Graduation and Team Assignments

"So soon, and it's already the last day of school." Soji sat at his desk, listening to Teacher Kimura on the podium share his thoughts on the past four years.

Two years had unknowingly passed since the Cloud Hidden Elite Shinobi spy kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki.

This was also Soji's final day at the Ninja Academy!

In his previous life, he had only had one year of college left. He hadn't expected to spend another four years studying in this life.

Seriously, one year in his previous life equaled four years in this one?

Soji had complained about that more than once in his heart.

"Yeah, I didn't expect time to pass so quickly. The days ahead won't be as comfortable as they were at school." Minato Namikaze, his deskmate, was similarly emotional.

Although they had skipped class regularly during the latter two years, aside from their first two years at the academy—

That didn't stop their hearts from stirring.

At that thought, Soji's urge to complain grew even stronger. This was practically identical to his four years of college in his previous life.

Spend the first two years as a good student, then become an old hand for the next two.

That saying applied not only to Soji's previous life, but to this life as well!

"The Ninja World War isn't over yet. I wonder whether we'll be sent straight to the front lines as soon as we graduate?" As he said this, an almost imperceptible excitement radiated from Soji.

Soji was actually certain that, as a member of the Hyuga Main Family, whether he went to war was entirely up to him. He was saying this more for Minato's benefit.

"Who knows? If the situation on the battlefield gets worse, we'll definitely have to go. But if things stay as they are, they probably won't immediately send a group of newly graduated genin like us to break the deadlock." Minato voiced his judgment.

Actually, there was something Minato didn't say aloud. His teacher was Jiraiya, so he too had the right to join the war at any time.

It wasn't just Soji and Minato. Uchiha Homura, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and even Kushina Uzumaki all had no reason to be forced into the Ninja World War.

Uchiha Homura was an Uchiha Clan genius who had awakened the Sharingan at the age of eight.

Kushina Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio were the heirs of the next generation.

Neither their respective clans nor the village would force them to fight.

After Teacher Kimura finished his speech, it was time for the Ninja Academy graduation exams.

The written test was held in the morning, while the Three Body Technique test was in the afternoon.

As for the written test, anyone who had listened attentively in class would have no problem scoring above passing, even if they didn't get full marks.

For Soji and the others, it was even easier.

Don't be fooled by how often they skipped class.

That was only because they had already finished learning all four years' worth of theoretical knowledge during their first two years.

The exam started at eight in the morning and ended at ten. By noon, the teachers had already finished grading the papers.

Everyone had passed!

Not only that, quite a few had received perfect scores, including Soji, Minato, and several of the regular class-skippers.

After eating their lunchboxes at noon, the group gathered together.

"Do you think anyone won't be able to graduate this year?" Soji casually threw out a topic.

"Probably not. I don't think there's anyone especially stupid in our class, right?" Uchiha Homura said uncertainly.

"I wonder who I'll be grouped with after graduation." Kushina Uzumaki kicked at a small stone by her feet, looking a little worried.

Soji had no idea about that either.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio exchanged a tacit glance.

Their three clans had always advanced and retreated together.

Many of their ninjutsu could also be used in coordination to maximize their power.

Even if something unexpected happened, the three of them were guaranteed to be placed in the same team.

So they didn't dwell on any other random thoughts.

"I'm sure the higher-ups will make the most reasonable arrangements." Although Minato also wanted to be assigned to the same team as Kushina Uzumaki, that was all he could say to comfort her.

The lunch break passed quickly amid their conversation.

The afternoon graduation exam began, and the teacher called the students out of the classroom one by one.

"Hyuga Soji."

Soon, Soji heard Teacher Kimura call his name.

He entered the classroom specially designated for testing. Besides Teacher Kimura, another academy teacher was present.

"Use the Transformation Jutsu, Substitution Technique, and Clone Technique in that order." Teacher Kimura said to Soji.

Hearing that, Soji first transformed into Teacher Kimura's appearance.

Then, he left behind a piece of wood where he had been standing while his real body appeared in the corner of the classroom.

Finally, he created two identical clones.

Throughout the assessment, Soji's performance could only be described as steady and proper.

After the other teacher finished recording the results, Soji left and returned to the classroom.

After giving his friends an OK gesture, he quietly sat in his seat and waited for the other students to finish their assessments.

The afternoon assessment began at one o'clock, and the entire class had finished by around four.

What came next was the teachers' judgment of every student's fate.

When Teacher Kimura entered the classroom, every student looked nervous. After all, no one wanted to be held back and end up keeping company with children from the next grade.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to hold their heads up in front of anyone.

"Congratulations. Every one of you has graduated!" Teacher Kimura said, tears in his eyes as he looked at the students before him.

This wasn't Teacher Kimura's first graduating class.

But every year at this time, he couldn't help feeling both happy and sad.

He was happy because of these students' growth, and sad because he didn't know how many of them would survive in the future.

"Whoa!"

"That's amazing!"

"We finally graduated!"

