Kakashi, Does This Count as Being Held Back?

Not long after, the teacher arrived.

He took out a sheet of paper and began reading out the team assignments.

"Team 1... Team 2..."

"Team 3: Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, Ebisu."

The teacher continued reading.

Genma Shiranui and Ebisu, who had been laughing earlier, finally stopped.

At last, Kyohiko's name came up.

"Team 7: Kyohiko Yoshimine, Kurenai Yuhi."

Kurenai looked at Kyohiko and blinked.

At least she was only with one of them.

Kyohiko and Guy were both hardworking, and probably pretty strong, but the sparks that had flown when the two of them clashed earlier were more than young Kurenai could handle.

The Ninja Academy teacher continued down the list.

"Team 8..."

Kurenai panicked.

Wait?

Why were there only two of them?

Kyohiko looked at Kurenai and said quietly, "Don't worry. We'll ask after class."

"Uh, okay."

Kurenai nodded, trying to suppress her doubts.

Outside the classroom.

"Teacher, why does Team 7 only have two members? Usually, it's one Jonin leader and a three-person team, right?"

Kyohiko asked.

The Ninja Academy teacher looked awkward too. Scratching his head, he said, "Well, I don't know either. You should find out when you meet your Jonin leader this afternoon."

"Huh?"

Kurenai looked completely baffled. She couldn't make sense of it at all.

The Ninja Academy teacher quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to make his escape, leaving Kyohiko and Kurenai staring at each other.

Now it was their turn to be dumbfounded.

Of course,

Kyohiko had a hunch, but he wasn't sure if it was right—

A walking jinx, a pressure monster. Though he'd become a Chunin last year, his personality and attitude made it impossible for him to get along with his teammates. A talented boy.

Kakashi Hatake.

Was it him?

At two in the afternoon, the teams gathered at the Ninja Academy. The students who hadn't graduated yet were having class downstairs, while they waited for their Jonin leaders to arrive.

Kyohiko sat in his seat, thinking about what lay ahead.

He had already figured out a little about how the system worked.

Being on the same team as Kakashi seemed to have some benefits.

The only problem was—

He didn't know who their Jonin leader would be.

Minato Namikaze?

As he thought, he unconsciously spun a Kunai between his fingers.

At last, Kurenai couldn't hold back.

"Kyohiko, I... I wanted to ask you something."

She was a year or two older than Kyohiko, and they hadn't been in the same class, so they weren't very familiar with each other.

But,

since they were going to be teammates, they ought to get to know each other.

Kyohiko stopped spinning the Kunai.

"What is it?"

"Are you practicing your finger dexterity?"

Kurenai curiously pointed at the Kunai darting like a flower between Kyohiko's fingers.

Kyohiko paused, then chuckled.

"I'm just used to it."

"Used to it..."

Kurenai nodded and said nothing more, but her gaze held a hint of respect.

It took years of training to develop a habit like that. It must have involved hardship and suffering she couldn't imagine.

No wonder he and Might Guy had so much in common.

She let her imagination run wild.

Kyohiko had no idea what the girl was thinking. He was only wondering—

Would getting closer help him reap some benefits?

Not long after,

knock, knock!

There was a knock at the door.

A moment later, it opened. Kyohiko looked up and nearly laughed aloud.

A silver-haired boy wearing a mask walked in, eyes half-lidded and expression stiff, then sat down, pretending nothing was wrong.

Kurenai's mouth fell open.

She blinked, looking utterly incredulous.

Then...

"You're not our Jonin leader, are you?!"

"Hmph."

Kakashi turned his head away and said nothing.

Kyohiko quietly reminded her,

"Kurenai, Kakashi only became a Chunin last year. There's no way he's a Jonin."

"Oh, right."

Kurenai was so confused she still couldn't make sense of the situation. Her face practically screamed bewilderment.

Beside her, Kyohiko pressed his lips together to hold back his laughter.

So it really was him!

Then—

"Kakashi, does this count as being held back?"

"..."

Kakashi glanced at him, then faced forward without answering.

Tsk.

Kyohiko suppressed the urge to tease him, sat up straight, and maintained the terrifyingly quiet atmosphere in the classroom.

Going by the monster-level rankings in the games from his previous life...

Kakashi was at least boss-level, and definitely not someone he could handle with a little banter like Might Guy or Kenji.

He'd have to take things slowly!

He was still wondering who their teacher would be when footsteps sounded outside.

All three of them looked toward the door at the same time.

Would it be their teacher?

They waited a long time, but the footsteps abruptly stopped, as if the person had gone to another classroom.

A hint of confusion appeared on Kurenai's face.

She whispered, "Our teacher just disappeared."

Kakashi said flatly, "As ninja, all we need to do is wait."

"..."

Kyohiko glanced at them, the corner of his mouth twitching.

If Kurenai's senses hadn't failed her—

then their teacher seemed to have a bit of a sadistic streak and was using this to observe their personalities and abilities.

Who would it be?

When they met, if they had to introduce themselves, how should he respond?

Kyohiko quickly thought it over.

Outside, Jiraiya let out a sigh.

He never thought that at his age and rank, he'd still have to personally lead a team, and of freshly graduated kids at that.

Honestly.

It was all that Old Man's fault!

He secretly watched what was happening inside.

"The girl is perceptive and good at genjutsu. She also seems to have potential in sensing... Maybe I should consider training her in medical or support ninjutsu."

"The silver-haired brat isn't easy to get along with. No wonder nobody wants him. He's a handful."

"And the last one..."

"Tsk, he doesn't look easy to handle either. I'm really making trouble for myself!"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, recalling what had happened the night before.

The previous day, in the Hokage Building.

"Old Man, I've just made plans to travel outside the village, and now you want me to lead students? You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"The village needs you,"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

Jiraiya curled his lip. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Are the three kids you want me to lead special?"

"One of them is Kakashi Hatake,"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

Jiraiya fell silent. After a long while, he said, "Hasn't that kid already become a Chunin?"

"Take a look."

Hiruzen Sarutobi handed it to him.

Jiraiya took it and saw that it was covered with complaints about Kakashi from other ninja. At this point, almost no team was willing to take Kakashi. They were all passing the buck.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could, of course, have assigned Kakashi to a team by force.

But...

The old man would rather have one of the Sannin help whip him into shape.

Jiraiya thought of Sakumo, who had taken his own life, and sighed. He didn't immediately refuse, instead glancing across the desk.

Then,

he noticed another profile in the pile of papers.

Jiraiya picked it up.

It was that child!

He read it carefully.

It described Kyohiko's circumstances in detail.

A descendant of the Senju.

A little over a year ago, the boy's parents had died. After that, his personality had changed dramatically. He'd become withdrawn and strange, and didn't fit in with the other students in his class.

An orphan of war!

Jiraiya held the paper and fell silent for a moment.

The Second Shinobi World War had made the three of them famous, but many ninja had also died under their command and leadership.

A child who worked so hard, with that kind of personality...

"The other two aren't set in stone, are they? Add him to the team. I'm a little interested in this kid."

"You know him?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked mildly surprised.

This child...

Though he'd graduated early today, Hiruzen didn't have a strong impression of him. He only remembered that his Substitution Technique was very polished and his Taijutsu was quite good.

"He's a hardworking, clever child. I think he has the same potential as Minato."

Jiraiya said.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment, then nodded. "All right, him and Kakashi. Who else? I'll leave the choice entirely up to you."

"Doesn't matter,"

Jiraiya replied. He scanned the page and picked the one who looked most agreeable.

"Let's go with her."