Team 11

"Naruto, Sakura..."

Upon hearing Team 7's roster, Ye Wuyue listened closely. In the original story, he had been assigned to Team 7 as well. He wondered whether he would still end up there this time. When Itachi returned yesterday, he had not told Ye Wuyue which team he would lead; that was village policy.

"And Ito Satoshi." Iruka announced the final member of Team 7.

This result left Ye Wuyue feeling both surprised and unsurprised. Originally, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura had been placed together because Sasuke had the highest overall grades in the class, while Naruto was the dead last. They had been grouped together to balance out their grades—at least on the surface.

But now, because his theory scores were so poor, Ye Wuyue's ranking had only reached the middle of the class. Naruto's grades were now in the middle as well. Like Ye Wuyue, he was weak in theory but strong in practical combat. He had probably inherited that from his mother, Kushina.

Sakura had the best theory grades in the class. As for that Ito Satoshi, Ye Wuyue was not very familiar with him. He only knew that he was a bespectacled boy whose combat ability and theory grades were both fairly average. Ye Wuyue had never seen him display anything particularly exceptional.

"Team 8: Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga."

"...Team 10: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi."

Iruka still had not called his name, and Ye Wuyue began to feel a little confused.

"Team 11: Uchiha Sasuke, Sai..."

???

Ye Wuyue immediately raised his hand. "Iruka-sensei, I have a question! Why isn't my teammate from our class? And I've never even heard of this Sai!"

That was naturally a lie. How could Ye Wuyue not know Sai? In the original story, he was the ninja who joined the new Team 7 after Sasuke defected. He came from Danzo's Root, specialized in Super Beast Imitating Drawing, and initially had no emotions, only knowing how to carry out missions. Later, Naruto and Sakura helped him open up, and he became their companion. At the end of Shippuden, he even married Ino, becoming the ultimate winner in life.

But that was not important. What mattered was this: in the original story, Sai had become a Chunin at the age of ten, hadn't he? Why was he being assigned to a ninja team with Ye Wuyue now?

"Because there aren't enough graduates in your year to divide everyone neatly into teams of three. After forming ten teams, you were the only one left. So the higher-ups decided to assign you members from outside the academy who are close to your age. Sai may only be a year older than you, but he's already a Chunin. With him around, your team will have a much easier time carrying out missions." Iruka explained.

"Sasuke is really lucky. He actually got assigned to a team with a Chunin."

"Seriously. I wish I had that kind of luck too."

"? Are you saying you don't want to be on the same team as me?"

"Huh? No! Of course not!"

After hearing Iruka's explanation, the students in the classroom all looked at Ye Wuyue with envy.

After listening to Iruka's explanation, Ye Wuyue understood as well. There were thirty-one graduates in their year, not a multiple of three. So... he had been left over...

Ye Wuyue did not know whether this was a coincidence or something deliberately arranged, but one thing was certain: Sai had to be Danzo's doing.

Ye Wuyue slowly sat back down. If that was the case, then his final teammate would most likely be someone else's arrangement too.

"The final member of Team 11: To be determined."

Iruka's words filled Ye Wuyue's head with question marks again. What did "to be determined" mean? Was that person actually named To Be Determined? Or was it really as he thought?

"Ahem. Since there are no available ninjas in the village close to your age, your team's final member will remain undecided for now. Once a suitable candidate is found in the future, they will be added to Team 11." At this point, even Iruka felt a little sorry for Ye Wuyue. Just being assigned to a team had already brought him so many twists and turns.

Ye Wuyue could not say whether he felt good or bad about it. Although his team was temporarily short one member, that was still better than having another traitor around. It also gave him more freedom. There was no need to worry too much about Sai either; his strength was there for all to see. Ye Wuyue just did not know who his Jonin instructor would be.

"Alright, you all know your team assignments now. In a moment, your Jonin instructors will come and take you away. But... don't celebrate too soon. Becoming a ninja isn't that easy." After reading out the team roster, Iruka spoke solemnly to the students in the classroom, then left.

Some of the students began to panic after hearing that.

"What did Sensei mean? Haven't we already graduated?"

The group began chattering noisily. Ye Wuyue certainly was not worried. He knew what Iruka meant—it was nothing more than the bell test. With his strength, no matter which Jonin instructor he encountered, he could easily pass the test. Besides, his team was unusual, so they might not even have the same test as everyone else.

After a while, the five Jonin instructors, including Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi, had taken their respective teams away.

Taking advantage of this time, Ye Wuyue opened his system panel to check his current abilities.

Host: Ye Wuyue (Sasuke)

Spiritual Power: 48563

Chakra Amount: 5163

Zanpakuto: Flowing Blade, Like Fire; Shinso; Senbonzakura

Kido: Proficient

Shunpo: Proficient

Hakuda: Good

Swordsmanship: Good

Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Unawakened)

System Space Size: 22*22

His Spiritual Power had just reached the threshold required to cultivate Bankai. His Chakra had already surpassed five thousand. Aside from Kido techniques above the ninetieth sequence, he could now use the rest without much trouble. He could cast Shunpo around a hundred times in a row, but he still had no clue whatsoever about the higher-level Utsusemi.

He did not have much talent for Hakuda or swordsmanship, and his progress in both was slow.

He had also discovered something else: the size of his System Space increased with time. Its side length grew by one meter each year, and it was a cube. The rewards he received from check-ins were basically all stored in the System Space, though he carried his Zanpakuto on his person.

Suddenly, a familiar figure entered the classroom.

"Members of Team 11."

Ye Wuyue froze when he saw the figure before him. What a coincidence.

"Niisan?" Ye Wuyue stood up and called out in surprise.

Itachi naturally saw Ye Wuyue as well, but he did not respond. Instead, he called out again, "Who are the members of Team 11?"

He had not known in advance who his team members would be. He had only been told that his team temporarily had two members. One had already sought him out before he came to the Ninja Academy, while the other was a student from this year's graduating class. He did not know who it was specifically.

Ye Wuyue walked over to Itachi and explained the situation. Itachi was clearly very surprised as well, but this outcome was one both of them were happy to see.

The two left the classroom together. At the entrance of the Ninja Academy, a Konoha ninja wearing a black midriff-baring short-sleeved top and carrying a short sword on his back was standing there, waiting for someone.

"You'll have to call me Sensei from now on, Sasuke."

As they walked, Itachi suddenly poked Ye Wuyue in the forehead and said with a smile.