Unlucky Team Assignment

Chapter 10

The next afternoon, at the Ninja Academy classroom.

"What's going on? Why hasn't our instructor arrived yet?"

Teammate A loudly complained. The classroom was already completely empty; everyone else had been taken away by their Guidance Jonin, leaving only the three of them.

The girl with the bob haircut beside him, Teammate B, chimed in with a few complaints of her own.

They shared one trait: neither of them thought much of their eight-year-old teammate.

Lin Ke let out an almost imperceptible sigh. His luck was really terrible. Running into teammates like these, and if their Guidance Jonin was the one he imagined—

This was practically a disastrous start.

"Creak—" With dusk approaching outside, the classroom door opened. A white-haired man wearing a mask and using his Forehead Protector to cover one eye stood in the doorway and lazily said:

"Yo."

"I'm your Guidance Jonin, Hatake Kakashi."

It was over.

Lin Ke calmly accepted the fact that he was about to be sent back to the Ninja Academy for another year of study.

Before Hatake Kakashi met the original trio of protagonists, every student under him had inevitably been sent back to the Ninja Academy.

Because the goal of his test completely went against the ninja principles taught at school. The Academy taught that ninja were tools and missions outweighed everything, yet he valued the so-called importance of comrades.

Besides, whether taking on the protagonist trio had anything to do with a commission from the Third Hokage, the Uchiha bloodline, or the Fourth Hokage's son was impossible to say.

The only certain conclusion was that before the protagonist trio, no one had passed his practical test.

"...That's all." Hatake Kakashi rambled on a little about being late because of a black cat. Since the other two students were typical Genin, they showed no emotional reaction or objection to a Jonin's words, strictly following the superior-subordinate notions taught by the Academy.

"Tomorrow morning, there'll be a wilderness survival exercise at the Third Training Ground." He could not even be bothered to learn about his subordinates, much less make any strange jokes. "This exercise will determine whether you return to the Ninja Academy for retraining, so—"

He had most likely never considered letting the three of them pass in the first place.

"See you tomorrow, you three." He left with a gentle smile.

Teammate A and Teammate B quickly began discussing the wilderness survival exercise. Then one of them turned and said:

"Hey, kid, do you—"

Lin Ke stood up and walked straight out without even looking at them, leaving the two behind to complain about their indifferent superior and teammate.

There was no point. He did not think he would need any bonds, nor did he need to get along with his teammates.

Perhaps if his Guidance Jonin had not been Hatake Kakashi, he might have been in the mood to muddle through with the two of them, build a good relationship, and display his leadership ability by leading them, earning an opportunity to be promoted to Chunin sooner.

But now, it did not matter.

After leaving the classroom, Lin Ke felt somewhat irritated. Having his plans disrupted was truly unpleasant. Thinking of how excited he had been after graduating smoothly yesterday, he could not help feeling embarrassed and angry. He took a deep breath and cleared away his messy thoughts.

So, were there any benefits to encountering Hatake Kakashi?

He seriously considered it. The downside was that he could not become a Genin this year, and his promotion to Chunin would be delayed.

As for the upside, returning to the Ninja Academy to build up experience for a year was not bad either. The speed of his physical training would slow, but not stop entirely. He would also have more time to familiarize himself with and apply his unique Three Body Technique.

Also, Hatake Kakashi held no low status in the village and could speak directly to the Third Hokage. In the future, he would even lead the protagonist trio.

Leaving a deep impression on him would be a good thing.

Lin Ke reached a judgment. No matter what kind of impression it was, as long as he left one and was not some unremarkable nobody, it would ultimately benefit his future promotions.

So tomorrow's wilderness survival exercise—snatching bells—could not be handled halfheartedly.

Then let me see what I'm capable of when I go all out—

The next day, at the Third Training Ground.

"What's with this? He really is a king of lateness."

Teammate A sat on a wooden post and grumbled. Hatake Kakashi was late again, just as he had been yesterday.

"Is a guy like that really a Jonin?" He began discussing it with Teammate B.

Lin Ke sat some distance away, silently conducting a battle simulation in his mind. He was clearly separated from his two teammates. He had never even considered defeating a Jonin. His taijutsu was too poor and his ninjutsu too limited; he was not even confident of defeating a Chunin, let alone an elite among Jonin.

The only option was the Substitution Technique. His Substitution Technique randomly summoned a Stand. With the growth in his chakra reserves over the past half year, he could now maintain a Stand for thirty seconds. If he got lucky and summoned Star Platinum again—

Although the Star Platinum he summoned could not stop time, its sheer stats alone—enough to punch apart teeth three meters thick and harder than diamonds—would be more than enough to contend with Hatake Kakashi in his chakra-depleted state.

If he was unlucky enough to summon Hermit Purple...

"Sorry, sorry." Just as the morning was about to pass, Hatake Kakashi appeared in an open space nearby, uttering an utterly insincere apology. He casually set an alarm clock on a wooden post and said, "Anyone who takes the bells from me before noon will pass the test."

He shook the two bells hanging from his waist, pulled out Make-Out Paradise from his Waist Pouch, and said, "Then—"

"The exercise begins."

"Whoosh!" ×2 That idiot kid! ×2 The two instantly hid themselves according to standard ninja combat tactics, concealing their presence as they sincerely cursed Lin Ke, who had just stood up.

"Even if you hide, you probably can't fool a Jonin, can you?"

Lin Ke stretched his body and spoke in an unhurried tone. "There are three of us, but only two bells. Does that mean one person will fail the test and return to the Ninja Academy?"

A faint smile appeared in Hatake Kakashi's eye. Of course, he had looked through their files beforehand. A kid suspected of possessing a special Kekkei Genkai, someone who had wanted to graduate after only one year at the Academy—

In truth, the Third Hokage had noticed this kid. After all, it was a Kekkei Genkai ability, which was why he had dumped the Guidance Jonin job on him.

Combined with his past habit of sending three students back to the Ninja Academy every year, it was not hard to guess what the Third Hokage was thinking.

"Rustle—" He opened Make-Out Paradise one-handed and said, "Heh heh, real missions are this cruel. Even in a test, one of you is destined to be eliminated and sent back to the Ninja Academy."

Lin Ke had already adjusted his body to its peak condition and immediately formed hand seals—

Transformation Jutsu! Clone Technique! His left arm fell off in full view of everyone, transforming into a chainsaw midair before landing in his right hand. A strange smile hung on his face as he lightly pressed the switch with a finger.

"Vroooom!"