Team Assignments and Jonin Instructors

At exactly eight the next morning, Tejima Shinichi stepped into the classroom on time.

The atmosphere in the classroom differed from that during the assessment; the air was filled with ease and anticipation.

Most of the students who had passed graduation had already arrived. They gathered in twos and threes, quietly exchanging guesses about the team assignments, their eyes constantly drifting toward the door.

Tejima Shinichi calmly swept his gaze across the classroom.

His arrival drew some attention, but it caused no commotion. Everyone seemed accustomed to his solitary nature.

Just then, a voice filled with obvious confusion and annoyance broke through the classroom's murmurs.

"Huh..." Nara Shikamaru stood in the aisle, looking suspiciously at the figure beside him with a furrowed brow. "Why are you here? Today's briefing is only for graduates!"

The person Nara Shikamaru was questioning was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, who sat there with a brand-new Konoha forehead protector on his head and a smug look on his face.

The question clearly voiced what many people were thinking.

After all, everyone had watched Naruto fail the Clone Technique assessment yesterday and leave in dejection.

At the challenge, Uzumaki Naruto abruptly turned around, planted his hands on his hips, and flashed an incomparably brilliant—almost dazzling—smile as he loudly announced,

"Didn't you see?!" Uzumaki Naruto pointed forcefully at the forehead protector on his head, his voice brimming with pride. "I'm a ninja now too!"

Watching the scene, Tejima Shinichi pursed his lips noncommittally. His gaze then shifted toward the window, where he saw Uchiha Sasuke sitting alone, his cheek resting on one hand as he stared outside, utterly deaf to the commotion in the classroom.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind as he noticed the still-empty seat in front of Uchiha Sasuke.

A thought surfaced.

Under Uchiha Sasuke's slightly surprised gaze, Tejima Shinichi walked straight over and calmly took the empty seat.

Uchiha Sasuke's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably.

Toward the Top Student who had once defeated him so effortlessly with overwhelming strength, he harbored a complicated competitive spirit.

Before he could think further, hurried, crisp footsteps sounded from the classroom door, accompanied by the familiar bickering of two girls drawing closer.

"I got here first!"

"No! I clearly did!"

The moment the voices fell, Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura squeezed through the classroom door nearly shoulder to shoulder. Neither would yield, and both wore fiercely competitive expressions, clearly having run all the way here.

With her hands on her hips, Ino declared imposingly, "Stop being so full of yourself!"

Sakura was about to retort, but when her gaze swept over the classroom and instantly locked onto that black-haired figure, all competitiveness vanished from her face, replaced by a deep blush and heart-shaped gleams bursting in her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun!"

She immediately abandoned her argument with Ino, her voice turning sweet as she hurried toward Uchiha Sasuke. She directly shoved Naruto, who had been sitting beside Sasuke, aside and sent him sprawling face-first onto the floor.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" Haruno Sakura greeted him eagerly. "Can I sit beside you?"

Uchiha Sasuke did not even lift his eyelids. He maintained his pose facing the window as though he had heard nothing.

Watching Sakura change faces so quickly, Yamanaka Ino curled her lips in displeasure and muttered quietly, "Forehead girl..."

Haruno Sakura paid her no mind. Inside, her "Inner Sakura" and outer self were locked in a fierce struggle as she pondered how to catch Sasuke's attention.

Amid this delicate atmosphere, another restless factor erupted.

"Hey! Sasuke!"

Uzumaki Naruto, his face red as he climbed up from the floor, suddenly leaped onto the desk between Tejima Shinichi and Uchiha Sasuke.

Uzumaki Naruto landed on the desk, right between Tejima Shinichi and Uchiha Sasuke.

He leaned forward, his azure eyes staring unflinchingly and directly at the Uchiha Sasuke right before him, his face full of challenge.

Though Uchiha Sasuke had no idea what was going on, such blatant provocation immediately ignited his pride.

With a cold snort, he glared back without yielding, his black eyes filled with icy sharpness.

The two faced off at extremely close range, their foreheads nearly touching as their gazes clashed soundlessly and intensely, as though sparks were flying through the air.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, Uzumaki Naruto spoke smugly.

"Hehe! Didn't expect that, did you? I became a ninja too! Starting today, we're rivals! I, the great Uzumaki Naruto, will definitely surpass you!"

Uchiha Sasuke's face was filled with undisguised disgust and anger at being disturbed. He instinctively leaned back, trying to create some distance, and forced out through clenched teeth,

"Idiot, stay away from me."

