Team Assignments, Instructor Inoichi Yamanaka

"Next up, the members of Team 9 are-"

At the new students' orientation, the Genin were being assigned to teams of three.

"Kurenai Yuhi."

"Here." Kurenai stood up when her name was called.

"Next, Shizune Kato."

"Here." Shizune looked at Kurenai in delight. "This is wonderful! We've been assigned to the same team, Kurenai!"

"Yes, we're so lucky to be on the same team, Shizune." Kurenai was delighted too.

Shizune stuck out her tongue and said playfully, "What if the third person is Shunren? Just kidding~"

"Next, Shunren."

The announcement from the stage filled both Kurenai and Shizune with delight.

"Here." Shunren stood up and teased the two girls, "Could it be that I have the makings of a male protagonist too?"

"Hm? I don't really understand what you mean, Shunren, but I'm glad we get to be teammates," Shizune said with a smile.

Kurenai nodded too. "Hmph~ Shunren, I'll come to you to spar in Genjutsu from now on. Let's see how you get out of it then!"

"Hello, I'm the Jonin instructor for Team 9. Follow me." This orientation was different from the one Shunren remembered. In his memories, Kakashi, the Jonin in charge of the future protagonist trio of Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, had been late on the very first day. But the Jonin in charge of Shunren and the others seemed conscientious and diligent, having waited for them there since early that morning.

The young man before them was in his twenties, with blond hair and blue-green eyes. Shunren's eyes widened slightly. The man looked somewhat familiar.

Their Jonin instructor led them to a garden behind the school and sat down in the shade of a tree. The blond young man said gently, "Don't be nervous. We're only here to introduce ourselves today. Come sit down."

On their first meeting, the Jonin instructor made quite a good impression on Shunren and the two girls.

"Hmm, then let me start." The blond young man seemed to sense that the three of them were still a little reserved, so he kept the conversation going.

"My name is Inoichi Yamanaka, a Jonin of Konoha. My hobby is growing flowers. My favorite animals are pigs, deer, and butterflies, and I hate lechers."

"Pfft!" His introduction had been quite normal at first, but it had gotten a little strange when he reached his favorite animals. And what did he mean by that last part about hating lechers?

Inoichi seemed to notice their odd expressions and said with a straight face, "A person should be pure, and a man should be a gentleman above all." At the end, he cast a slightly appraising glance at Shunren. "Young man, there are two ladies on Team 9. You can't go putting an arm around each of them."

"Oh..." Shunren broke into a cold sweat. There were far too many things to point out!

Shizune was shy by nature, and her cheeks flushed at once. "Honestly, Inoichi-sensei, what are you saying?"

For some reason, Kurenai didn't blame Inoichi. Instead, she stared at Shunren warily. "Shunren, are you a gentleman?"

"Don't worry, I'm a gentleman," Shunren replied jokingly. He couldn't help thinking that his sort of gentleman might be a little different.

Inoichi nodded in satisfaction and smiled. "Hmm~ If I have a daughter someday, I'll be sure to raise her to be a lady."

Shunren grumbled inwardly, That's a shame. Your future daughter will turn out to be a huge fangirl-Ino Yamanaka.

Shunren knew of the Jonin instructor before him, Inoichi Yamanaka. He was a member of the Yamanaka Clan, one of Konoha's foremost clans. In Konoha's famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Yamanaka and Nara inherited Yin Release secret techniques, while the Akimichi's physical secret techniques were Yang Release.

Shunren thought that perhaps he could learn more about Yin Release from this instructor.

Kurenai introduced herself with a straight face,

But what she said made their jaws drop. "My name is Kurenai Yuhi. My hobby is having a drink in the evening. I like all kinds of alcohol: shochu, vodka..." "Wait! Kurenai, h-how can you drink? We're underage!" Shizune stared at Kurenai in shock.

"Don't worry, those are just things I'll like doing in the future," Kurenai said with a smile.

"That doesn't reassure me at all! You can't do it in the future either!" As always, Shizune was the type to worry about others.

Inoichi gave an embarrassed smile too. "This... really is just like Shinku."

"Inoichi-sensei, you know my father?"

"Of course. When I worked in the Intelligence Division, Shinku was my senior. His Genjutsu was no inferior to the Uchiha's, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what his descendant can do." Inoichi's eyes were full of an elder's kindness as he looked at Kurenai.

Kurenai met his gaze steadily and said seriously, "Don't worry, I'll give you something to look forward to!"

"I'll take your word for it for now. All right, who's next?"

"Shizune Kato. My interests are... hmm~ The world is so big, and I want to go out and see it. Ancient buildings like cultural heritage sites, I suppose. I like eating the Akimichi Clan's first-rate brown rice, and I hate pork!"

After listening to Shizune's introduction, a thought stirred in Inoichi's mind. Is this girl a member of that Mr. Dan Katō's clan?

Inoichi gave her a thumbs-up. "Little foodie, the Akimichi Clan's ingredients are undoubtedly the best! All right, last up, the composed young man."

"My name is Shunren. I don't have a family name, just Shunren. As for my hobbies, I have all sorts. There are lots of things I hate and lots of things I like. Hmm, that's it..."

"Come on, Shunren, all Sensei knows in the end is your name!" Shizune couldn't help pointing out.

Kurenai looked at Shunren strangely too. From what she knew of him, he didn't seem like the type to show off and act cool.

Inoichi had a good temper and wasn't angry. He merely smiled and said, "Shunren, is it? You're a young man with a unique personality."

Shunren smiled wryly to himself. Speaking of hobbies, he really didn't have any in this world. In his previous life, he had liked anime, games, and novels, but did they have those here? No, wait... this seemed to be an anime. And as for novels, there was Jiraiya's Icha Icha Paradise. He was a little curious about that one and wanted to see what a little X-rated X book from the two-dimensional world was like.

"All right. Kurenai, Shizune, Shunren, starting today, you're the students of Team 9, under me, Inoichi Yamanaka! I'll do my utmost to train you into outstanding ninja."

Seeing how earnest and responsible Inoichi was, Shunren and the two girls couldn't help feeling respect for him. "Thank you, Sensei!"

Inoichi was a serious and meticulous man. He took an alarm clock out of his pocket and tossed it backward, lodging it securely in the fork of a tree.

"Now then, let me see what you're capable of!"