Chapter 8: Seventh Squad, Established!
Since taking Hagoromo Ryunosuke as his master, Masahiro's life changed from a two-point path to a three-point path.
During the day, he attended the Clan Academy as usual, then guided Takashi and Zensuke in their training, and beat up Retsu when Retsu got itchy skin. After school, he would go to Ryunosuke's place in the evening to learn more profound Ninjutsu knowledge.
Just like that, a year and a half passed in the blink of an eye.
Masahiro was very happy today, because today was the day he officially graduated from the Clan Academy and became a Ninja.
The average age of Ninja during the Sengoku period was very young; it was common for children barely a few years old to be sent to the battlefield. For example, Senju Itama, who died early in the original work.
In fact, the practices of most smaller Ninja Clans were even more brutal.
They might only teach children the Three-Body Technique after they refined their Chakra before sending them to the battlefield—pure cannon fodder.
Large Ninja Clans like the Hagoromo Clan would at least provide two years of training before sending children to the battlefield, preventing them from dying in vain.
In this era where everyone was doing poorly, this was already quite good by comparison.
Although becoming a Ninja meant the constant risk of death, becoming a Ninja also meant Masahiro could freely enter and exit the clan territory without restriction.
Since he would officially become a clan Ninja today, he could openly go out whenever he pleased from now on.
No more climbing walls!
This meant he could find more boxes, more breakthrough materials, and have the chance to figure out what exactly that proof of strength was!
That's why he was so happy.
The cheerful Masahiro arrived at the training ground with a smile, walking over to Takashi and Zensuke amidst calls of "Boss."
"I won't hear so many people calling me Boss anymore. I'll miss it."
Over the course of two years, Masahiro's reputation as a genius had spread throughout the entire Hagoromo Clan. Even the dogs on the street knew the Hagoromo Clan had a beautiful Child who could learn any Ninjutsu after hearing it once.
Now, only two people at the Clan Academy didn't call him Boss. One was Takashi, and the other was that stubborn guy Retsu.
"I'll still call you Boss, Boss!" The Little Angel Zensuke noticed Masahiro's slightly low spirits and offered comfort.
"Zensuke is still the good one, unlike a certain Poker Face who only says nice things when he needs my guidance."
"---" The certain Poker Face adjusted his glasses.
"Playing the expert by keeping silent, huh?" Masahiro raised an eyebrow, intending to tease Takashi. This was currently one of the joys of his life.
"The teacher is here. Save your talk for later; don't delay the team assignments."
Turning around, he saw Hagoromo Jūzaburō had just landed using the Body Flicker Technique. He met Masahiro's gaze and nodded with a smile.
Although most of Masahiro's strength had nothing to do with him, he still held the reputation of being his teacher. When facing a genius student, even the strictest teacher is willing to offer a smile.
"Starting today, you are officially Ninja. The battlefield is not like regular sparring practice; your life is constantly at risk."
"Over the past two years, you've all had minor and major conflicts," Jūzaburō paused here, looking at Retsu, then at Masahiro, "But on the battlefield, outside the clan territory, you are comrades who can entrust your lives to one another!"
He seriously examined every Child, his tone grave: "No matter what, your teacher hopes every one of you can survive well! The longer you live, the better!"
Although his words were simple, everyone could feel Jūzaburō's sincere blessings for them.
Perhaps sensing the heavy atmosphere, Jūzaburō didn't say more. He pulled a manual from his robe: "I won't say more, let's start the team assignments now."
Zensuke, who had just been moved to tears by Jūzaburō's speech, immediately grew worried upon hearing about the team assignments:
"Boss, Takashi, do you think we'll be assigned to the same squad? If we end up in different squads, you absolutely must protect yourselves."
"Boss, don't always try to be a hero; ask your comrades for help when you run into trouble. Takashi, you need to get along well with your comrades; don't always wear a straight face, you'll easily be isolated, and as for me---"
Masahiro chuckled as he watched Zensuke, who was chattering incessantly like an old mother, and interrupted him: "Stop worrying needlessly. The three of us are in the same squad."
"I will also--- Huh? What?!" Zensuke suddenly looked up at Masahiro: "Really? Boss, how do you know?"
Takashi was not surprised: "There are always special privileges for geniuses. Besides, have you forgotten who his teacher is?"
"That's right, that's right." Masahiro smiled and nodded.
Over the past two years, Ryunosuke had come to value him more and more. Not only were Ninjutsu scrolls available for him to read, but sometimes Ryunosuke would even ask the Great Elder to personally guide him.
To sharpen Masahiro's combat experience, Ryunosuke even forced the Fourth Elder and Fifth Elder to take turns sparring with Masahiro during their breaks when they returned to the clan to submit missions—treatment truly fit for a biological grandson.
Under these circumstances, wasn't it a sure thing for Masahiro to ask Ryunosuke to arrange the team assignments?
Sure enough, Jūzaburō then assigned the three of them to the same squad: "Seventh Squad: Hagoromo Masahiro, Hagoromo Takashi, Hagoromo Zensuke, and Hagoromo Retsu."
This era was different from the original work; there were both three-person and five-person squads, with no fixed standard. The Hagoromo Clan, for example, used five-person squads.
Hearing that he was in the same squad as Masahiro, Retsu, who was standing in the corner, stared intensely at Masahiro. This arrangement was exactly what he wanted.
He had been thinking that if they weren't in the same squad, the chances of encountering Masahiro outside of missions would be minimal. How then could he defeat Masahiro head-on?
Student Retsu, who had been repeatedly defeated over the past two years, was exceptionally confident that he could defeat Masahiro.
After reading the squad list, Jūzaburō slowly said: "Soon, Elite Ninja from the clan will lead you away. If you have anything you need to ask about later, you can find them."
After speaking, he left using the Body Flicker Technique, just as he had when Masahiro first met him.
"Can we really ask the seniors about problems we don't understand?" Zensuke asked doubtfully.
It wasn't strange for him to ask this, as not only were the squad sizes different in this era, but the duties of the squad leader Ninja were also different from the original work.
In the original work, the squad leader Ninja was equivalent to another new teacher for the protagonists after they left the Ninja Academy, responsible not only for leading missions but also for imparting more profound Ninjutsu knowledge and training.
However, the squad leader Ninja of this era, based on the examples Jūzaburō mentioned in class, were primarily responsible for guiding them through mission procedures early on. Later, the trainees would transition directly into subordinates of the squad leader Ninja, establishing a superior-subordinate relationship.
If you met an easygoing Ninja, they might privately instruct you a bit in their spare time, but if you met a difficult one, they might not communicate with you outside of missions.
"It's fine, relax." Masahiro reassured Zensuke: "For training issues, just come to Takashi and me. We can definitely guide you."
"Okay, Boss!"
Just as they were speaking, two men wearing black underclothes and gray armor over their upper bodies arrived at the training ground.
The man on the right, who had a scar over his eyebrow, short hair, and a fierce expression, scanned the people present and then spoke: "Where is Seventh Squad? Step forward!"
"Yes, Senior."
Masahiro raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting the squad leader Ninja for the Seventh Squad to be the first one to arrive.
Looking at the four-person squad that emerged from two diagonal directions, clearly split into two groups, the man was silent for a moment: "Follow me."
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