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

Naruto immediately flared up at the insult and leaned even closer.

Tejima Shinichi sat directly behind Uzumaki Naruto. Looking at Naruto's backside right in front of him, swaying from agitation, the corner of his mouth curled upward.

The time... was ripe.

Tejima Shinichi immediately leaned back slightly.

The movement was small, but the force was perfectly measured.

His back struck Naruto lightly and squarely just below the waist.

"Wah!"

Naruto, who had been fully focused on facing Sasuke, was jolted by the sudden impact. His lower body uncontrollably lurched forward, and he instantly lost his balance, crying out as he fell ahead.

And directly in front of him was Uchiha Sasuke, who had likewise been leaning forward in their confrontation.

"Mm!"

Before Haruno Sakura's pupils could constrict and her scream burst from her throat, beneath the stunned, petrified gazes of everyone else in the classroom—

Naruto, off-balance and propelled forward, nearly crashed entirely onto Uchiha Sasuke, who could not lean away in time. His hands instinctively pressed against the chair back on either side of Sasuke's head, trapping him in a forced embrace.

Their lips collided heavily and perfectly in that nearly kabedon-like position.

For that moment, the world was utterly silent.

From an angle where no one noticed him, the curve of Tejima Shinichi's mouth widened further and further.

The next second, Haruno Sakura's heart-wrenching scream shattered the classroom's silence.

"AAAAAAAHHHH—!!!"

Immediately afterward came utter chaos: Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke sprang apart as though electrocuted. One frantically wiped his mouth, his face bright red as if scalded, while the other's face turned livid, his killing intent nearly tangible as his fists cracked.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

Uchiha Sasuke's roar nearly blew off the roof. Completely abandoning all composure, he lunged at Uzumaki Naruto, who was still desperately wiping his mouth, and the two instantly began grappling.

"It wasn't my fault! It was... it was from behind!"

Naruto tried to explain while dodging in a panic.

Uchiha Sasuke abruptly turned his head toward Tejima Shinichi, who looked as though nothing had happened, and snapped in humiliated rage,

"You... you did that on purpose!"

In an instant, quite a few gazes followed Sasuke's accusation and focused on Tejima Shinichi.

Facing the question and everyone's stares, Tejima Shinichi's expression did not change in the slightest. He even spread his hands innocently.

"I was just stretching."

He paused, looked at Uzumaki Naruto, then let his gaze settle on Uchiha Sasuke's flushed face as he asked with slight confusion,

"Besides, how was I supposed to know Naruto would stand directly on the desk?"

The words were light, yet they were like a bucket of cold water, instantly clearing the minds of everyone blinded by anger.

Right!

Tejima Shinichi had merely been sitting there and leaned back a little. It was an entirely normal movement.

Who could have expected Uzumaki Naruto to suddenly jump onto a desk and provoke someone in such an unstable posture?

The root of it all seemed to point to Uzumaki Naruto, who never played by the rules!

The logic became clear at once.

"Naruto!!!"

Haruno Sakura's scream, filled with towering fury, completely shifted targets.

That was Sasuke-kun's first kiss!!!

Tangible flames seemed to burn in Haruno Sakura's eyes as she joined the fray and punched Naruto on the head.

"It's all your fault!!!"

Everything happening in the classroom was being observed by several figures in the Hokage's Office.

A crystalline Crystal Ball floated above the desk, clearly showing the chaotic scene in the classroom.

The several Konoha Jonin gathered around the Crystal Ball wore varied expressions.

Watching the blond figure being chased around with his head in his hands, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, shook his head helplessly. He exhaled a ring of smoke, his tone carrying the resignation of someone long used to it.

"That child Naruto... is, as always, at the center of trouble."

Beside him, several Jonin waiting to receive their new subordinates looked at the eye-searing kiss and the ensuing chaos in the Crystal Ball with equally subtle and strange expressions.

At that moment, a kindly-looking man wearing a face-covering style of forehead protector turned toward the lazy silver-haired companion beside him, whose mask left only one dead-fish eye visible, and teased,

"Kakashi-senpai, it seems your two students... well, are very lively."

Kakashi Hatake, who had been named, showed no change in the visible eye, making his exact emotions impossible to read. Yet that gaze clearly conveyed the helpless resignation of someone wondering why he had been saddled with such trouble.

He scratched his messy silver hair and spoke listlessly.

"Well... looks like I won't be bored from now on, huh..."

His tone was filled with "anticipation" for the future.

"Everyone, get back to your seats! What do you think you're doing?!"

