"Naruto... Urgh... I'm going to kill you!"
"My mouth's going to rot... Urgh... Sasuke, I'm the one who's going to kill you!"
"Next, Team 7."
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Haruno Sakura!"
"And Uchiha Sasuke!"
As Iruka finished reading the names,
some were happy, while others were disappointed.
Before they knew it, noon had arrived.
The teams of three had all been taken away by their respective Jonin Instructors.
In the end, only Team 7 remained.
Naruto, who had never been known for his patience, listened to the cicadas chirping outside the window until he couldn't sit still any longer.
He shot up from his seat.
His face was full of anger.
"Damn it!"
"What time is it already?"
"Everyone else was taken away by their teachers ages ago, and we're still sitting here like idiots!"
"How should I know?" Even the pink-haired girl had run out of patience.
Still, she had to put on an act in front of Uchiha Sasuke.
"Hey, what are you doing, Naruto?"
Sasuke's eyes shifted toward Naruto as he fiddled with something.
He saw Naruto place the blackboard eraser above the door.
Sakura walked over.
"Then he shouldn't have been late."
Naruto shrugged and said as if it were only natural.
"Honestly... I'm not getting involved." That was what Sakura said, but her inner self was cheering him on. Go for it!
"Hmph!"
"How could a Jonin fall for such a clumsy trap?"
Sasuke closed his eyes and spoke disdainfully.
"Hmph! None of your business!" Naruto shot back, naturally annoyed.
Sakura thought about it, then said, "Sasuke-kun has a point."
Naruto immediately wore a bitter expression.
"Sakura~"
Just then,
the classroom door opened.
All three of them turned to look.
As the door swung open, a familiar figure appeared before them.
Whoosh—
A flash of golden light streaked past.
In the next instant, the figure was standing at the front of the classroom.
Clatter—
The blackboard eraser fell onto the threshold.
"Sorry for the wait."
"Teach... Teacher Cangwu?!" Sakura covered her little mouth.
As she gazed at Cangwu standing at the front of the classroom, a faint blush rose in her eyes.
Teacher Cangwu was still so handsome~!
Wait... why was Teacher Cangwu here?
Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly, too.
He hadn't been able to see what had just happened at all.
Cangwu... wasn't he a Genin?
Seriously... he showed up at a time like this...
After his initial shock, Naruto's face immediately lit up with a bright smile.
"Teacher Cangwu, what are you doing here?!"
"Don't tell me you're our Team 7 Jonin Instructor?!"
Cangwu smiled warmly, his dark eyes turning toward the three of them.
"Sorry I'm late. Someone kept pestering me... How should I put it? For certain reasons, I'm still your teacher."
"Team 7's Jonin Instructor."
At that,
Naruto and Sakura both exclaimed in surprise.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
So it really was true...
Could a Genin like Cangwu really handle the job?!
As the three stared in astonishment,
Cangwu wiped his face, removing the faint lip print there.
Anko, Anko... Since when had she learned to launch sneak attacks?
And it wasn't enough to sneak up on him—she'd even charged him for it... Honestly.
"Huh?!"
"Teacher Cangwu, are you really Team 7's Jonin Instructor?!"
Once Naruto came to his senses, he rushed over to Cangwu, his face brimming with delight.
Sakura followed him, looking full of anticipation. "Teacher Cangwu, please take good care of us~!"
"All right. Come with me. We still have to go through the usual formalities." Cangwu smiled and patted both of them on the head.
Then he looked over at Uchiha Sasuke, who was still trying to look cool.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke stood up reluctantly.
Since Cangwu had been chosen to lead a team as their Jonin Instructor, there had to be something special about him, even if he was only a Genin.
What was done was done. There was nothing Sasuke could do to change it.
The three followed Cangwu to the rooftop.
Naruto couldn't stop grinning.
Sakura felt dizzy.
She'd actually gotten a head pat from the teacher of her dreams.
This feeling... was so special~!
Once they reached the rooftop,
"First, let's introduce ourselves."
"My name is Cangwu. There aren't many things I like, but there are plenty of things I dislike."
"As for my dream for the future... to become the man of the Fifth Hokage."
"As for my hobbies, you're too young to know about them."
The three of them: "..."
"Even if you're Teacher Cangwu... the Fifth Hokage can only be me!" Naruto jumped to his feet.
Cangwu waved a hand. "All right, now it's your turn."
At that, Naruto immediately grabbed his forehead protector and said:
"Me first~!"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant noodles, and I like it even more when Teacher Cangwu treats me to Ichiraku Ramen~!"
"What I hate is having to wait three minutes for instant noodles."
"My hobby is having instant-noodle eating contests. My dream is to surpass all the previous Hokage and make the whole village acknowledge that I exist~!"
Seeing Naruto about to go on, Cangwu turned to Sakura.
"Your turn, Sakura."
Sakura's little face flushed red.
"My name is Haruno Sakura. What I like is... speaking of which, the person I like... and my dream for the future... Ah~!!!"
Cangwu: "..."
"All right, next."
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things I hate, such as pointless formalities like this introduction."
"We still have to follow the usual procedure," Cangwu said.
Sasuke continued coolly, "There's nothing I particularly like. And although I don't want to just talk about my dream..."
As he spoke, a deep hatred appeared on Sasuke's face.
"I have an ambition. To restore my clan, and then to kill a certain man with my own hands."
Naruto and Sakura were both startled by the sudden heaviness in Sasuke's words.
Naruto tilted his mouth and glanced sideways at Sasuke.
He's not talking about me, is he?
The pink-haired girl...
Sasuke-kun really is so cool~
Clap, clap—
Cangwu clapped his hands.
"All right, that's enough introductions."
"Starting tomorrow, we'll begin our missions."
"What kind of missions will they be~?" Naruto asked excitedly at once.
"It'll be a survival exercise."
"Of course, it won't be an ordinary exercise."
"Remember, from now on, don't eat anything."
Cangwu sighed inwardly.
This was Hiruzen Sarutobi's instruction.
He really didn't want to listen to the old man.
But for now, the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit alone wasn't enough to let him dominate the shinobi world.
It wasn't that he couldn't deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But what would happen afterward?
The other four great villages would take advantage of the situation.
Cangwu wasn't confident he could guard against everything.
Then there were also the unstable elements: the Root Organization, the Akatsuki Organization, and Orochimaru.
Besides, developing the Glint-Glint Fruit's abilities wasn't that easy.
Cangwu didn't want to see the people at the bottom suffer anymore.
As far as Naruto was concerned, the whole village had wronged him.
Yet, to the ordinary people at the bottom of Konoha,
the Nine-Tails was no different from a demon.
Of course, no one knew how that hated demon had ended up inside Naruto.
For example, how had the information leaked?
The root of the problem was basically...
"What happens if we eat?" Sasuke asked in a low voice.
"At best, you'll get hurt. At worst, you'll die."
Before you continue