Class Assignment, Team Seven

The classroom was as noisy as it had always been.

Kiba Inuzuka had one foot planted on his chair, puffing out his chest to Akamaru about how many high-level missions he would take on after graduation.

Akamaru perched on his head, barking twice with his tail wagging furiously.

Shino stood by the window, his collar pulled up to hide half his face. He didn't say a word, his fingers resting on a beetle he had just caught outside.

Hinata sat against the wall, her fingers tapping lightly on the desk as she occasionally snuck a glance at the orange-clad back in the front row.

Shikamaru was slumped over, fast asleep.

Ino and Choji were huddled nearby, chatting.

"Choji, do you think Sasuke is back? It's been three years—I wonder if he's gotten even more handsome!"

Choji stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth and replied vaguely, "I think Sasuke would be handsome no matter what he looks like."

"What is that supposed to mean, Choji? You really get it! Give me some chips." Ino reached out and grabbed a handful from Choji's bag.

Shikamaru lifted his face from the desk and curled his lip. "Can you two not talk about this right after we've graduated?"

"Shut up, Shikamaru."

Naruto took his forehead protector from Iruka and tied it around his head.

He stood before the podium, hands on his hips, surveying his old classmates.

"This Great One has returned!"

Shikamaru didn't move from the desk, merely rolling his eyes upward. "Oh, you're back."

"What kind of reaction is that, Shikamaru? We've barely seen each other in three years!"

Naruto walked over to Shikamaru's desk and slammed his hand down on the surface.

"Look at my outfit! Look at this forehead protector! Don't you even want to ask how much stronger I've gotten?"

"I don't." Shikamaru closed his eyes. "I could tell the moment you walked in—you're just as loud as before."

Kiba jumped down from his chair, walked over, and circled Naruto, looking him up and down.

"Three years and you're still wearing orange." Kiba Inuzuka crossed his arms, Akamaru barking in agreement from atop his head.

"You said you went out to train, but every time you come back, you never show off any new ninjutsu. You didn't just go out there to slack off, did you?"

Naruto's mouth stretched into a grin that reached his ears. "Heh, Kiba, just make sure you don't come crying to me when I beat you."

"Talk is cheap! Let's see what you've got at the training ground later!"

"Fine by me! Who's afraid of who?"

Ino stood up from her seat, walked over to get a look at Naruto, then turned her head toward the door.

"What about Sasuke? Didn't he come back with you?"

"Sasuke went to—"

"Naruto!"

Sakura's voice rang out from the doorway.

She pushed the classroom door open, cutting Naruto off mid-sentence, and waved at Ino with a smile.

"Ino! Long time no see!"

"Sakura?" Ino stared at her, mouth agape, stunned for a beat before rushing forward to grab Sakura by the shoulders, inspecting her thoroughly from every angle.

"You've changed so much since you came back. Your hair is a bit longer? Your aura is different, your skin is better than before, and these arm muscles—"

Ino squeezed Sakura's arm, then her fingers, before lifting Sakura's palm and staring in shock at the calluses on her knuckles.

"What on earth have you been training? Are you working harder than me?"

Iruka cleared his throat and set the attendance book down on the desk.

"Everyone, back to your seats."

"Naruto! Go find a seat and sit down."

Kiba slumped over his desk and poked Akamaru with his elbow. "That guy is still the same old loser."

Akamaru let out a bark.

"Is he really that strong? Naruto, don't tell me you've already been left in the dust by the rest of us."

"Left in the dust?" Naruto whipped his head around. "Are you kidding me! This Great One is now—"

"Is now what?"

"Is now—"

Naruto opened his mouth, his brain spinning at top speed.

He had been about to say he'd developed a new jutsu, that he could summon a dozen shadow clones in one go, and that his chakra vibration could split a tree trunk.

But he suddenly remembered Jiraiya telling him that a ninja should never reveal all their cards—you have to keep an ace up your sleeve.

He curled the corners of his mouth upward and pointed a thumb at his own chest.

"Anyway, it's really impressive! Even Iruka might not be able to beat me anymore!"

Iruka sighed and raised his hand to rap Naruto Uzumaki on the head.

"Alright, alright, go back to your seat first." Iruka put away the roll call book and swept his gaze across the students in the classroom. "We'll announce the team assignments once Sasuke Uchiha arrives."

Naruto Uzumaki didn't get angry after being tapped; he rubbed his forehead and prepared to return to his seat.

The front door was pushed open.

Sasuke Uchiha walked in, clutching a long paulownia wood box in his hand, with his backpack still slung over his shoulders.

Iruka picked up a forehead protector from the podium and handed it over.

Sasuke Uchiha took the forehead protector and glanced at the Konoha symbol reflected on the metal plate.

"Is no exam required?"

"With the guarantee of Jiraiya, it is not necessary."

Iruka looked at Sasuke Uchiha, a student he had barely taught, now standing there with no trace of the child from three years ago left in him.

"Besides, you already knew the Clone Technique and Transformation Technique before, and your grades were quite good. If it's just the genin exam, it's just a formality for you."

"Thank you, teacher."

