"Anyway, why doesn't everyone introduce themselves?"
Sensing the atmosphere between the two people in front of her, Yoru keenly felt that this suggestion could only come from her.
"My name is Hibiki Tian Yin, I'm 7 years old. My original home is Yuelan Island. Things I like are interesting things, things I hate are boring things. As for my dream, I hope to reunite with my brother one day, then repay Mr. Nakamura's kindness, and then become strong enough to dominate the battlefield in the next great ninja war in the future. My strengths lie in sensing, and I know a little Water Release."
[And Sealing, the kind that can lock away Tailed Beasts]
Tian Yin added in her heart.
Yoru and Ameyuri Ringo simultaneously raised an eyebrow.
This self-introduction felt like it had a lot of points to critique. What did she mean by 'become strong enough to dominate the battlefield in the next great ninja war'? Was that a normal way to express one's scale of strength?
"Ha ha ha ha! You really are interesting, Hibiki Tian Yin! If you have such ambitions, then you'll have to beat me first. Come on! Let's go spar right now!"
Ameyuri Ringo suddenly stood up and reached out to drag Tian Yin to the training grounds.
"Wait, you haven't introduced yourself yet."
Tian Yin said after dodging the grab with a turn of her head.
[That's some pretty good taijutsu]
Yoru couldn't help but be a little surprised by Tian Yin's skill, thinking to herself, wasn't she a Sensing Ninja?
"Hmph! My name is Ameyuri Ringo. I like excitement and eating delicious food. I hate weaklings and pretentious people." She paused here, clearly implying something, then continued, "I'm good with swords and Lightning Release. My dream is to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, I guess."
After finishing, Ringo didn't immediately start trouble. Instead, she sat to the side and looked at Yoru.
"My name is Minazuki Yoru. Things I like are sweets, things I hate are green peppers. As for my strengths, I'd say Ice Release Ninjutsu and Water Release Ninjutsu. My future dream is to become a teacher at the Hidden Mist Village's Ninja Academy."
After finishing her introduction, Yoru took out the request form she was holding. She had torn it from the bulletin board after they decided to form a team. Since they were all very simple tasks, there wasn't even a need for approval.
"Well then..."
"Wait, before that, I have a question for you two."
Ameyuri Ringo suddenly interrupted Yoru and, after glancing at a certain building not far away, said, "Do you two have any plans to take the assessment?"
A troubled look appeared on Yoru's face.
Tian Yin quickly glanced at Yoru's expression and said directly, "I will. I want to be of help to Mr. Nakamura."
After all, that was Hibiki Tian Yin's persona. And even if she completed three so-called c-rank missions, she could just not take the assessment.
Two against one. Yoru now wore an expression of obvious conflict. It seemed she was very unwilling to take the assessment.
"Does taking the assessment require three people?"
Tian Yin couldn't help but ask.
"No, but accepting a c-rank mission requires the agreement of three people and a strength evaluation. Because missions of this level take place very close to the 'Outer Ring', the possibility of combat is high, so a certain degree of self-protection ability is mandatory."
The one who said this wasn't Ameyuri Ringo, but Yoru. This gave Tian Yin a preliminary judgment of her character.
[Combined with her earlier self-introduction, she should be a good person willing to sacrifice some of her own interests and desires for others. What an interesting trio; I'm even getting a little interested.]
A spy hiding things in all aspects, a future Lightning Release genius with a fierce personality who loves excitement, and a gentle, non-belligerent person with a Bloodline Limit.
Sorry, Instructor-sama, let me pull out your stakes. This team does indeed seem worth looking forward to.
"Well then, minazuki-san, for the next question, please speak your true feelings. Are you willing to accompany us on a c-rank mission?"
Tian Yin asked with an expressionless face, using a very serious and sincere tone.
"I..."
"Hmm, I understand. In that case, let me ask this: minazuki-san, can you accept the idea of us jointly accepting a c-rank mission, but the completion is handled by me and Ringo-san?"
"How can that be! That would be just watching you two step into danger!"
