Team Assignments

Meanwhile, in the Hokage Office.

The Third Hokage was using the Telescope Technique to show several instructors what was happening in the classroom.

More than a dozen instructors had gathered in the Hokage Office.

Aside from Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai Yuhi, all the other instructors were Chunin.

When the image settled on Sasuke, Asuma showed great interest in him. "Is this the top student of this year? Uchiha Sasuke."

That guy's little brother. As expected, he has incredible talent, Kakashi thought.

Uchiha Itachi had once served under Kakashi in the Anbu.

When the image shifted to Naruto, he was being swarmed by the girls in his class for constantly provoking Sasuke.

Watching Naruto, the Third Hokage sighed helplessly. "That boy still hasn't changed at all."

Kakashi watched Naruto and fell into thought, remembering the days he'd spent with Naruto's father, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara.

The teacher's child.

Soon, the image shifted to Yeyu, who was lying facedown on his desk, asleep. No one else paid him any attention.

They didn't know much about Yeyu.

Even the instructor who had planned to assign Yeyu to his team earlier paid him no mind.

But as the Third Hokage watched Yeyu sleeping on his desk, he thought, Is he so tired because the noise last night kept him from sleeping?

Kakashi glanced at the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage's expression hadn't changed at all, yet the image had lingered on Yeyu for quite some time.

Is that him? Kakashi wondered.

The one who caused that terrifying destruction with a single punch.

He doesn't seem very popular with his classmates.

Yeyu was sleeping facedown, so it was impossible to see what he looked like.

In the classroom, Yeyu was woken by the commotion.

He lifted his head and looked toward the noise.

He saw a group of girls beating up Naruto.

He glanced at Sasuke, who was standing nearby and throwing up, and quickly figured out what had happened.

Is this that famous scene?

Then why am I not interested?

In the past, Yeyu might have been interested in the famous scene between Naruto and Sasuke.

But now, it all seemed ordinary. It didn't stir the slightest emotion in him.

Naruto was left bruised and swollen after being beaten by the girls.

He'd stolen the first kiss of the girls' beloved heartthrob. His crime was truly unforgivable.

Yeyu lowered his head and went back to sleep.

It wasn't that he hadn't slept well the night before. He simply couldn't find anything else he enjoyed besides sleeping.

It seemed he'd lost interest in so many things.

When Yeyu lifted his head, Kakashi finally got a clear look at his face.

He's quite good-looking. But not a single girl in his class likes him. Is he just too withdrawn?

Yeyu was the best-looking boy in the class after Sasuke.

Yet no one around him spoke to him. It was bizarre.

And Yeyu was so strong, too.

But Kakashi soon figured it out. He probably hasn't shown off his strength at school.

If he really did, he'd be far more popular than Sasuke.

After all, students at the Ninja Academy cared more about grades.

And Yeyu wasn't bad-looking, either. If he showed off his strength, he'd definitely be popular.

Still, he's the kind of kid who can even turn down an invitation from the Hokage. Getting him to stand out at school might be difficult.

This kid is interesting.

Kakashi had become somewhat interested in Yeyu.

But Kakashi seemed to have forgotten something: his students were Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.

Ever since the start, his attention had been entirely on Yeyu.

After a while, it was time to announce the team assignments.

Yeyu sat up at his desk.

He wiped away nonexistent drool and looked at Iruka at the front of the classroom.

Iruka instinctively glanced at Yeyu, too.

I never would've thought that the most unremarkable student in the class would be the best student of this year. No one expected Yeyu to be so strong.

I just hope the Third Hokage assigns him an instructor who's strong enough.

But that'll be difficult. There are only so many Jonin instructors this year.

They've all been assigned to teams. There aren't any spots left.

The students who had Jonin as their instructors were either from ninja clans or especially important, like Naruto and Sasuke.

Even Sakura had only been added to Team 7 to help mediate between Naruto and Sasuke.

Iruka took Naruto very seriously.

But he was also the one who knew best just how much the Third Hokage cared about Naruto.

When Naruto first enrolled, his attitude toward studying had nearly driven Iruka to despair.

But the Third Hokage had personally come to reassure him, helping Iruka accept Naruto and guide him onto the right path.

Naruto was the only one who'd received that kind of treatment.

For any other student, if their grades were bad and they didn't want to study, they could simply be expelled.

How else could someone keep getting zeroes on every test and still be allowed to stay in class?

Aside from Naruto and Sasuke, the other students with special backgrounds were those from ninja clans.

There were students like Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Hinata.

They were all from powerful clans in Konoha with influence.

Of course they wouldn't be assigned Chunin as their instructors.

Iruka sighed. Yeyu, your true strength might be incredible, but you showed it too late.

I thought that after I told the Third Hokage about you yesterday, you'd be assigned a Jonin instructor.

It seems I was still too naive.

Iruka checked the team lists for the few Jonin instructors. Nothing had changed.

That meant Yeyu's instructor would still be a Chunin.

Iruka felt it was a real shame.

He believed that with Yeyu's strength, a Jonin instructor could help him grow into an independent ninja. He might even become a Jonin someday.

Jonin were the absolute pillars of a village, its strongest fighters.

They were even entitled to take part in discussions at meetings of the Konoha High Command.

Though he felt some regret, Iruka quickly put it aside.

He looked at the class and said, "Now I'll announce the team assignments."

Iruka opened the sealed letter.

Yeyu's name wasn't on the Team 1 list.

Nor was it on Team 2's.

At last, it was time for Team 7.

Iruka announced, "The members of Team 7 are Haruno Sakura."

Naruto, sitting nearby, was nervous. "Please let me be on the same team as Sakura!"

Iruka continued, "Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto sprang to his feet, thrilled. "That's great! I'm on the same team as Sakura!"

Sakura was devastated. "I'm on the same team as Naruto..."

She slumped over her desk, utterly dejected.

But then Iruka said, "Uchiha Sasuke."

At the sound of Sasuke's name, Sakura jumped to her feet. "That's great! I'm on the same team as Sasuke!"

Naruto's mouth twitched. "I can't believe I'm on the same team as that guy. Damn it!"

Sakura turned to Ino and taunted her.

"Sasuke's on my team, not yours! Hahaha!"

Seeing Sakura's smug expression, Ino ground her teeth in anger.