"So, Naruto, is there anyone you want to be on a team with?"
Choji looked at Naruto with some curiosity and asked.
He might have seemed a little slow and easygoing.
But in truth, Choji Akimichi was very observant. Over the past six years, Naruto seemed to get along with everyone, yet he didn't seem especially close to anyone. Now that graduation was just around the corner, Choji was curious whether there was any classmate Naruto wanted as a teammate.
"Me? I'm fine with anyone."
Naruto paused, not expecting Choji to ask him so directly. But he didn't have to think it over, and answered at once. It wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't a lie, either. Naruto knew very well that, barring any surprises, his teammates had already been decided.
His gaze drifted past as if by chance.
Sasuke Uchiha sat diagonally in front of him, while Sakura Haruno sat on the other side, gazing at Sasuke with open admiration. If things followed the original story, those two would be his teammates for quite some time.
Of course, something unexpected could still happen.
But Naruto thought it was unlikely that the teams would change.
At this point, Sakura Haruno was a complete lovesick girl with no combat ability to speak of.
And Sasuke Uchiha was a brooding, stone-faced boy with nothing on his mind but revenge.
Just thinking about being teamed up with those two—
Naruto felt a headache coming on.
To be honest, there was someone he truly wanted to be teamed up with.
At that thought,
Naruto couldn't help letting his gaze drift toward another lovely figure, dressed in white. At just that moment, she turned around, her bright eyes landing on Naruto.
Their timing was perfect.
Their gazes met.
The girl's cheeks flushed bright red. An exaggerated puff of smoke seemed to rise above her head, and she shyly lowered it, unable to meet Naruto's eyes for even another second.
That girl...
That brief exchange,
especially the girl's bashful expression,
left Naruto looking a little flustered, too.
Hinata Hyuga.
She was a girl Naruto cared about deeply.
And the person he wanted as his teammate.
But Naruto knew just as well that there was no way he and Hinata would be placed on the same team. It was because of his own identity, as well as Hinata's status as something close to a princess of the Hyuga Clan.
It was already decided.
The two of them would never be put together.
He felt a little wistful, a little disappointed.
But the feeling lasted only a moment.
Naruto quickly gathered himself.
Choji hadn't noticed.
Shikamaru, however, caught it at once. His eyebrows lifted slightly, and a faint smile flickered at the corner of his eyes.
"All right, settle down. Everyone, return to your seats at once."
The students' chatter ended as Iruka appeared in the doorway. By the time he reached the front of the classroom and clapped his hands, everyone had obediently returned to their seats.
As their homeroom teacher for the past six years, Iruka had earned that much respect.
"Good. Is everyone here? First of all, I want to congratulate you on passing your graduation exams. From the moment you put on your Forehead Protectors, you became official ninja. But I hope you'll remember that this is only the first step on your path. What it means to be a ninja and what a ninja should do—everything the Ninja Academy could teach you, it has taught you. From here on, you'll have to put it all to the test yourselves. You still have a long way to go before you can become capable, let alone excellent, ninja. Today marks an ending, but it also marks a brand-new beginning. Pay attention to every step you take, and then you may one day become excellent ninja!"
Iruka's eyes swept over everyone in the room. They held concern, worry, and hope all at once. His steady, gentle words, filled with both caution and encouragement, set most of the children ablaze with excitement. Their eyes gleamed as they sat up straight, gazed at Iruka, and called out loudly,
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing how seriously the children about to graduate were taking this, Iruka looked even more pleased. He nodded and continued.
"You've probably all heard that ninja usually work in teams to complete missions more effectively. You'll be no different. Once you graduate from the Ninja Academy, you'll be placed in teams of three, with each team led by an experienced ninja. That way, you'll learn to carry out missions more quickly and effectively. Today, we'll officially assign you to your teams."
They'd known this was coming.
But now that the moment of team assignments had arrived,
the boys and girls in the classroom all looked even more excited and expectant. Each of them wondered who they'd be teamed up with.
Especially the few students who had consistently ranked near the top over the past six years.
They were the ones everyone wanted to team up with.
Even Naruto, who seemed a little unusual, had his share of admirers.
With his excellent grades and a personality completely different from the one in the original story, Naruto had inherited Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki's good looks. It was no exaggeration to say that he was also a popular choice for the graduating class. To the girls in particular, Naruto was their ideal second choice for a teammate. The first was, naturally, the young Uchiha heir—Uchiha Sasuke.
In the eyes of these girls, Sasuke represented the perfect combination of good looks and strength.
Everyone wanted to be on a team with Uchiha Sasuke.
Even Ino, who knew perfectly well that she'd be teamed up with Shikamaru and Choji, looked at Sasuke with longing at that moment.
But Sasuke himself remained unmoved. Even with all those intense gazes surrounding him, his expression was as cold as ever.
Teams?
Teammates?
Don't make me laugh.
In Sasuke Uchiha's eyes,
nearly all of his classmates were deadweight.
Even Naruto. During their practical exercises over the past six years, Naruto had often held back, and he'd lost to Sasuke several times. So Sasuke didn't think much of him, either.
They were all just losers he'd beaten.
He was unquestionably number one.
It made no difference who he was teamed up with, as long as they didn't get in his way.
The mindset of a pure, unrestrained avenger.
Ever since that night,
Uchiha Sasuke had only one goal.
That man—his own older brother, Uchiha Itachi!
Nothing else!!