Konoha's Two Biggest Slackers

The next day, close to noon.

A staff member from the Ninja Academy hurriedly knocked on the door of the Third Hokage's office.

"He can't use the Shadow Clone Technique. He doesn't even know the most basic Clone Technique..."

The Third Hokage held a report in his hand, frowning at the shinobi kneeling before him. Wisps of smoke curled from the pipe at the corner of his mouth, leaving his expression hazy.

"You're saying the boy has little talent?"

"Not exactly..."

Yoshikawa looked conflicted. He wasn't sure how to explain it.

"It's just that the things he knows are a little... strange."

"Strange?"

The man's hesitant expression puzzled the Third Hokage, so he looked down at the report again.

Qing Xuan's photo was clearly visible on the page. His smile made him seem as warm as a spring breeze.

"He looks lively enough!"

The Third Hokage exhaled a puff of smoke and praised him, but soon his own expression turned conflicted.

"Proficient in Sunagakure-style throwing techniques and taijutsu? Wind Release: Great Breakthrough? Sand Body? Excellent control of Chakra Threads? And extensive experience making puppets? What is all this...?"

Watching the Third Hokage fall silent, Yoshikawa hesitated before speaking. "After testing and discussion, we came to the conclusion that this boy is already... an experienced Sunagakure Chunin."

The Third Hokage's fingers twitched at those words, and the report drifted lightly to the floor.

The old man rubbed his temples, looking both amused and exasperated. "Where is the boy now?"

"Still at the Ninja Academy."

"Bring him to me at once."

Konoha's streets.

A little shop stood beneath the shade of leafy trees. A simple wooden sign hung by the entrance, with the words "Three-Color Dango" written on it in brush calligraphy.

The shop door stood open, letting out the sweet aroma of glutinous rice and red beans. Wooden tables and chairs were neatly arranged inside. A few hand-drawn pictures of shinobi hung on the walls, and a little potted plant in the corner added to the cozy, peaceful atmosphere.

Several children sat around a table, eating dango and excitedly discussing something. Every so often, a shinobi hurrying past would stop to buy a skewer, take a bite, and smile with satisfaction.

At the table furthest inside, a six-year-old boy was eating dango on two skewers, one in each hand, his face twisted in grief and indignation at how far someone had fallen.

"The Young Clan Head of the mighty Senju Clan has been reduced to selling Three-Color Dango on the street! What a tragedy! Who knows what the First and Second Hokage would say if they found out?"

He shook his head and sighed. "Senju Nawaki! Senju Nawaki! Have you forgotten your dreams? You wanted to become Hokage, for goodness' sake! You—mmph!"

A dango was held out and tossed neatly into his mouth.

"Maybe eating dango will finally shut you up!"

Nawaki tossed a rag onto the table and sat down beside him with a helpless look.

"How did you find me here?"

Qing Xuan struggled to swallow the dango in his mouth, but it still felt stuck in his throat. He picked up the red bean soup beside him and gulped it down before answering, "You think it was hard to find you?"

He pointed at the white-haired boy across from them. "I ran into a nice guy as soon as I left the school gates, and he brought me here."

Kakashi, the nice guy, suddenly felt a little awkward. When he'd spotted the boy, Qing Xuan had been standing alone in the street, so he'd brought him here out of kindness.

But Nawaki couldn't let that go. "You went to the Ninja Academy today?"

"I just enrolled today."

"It's not time for school to let out yet!"

"The Ninja Academy was so boring, and nothing like I imagined, so I left!"

Nawaki's head began to ache even more. Meanwhile, Kakashi suddenly recalled a certain Uchiha rumor and asked curiously, "Don't tell me you're using a Shadow Clone to attend class?"

Qing Xuan shook his head. "I can't use Shadow Clones at all!"

"Then how did you get out?"

"Because Itachi's attending class for me! That's way more useful than a Shadow Clone!"

Kakashi's dead-fish eyes widened. Uchiha kids sure know how to have fun. They've surpassed their predecessors!

"Don't be ridiculous!" Nawaki slapped the table and scolded him. "Itachi isn't like that. How could he agree to something like this?"

Qing Xuan pointed to the Three-Color Dango packed up nearby. "I promised to bring him some dango."

"That still doesn't make it okay!"

Nawaki didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Itachi just graduated. Today is the day his team meets!"

"Actually, I already met them before the briefing yesterday. I heard it didn't go well."

Qing Xuan frowned as he took a bite of dango. "Itachi thinks it's awkward, and he really can't get along with them..."

As Nawaki listened, a bad feeling suddenly crept over him. "So?"

"So I'm going to the team meeting for him this afternoon!"

Qing Xuan patted his chest, looking confident.

"After all, I'm great at getting along with people!"

You're great at offending people, aren't you? Nawaki thought. He exchanged a glance with Kakashi. Both slackers had the same look in their eyes: This sounds like a hassle. I don't want to get involved.

And so...

That afternoon, at a training ground enclosed by a wire fence.

"From now on, the three of you will be my subordinates as Genin. You may face harsh missions at times, but you'll trust your comrades and face life and death together, right?!"

A middle-aged man stood in front of Qing Xuan and the others, shouting at the top of his lungs.

The man was Minazuki Yuki, a jonin from the village. He had a warm, sunny personality, though the stubble on his chin made him look a little scruffy.

This was only an introductory meeting, so there was no need to put so much effort into it. But Yuki glanced out of the corner of his eye.

By the fence not far from the training ground, Konoha's two biggest slackers sat idly in the sun.

Why are those two here? Yuki wondered, feeling the pressure mount.

They might both look like slackers, but they came from impressive backgrounds.

One was the grandson of the First Hokage, the younger brother of the legendary Sannin Tsunade, a student of Orochimaru, and a legendary shinobi who had fought in both the Second and Third Shinobi Wars, earning great distinction. The other was a student of the Fourth Hokage, a prodigy who had become a jonin at the age of twelve and later brought Iwagakure's invasion to a definitive end at the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.

Yuki would have been lying if he said he wasn't nervous with the two of them watching. To avoid looking foolish in their eyes, he had to give it everything he had.

But his subordinates weren't inclined to humor him.

"What's this nonsense about trusting your comrades...?"

The Genin sitting beside Qing Xuan muttered under his breath.

Izumo Tenma had lost both his parents and his uncle in the Nine-Tails Attack, as well as to the village's rumors, and had hated the Uchiha ever since.

Ignoring Yuki, who was still rambling on about shallow platitudes, he sat with his knees drawn up and stared at Qing Xuan. In the end, he couldn't hold back and spoke loudly. "There's no point talking about teamwork when the team has a member from a certain clan who's a burden on the village."

At those words, not only did Yuki stop speaking, but Nawaki and Kakashi, sitting off to the side, also straightened up slightly.

So it really did happen.

They frowned and looked at Tenma.

"Another victim of the Nine-Tails Attack?"