A Mixed Team of a Genius, an Idiot, and a Girl

Ninja Academy, the second day of the Graduation Exam.

Kai had not come to school at all today, because he already knew he would be assigned to his father Might Dai's team.

For the past two hours, students had been taken away one after another. By now, most of the students had left the classroom.

The Third Shinobi World War had entered its middle stages. Konoha had finally driven the various enemy forces that had invaded the Land of Fire back out, and while stabilizing its lines, it had begun attempting counterattacks.

Although the situation showed signs of improving, Konoha's prospects remained bleak. To win the war, they had to defeat their enemies on the battlefield. That required offense rather than blindly defending. Yet even while carrying out a defensive strategy, Konoha's forces were already severely lacking. Now that they were shifting to an offensive posture, their manpower would be squeezed to its limits.

That was why these students who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy would be sent to the battlefield. They might not even have time to adjust before being thrown straight into combat.

Fortunately, because this was a time of war, the Ninja Academy's curriculum was far more focused and practical than it had been during Naruto's peaceful era. At the very least, basic chakra control methods such as tree climbing and water walking were part of the Academy's foundational courses.

Of course, even so, these fresh Academy graduates could not really influence the course of the war. Once deployed, they could make up for a small portion of the manpower shortage, but for the time being, they would not meaningfully increase Konoha's combat strength—the village was essentially conducting a cruel process of natural selection. Mediocre students would quickly be weeded out by war, while the surviving geniuses would soon rise to prominence.

As for heading to the front lines, Hagoromo neither resisted nor welcomed it. This second life he had been given for free had left him content to simply go with the flow.

As a ninja, if he went to the battlefield, he would definitely be cannon fodder. Fortunately, he had other abilities he could rely on.

This was actually one reason Hagoromo had so few friends. Aside from some brainless fangirls and idiots like Kai and Obito, everyone else found Hagoromo mysterious and inscrutable. It was hard to feel any sense of reliability from him...

Groups of students followed their assigned instructors out of the classroom one after another. Hagoromo's gaze occasionally drifted toward the door. He was rather curious about what kind of person his own team leader would be. If possible, he hoped the person would be highly skilled, so he could learn more ninjutsu from his teacher. In a sense, a team leader's ability determined the future achievements of the students under him... Students of the same caliber could have completely different futures under different teachers. The importance of a team leader was obvious.

Then he saw a handsome blond ninja with a gentle smile on his face enter the classroom, accompanied by a white-haired, masked young ninja who looked incredibly smug.

That was right. This was the famous Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze. He could be considered one of Konoha's important figures.

As for the one beside him, that was naturally Kakashi Hatake.

Hagoromo's gaze first swept over Kakashi. That was right, Kakashi Hatake was still quite smug at this point, bearing the title of the White Fang's son and holding himself in high regard despite his young age.

Hagoromo curled his lip slightly. What, did you think you were Kusuo Saiki or Kakarot? You're just Kakashi Hatake.

All right, there was indeed a hint of jealousy in Hagoromo's attitude.

Geniuses like Kakashi, who graduated from the Ninja Academy ahead of schedule, were rare exceptions. Most people, like Kamishiro Hagoromo, spent three years at the Academy. Of course, if Hagoromo had wanted to, he could have graduated early as well. He had simply chosen to stay there.

Kakashi truly had reason to be proud—not because of his father's reputation, but because of his own strength. He had graduated from the Ninja Academy at five, become a Chunin a year after graduating, and now, at only nine years old, possessed strength comparable to that of a Special Jonin.

Hagoromo's gaze shifted back to Minato Namikaze. This was the future Fourth Hokage... Honestly, Orochimaru, one of the Three Ninja, had not been wronged by losing to Minato. The former was immensely powerful but cold and sinister by nature, while the latter was the perfect candidate to become Hokage. Born a civilian, proficient in ninjutsu, clear-minded, resolute yet gentle in character—he perfectly embodied the so-called Will of Fire. The Third Hokage had not made the wrong choice.

Jiraiya had said, "Compared to the Fourth Hokage, anyone pales in comparison. He was the person with the finest ninja qualities in history." That was not empty praise for his own disciple; it was simply the truth, and it was how all of Konoha viewed Minato.

This was probably the most important person Hagoromo had ever seen in Konoha—aside from the Third Hokage, of course. The old man often wandered into the Ninja Academy whenever he felt like it, as friendly as a neighbor's grandfather. He lacked a certain imposing presence, which resulted in the Academy students not respecting the Third Hokage all that much.

If possible, Hagoromo had been looking forward to becoming Minato's disciple, but he knew that was impossible. No matter how unfamiliar he was with the plot of Naruto, he still knew the members of Minato's Team.

What he did not know was that, in the future, he would get along with Minato Namikaze in a rather unusual way.

If Minato walked down the street, he would definitely draw one hundred percent of the attention. But at the Ninja Academy, everyone had surely heard the name Yellow Flash, yet they had no idea what the Flash actually looked like. Thus, they did not realize that the idol they admired had just entered their classroom.

Besides, fewer than ten people remained in the classroom.

"Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin."

Sure enough, the moment Minato Namikaze entered the classroom, he called out Obito and Rin's names.

"Hey, you bastard, isn't that Kakashi? Why are you here?" Obito spotted a tuft of white hair before him. After confirming it was not Hagoromo's tuft, he immediately realized who its owner was and instantly started shouting.

Unexpectedly, Obito had failed to recognize Minato Namikaze, yet recognized Kakashi Hatake, whom he had not seen in three years. Such deeply engraved attachment had remained etched into both their minds and hearts. Was this what they called best friends for life?

The moment they heard Kakashi's name, everyone in the classroom turned their attention toward him.

"Obito, Rin, you know Kakashi? Whatever you have to say, let's talk after we leave this place." Before Kakashi could provoke that fool with a skull but no brains again, Minato hurriedly spoke.