Class Assignment and Guiding Jonin (Asking for Monthly Votes, Follow-ups, and Recommendation Votes)

Upon hearing the rules for team assignments, the classroom immediately erupted in chatter. Everyone discussed who they might end up with, and some close friends directly said they wanted to be on the same team. Others nearly came to blows over fighting for teammates.

Teacher Miyamoto did not interrupt them. He silently watched them discuss until the noise in the classroom gradually died down.

"Everyone, quiet down. Team assignments aren't decided however you want. They'll be based on your usual performance and exam results."

Hearing this, everyone stopped arguing. One by one, they stared nervously at Teacher Miyamoto, hoping to be assigned teammates they liked.

"Now then, let's begin the team assignments."

Teacher Miyamoto picked up the list beside him and began reading. "Team 1: Kunihiko Hori, Tetsuto Sakata, Yoriko Kishida. Team 2: Yori Yokokawa, Tatsuya Kawasaki, Sa Naito..."

As Teacher Miyamoto read out the names one after another, some were delighted to be paired with companions they admired, while others were dejected to encounter hated rivals. Still, everyone restrained themselves and did not make too much noise.

Before long, Matsushita Taichi heard his own name, along with those of his teammates.

"Team 8: Matsushita Taichi, Yohei Uchiha, Saori Furukawa..."

Upon hearing the two names, Taiichi quickly glanced around and spotted two pairs of eyes looking back at him from the rear of the classroom. One was a boy and the other a girl. The three met each other's gazes and nodded in greeting. Their eyes were full of curiosity as they wanted to know what kind of people their teammates were.

By then, Teacher Miyamoto had finished reading the list. "All right, get acquainted with each other for now, but remember not to leave the classroom. Your guiding Jonin will be here shortly. When they arrive, just follow your respective guiding Jonin." That was Teacher Miyamoto's final instruction.

Having said that, he turned and left the classroom.

The instant the teacher left, the entire classroom became as lively as a marketplace with a loud buzz. Everyone left their seats to look for their own team members.

Taiichi also stood up and walked toward his two teammates in the back.

The three met in the aisle, and Taiichi spoke first. "Hello, my name is Matsushita Taichi."

"Yohei Uchiha." The male ninja looked quite forthright.

"Saori Furukawa." The female ninja seemed rather shy, and even her voice was soft and weak.

"Let's sit over there and talk!" Yohei Uchiha made a grand gesture and pointed to some empty seats nearby.

"Sure." Taiichi glanced in that direction and agreed.

"Mm." The response came from Saori Furukawa, so quiet it was almost inaudible.

Yohei Uchiha led the way. The moment the three sat down, Yohei asked, "You're the second-year student who graduated early this time, right? How are you so impressive? Did someone at home teach you personally?" Saori beside him also listened with a curious expression.

Looking at the two curious youngsters, Taiichi did not hesitate. "I'm an orphan. My parents were both killed in battle. I do have two teachers I can ask for guidance." He did not go into too much detail, since this was their first meeting.

"Sorry, Taiichi." Upon hearing that he was an orphan, Yohei apologized.

"It's nothing. That was a long time ago. Besides, I wasn't even old enough to remember anything back then." Taiichi answered as though he did not care at all.

The three chatted for a while. From their conversation, Taiichi learned that Yohei Uchiha's parents both worked in the Konoha Military Police Force, and Yohei himself had ranked first in their class. Saori Furukawa's father was a Jonin skilled in Sealing Jutsu, while she herself ranked in the top five of the grade. Both of them were ninjas with family inheritances, the kind of "other people's children" parents always talked about.

Sure enough, the village's arrangements were planned out. It could not truly be like in the original story, where team strength was balanced by putting the top student together with the dead last. Taiichi's Team 8 had clearly been built as an elite squad.

Another hour and a half passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Jonin came one after another to take away their teams. However, Taiichi noticed that while they were all called "Jonin," it would be more accurate to say that most were Special Jonin.

