Namikaze Minato

Uchiha Mai sat in the back row by the window, bored, waiting for the village to assign the squads. Back row by the window—the hometown of kings. To maximize his "cool factor," Uchiha Mai had even calculated this detail.

The little girl Yuhi Kurenai, still relentlessly chasing her crush, pulled up a chair and sat down next to Uchiha Mai.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Asuma could only lick his wounds in the corner, numbing himself with the thought that Yuhi Kurenai was still young and didn't know any better.

For the past month, Sarutobi Asuma had never once taken the initiative to trouble Uchiha Mai; instead, he had been cornered by Uchiha Mai several times. They had agreed during their spar: whoever lost would serve as a sparring partner for a month.

Be obedient and let me take a look!

Lately, Uchiha Mai had been testing new moves on Sarutobi Asuma quite often. The Ninja Academy's top dog, who feared nothing, could only head home every day with a bruised and swollen face.

Unidentified Chunin walked in and out of the classroom, calling out names from a list. Once they found their team members, they would leave, and the number of students in the classroom dwindled.

The little girl Yuhi Kurenai rested her chin on one hand and said listlessly, "Mai-kun, when will it be our turn?"

"Soon." Uchiha Mai's tone was perfunctory.

"Mai-kun, wouldn't it be great if we could be assigned to the same team?"

"That's not something you or I can decide."

Which student was assigned to which team was not up to the students or the captains; the village had already made arrangements in advance.

Having been brushed off twice in a row, the little girl Yuhi Kurenai grew dissatisfied, pouting as she coquettishly complained, "Mai-kun, can't you say a few more words? By the way, what kind of person do you hope your future captain will be?"

Uchiha Mai feigned deep thought for a long while before replying, "It doesn't matter who it is."

"Hmph!"

Seeing Uchiha Mai continue to be dismissive, the little girl let out a cold snort and ignored him. I won't say another word to you until you apologize to me.

It's a deal!

Heaven knows, Uchiha Mai didn't intend to brush her off; it was just that the questions Yuhi Kurenai asked were truly devoid of substance.

The squad assignments for Ninja Academy graduates weren't actually that important.

Except for elite teams like Ino-Shika-Cho or the Konoha 12, the vast majority of squads didn't last long. Depending on the war situation and casualties, they could be broken up and reorganized at any time.

Generally speaking, the captains of ordinary squads were Chunin, whose main job was to guide the youngsters in learning how to cooperate and adapt to this cruel world.

However, if Konoha needed to form an elite unit, they might pull a captain away to serve as a member of an elite team, then promote someone from the Genin ranks to be the new squad leader.

Uchiha Mai believed that with his cheat, it shouldn't take long for him to be promoted to Chunin, so it didn't really matter who his future captain was.

Unless he was stuffed into an elite team from the start to be cultivated as an elite. That possibility existed, and it was high, but so what?

During this period, there weren't many Jonin in Konoha that Uchiha Mai recognized. Although he couldn't beat an ordinary Jonin, he didn't pay them much mind; after all, they weren't plot-relevant characters, making it difficult to farm high amounts of "cool factor."

He could run into a dozen Jonin just by taking a walk outside his house. Mere Jonin were nothing to worry about.

The students in the class were picked off one by one, leaving only six: Uchiha Mai, Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Might Guy, Rin Nohara, and Obito Uchiha.

There was an age gap between the six, so logically, they shouldn't have been graduating in the same year.

At this time, the Ninja Academy wasn't very standardized; it was similar to schools in remote areas of China at the end of the last century, where grades one through six were all in one classroom, and the grade divisions were quite chaotic.

Basically, as long as one's strength was sufficient, one could graduate after spending about 4–6 years at the Ninja Academy.

Therefore, Kakashi, who was three years older than Gekko Hayate, was considered to be in the same cohort. Even though Kakashi applied for early graduation just days after Gekko Hayate enrolled at age three, the two hadn't been classmates for long.

The six waited bitterly for another half hour. Just as Uchiha Mai could no longer stand the boredom and wanted to move the desks and chairs to clear some space to practice his dance moves, the classroom door was pushed open once more.

A young man with golden hair, wearing the standard green flak jacket of a Konoha Jonin—who looked quite handsome, just a fraction less handsome than Uchiha Mai, and appeared very gentle—walked into the classroom.

Uchiha Mai's pupils constricted. Wasn't this Naruto's father, Namikaze Minato?

In the original plot, Kakashi, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara were indeed on the same team, and the captain was Namikaze Minato.

However, at this time, Obito Uchiha was still a half-baked ninja, Rin Nohara was just average, and Kakashi was already a Chunin. Therefore, Uchiha Mai didn't think the three would be assigned to the same team from the start.

Could this be the will of the universe?

Namikaze Minato smiled shyly, looking quite soft-hearted, and scratched his head as he said, "Sorry for making everyone wait so long. On the way here, I met an old lady who needed to cross the street. After helping her across, I met a grandmother who had lost her way. After taking her home, I encountered a black cat stuck in a tree that couldn't get down. In short, I didn't mean to be late. I'm very sorry."

Commander, I'm stuck in a tree.jpg

Uchiha Mai: "..."

Well, well. Namikaze Minato had just used every single one of the excuses Kakashi loved to use in the original plot.

Coming from Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Mai actually believed it.

Who didn't know the reputation of Namikaze Minato as a good man, the Little Sun, an honest and reliable young gentleman, a naturally airheaded, chuunibyou youth, and one of Konoha's most outstanding young men?

Compared to Kakashi, who could spout lies without blinking, his image was vastly superior.

"Now then, those whose names I call, please come out with me."

Namikaze Minato pulled a piece of paper from his flak jacket pocket, unfolded it, and read: "Uchiha Mai, Sarutobi Asuma, Rin Nohara, Yuhi Kurenai, Might Guy, Obito Uchiha."

"Are all six of you here? Raise your hand if anyone is missing."

Uchiha Mai: "..."

Little Yuhi Kurenai tugged at Uchiha Mai's sleeve and whispered, "This guy is a bit dense, isn't he?"

Uchiha Mai nodded in deep agreement; Namikaze Minato could indeed be quite dense at times.

Namikaze Minato realized his slip of the tongue, his face flushing red as he said, "It seems everyone is here, so let's all head to the training ground together."

With that, Namikaze Minato took the lead and walked out of the classroom, fleeing the awkward atmosphere.

The group followed the Little Sun closely out of the classroom.

Uchiha Mai pondered continuously; a standard Konoha team usually consisted of three members, or three members plus a captain, focusing on small-scale coordination.

What was the meaning of calling out six names at once?

Once everyone stood in a row, Namikaze Minato cleared his throat, glanced toward the office without leaving a trace, and gave a slight nod.

He then addressed the group: "Although you are all excellent children, I must share some bad news with you.

My team already has one member, and only two of you will be able to join. The remaining four will be eliminated and will not be able to become ninjas."