There's a heavy scent of blood on him… He was probably in the ANBU or a similar unit.
That's not a bad thing. Anyone who made it into ANBU has proven their strength.
Not all ANBU were jonin—some were chunin—but even a chunin who entered ANBU was among the elite of their rank.
"Let's go," Yoru reminded them. "If we don't follow now, we might lose him."
After the three left, Naruto finally let out a breath from the back of the classroom.
"That scared me. Yoru's in trouble—his teacher looks like bad news."
"Moment of silence for his ninja career."
Sakura shuddered. "Who is that guy? He feels like he's ready to kill someone."
Only Sasuke seemed thoughtful.
"That ninja has a similar aura to that man… He's probably from ANBU."
Compared to Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke had seen more.
From Team Eleven's instructor, he sensed something similar to the presence of his brother, Uchiha Itachi.
After catching up to their instructor, the three followed him silently.
Shumu and Tada were intimidated by his aura.
Yoru simply wasn't talkative.
The instructor said nothing either.
The four walked out of the Academy and arrived at one of Konoha's training grounds.
There were many training fields in the village, each vast in size. The most famous was the Forest of Death, with a diameter of twenty kilometers.
The three stood before their instructor.
Aside from Yoru, both Shumu and Tada were trembling slightly.
The instructor glanced over them, then focused his eyes on Yoru.
Suddenly—
Yoru felt a crushing force press down on him.
It made him extremely uncomfortable.
He knew exactly what it was.
But he had no intention of yielding.
Even as his vision blurred slightly.
It was killing intent.
Under the oppressive weight of that terrifying pressure, Yoru's expression didn't change.
He looked as though he wasn't affected at all.
The instructor's eyes widened slightly.
Interesting.
The killing intent hadn't worked on him.
After all, Yoru had only just graduated from the Academy.
Yet under that level of pressure, he remained composed.
Even chunin couldn't manage that.
"Hahaha! Kid, you've surprised me. I thought I'd been assigned a few brats, but there's someone interesting among you."
The instructor finally spoke.
Meanwhile, Shumu and Tada—who had only been brushed by the residual pressure—were already pale, trembling, their consciousness fading.
This was a ninja who had come out of ANBU.
His killing intent carried true terror within it.
Yoru raised his head and met his instructor's gaze.
"Sensei, I don't think it's appropriate to use such bloody methods on a few trainee ninja."
Though he had endured it, that didn't mean he hadn't felt it.
For a moment earlier, his mind had wavered.
If not for the reward from last night—enhancing both his body and spirit severalfold—he would have collapsed just like the other two.
The instructor paused, momentarily stunned by Yoru's words.
He opened his mouth, then waved his hand helplessly.
"Fine, fine. I knew I wasn't suited to teach you little brats."
"If this were before, you'd have earned yourself a beating for talking to me like that."
"Kid, your name's Yoru, right? Looks like the Academy's evaluation of you wasn't very accurate."
"You're not ordinary at all."
He chuckled.
Once the killing intent dissipated, Shumu and Tada felt slightly better.
But they still looked at him with lingering fear.
They had never experienced anything so terrifying.
At the same time, they looked at Yoru.
Under that horrifying pressure, he had remained calm.
He was terrifying too.
They had thought he was about the same as them.
They hadn't expected the gap to be this large.
What they didn't know was that most of the killing intent had been directed at Yoru.
If they had known, they would have been even more shocked.
Just the aftershock had nearly knocked them unconscious.
Let alone what it meant to bear the brunt of it.
Yoru didn't deny his instructor's words.
Explaining would only seem forced.
The instructor didn't dwell on it.
Instead, he seemed pleased.
"Alright. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kimoto Dōichi. You can call me Dōichi-sensei."
"That was just a small test."
"You did fairly well—especially you, Yoru."
Dōichi was genuinely satisfied. Even pleasantly surprised.
"Now, you should introduce yourselves."
Shumu immediately raised his hand enthusiastically.
"Sensei! Sensei! I'm Yamada Shumu! My favorite food is grilled meat! I hate green peppers! My dream is to become the strongest ninja in the world—and the strongest Hokage in Konoha!"
He really did resemble Naruto.
Even his dream was similar.
Though to be Hokage was the dream of many children in the village.
Dōichi smiled. "Then you'll need to work hard. There are many powerful ninja in this world. If you want to be the strongest, you'll have to put in more effort than anyone else."
Without the earlier killing intent, he seemed almost gentle now.
Tada, however, still hadn't recovered from her fear.
"I-I'm Motoya Tada… I'm twelve…"
Her voice was so soft it was barely audible.
Already delicate and adorable, she looked even more pitiable now.
Her long golden hair framed her beautifully.
Even Yoru was momentarily struck by how stunning she looked.
Someone this pretty never even appeared in the story… She'll probably die in some mission no one remembers.
Yoru frowned.
He had a good impression of both Tada and Shumu.
Though they had just met, he had already accepted them as teammates.
Will my existence change their fate?
Finally, it was his turn.
Yoru spoke calmly.
"My name is Keibun Yoru."
"My dream is to become an excellent ninja."
It was a very ordinary dream.
Because he truly didn't have one.
Before obtaining the system, he had none.
And even after obtaining it, that hadn't changed.