Graduation Season

Rebuild the ruins.

Cherish peace after the ravages of war.

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

Naruto's time to graduate from the Ninja Academy had arrived.

The graduation exam was still the Three Body Technique.

Naruto had no choice but to ask Liu Er to take the exam for him, barely managing to get through it.

The last row of the classroom.

Kiba stood behind Naruto with Akamaru in his arms, gesturing as he said, "Naruto, you should play a straight!"

Choji nervously munched on potato chips. He had only one card left. "Shikamaru, I've only got one card left. Let me play it, let me play it."

Shikamaru still had a bomb in his hand, but if he used it, it would be hard to play all his remaining cards, since the bomb was part of a straight.

The straight could just barely beat Naruto's cards.

Should he trust Choji, or go it alone?

Shikamaru thought back to the cards Naruto still had. "Naruto, you're a little short this round!"

Shikamaru had found a way to turn things around.

"Bomb!"

"I saw you use that bomb! I'm telling Iruka-sensei." Ino rushed in from the classroom door and angrily scattered the playing cards on the desk. "Iruka-sensei is so kind. You never pay attention in class, and he still let you graduate."

Kiba and Akamaru were both afraid of Ino when she was furious. They hurried back to their seats and pretended to be model students.

Dejected, Choji dumped the rest of his potato chips into his mouth and mumbled, "Naruto, I'm counting this round as a win for me. That gives me the most points, and you the fewest. You owe me two bags of chips."

Naruto pointed at the scattered cards and spread his hands. "That doesn't count. If I'd won, I'd have had the most points. Shikamaru, I had the big joker."

Shikamaru analyzed the situation. "Choji's last card was the little joker. You definitely had one more single card. We win."

Naruto looked at Ino. "Class monitor Ino, thanks to you, the three of us are going to fall out. How about you buy Choji two bags of chips, and then we'll go apologize to Iruka-sensei?"

"Th-this..." Ino stamped her foot. "Fine, I'll buy them so you don't fall out."

Shikamaru lowered his head and smiled.

On the last day at the Ninja Academy, everyone acted just as they usually did.

All the students gathered on the school field.

On the podium, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi congratulated the students with a kindly gaze. "You've graduated. From now on, you'll be assigned to teams of three and go on missions with our Konoha Jonin, working together to build a better future for Konoha."

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, hadn't come. Some of the students looked disappointed.

As for their team assignments, the graduates would be notified in a week.

Hinata stood in line beside Naruto, poised and graceful. "Naruto, have you decided what to give Hanabi for her birthday?"

Hyuga Hanabi was the second daughter of the Hyuga Clan. She was mischievous and stubborn, and tried to show Hyuga Hiashi that she had more talent than her older sister. When Hiashi wasn't around, though, she became her sister's little shadow.

Naruto had grown quite a bit taller. He was handsome, with a slender build. "I'll get her a doll. Little girls like those."

Hinata spoke softly. "Hanabi doesn't like dolls. She told me she wants to learn the Eight Inner Gates from you, big brother Naruto."

Naruto grinned. "Sure! I'd be happy to teach her. Even if she can't open the Gate of Opening after training, it'll still improve her Taijutsu a lot."

"Okay, then it's settled." Hinata smiled faintly when she heard him agree.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded his speech. "Now, the graduates from last year will give you your Konoha Ninja Forehead Protectors. Congratulations on successfully becoming Genin."

The students applauded.

Lee strode up to Naruto, visibly excited. As the music started, he solemnly tied the Forehead Protector around Naruto's head. He adjusted it until it sat straight on Naruto's forehead, then finally relaxed.

Tenten helped Hinata put on her Forehead Protector.

The graduation ceremony ended.

Naruto and Hinata were on their way to the Hyuga Clan compound.

"Naruto, which team do you think we'll be assigned to?" Hinata asked hopefully. "I want to be on the same team as you, so we can go on missions together."

Naruto thought of the strange smile Minato had given him a few days earlier. He suspected he'd probably be assigned to Kakashi's team.

Kakashi was currently the Konoha Jonin Minato valued most—even more than his own son.

The joke Kakashi had made to Naruto when he was a child might be about to come true.

Naruto had no chance to voice his opinion to the Konoha High Command. "Guy-sensei's not very firm in his decisions. He said he'd take our class, but then Neji and Lee treated him to a barbecue, and he decided to take them instead. We can only leave it to the High Command."

Hizashi Hyuga was leading a team this year, too. Hinata had mentioned it to him at home, but he hadn't responded.

"I'm so worried!" Hinata said.

They passed a toy shop, and Naruto picked out a pink doll while they were there.

Hokage Office!

Minato Namikaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Konoha Council of Elders were all present.

"These are the team assignments for this year's graduates. I'd like to hear everyone's opinions," Minato said. He couldn't make the decision on his own.

Hiruzen scanned the list. "Minato, Asuma's team doesn't seem quite right. Konoha's Ino-Shika-Cho trio should be guided by a powerful, levelheaded Jonin. Asuma is the best choice."

Minato explained, "Gekko Hayate is fair-minded, and his strength is nothing to scoff at. He'd be a good fit to guide the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, too."

They both looked to the Council of Elders. Their opinion would decide who led the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

As the Third Hokage's son, leading the Ino-Shika-Cho trio would greatly help Asuma in his bid for the Hokage Position. Gekko Hayate had few connections. Though capable, he could just lead an ordinary team.

The Council of Elders made their position clear.

Minato stopped arguing. "All right. Does anyone have any other opinions?"

Hiruzen looked at Team Kakashi.

"Minato, I think Konoha should give more opportunities to ninja from ordinary families. Team Kakashi is an elite team, and all its members come from prominent clans. Isn't that a problem?"

Team Kakashi: Uzumaki Naruto, Hinata Hyuga, Yo Uchiha.

"Isn't it right to optimize the team's overall strength, Teacher Sarutobi?" Minato didn't want to make any changes to Team Kakashi.

Naruto was already an unpredictable factor.

The Council of Elders still supported Hiruzen's opinion.

In the final decision, Yo Uchiha was replaced by Sakura Haruno. Sakura's ninjutsu was average, but her academic performance at the academy was excellent, which showed she was highly intelligent. She could make up for Team Kakashi's weakness in combat strategy.

Yo Uchiha was assigned to Team 8 instead, where she would join Kiba and Shino under Kurenai Yuhi's leadership.

The ninja team-assignment meeting ended.

Hiruzen left with a smile. He and the Council of Elders had worked together seamlessly today, catching Minato completely off guard.

Minato had wanted to build Kakashi's reputation as a leader of the prominent clans.

Hiruzen was paving the way for his own son to become Hokage, too.