Ryoma stood not far away, watching his daughter spar against the wooden clone while calmly analyzing the situation.
"Naruko's Immortal Mode gives her excellent physical strength and boosts her ninjutsu significantly," he muttered. "But her attack patterns are too straightforward."
"Sako, on the other hand, is outstanding across the board," Ryoma continued. "But she's still lacking a truly powerful finishing ninjutsu."
With that assessment complete, a plan slowly formed in his mind.
He casually dispelled the wooden clone and walked over to the two girls.
"Your Immortal cultivation is already solid," Ryoma said. "But it still has inherent weaknesses. When I return, I'll help you make up for them."
Soon after, the three of them headed back together to Konoha's rear mountain.
For the next seven days, they remained there training without interruption.
Ryoma first focused on Sako. He passed on the principles of Lightning Release chakra transformation and the refined usage of techniques similar to Chidori. With the dynamic vision of the Sharingan and the physical enhancement granted by Immortal Mode, Sako quickly grasped everything Ryoma taught her and soon began independent practice.
As for Naruko, Ryoma personally taught her the Rasengan.
After more than ten years of refinement, Ryoma's understanding of ninjutsu had reached an exceptional level. The Rasengan itself was a technique modeled after the formation of a Tailed Beast Ball, and after Ryoma's improvements, its power far surpassed the original version.
Thanks to the enormous chakra reserves inherited from Kushina as an Uzumaki, Naruko—much like Naruto in the past—was perfectly suited to using Shadow Clones to accelerate Rasengan mastery.
Ten days later, the strength of both girls had improved by leaps and bounds.
Watching Naruko and Sako unleash one destructive ninjutsu after another in the distance, Ryoma quietly finalized his plans for the next ninja team's composition.
...
Young students studying at the Ninja Academy were generally referred to as "academy trainees." Once they passed the graduation exam, they officially became shinobi. According to long-standing custom in the ninja world, newly graduated shinobi were placed into three-person squads, each led by a jōnin or special jōnin responsible for their missions and training.
Naruko and Sako had graduated from the Academy a week earlier. The basic academy techniques—Transformation, Substitution, and Clone Jutsu—posed no challenge to them at all.
Before long, the day of squad assignment arrived.
Naruko happily skipped toward the designated meeting spot.
It was an open-air balcony atop one of Konoha's buildings. Waiting there was a sweet-faced woman in her early twenties with short brown hair.
"Sister Rin!"
Naruko rushed forward and hugged Rin Nohara tightly. "That's great! My jōnin-sensei is you!"
As Ryoma's disciple, Rin often visited their home, and she had practically watched Naruko and Sako grow up. To the two girls, she was almost like family.
Rin smiled gently and patted Naruko's head. "Alright, Naruko, let go first. Your sister is still watching."
"My sister?"
Naruko froze, then noticed the black-haired girl standing silently behind Rin, staring at her with a flat expression.
"Sako?! Why are you here?!"
As realization dawned on her, Naruko's expression stiffened. "Don't tell me…"
"Your reaction speed is way too slow," Sako said calmly, shaking her head. "Are all idiots like this?"
"Just like you're thinking," she continued. "We're in the same team."
"No way!"
Naruko recoiled in horror. "Why do I have to be teamed up with you?!"
"That's what I should be asking," Sako replied coldly. "Being paired with someone like you would only drag me down."
"Who are you calling dead last?! My grades were only a little lower than yours!"
"If I say they were, then they were."
"Based on what?!"
"Based on the fact that I was born earlier than you," Sako replied without hesitation. "I'm your older sister."
Watching the two of them fall into their usual bickering, Rin clapped her hands together.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. There's still someone watching."
She gestured toward the doorway.
A pink-haired girl stood there awkwardly, clearly unsure whether she should step forward or not.
Noticing everyone's gaze, she quickly gathered her courage and jogged over.
"Hello! My name is Haruno Sakura," she said nervously, bowing slightly. "I've been assigned to Team Seven as well. Please take care of me from now on!"
Later, under Rin's guidance, the three of them introduced themselves properly.
Naruko and Sako were half-sisters. After more than ten years of growing up together, they naturally understood each other extremely well—but that didn't stop them from arguing at every opportunity, never letting the other have the last word.
Sakura, on the other hand, knew the two quite well too.
After all, not only were they both beautiful and strong, they were also Ryoma's daughters. During their time at the Ninja Academy, the two sisters had always been in the spotlight.
Although Sakura had never directly interacted with them at school, she had quietly paid attention from afar.
With that, Team Seven's first gathering continued.
When it came time to assign the squad leader, Rin's gaze settled on Sako, whose expression was calm and indifferent.
"Next," Rin said, "the captain of Team Seven will be Sako."
"Huh?!"
Naruko immediately sprang up in protest, her face full of disbelief.
This time, however, even Sako frowned slightly, clearly sharing Naruko's dissatisfaction. Rin couldn't help but knit her brows.
After all, Sako had always preferred acting alone. Putting her in charge of a team right now would inevitably be troublesome.
Once Rin managed to calm Naruko down, her expression turned serious as she looked back at Sako.
"Sako," she said slowly, "from now on, you'll be the captain. You need to learn how to lead your companions. Do you understand?"
"…Understood."
Sako hesitated for a moment before nodding reluctantly.
Rin sighed inwardly.
Sako's personality closely resembled Ryoma-sensei's—cold, sharp, and exceptionally talented. Although she was officially only a genin, her current combat ability already rivaled that of a jōnin. Her only real weakness was teamwork. She wasn't suited for group coordination at all.
Precisely because of that, Rin deliberately made her the captain—so she would be forced to learn.
"Naruko," Rin continued, "now that your sister is the captain, you can't keep contradicting her."
Naruko puffed out her cheeks, clearly unconvinced, but after a moment she replied,
"…Got it."
Finally, Rin turned to Sakura and smiled gently.
"Sakura, I'll be counting on you to look after them."
"I—I'll do my best!"
Although she felt a little uncertain inside, Sakura nodded vigorously.
In the days that followed, Team Seven officially began taking on missions.
As genin—the lowest rank among shinobi—they were mostly assigned D-rank missions. These were usually simple, low-risk tasks that didn't involve combat or life-threatening danger.
However, because D-rank missions were closely tied to everyday civilian life, after just one month, Team Seven had handled a wide variety of commissions.
Picking up trash.
Searching for lost pets.
Helping farmers dig sweet potatoes.
Babysitting.
Investigating character backgrounds.
Even exposing cases of infidelity.
The content of their missions could only be described as… bizarre.
(End of Chapter)
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