Excited cries rose and fell throughout the classroom.

Influenced by the other students, even Soji, who had originally been calm, couldn't help smiling.

"This feeling is great, isn't it?" Minato had completely lost his usual mature demeanor as he looked at Soji, who was pretending to be calm.

At last, Soji couldn't resist joining the cheering crowd. At this moment, he didn't need to pretend to be calm.

Teacher Kimura didn't stop them as they celebrated for quite a while.

Because he knew the students needed to let those emotions out.

Once the students had finally calmed down, Teacher Kimura began handing out Konoha forehead protectors one by one.

Looking at the forehead protector Teacher Kimura placed in his hands, Soji couldn't help putting it on immediately. The other students did the same.

At that moment, Soji felt strangely conflicted.

He knew that from this moment on, he was a real ninja!

After handing out everyone's forehead protectors, Teacher Kimura returned to the podium and said, "Congratulations. From today onward, you are genin of Konoha. Remember to work hard and complete your missions. Most importantly, I hope all of you survive."

Teacher Kimura's first sentence was impassioned, but the latter half silenced the entire classroom.

That was right. No one knew how many familiar classmates would die during missions from now on.

Seeing the subdued atmosphere, Teacher Kimura felt that was enough.

His final words had only been meant to make these students cherish their lives in the future. He had not intended to discourage these energetic children before him.

"Next, I'll announce the team assignments."

At last, it was time for the most exciting matter—and the one Soji, Minato, and the others most wanted to know.

After all, good teammates could greatly increase one's chance of survival, while useless teammates could sometimes get you killed.

Thus, everyone held their breath and waited for Teacher Kimura to announce the list.

Teacher Kimura began calling out the names of students in each team.

"Team Eight: Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi."

As Teacher Kimura's words fell, only four people in the class had yet to be called.

Those four were the top four students in this graduation class: Minato Namikaze, Hyuga Soji, Kushina Uzumaki, and Uchiha Homura.

They were all nervous as well, wanting to know which one of them would be excluded from their team.

"The students whose names have been called may go home first. In three days, return to this classroom, and your Mentor Teacher will come find you." Teacher Kimura did not assign Soji and the remaining four to teams. Instead, he told the other students to leave first.

The students looked at one another. Although they wanted to know the final few students' team assignments, Teacher Kimura had said so, and they could only leave first.

Before leaving, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio also gave the group a worried look.

Even after all the students had left, Teacher Kimura still did not announce the final four's team assignment.

"Lord Hokage, I'll leave the rest to you." While Soji and the others were still listening intently, Teacher Kimura said those words.

The four of them immediately turned in unison toward the doorway.

Standing there was none other than Konoha's ruler, the Third Hokage!

Not only Soji, but the other three were also shocked.

They didn't understand how the graduation team assignments of mere Ninja Academy students had brought such an important figure here.

As the Third Hokage entered the classroom, Teacher Kimura immediately left.

All of this had actually been arranged by the Third Hokage.

Even Teacher Kimura did not know why.

He only knew that the Hokage must have a secret, but it was clearly not something a minor academy teacher like him should know.

"Children, I know you must be confused right now, but what I'm about to say is very important. I hope you remember it clearly." The Third Hokage looked at the four children before him, speaking as though he had made some kind of decision.

"Lord Hokage, is it appropriate for us to know something so important?" Soji asked weakly.

"Hahaha, this matter happens to concern all of you, so naturally you should know." Seeing that his tone may have made them overly nervous, the Third Hokage laughed to ease the atmosphere.

The four looked at one another. What major matter could possibly concern a few students who had just graduated?

But since the Hokage had said so, they could only listen carefully.

"I plan to place the four of you on the same team. You are the four most outstanding students of this class. The other reason is that I hope the other three of you will protect Kushina Uzumaki. Even if you must risk your lives or abandon a mission, you must do so."

Once he got to the main point, the Third Hokage's expression became serious again.

The group was startled. They had not expected to form a four-person team.

And they were to risk their lives to protect Kushina Uzumaki.

That was worth thinking about. The other three immediately recalled the incident two years ago, when the Cloud Hidden Elite Shinobi had kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki.

If nothing unexpected had happened, Kushina Uzumaki must possess a major secret!

The group exchanged glances, then nodded solemnly in agreement.

They had originally thought one of them would have to separate from the others, and had secretly felt sad about it. Now, every concern had been resolved.

Soji also understood why the Third Hokage had made these team assignments.

The four of them were the strongest combination in this class, perfect for protecting one of their members.

Because Kushina Uzumaki had the Nine-Tails fox sealed within her, this could greatly increase her safety before she fully grew into the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

No matter what, the Third Hokage had directly solved their problem with this arrangement.

They only needed to protect one person. With their strength, that wouldn't be difficult.

Moreover, Kushina Uzumaki herself was not weak.

Only after the Third Hokage instructed them to keep this matter secret and not tell anyone—not even their parents—did he finally leave the classroom.