The First Meeting

For a ninja's first battle, Naruto's performance was undoubtedly excellent. The calmness and composure in a moment of danger, the decisiveness and directness in seizing an opportunity—these were the essential qualities of an outstanding ninja, and Hatake Kakashi could easily discern them in Naruto.

"Hmm, my first impression of you three is quite good. How about this? Let's head up to the roof; we need to get to know each other."

After scanning the three of them, Hatake Kakashi nodded slightly. A faint smile appeared in his only visible right eye as he spoke to them.

Before the words had even faded, and without waiting for a response, Hatake Kakashi turned and walked straight out of the classroom, heading toward the roof.

He acted as if he didn't care at all, or perhaps he was simply certain that the three would follow.

He showed no self-awareness that he was more than three hours late compared to the other squad's instructors.

This left Sakura Haruno, who had been planning to say something, instantly furious. She had thought that since their instructor had finally arrived, she could breathe a sigh of relief, but she hadn't expected to be brushed off by this seemingly unreliable teacher.

He calls himself an instructor? He seems completely unreliable. He didn't even explain why he was late...

Sakura Haruno couldn't help but complain in her heart.

Her teammates already seemed abnormal.

Now, even their squad's leader was this unreliable.

Sakura felt as if her ninja career was becoming bleak before it had even begun.

However, complaining was just complaining.

Seeing Naruto and Sasuke both stand up and follow Hatake Kakashi toward the roof with calm expressions, Sakura Haruno could only sigh inwardly before hurrying to catch up with them.

By the time all three reached the roof, Hatake Kakashi was leaning against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest, still maintaining his nonchalant air.

"Well, for starters, let's do some self-introductions. We'll be working together as a squad for the next few years, so as teammates, we need to get to know one another."

After a light cough, Hatake Kakashi spoke in a casual tone.

But as his words fell, he discovered to his embarrassment that not a single one of the three spoke.

Naruto maintained a faint, calm smile, while Sasuke remained cold and aloof.

Sakura simply hadn't reacted in time, which was why she hadn't spoken.

Hatake Kakashi hadn't expected to be greeted by collective silence.

Most importantly, he detected a hint of wariness in Naruto's eyes and a touch of impatience in Sasuke's expression.

This gave Hatake Kakashi an instant headache.

Are these two just blatant problem children?

However, he found Naruto's wariness and Sasuke's impatience understandable and quite normal. Both had experienced exceptionally difficult childhoods. Especially for Naruto, growing up in such an environment, it was natural to be guarded around strangers. As for Sasuke, in Hatake Kakashi's eyes, he was still just a child who hadn't grown up yet.

Yet, Hatake Kakashi's assessment was significantly off the mark.

The only reason Naruto was wary of Hatake Kakashi was that he knew the man was one of the Third Hokage's most trusted subordinates, and even someone who would eventually be recognized as the Sixth Hokage. Such a figure would inevitably have a massive impact on his future plans. Moreover, Hatake Kakashi was not a ninja who was easily fooled. Facing him would surely be like facing the Third Hokage; one wrong move and he would reveal his flaws. He didn't even need to be caught with hard evidence—if Hatake Kakashi merely grew suspicious, it would be a taboo for Naruto, at least until he was strong enough to contend with Konoha or, at the very least, capable of escaping to save his own life.

Because of these inner thoughts, a hint of wariness unconsciously appeared in his eyes. Fortunately, since Naruto's childhood had been so tragic, displaying a bit of unusual emotion fell within a reasonable range, so it naturally wouldn't arouse Hatake Kakashi's suspicion.

Because of the silence from Naruto and Sasuke, which led to Sakura not speaking immediately, the atmosphere turned strange once again.

Fortunately, Sakura was still a normal person. Although her reaction time was a bit slow today, after a brief moment of silence, she finally regained her senses. Even though she had been frantically complaining about Hatake Kakashi in her heart, she remembered that he was her squad's jonin instructor, so she put on the image of a well-behaved girl.

If Sasuke and Naruto were going to be silent, she would have to be the one to break it.

With their leader here, surely the previous situation wouldn't happen again, right?

"Um, Sensei? You said self-introductions... what exactly should we say?"

Looking a bit timid, Sakura glanced at Sasuke beside her and asked softly, raising her right hand with a trembling air.

Finally, someone had spoken.

The Copy Ninja, who appeared calm but was actually feeling a bit awkward, let out a quiet sigh of relief. However, he couldn't lose his image, so he maintained his lazy posture, lifted his chin slightly, and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Well, just say your name, your dreams, things you like, things you dislike, and anything else you want to share. It's just for a first impression."

Seeing that their instructor seemed quite friendly, Sakura Haruno's courage grew a little.

"Then, Sensei, could you introduce yourself first?"

Sakura Haruno looked at Hatake Kakashi with sparkling eyes and asked, her voice slightly louder.

"Me? Sure."

Hatake Kakashi raised an eyebrow, then nodded as if he didn't care.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm a Konoha jonin. Things I like? It's not really appropriate to tell you that yet. I don't have anything I dislike. My dream? It's a secret!"

In the end, all we know is your name, right? And you're keeping secrets? Are you a child?

Sakura Haruno couldn't help but complain inwardly.

However, complaints were just complaints.

Among the three people present.

Excluding Naruto.

Both Sasuke and Sakura Haruno had subtle changes in their expressions the moment Kakashi mentioned he was a Jonin. In a world like this, almost everyone knew what a Jonin from a major ninja village signified. This was especially true for Sasuke and Sakura Haruno, who were born in the Hidden Leaf and had become Genin of the village; upon learning that the seemingly unreliable leader standing before them was actually a Jonin, their reactions were profound.

Sasuke's gaze also turned serious at this moment.

It wasn't the Chunin he had assumed, but a Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Jonin = Strength.

In Sasuke's eyes, this was the simplest distinction.

In other words, this man before him had the ability to make him stronger.

This finally piqued Sasuke's interest and attention.