Team Assignments, Hiruzen Sarutobi's Intent

"It's just the matter of Uchiha Izumi's team placement..."

After Daikoku Funano left, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the pipe on his desk, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled. His gaze flickered constantly as his thoughts raced.

The senior class at the Ninja Academy graduated a few days earlier than the lower grades, so the senior graduates had already been assigned to teams and had undergone evaluations by their team leaders.

Inserting someone else into the mix now didn't seem particularly appropriate.

At the same time, any member of the Uchiha clan capable of inheriting the Will of Fire was an asset the village needed to strive to win over.

Every ninja who stepped out of the ivory tower and into the cruel world of shinobi underwent significant psychological changes; therefore, the arrangements for team leaders and teammates had to be handled with the utmost caution!

It would be best if they were all ninjas who deeply loved the village, capable of providing psychological guidance during this formative period and exerting a profound influence on her!

The Uchiha clan head's eldest son, Itachi Uchiha, had already demonstrated sufficient Will of Fire, and Shisui continued to exert a positive influence on him...

Meanwhile, the clan head's second son, Sasuke, was still young, and since Uchiha Izumi was his future wife, her status was unique; her ideology could effectively and directly influence Sasuke, whose mind was not yet fully developed...

With the dual influence of his older brother and his future wife...

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt even more compelled to be cautious. Soon, he remembered something. He pulled out a file on a ninja squad and began to flip through it, his fingers tapping lightly against the desk.

This was a squad formed two years ago, but recently, one member had sacrificed their life during a mission. He hadn't originally intended to add a new member, especially since one of the squad's members had already passed the Chunin exam and submitted an application to join the Anbu, which was currently under review.

Once that member passed the review and the final assessment, the fragmented squad would face dissolution.

But now, this Uchiha Izumi could be placed right in!

Even as an Anbu candidate, the fact that they could undergo the review meant that their basic political vetting had passed, their ideological stance was sound, and they possessed a sufficient Will of Fire.

At the same time, there was no group in Konoha more subservient than a certain faction!

"Anbu!"

"Present!"

"Notify Hyuga Hizashi to come here!"

"Yes!"

Before long, Hyuga Hizashi arrived at the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage."

"Mm." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, then handed over Uchiha Izumi's file. "Hizashi, take a look at this first."

"Understood." Hizashi did not ask questions. As he took the file and began to read it carefully, his heart stirred:

Another Uchiha genius...

If only we in the Hyuga clan could also...

If the Hyuga clan didn't have the Branch House system and everyone could practice the clan's high-level martial arts, he believed the Hyuga clan would be no worse than the Uchiha!

Although he understood this was impossible—a system rooted for thousands of years could not be easily changed—he still couldn't help but think about it, though that was all he could do...

With a helpless sigh in his heart, he set his thoughts aside. Once he finished reading the file, he spoke: "Does Lord Hokage intend to integrate this Uchiha clansman into our ninja squad?"

"That is correct." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "She is an Uchiha who has inherited the Will of Fire, an asset the village must secure. You understand what I mean, don't you?"

"Yes!" Hyuga Hizashi nodded heavily. "This subordinate will certainly provide her with proper guidance!"

"Good, then I leave it to you, Hizashi."

To think she was assigned to Hyuga Hizashi's squad?

Two years ago, Sasuke, who had been monitoring Hiruzen Sarutobi, had found the composition of this squad strange for a moment; after all, he had never heard of this squad's existence.

But strange as it was, he hadn't paid much attention to a single squad's change, assuming it was just a butterfly effect caused by his own appearance, and quickly put it out of his mind.

But now, with Hiruzen Sarutobi placing Uchiha Izumi into this specific squad, and considering their conversation, he had no choice but to take it seriously.

Ninja Academy.

"Uchiha Izumi, your graduation assessment details have been finalized."

"Because the senior students have already been assigned to teams, you can only be placed in another ninja squad. This time, your graduation assessment will be conducted simultaneously with that squad's entry test."

"If you cannot pass their entry test, it means you will not be able to graduate. Do you understand?"

After hearing the words of her homeroom teacher, Daikoku Funano, Uchiha Izumi probed, "Daikoku-sensei, I wonder who the squad's leader and members are..."

"It is a pity." Realizing she wanted to know the roster to prepare in advance, Daikoku Funano felt helpless. "Due to the special nature of this squad, even I do not know the roster. Lord Hokage only gave the vague answer that the leader is a Jonin, and the members include one Chunin and one Genin."

"But you must understand, ordinary ninja squads are led by Chunin; having a Special Jonin as a team leader is already quite exceptional!"

"The fact that you have a Jonin leader and a Chunin teammate this time shows how much Lord Hokage values you. You must seize this opportunity."

A Jonin and a Chunin, huh?... Since there are no answers here, I'll just ask Sasuke... Thinking this, Uchiha Izumi nodded firmly. "Mm, I understand. Please don't worry, Daikoku-sensei, I will definitely work hard to earn their approval!"

She knew that Sasuke monitored the Hokage twenty-four hours a day; in all of Konoha, no one knew the Hokage's decisions better than he did.

If she hadn't been using her real body to come to the Ninja Academy to apply for graduation today, she probably would have known about the team placement already.

"Hmm, very good." Daikoku Funano waved his hand with a smile. "Go on, you may leave the academy now. Go back and prepare the necessary ninja tools, and arrive at Training Ground 1 at 5:00 PM sharp to wait."

"Yes!"

Leaving the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Izumi hurried back to Sasuke's home. "Sasuke, what is my squad assignment?"

"Here, it's already prepared." Sasuke tossed a file over directly. "Read it yourself, and burn it when you're done."

"That's great!" Taking the file and seeing the ink still not fully dry, Uchiha Izumi knew Sasuke had written it out himself; the information was so detailed it spanned nearly ten pages.

Touched, she cupped Sasuke's face and planted a firm kiss on his cheek. "Mua~ Thank you, Sasuke!"

"Is that all?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and pointed to his other cheek.

Seeing this, Uchiha Izumi rolled her eyes charmingly and pressed her cherry lips against him once more. "Mua~"

"Satisfied now?"

She had grown accustomed to these little intimate gestures; as long as no one else was around, she didn't feel too shy.

Seeing Sasuke nod in satisfaction, she began to carefully review the file, only to look surprised when she saw the teacher's name. "The teacher is Hyuga Hizashi?"

Having stayed by the side of Sasuke and Elder Nobuhiko, she had naturally heard of this head of the Hyuga clan's branch family.

"Yes, but he isn't important; there's no need to learn about him for now." As he said this, Sasuke reached out to flip to another page in the file, tapping a name on it. "She is the one who will be conducting your squad entry test this afternoon. Hmm, it's a combat test; you only need to last five minutes against her to pass."

"Five minutes?" Realizing that Sasuke had already helped her eavesdrop on the squad's assessment arrangements, Uchiha Izumi skipped over Hyuga Hizashi and began to carefully study the ninja's profile, her heart stirring:

An eleven-year-old female chunin... skilled in swordsmanship?