Team Assignments

Jiraiya's expression turned grave as he listened to Tsunade.

"You mean that Uchiha kid might have talent on Uchiha Madara's level? And at the rate his spiritual energy is growing, he could become the next Uchiha Madara?"

Tsunade nodded.

Jiraiya fell silent. He poured himself another cup of sake and downed it. Once he was sure he wasn't dreaming, his expression grew serious.

"Does the teacher know about this?"

"I haven't told him. You know how many people in the higher-ups feel about the Uchiha Clan. Telling him could put him in danger." Tsunade sighed.

"True."

Jiraiya didn't argue. He might not be interested in these matters, but that didn't mean he knew nothing about them.

"In that case, I'll keep an eye on him for you."

"Thank you." Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya and thanked him sincerely.

"You don't need to thank me. You're the one who has every reason to hate the Uchiha, yet you're willing to do this. My help is nothing in comparison." Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, his expression complicated.

Tsunade fell silent for a while, then poured more sake.

"Come on. Have a few more drinks with me."

"Gladly!"

Much later, Tsunade left by herself, leaving Jiraiya behind, red-faced and staring into space.

Jiraiya muttered to himself.

"I feel like there was something I forgot to ask. Oh well, who cares? If I forgot it, it can't have been important!"

He downed another cup.

In the end, the bartender had to carry Jiraiya home. After all, he was well known in Konoha—he was the Third Hokage's student.

When Jiraiya finally sobered up and remembered what had happened the night before, he suddenly realized what he'd forgotten to ask and let out a cry of despair.

"Forget Uchiha Nagi, but can Uchiha Mikoto really say no? Those two Uchiha teachers are definitely going to beat me up!"

Unfortunately, when Jiraiya checked the time, it seemed too late to go ask Tsunade and make sure.

If Uchiha Mikoto had a sufficiently special reason too...

Oh well. Jiraiya gritted his teeth and headed for the Hokage's office. If he got scolded, so be it!

The students who had passed the exam were gathered in a large classroom, waiting for their team assignments.

Watching the bustling crowd, Uchiha Nagi shook his head.

In peacetime, the number of students who passed would have been unthinkable. In the protagonist's class, for instance, only a handful had passed the graduation exam and become Genin.

But with times as they were, Konoha needed more people to bolster its forces, so the exam had been made far too easy.

And things were still relatively good for now. If the situation suddenly worsened, even younger students might no longer be allowed to volunteer—they would have to sign up.

Uchiha Nagi had no intention of judging any of it.

In this world, under the rules of the shinobi villages, these weren't children. They were Genin capable of carrying out assassination missions.

Treating them like children and clinging to the idea of protecting them simply wouldn't work.

Besides, things could only be worse in the other villages.

So changing all this would mean changing the entire world.

As it happened, Uchiha Nagi had no interest whatsoever in changing the world. It sounded like too much trouble.

With that time, he'd rather get some more sleep and find something tasty to eat.

The teacher at the front of the classroom began calling names from the team roster.

"Tsunade didn't contact me separately, so that means everything went smoothly, right?"

Uchiha Nagi considered the matter. Sometimes, hearing nothing was an answer in itself.

As the names were called, he heard a few familiar ones. Nawaki had been teamed up with two names he didn't recognize.

The members of the older Ino-Shika-Cho generation had, as expected, all been assigned to the same team.

After a long while, most of the students had been called and taken away by their instructors.

"Kind of a shame. Most of these people probably only got Chunin for instructors."

Uchiha Nagi muttered. Konoha didn't have that many Jōnin and Special Jōnin.

"Mm. The team assignments look random, but I think they still consider each student's talent. That's how someone gets noticed by a Jōnin."

Namikaze Minato saw through it too.

"Minato, are you worried about who your instructor will be?" Uchiha Nagi suddenly asked.

Namikaze Minato shook his head. "Whoever teaches me will have experience worth learning from."

Uchiha Nagi didn't disagree. That was true. Whoever Namikaze Minato's instructor turned out to be, at least in the next few years, they'd be a better teacher than Jiraiya, who would be spending three years in the Land of Rain.

It just meant Namikaze Minato wouldn't get the Flying Thunder God Technique from him...

I can't just let that happen. I'm counting on Minato to carry me to victory.

Uchiha Nagi couldn't accept that outcome. Namikaze Minato had to become someone he could rely on!

As for learning the Flying Thunder God Technique himself? No way!

Never mind whether he could learn it. Did anyone really think an Uchiha would be allowed to learn every technique in the Scroll of Seals?

"And besides..." Namikaze Minato chuckled.

"Didn't you say we had connections, Nagi? So I'm sure our instructor will be great."

"Of course. He's the legendary San—" Uchiha Nagi suddenly stopped, realizing that Jiraiya wasn't one of the Sannin yet.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had only been called the Sannin after fighting Hanzo, the demigod, who had given them the name.

They hadn't fought him yet, so how could they have earned the title?

"Minato, even without my connections, he'd still have picked you." Uchiha Nagi casually changed the subject.

"Then I'll take your word for it." Namikaze Minato smiled warmly as usual, but his eyes showed his confidence.

He was gentle and polite, but he never denied his own talent.

Meanwhile, a lovely young girl was starting to grow anxious.

She was Uchiha Mikoto. She watched as all her classmates were assigned teams and led away by their instructors. Now she was the only one left in the classroom.

Why?

Uchiha Mikoto was puzzled and a little anxious, but she wasn't too worried.

She had passed the graduation exam, so she was certain to be assigned to a team.

It was just a shame. If she'd been able to choose, she would have preferred to be teamed up with people she knew.

It seemed that wasn't going to happen.

At last, the teacher in charge of announcing the assignments spoke again. The first names she heard were her own.

"Uchiha Mikoto, Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Nagi!"