Genin

The ever-changing world of shinobi was filled with elites skilled in all kinds of jutsu. One person's strength was often limited, so all the major shinobi villages organized their ninja into teams.

The team system worked like this: a team consisted of four ninja. Each team was led by a jōnin or someone of higher rank, while the other three members were Chunin or Genin.

Each team's leader selected missions suited to the team's strength at the Hokage Building, then assigned them to the team members.

Today was the day Kamizuki, who was almost seven, officially became a Genin. He got up early in the morning. Uh... He seemed to get up early every day anyway. Never mind, you get the idea.

He was especially excited this morning, and even during his training, he couldn't focus.

That was because he kept imagining what kind of team he would join.

As his thoughts ran wild, he pictured a haughty, aloof empress with a fiery heart; a gentle, considerate older woman who was great at looking after people; and a cute little girl who loved playing pranks, among others...

In that state of mind, Kamizuki finished his morning training. He returned to his room, changed, and hung his ninja tool pouch where it was easy to reach. Then he glanced at the Forehead Protector on his desk, engraved with Konoha's symbol. After a moment's thought, he tied it around his right arm, went out for breakfast, and headed for the meeting place.

Kamizuki went out wearing his Forehead Protector, happily eating hot pot and singing, when suddenly he was ambushed by bandits! Uh... Sorry, Kamizuki had wandered onto the wrong set.

Anyway, Kamizuki arrived at the meeting place for his team: Training Ground 78 in Konoha.

As soon as Kamizuki entered the training ground, he spotted two children standing on the field. They looked a little older than him, perhaps around ten. A boy and a girl, they were chatting about something.

Kamizuki walked up to them, and only then did they notice him. They looked him over in surprise, since he seemed so young.

The three of them stared at one another for a full minute.

Since Sugita Tsubaki had briefly told him about the team the day before, Kamizuki knew it had previously been at full strength. One of its members had later fallen seriously ill, leaving an opening, and Kamizuki had been assigned to the team after graduating from the Academy.

The two kept looking him over as though he were some kind of baby monster, and Kamizuki couldn't help feeling awkward.

Their stares were making his scalp tingle, so he finally spoke first. "Good morning, senpai. I'm Hyuga Kamizuki, seven years old, and I've just graduated from the Academy. I hope you'll look after me."

The two youngsters, who were around ten, had never been addressed so respectfully as senpai before. They were secretly delighted, and deliberately put on the airs of seasoned veterans.

Seeing those two acting like that, Kamizuki wanted to laugh, but he held back.

The boy saw that Kamizuki had already introduced himself, so he spoke up too. "My name is Kato Taichi. I'm ten."

Kamizuki later learned that Kato Taichi's cousin was Kato Dan, Lady Tsunade's old flame.

After the two of them had introduced themselves, the girl said, unwilling to be outdone, "I'm Sakura Mangetsu. I'm eleven."

Once Kamizuki got to know her, he learned that Sakura Mangetsu belonged to one of Konoha's old clans. However, since her clan had never had many members, it was only a small clan.

After briefly introducing himself to them, Kamizuki realized that those two were a surprisingly good match!

Want to know why? All right, I'll tell you...

Ten-year-old Kato Taichi had a sunny appearance, but his personality and mannerisms were more like those of a girl.

Sakura Mangetsu was the exact opposite. She was sweet-looking, but once you got to know her, you'd discover that underneath that sweetness, she was a real tough girl.

Just as Kamizuki was imagining the odds of Kato Taichi and Sakura Mangetsu getting together, the team leader they'd been waiting for finally arrived.

The newcomer was a man with his hair wrapped in a strip of blue cloth. He had an unnamed blade of grass between his teeth and wore a Konoha jōnin's combat uniform, with a tactical vest over it.

The moment Kamizuki saw the man's outfit, a name popped into his head: "Genma Shiranui."

The man walked up to the three of them and briefly asked Sakura Mangetsu and Kato Taichi a few questions about Kamizuki. Then he introduced himself. "Genma Shiranui, Special Jōnin of Konoha. I'll be your team leader."

When Kamizuki heard that it really was Genma Shiranui, he recalled that in the anime, Genma had seemed like little more than a bit character, appearing only as a proctor during a Chunin exam.

He later learned more about him and realized that not every bit character was weak.

Here's what Kamizuki learned:

Genma Shiranui, male, 29 years old, born July 17 (Cancer), was a Special Jōnin of Konoha. He had once served on the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's guard unit. He often had a senbon between his teeth (Kamizuki hadn't known what a senbon was before), which was one of his weapons.

When he was a Genin, he had been teammates with Might Guy, the Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf, and Ebisu.

Kamizuki's first day as a Genin went by with him getting to know the other members of his team. Genma Shiranui also wanted to get a preliminary sense of Kamizuki's abilities, so he had Kamizuki spar with Kato Taichi and Sakura Mangetsu.