The classroom's chaos finally subsided for the moment under Umino Iruka's roar.

The battered and bruised Uzumaki Naruto was finally released by the girls, and everyone returned to their seats with anger and humiliation still simmering inside them.

Haruno Sakura puffed up her cheeks as she fixed her hair, not forgetting to shoot Naruto a fierce glare.

Iruka took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the throbbing veins at his temple as he tried to calm himself. He walked to the center of the podium and swept his gaze across the young, still-childish faces below.

"Alright, the farce ends here." His voice returned to its usual steadiness. "You were gathered here today to hear an important announcement—your team assignments after graduation."

At those words, the classroom atmosphere instantly became tense with anticipation, and all the graduates held their breaths.

After becoming Genin, they would operate in three-person teams under the guidance of an assigned Jonin Instructor. This would directly affect their future ninja careers.

"From now on, you will be divided into teams of three, and each team will be assigned a Jonin as its instructor." Iruka picked up the list in his hand and announced clearly, "I will now read out the team assignments."

He lowered his head to the list and read the first group.

"Team 1: Tejima Shinichi, Kobayashi Ken, Sato Yu."

The instant those names were called, the classroom fell silent, followed by a wave of quiet discussion.

The two named students, Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu, were first stunned, then unable to suppress the surprise and excitement on their faces.

Being placed on the same team as the strongest, universally acknowledged Top Student of their year meant their team's overall strength and mission safety would be greatly assured!

Hearing the assignment from his seat by the window, Uchiha Sasuke frowned slightly. A trace of disappointment and unwillingness flashed deep in his eyes.

In his view, only by teaming up with a powerful opponent like Tejima Shinichi—competing against and pushing each other—could one improve the fastest.

But now... Hmph.

On the other side, Yamanaka Ino wailed outright. "Ah—! Why was Shinichi-kun's team announced first?! And why am I not on it?!"

After saying that, she dejectedly collapsed onto her desk.

Nara Shikamaru, seated beside her, lazily glanced at her and yawned before asking in confusion,

"Why do you have to be on Shinichi's team? That guy seems even harder to get along with than Uchiha. What a pain."

Ino immediately raised her head, put her hands on her hips, and retorted confidently,

"What do you know? Shinichi-kun isn't just the Top Student in strength—he's also really handsome!" As she spoke, her voice lowered slightly, carrying complicated emotions. "His only flaw is... sometimes, he feels so far away from everyone, like nothing can reach his heart. But it's different from Sasuke-kun's icy, arrogant attitude, like everyone owes him money... Shinichi-kun is more like... well, he really seems not to care about any of us at all and can't be bothered to deal with us."

Hearing that, Shikamaru merely yawned again and muttered, "Women are such a pain... Aren't they both the hard-to-approach type..."

Iruka did not give the students below much time to discuss it. He continued with the next team, which had originally been the first team on the list.

"Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke."

"What?!!" Naruto was the first to leap up, pointing at Sasuke beside him with a face full of disbelief. "Why do I have to be on a team with this stuck-up Sasuke?!"

Haruno Sakura, meanwhile, clasped her hands over her heart, an incomparably blissful smile blooming on her face. "This is wonderful! I'm on Sasuke-kun's team!"

She completely ignored Naruto's shouting beside her.

Watching Naruto make a fuss, Iruka sighed and explained,

"Listen, Naruto! The team assignments were made after considering everything! You're last in the class, while Sasuke is second. This arrangement is meant to balance every team's strength. It is for teamwork and mutual improvement!"

Uchiha Sasuke merely snorted and turned his head away. He neither agreed nor disagreed with the explanation, but the dissatisfaction in his heart did not lessen.

Iruka offered no further explanation and continued.

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

Inuzuka Kiba grinned and rubbed Akamaru's head. "All right! Hinata, Shino, let's get along from now on!" Hinata responded quietly, while Shino adjusted his sunglasses and gave a slight nod.

"Team 9:..."

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

"Sigh, so it really is like this..."

Shikamaru slumped onto his desk with an expression that said, Just as troublesome as expected. Choji continued eating chips, while Ino, though disappointed that she had not been assigned with Tejima Shinichi, quickly cheered up. After all, Shikamaru and Choji were familiar companions.

Looking at the graduates below, each reacting differently, Iruka clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention back.

"Alright, the team assignments have all been announced. At two o'clock this afternoon, your respective Jonin Instructors will come to the classroom to meet their teams and lead you in beginning missions. You are dismissed for now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom became lively again. The students stood one after another; some excitedly gathered around their new teammates, while others prepared to leave.

