Naruto: Starting with Creating a Genius Persona

"Minato?" Tsunade paused for a moment, then realized, "You're the Jonin supervising this year's students?"

"Yes, senpai." Minato Namikaze nodded with a smile. "I'm the instructor for Class 7 this year. What brings you here, senpai?"

"What a coincidence, me too," Tsunade said frankly.

"Oh?" A hint of surprise flashed across Minato Namikaze's face, but his smile remained unchanged. "I didn't expect you to personally lead the class, senpai. This is truly..."

He seemed unable to find the right words for a moment, but the surprise in his eyes was obvious. For this group of students to be able to bring out the legendary female ninja, Tsunade, who has been living a secluded life in recent years, back to serve as a Jonin instructor, there must be some very special individuals among them.

"Stop talking, it's such a hassle." Tsunade waved her hand, interrupting his possible pleasantries, and glanced at the empty training ground: "You chose this place to test your students later?"

"Yes, senior." Minato nodded. "I just didn't expect you to choose this place as well. Since you arrived first, I'll take the students to another place later."

Normally, the class assignments for training Jonin and the arrangement of the initial testing venues are coordinated in advance at the Hokage's office meeting to avoid conflicts.

However, Tsunade's situation was special. She did not attend any Jonin meetings at all, and even the matter of becoming an instructor Jonin was something she had only done a week before when she heard that the Ninja Academy was going to hold graduation exams and directly approached the Third Hokage to forcefully demand it.

Therefore, she was completely unaware of the testing arrangements for the other Jonin, and by a twist of fate, she ended up choosing the same place as Minato Namikaze.

"There's no need for that." Tsunade said nonchalantly, "There's plenty of space. You do your testing, and I'll do mine."

Minato Namikaze hesitated for a moment, then smiled and readily agreed: "Since you don't mind, senior, then I'll respectfully comply."

Tsunade nodded, then, as if remembering something, casually asked, "By the way, what method do you plan to use to test those recent graduates?"

Minato took out two bells tied with red strings from his ninja tool bag and replied, "I've prepared these for the traditional bell-stealing test. Within a limited time, the three of them will work together to snatch a bell from me. This will not only provide an initial assessment of their individual strength and tactical thinking, but more importantly, it will test their ability to quickly form effective teamwork under pressure."

"Steal the bells..." Tsunade looked at the familiar iron bells, her eyes momentarily dazed, as if she had traveled through time and seen the wicked smile of an old man from many years ago.

She quickly came to her senses, pursed her lips, and said with undisguised disdain, "It's the same old trick again, passed down from the old man. It's been going on for decades without any new twists. So boring."

Upon hearing this, Minato Namikaze was not annoyed at all. Instead, he laughed and said, "What you say is true, senior. This test is indeed not novel, but what makes a classic a classic is that it often exposes the most fundamental issues under simple rules: teamwork, trust, and choices. It may be just right for newcomers who have just formed a team and still have the mindset of a ninja academy."

"Whatever you want," she waved her hand, her tone still casual.

"So, what method do you plan to use for the test, senior?" Minato asked curiously.

Tsunade pondered for a moment, her gaze sweeping across the empty training ground, seemingly genuinely considering: "I haven't completely decided yet. I'll see how those kids fared later."

Meanwhile, on another road leading to the Ninth Training Ground.

Shinichi Higashino walked at a leisurely pace; the streets were sparsely populated in the early morning.

"Shinichi-kun?"

Shin turned around and saw Kurenai Yuhi walking from another fork in the road.

Today she changed into a dark training uniform that allowed for easy movement, with a standard straight sword neatly hanging at her waist. Her long, dark hair was tied into a neat ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead and calm red eyes.

"Good morning, Hong." Zhen nodded in greeting and slowed his pace to walk alongside her.

"Good morning." Kurenai approached with light steps.

Looking at the sword at Kurenai's waist, Shinichi casually asked, "When did you start practicing swordsmanship, Kurenai-kun?"

In his mind, this future genjutsu jonin didn't seem to have much connection with swordsmanship.

Kurenai tilted her head slightly, a faint smile on her face: "It probably started about three years ago."

She paused, as if recalling something interesting, and her smile deepened slightly: "Shinichi, you may not have realized it yourself, but when you were at school, you practiced swordsmanship on the playground every noon without fail, rain or shine. This actually sparked the interest of many students in swordsmanship. Many of them later enrolled in swordsmanship dojos in the village, or started practicing on their own."

She was telling the truth, but not the whole story.

More than three years ago, it was Shinichi who defeated Kakashi, the then-recognized genius, in a clean and powerful swordsmanship during the end-of-term practical assessment.

That scene deeply shocked Kurenai Yuhi, who was also a first-year student and was watching from the sidelines.

Since then, she has unconsciously paid more attention to that classmate named Shinichi Higashino.

Watching him single-mindedly sweat it out every morning and afternoon, watching him treat people with gentleness and politeness without being abrupt, watching him grow stronger with each test and rumor, a certain subtle influence quietly takes place.

She began to cultivate even more diligently, not only with her family's illusionary arts, but also by trying to wield swords and blades that she was not familiar with before, and to feel the focus of concentrating her spirit and power into a single point.

Imitation may be the earliest form of worship; she admires that diligence and self-discipline, and yearns for that clear and firm sense of purpose.

This attention and quiet learning made her more calm and hardworking. Even her father, Kurenai Yuhi, was surprised by the sudden increase in his daughter's enthusiasm for basic physical fitness and swordsmanship training.

Of course, Kurenai Yuhi wouldn't easily reveal these deeper, more subtle psychological trajectories to others.

She simply attributed it to a natural change resulting from the positive influence of outstanding classmates.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yi suddenly realized that he had never imagined that his routine cultivation would have such an impact on others.

"So that's how it is."

He nodded and said, "Swordsmanship training can indeed temper one's will and body control, which helps with a ninja's overall qualities. It's good that Kurenai is interested."

Kurenai hummed in agreement, then suddenly said, "Shinichi, now that we're in the same class, you can just call me Kurenai from now on." She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully, "From now on... just call me Kurenai."

Upon hearing this, Shinichi glanced at her and nodded readily, "Okay, then you can just call me Shinichi."