This time, the answer was instantaneous and completely different from her previous quiet demeanor, appearing very agitated and somewhat angry.
Tian Yin and Ringo suddenly looked at each other with perfect understanding; their intentions aligned for a moment.
Troublesome.
"Pretty impressive. I quite like those two questions of yours. So, little spy, what's your next move?"
Ameyuri Ringo still wore a sharp-toothed smile, but this time it was clearly much gentler.
"Sigh... calling me'spy' this and'spy' that, one day I'll really sell you out."
[With Ameyuri Ringo, it's probably an intuition problem. People are always very sharp about things they dislike and like. But it's not a major concern; I just need to avoid showing any flaws.]
Options like finding an opportunity to eliminate Ringo didn't even cross Tian Yin's mind. This wasn't a question of being soft-hearted, but the prerequisites for doing so were either encountering an opportunity or having a meticulous plan.
The former depended on fate's will, and for the latter, she'd be better off spending that time trying to break the Tongue Binding Seal.
"Then let's just do regular missions for now."
This statement left the other two team members momentarily confused. Just as Ameyuri Ringo was about to erupt, Tian Yin continued, "Our team currently doesn't meet the conditions to undertake high-difficulty missions, right?"
Tian Yin looked straight into Ameyuri Ringo's eyes without the slightest hint of backing down.
"You're scared, aren't you! Even I alone can..."
"But the rule requires three people. Are you going to treat that rule as nothing? And even if I were willing to let you undertake the mission alone, minazuki-san wouldn't just stand by and watch. In that case, if something happened to you two, how would someone like me, who didn't participate, be treated?"
It was logical and convincing, but Ameyuri Ringo obviously wouldn't have her will broken by a couple of sentences.
"If you understand that, then why don't all three of us go together? If you're scared, just stand to the side! Hey! Where are you going?"
Seeing Tian Yin walk towards Minazuki Yoru's direction without even listening to her finish, Ameyuri Ringo tilted her head in confusion.
The next second.
"minazuki-san, let's the two of us go do regular missions. As for the c-rank mission, let Ringo-san go accept it from the Instructor by herself. Surely, with Ringo-san's abilities, she can get the Instructor to make an exception for her."
After saying this, without waiting for Yoru to react, Tian Yin used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared from in front of Ameyuri Ringo with Yoru in tow.
"Isn't this a bit bad..."
Yoru looked in the direction they had just been. She was already several hundred meters away, carried off by Tian Yin. While amazed at Tian Yin's taijutsu, Yoru couldn't help but feel this method was a bit too extreme.
"Of course it's bad. So next, we need to maintain a certain distance and tail Ringo-san to observe her reaction. If she shows signs of irritation, or displays loneliness or similar feelings, that's when we can take advantage of the opening to attack... I mean, get closer to her."
This was an extremely practical tactic. Minazuki Yoru's eyes immediately lit up, and she looked at Tian Yin with full admiration.
But... "What if she charges over to fight us?"
Given Ameyuri Ringo's personality, it felt very likely she would do something like that.
"That's also a form of communication. Anyway, our group doing missions together is out of the question for now. Let's return the request first. No matter what, we'd better reach a consensus, otherwise it will be a fatal hidden danger."
While relationships could also be forged under high-pressure environments, that kind of thing was an uncontrollable human factor Tian Yin didn't want to gamble on.
"Hmm, you make sense. Then I'll go return the request first,"
"No, I'll go with you. My Sensing Technique can lock onto Ringo-san's position. For now, it's better to let her stew a bit."
[Finally!]
Tian Yin actually really wanted to fight Ameyuri Ringo. She wanted to see how much weight this future genius, who died young, currently carried.
So this was a setup.
A one-on-one duel wouldn't be convenient to win. But if it's two against one, winning shouldn't get me suspected by overly suspicious people, right? And we're all still kids. As long as we don't pull any nasty tricks, it's easy to deepen relationships within this setup.
Killing multiple birds with one stone!
A 'plan successful' expression appeared in Tian Yin's heart.