The two members of Team 1, Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu, looked at each other. Seeming to gather their courage, they walked together toward Tejima Shinichi.

"Um... Shinichi-kun," Kobayashi Ken said nervously, while Sato Yu nodded beside him. "Please take care of us from now on!"

Tejima Shinichi raised his head and looked at his two future teammates.

For now, both of his teammates possessed ordinary talent and were around the middle of the class academically.

"Mm. Please take care of me as well."

The simple response left Kobayashi and Sato momentarily stunned, before slight relief and delight appeared on their faces.

After all, throughout the past few years at the Ninja Academy, Tejima Shinichi's impression on most classmates, aside from his unfathomable strength, had been one of almost solitary indifference.

He almost never participated in after-school activities. Once classes ended, he would quickly disappear, sometimes even skipping class outright, appearing and vanishing without a trace.

They had originally believed that this lofty Top Student would be difficult to communicate with, perhaps even too disdainful to acknowledge such ordinary teammates as them.

But they had not expected him to respond so calmly.

"We... we'll be there on time this afternoon!" Sato Yu hurriedly added.

Tejima Shinichi nodded, then rose to his feet. "There's still some time before the afternoon gathering. I'll head back and prepare first. See you this afternoon."

With that, he picked up his ninja tool pouch and left the classroom first, leaving his two new teammates behind, quietly relieved that their first exchange had gone relatively smoothly.

Time slipped by, and before long, it was time for the afternoon meeting.

Tejima Shinichi was still the first to return to the classroom. He chose a seat by the window, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.

At around 1:50, Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu arrived on time as well. Seeing Tejima Shinichi already seated there, they exchanged a glance and quietly took seats beside him. The three of them had officially gathered.

Just after two o'clock, the classroom door was pushed open on schedule.

Sarutobi Asuma entered first, a senbon clenched between his lips. His gaze swept across the classroom before quickly settling on his targets.

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

"Haah..." Shikamaru let out his trademark sigh, but still stood up with Choji and Ino.

As Ino passed Team 1's seats, her steps paused. A bright smile bloomed across her face as she waved in Tejima Shinichi's direction.

"Shinichi-kun, we're leaving first! Good luck!"

The unexpected greeting caught both Kobayashi and Sato off guard.

Hearing her, Tejima Shinichi raised his eyes to look at Ino and waved back.

That simple gesture made Ino freeze for a moment. Then her smile grew even brighter, and she quickly hurried after Asuma, Shikamaru, and the others, who had already left the classroom.

Soon after, Yugao appeared at the doorway, her gaze gentle yet resolute.

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

"Yes!"

Inuzuka Kiba answered energetically and left the classroom with Akamaru, the somewhat shy Hinata, and the silent Shino.

After that, the Jonin Instructors of the other teams arrived one after another and took their respective students away.

The classroom gradually emptied, until only two groups remained—Team 1, which Tejima Shinichi belonged to, and Team 7, consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke.

Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu looked at the mostly empty classroom, then glanced at Team 7 beside them, whose atmosphere was clearly oppressive. They could not help feeling uneasy, their eyes repeatedly drifting toward the door.

Finally, amid the somewhat quiet wait, the classroom door was gently pushed open again.

A figure walked in.

He wore a Jonin flak jacket. His face looked somewhat weary, even carrying a hint of honest simplicity, and his overall presence was far from flashy.

Yet the instant Tejima Shinichi's gaze landed on that face—

"...!"

Tejima Shinichi's pupils contracted sharply beyond his control, and the calm expression he had maintained instantly shattered.

It was him?!

Tenzo?! No, he should be called... Yamato now?!

The sole survivor who had been implanted with the First Hokage's cells and successfully inherited the Kekkei Genkai, Wood Release!

Why would he become our Jonin Instructor? This coincidence... no, this was practically fate!

His shock lasted only an instant before another emotion replaced it—wariness.

Tejima Shinichi lowered his eyes almost immediately, concealing the violent turmoil surging within them.

Wood Release.

The power he had only just awakened and still did not know how to control had now encountered a living user. Was this truly a coincidence, or... a deliberate arrangement?

Yamato's gaze swept through the classroom before finally settling on the three of them. He spoke in his gentle voice.

"Team 1: Tejima Shinichi, Kobayashi Ken, Sato Yu, correct? I'm your Jonin Instructor, Yamato. Now, follow me to the training ground."

The three rose to their feet. Tejima Shinichi followed at the back of the group, watching Yamato's retreating figure.