That made sense. How many Jonin did Konoha have in total? Even at full count, probably fewer than two thousand. And that was with Konoha being the strongest village; the other four great ninja villages had far fewer Jonin than Konoha. Otherwise, Konoha would not have been able to fight multiple enemies at once and still win in every war. Which of those Jonin did not hold an important post or stay busy carrying out various A-rank and S-rank missions? How could there be so many with time to lead Genin teams?

After a while, a rugged-looking burly man walked into the classroom. He had a thick beard covering his face, and his entire bearing made him seem resolute and dependable. He swept his gaze around the room before finally fixing it on Taiichi's group. Then a deep, heavy voice rang out. "Team 8, follow me." With that, he turned and left the classroom.

Taiichi and the other two exchanged glances, quickly stood, and followed after him. Once they left the classroom, they saw that the bearded man had already reached the corner and vanished from sight. The three hurriedly picked up their pace. After they left the academy, the bearded man sped up again and leaped directly onto the rooftops, hopping forward across the closely packed buildings.

Taiichi and the other two did not hesitate. They all jumped onto the rooftops and chased after the bearded man. As his speed increased, the three understood that this was a test for them. So they raised their speed as well. Gradually, a gap opened between them. Taiichi took the lead, Yohei Uchiha was second, and Saori Furukawa lagged far behind.

Finally, after running for around thirty minutes and making countless turns, they arrived at Konoha Training Ground 10. The bearded man stopped and turned to watch the trio arrive one after another from the distance. Taiichi still looked the same as before. Aside from his clothes being slightly disheveled, his breathing remained steady.

The burly man nodded slightly in approval. Having such stamina at that age was truly remarkable.

Yohei Uchiha, who arrived afterward, was already panting heavily. By the time Saori Furukawa finally caught up, she was so exhausted that she collapsed to the ground.

The burly man did not rush them, leaving the two time to rest. At the same time, he had formed a rough assessment of all three.

About ten minutes later, after the two had steadied their breathing, they looked at Taiichi with strange expressions. Both were thinking the same thing: The gap is a little too big. No wonder he was able to graduate early.

Seeing that everyone had rested enough, the burly man clapped his hands to draw their attention.

"All right, you've rested enough." A smile appeared on his stern face for the first time.

"I'm your guiding Jonin. Let's introduce ourselves first. I'll start."

"My name is Masasuke Yamaguchi. You can call me Captain Yamaguchi. I'm a Konoha Jonin, skilled in Earth Style and taijutsu. I like traveling everywhere, dislike people who are late, and my dream is peace in the Ninja World. That's all." After speaking, Masasuke Yamaguchi signaled with his eyes that the three could begin.

Taiichi saw that Yohei and Saori were both looking at him, so he did not delay and spoke first. "My name is Matsushita Taichi. I'm skilled in swordsmanship and Medical Ninjutsu, and I also know a little Fire Style, Wind Style, and Water Style ninjutsu. I like the feeling of becoming stronger, dislike having nothing to do, and my dream is to protect my family. That's all."

Yohei and Saori stared at Taiichi in surprise. Isn't that way too well-rounded?

Once Taiichi finished introducing himself, Yohei Uchiha continued, "My name is Yohei Uchiha. I'm skilled in Fire Style. I like Three-color Dango, dislike food with cilantro, and my dream is to become Hokage."

Taiichi looked at Yohei in surprise. Become Hokage? That dream is pretty difficult for an Uchiha.

Last, everyone turned their eyes toward Saori.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Saori Furukawa. I'm skilled in Lightning Style and know a little Sealing Jutsu. I like reading. As for things I dislike... um, there isn't really anything I dislike. My dream is to become a powerful female ninja like Tsunade."

After all three had finished speaking, Masasuke Yamaguchi said, "All right, now that everyone has a certain understanding of one another, let's move on to the next assessment."