"Sign in: Kakashi Hatake and Hinata Hyuga!"
[Ding! Kakashi Hatake sign-in successful! You've obtained Earth Style: Mud Wall! Affection +3!]
[Ding! Hinata Hyuga sign-in successful! You've obtained Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm! Affection +4!]
[Ding! Duplicate technique detected! Low-level Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm experience added into high-level Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!]
Yasu let out a wry smile—he had just drawn Kakashi Hatake's signature jutsu.
He couldn't help but wonder if his Mud Wall would also have a dog head on it.
As for the Gentle fist: Eight Trigrams Palm, he was genuinely surprised.
Hinata didn't even know how to perform it yet, but somehow he had drawn it. The only question now was how powerful it would be.
Kurenai walked over with a smile and gently nudged him.
"Didn't expect you to be so tender-hearted. Do you like Hinata? If you join Team 8, you two can be together every day! So… what do you think?"
"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata's face instantly turned bright red.
She darted behind a wooden post, burying her head and avoiding Yasu's gaze.
Yasu froze for a moment.
Hinata was shy, but she didn't usually blush so easily. Normally, only Naruto could make her flustered.
Now, just a playful tease from Kurenai had caused such a reaction.
Nearby, Sakura was gripping her clothes tightly, eyes sparkling with anticipation as she watched Yasu.
"This is the effect of affection points, huh."
"Hey! I'm asking you—will you join Team 8 or not?"
Kakashi cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Yasu's reaction is obvious. Don't push him."
Kurenai glared at him, eyes wide.
"I haven't forgotten about this yet," she said, voice calm but edged with steel. "You claimed this was just for Team 8's training, but… we were completely overwhelmed. Don't you think you owe us an explanation?"
As she spoke, Kurenai advanced toward Kakashi.
Kakashi raised his hands, waving them nervously, stepping backward.
"Well… I didn't expect this either."
"Didn't expect what? That Team 8 is so weak?" Kurenai's voice was cool but sharp, each word deliberate. "No matter what, I'm taking Yasu with me today!" She pressed a kunai lightly against Kakashi's neck—not enough to harm, but enough to make her point.
Kakashi swallowed.
He never imagined a girl could be so unreasonable.
And most importantly, he couldn't offend Kurenai's boyfriend.
"One day a week—I can only give you one day." he said, voice tense.
"That's too little! At least three days!"
…
Watching them bicker, Yasu couldn't help but roll his eyes.
He never imagined that he wouldn't even have a say in his own fate.
Still, he wanted to stay with Team 7. After all, all three members were talented, a worthy reward. Team 8 only had Hinata which was worth farming affection points.
Joining Team 8 would only speed up the increase in Hinata's affection points.
Finally, Kakashi and Kurenai reached a compromise: Yasu would visit Team 8 at least once a week.
Once Team 8 left, Kakashi finally relaxed.
His sharp eye scanned the four of them.
"Congratulations, you've passed the assessment!"
Naruto and the others froze.
After seeing Yasu's battle, they had almost given up hope. Yasu's strength was far beyond a Genin—at least, beyond Team 7.
But now, Kakashi declared the assessment passed, and the three were overjoyed.
Sakura bounced around Yasu excitedly, unsure if she was happy about passing the assessment or staying in Team 7.
"Kakashi-sensei, can you tell us why?"
Sasuke's expression remained calm, but his eyes betrayed his curiosity.
After he asked, the others also looked at Kakashi, curious.
"Sometimes, a shinobi needs to improvise. Giving you one day's rations to complete a three-day mission isn't about rationing food—it's about surviving without being detected. As long as you live, the mission's possibilities are endless!"
In an instant, the three understood.
Kakashi's assessment had started from the very beginning.
And the test wasn't about combat, but about whether they had what it took to be proper ninjas.
Confidence spread across their faces.
Kakashi wiped the sweat from his brow. He was glad he'd thought quickly and come up with a reason the three would actually believe.
As Yasu had said, they were fresh graduates, like blank paper. Whatever ink you dropped, that's what they would absorb.
The real focus of this assessment had been Yasu all along.
Yasu gave Kakashi an unfathomable feeling. If it were anyone else, he would have used his ANBU interrogation methods—and everything would have come out.
But for some reason, Yasu felt strangely familiar, like an old friend met after a lifetime apart.
Other than Might Guy, Kakashi had only ever felt this way about Obito and Rin.
This time, the assessment had failed—he hadn't uncovered Yasu's background, and he'd also managed to anger Kurenai.
Kakashi felt exhausted.
"All right, that's enough for today. We'll meet here again tomorrow. Yasu, come with me."
Yasu shrugged, and followed kakashi back.
With Kakashi's 83 affection points, there was nothing to worry about, so he followed obediently.
Night fell.
Yasu quietly slipped out of bed, glancing at the still-sleeping Kakashi. He finally exhaled.
Although he wasn't doing anything wrong, if Kakashi noticed, trouble might follow.
He was also curious.
Why wear a mask during the day—and even while sleeping at night? Wouldn't it be suffocating?
Though he wanted to remove it, other matters demanded his attention.
There would be plenty of time later. Once his affection points reached 100, Kakashi would have no choice but to take off the mask.
Yasu tiptoed out of the room, only relaxing after leaving it completely.
Once he left, Kakashi slowly opened his eyes, scratching his head with mild amusement.
"This kid really thinks he can sneak around Konoha at night… Fine, I'll help him out today."