Sasuke Uchiha tucked the forehead protector into his pocket, nodded at Iruka, sidestepped past Naruto Uzumaki—who was still pestering the teacher with questions—and walked to the back row by the window to sit down.

He leaned the long box against the table leg, pulled out his chair, sat down, and turned his head to look out the window.

Naruto Uzumaki pushed through the crowd, ran over to Sasuke Uchiha, and sat in the seat next to him.

"Sasuke! Where did you go just now? Did you go to see that—"

"Be quiet."

"You're doing it again!" Naruto Uzumaki dragged his chair forward half a meter, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a harsh, grating sound.

"I just told Iruka that I'm really strong now, did you hear me!"

"I heard."

"Then what do you think!"

Sasuke Uchiha swept a glance at Naruto Uzumaki, then turned his head back to look out the window.

"Didn't we just fight? What else do you want me to say to you?"

Naruto Uzumaki let out a huff through his nose, which counted as satisfaction.

Iruka stood at the podium and tapped on the blackboard.

"Now, we will begin announcing the team assignments. Those whose names are called, stay in your seats and don't wander off. After the assignments are finished, each team's jonin instructor will come to the classroom to collect you. Those who haven't been called yet, wait in the hallway."

He opened the roll call list.

"Team One—"

The hallway was soon crowded with students waiting for their team assignments.

Every time the classroom door was pushed open, a new team was led away by their respective jonin instructor.

By the time only three people were left in the classroom, there was almost no one left outside in the hallway.

Sasuke Uchiha sat in the back row by the window, Naruto Uzumaki sat next to him, and Sakura Haruno sat in the row behind Naruto Uzumaki.

Iruka's list finally reached Team Seven.

"Team Seven! Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno!"

Sakura Haruno stood up from her seat, covered her chest with her hand, and whispered, "Thank goodness, we weren't separated."

Naruto Uzumaki crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his chair back, balancing it on only the two rear legs.

"What a coincidence, I actually ended up in the same team as you."

"Are you not happy?"

Sasuke Uchiha replied without even turning his head.

Then Naruto Uzumaki was thumped from behind by Sakura Haruno.

"Can't you speak properly? The three of us have been together for three years; of course Sasuke knows what you're thinking."

"Sasuke and I are rivals! I'd give anything to be in a different team from him, and then defeat him fair and square!"

The scene remained quiet for a while.

The few teams that had been picked up by their jonin instructors earlier were long gone, and outside in the hallway, there was only the rustling sound of the wind blowing against old notices on the bulletin board.

Naruto Uzumaki tapped the front legs of his chair against the floor twice, finally unable to hold back.

"This guy is way too unpunctual!"

He jumped off his chair, walked to the classroom door, and poked his head out to look down both sides of the hallway.

The hallway was empty; there wasn't even a rabbit in sight.

Naruto Uzumaki turned and walked back, crossing his arms as he stood in the center of the classroom.

"I'm super strong now. If the teacher gets scared by my sneak attack when he walks in, I'm not acknowledging him as my teacher!"

"That's not a good idea, Naruto..." Sakura Haruno had just started to persuade him when Sasuke Uchiha suddenly spoke up from the side.

"Black."

The shadow beneath Sasuke's feet surged, and a dark mass emerged from within, only to be pressed down by Sasuke before it could fully take shape.

"Just scout, don't attack."

The shadow quieted down, then gave a slight ripple, as if nodding.

Sakura also said earnestly, "I also think it's not great for this teacher to be unpunctual, but Sasuke, isn't a sneak attack a bit—"

She didn't finish her sentence.

The sliding rail of the classroom's front door emitted a faint sound, and the door was pushed open.

A silver-haired man stood at the entrance.

Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja of Konoha.

His headband, worn at an angle, covered his left eye, while his exposed right eye curved into a lazy arc. One hand was tucked into his pocket, and the other held a small book with an orange cover.

He lifted his eyelids, his gaze not yet having swept across the three faces in the classroom.

"Poof!"

White smoke exploded.

A Shadow Clone dropped directly behind Kakashi, while Naruto's real body charged from the front, chakra compressing and vibrating in his right fist as he clenched it tight.

"Hey!"

Kakashi closed his book and used the spine to block his side.

Naruto's frontal punch slammed into the book, but before the vibrations could spread, they were nonchalantly neutralized by Kakashi.

The Shadow Clone behind him also lunged, but Kakashi merely shifted slightly to the side, causing the clone's attack to miss while simultaneously extending a foot to kick the clone into dissipation.

The white smoke cleared.

Naruto's wrist was held down by Kakashi with a casual flick.

He looked down at the bristling Naruto, his right eye sweeping from Naruto to Sasuke by the window, and then to Sakura, who was still standing by her seat, unable to finish her sentence.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki.

Sasuke Uchiha, whom the Third Hokage had asked him to monitor previously.

And—

The pink-haired girl.

Was her name Sakura Haruno?

The Third really knows how to cause me trouble...

Kakashi reopened his book, his gaze falling back onto the pages.

"How should I put it."

He turned a page.

"My first impression is quite interesting."