"Assassin, what are you going to do? Attacking ANBU is condemned by the village!" the ANBU said forcefully.
"Remove the Transformation Technique, or you will be killed immediately!" Chao Yanqian said coldly.
According to Asakusa's judgment, the guy disguised as an ANBU in front of him should be his new teammate. If he were truly a Jōnin leading the team, this level of strength wouldn't be all there is.
"But why would a future teammate transform into an ANBU and come to my house? What's the purpose? Is it to test my strength?" Chao Yanqian analyzed in his heart.
But thinking it through, Chao Yanqian still believed it was most likely a prank: "I didn't even sense a Shadow Clone. At this level, he still wants to test my strength? Didn't he read my information beforehand?"
Boom!
The person disguised as an ANBU finally couldn't maintain the jutsu, and with a puff of smoke, the [Transformation Technique] was lifted.
"It's you!" Seeing the person's true face, Chao Yanqian also dispelled his [Shadow Clone] and said lightly, "Sarutobi Asuma. I didn't expect my teammate to be you."
"Tch! That's no fun, but you still saw through it," Sarutobi Asuma said boredly.
"How did the village assign me to your group? Don't you already have three people in your team?" Chao Yanqian asked.
"Oh, one of them died during a mission," Sarutobi Asuma said somewhat somberly.
"I see." Chao Yanqian nodded, then looked at Asuma and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Hey! We're all in the same class now. Don't be so cold!" Sarutobi Asuma leaned on the door with one hand and put the other around Chao Yanqian's shoulder, whispering, "Chao Yanqian, we're classmates. If I come to you for something, wouldn't you help me out?"
"What is it?" Chao Yanqian asked.
"How about agreeing to help first?" Sarutobi Asuma teased.
"No. If there's nothing else, I'll continue my training." Chao Yanqian said impatiently. After a full day spent with Tsunade and Orochimaru, Chao Yanqian was really in no mood, and Asuma's dawdling was annoying.
"Help me out!" Sarutobi Asuma stopped him from leaving and said shamelessly.
"Just tell me what it is," Chao Yanqian said, taking a deep breath.
"It's about one of our teammates. She's our classmate Kurenai Yuhi. Do you remember her?" Sarutobi Asuma asked, his face slightly flushed.
"Mhm, I remember," Chao Yanqian nodded. Chao Yanqian had paid attention to her during their time at the Academy. It seemed she would eventually become the wife of the guy in front of him.
"Well..." Sarutobi Asuma chuckled awkwardly, then said, "It's... me and Kurenai... that... that..."
Chao Yanqian rolled his eyes and said helplessly, "Don't worry. I'm not going to compete with you."
"Good man!" Sarutobi Asuma's eyes lit up, and he patted Chao Yanqian on the shoulder like they were close friends.
After finally getting Sarutobi Asuma to leave, Chao Yanqian returned to his bedroom to continue practicing the qualitative change of Earth-natured chakra. He glanced at the time. Damn it, sparring words with Sarutobi Asuma had wasted over an hour.
Just like that, time flew by, and the next day came in a blink.
Konoha had many training grounds. Chao Yanqian arrived at Training Ground Eight on time at 8 o'clock. Since his teammates and the squad leader hadn't arrived yet, Chao Yanqian grew bored and began practicing taijutsu against the wooden stakes.
"Chao Yanqian, I didn't expect you to be our new teammate!" an unexpected voice called out, causing Chao Yanqian to pause his training.
Turning his head, he saw it really was Kurenai Yuhi.
Chao Yanqian resumed hitting the stakes and casually responded, "Yeah. I didn't expect to be placed in your team either."
"Right? You're already a Chūnin, capable of leading a team and taking on missions. Why would they assign you to our squad?" Kurenai asked, puzzled.
Chao Yanqian had already analyzed this the night before.
The Third Hokage arranged for Chao Yanqian to be on Sarutobi Asuma's team for one of two reasons: either he wanted to use Yiqian's medical ninjutsu to add a layer of protection for Asuma, or he hoped to build a bond between the two to win over Asuma.
Whatever the Third Hokage's motive, Chao Yanqian couldn't refuse the arrangement.
And since he had joined the team, all his future actions would be under the Hokage's watchful eye. Therefore, how Chao Yanqian chose to interact with his new teammates and the squad leader was something that required consideration.
Back in the Academy, Asakusa had been very reserved, hardly speaking to others. It wasn't until he was placed on a team under a Jōnin that he started opening up a bit. From there, he was always putting on a show in front of Tsunade, Orochimaru, and everyone else.
Sarutobi Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi were both his former classmates, and their impressions of him were likely frozen in that Academy period. If his behavior changed too drastically, it would raise suspicion.
But Asakusa's act was mostly for the Third Hokage. As for Sarutobi Asuma and Kurenai, he didn't really care how they viewed him.
Seeing that Chao Yanqian kept training, Kurenai exclaimed, "You really work hard! Practicing so early in the morning... No wonder you were chosen as Lady Tsunade's disciple and earned merit in the battle at Sunagakure."
"If you don't work hard, you'll be surpassed. And the cost of being surpassed might be your life," Chao Yanqian said, continuing his practice.
"Oh! Among our classmates, probably only Kakashi can compare with you," Kurenai said admiringly.
At that moment, Sarutobi Asuma came running from a distance with a large bag in hand, calling out, "Kurenai! I bought breakfast!"
When he arrived, he frowned and asked, "Didn't we agree to meet at 8 a.m.? It's almost 9 now. Why hasn't the squad leader arrived?"
"It was supposed to be 9 o'clock..." Kurenai replied, puzzled.
Seeing Chao Yanqian's murderous glare, Sarutobi Asuma shrank back and quickly backed away from him, trembling. "S-Sorry, I... I remembered wrong!"
Chao Yanqian leaned against the wooden stake in frustration. Even though he had seen through Asuma's Transformation Technique last night, he hadn't expected to be duped by him over something so trivial.
Fortunately, Sarutobi Asuma had at least some conscience. If he had said to meet at 5 a.m., they'd be eating breakfast in the dark.