The New Class Seven

Sasuke was surrounded by a group of classmates. Sakura was still fighting with Ino over him, while Naruto was still roughhousing with Shikamaru, Choji, and the others. The moment he saw Duanmu arrive, he immediately wriggled free of Shikamaru's "restraint" with great excitement.

"Duanmu! Over here!" He waved his arm hard, his face brimming with undisguised joy—the genuine happiness of having found a companion.

Duanmu watched him run closer. The smile on Naruto's face was still so bright it was almost dazzling, only compared to last night, there was less fragility in it and more certainty born from having been recognized.

"Yo, Naruto." Duanmu nodded slightly, his tone calm, but his gaze drifted involuntarily to the forehead protector on Naruto's brow. That dark blue band had now become the best proof of the boy's change in identity.

"Hehe, Duanmu, look!" Naruto puffed out his chest proudly and pointed at his forehead protector. "I passed! I'm a real ninja now too!" His voice was full of pride, as if he had obtained the most precious treasure in the world.

"Mm, I see it. It suits you," Duanmu said sincerely.

"Of course it does!" Naruto grew even prouder, then leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice, asking mysteriously, "Oh right, Duanmu, after you returned the Scroll of Sealing last night, the Hokage didn't give you a hard time, did he? I got a little worried afterward..."

He scratched his head, a trace of concern appearing on his face. After all, he had been the one to steal the scroll. Even though Duanmu had helped send it back in the end, he still felt he could not completely wash his hands of it.

Duanmu's heart stirred slightly. He had not expected Naruto to still be thinking about this matter.

He shook his head and reassured him, "It was fine. The Hokage only asked me about the situation and didn't blame me. As for you, you did very well yesterday." He deliberately emphasized the words "very well," a hint of encouragement in his eyes.

"Hehe, of course!" After being praised by Duanmu, Naruto smiled even more happily, his eyes narrowing into slits, and the worry from before instantly vanished like smoke.

"Oh right, right, we're getting assigned to teams today! I wonder if we'll be put in the same team? It'd be great if I could be with you and Sasuke, Duanmu!" Naruto clasped his hands together, fantasizing with a face full of anticipation, completely failing to notice the icy gaze Sasuke sent his way from not far off.

"Probably not. If I'm on the same team as you, then they won't assign Sasuke to our team. It's an adjustment made for combat power balance." What Duanmu did not know, however, was that Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrangement had long since shattered the so-called "balance."

Sasuke's gaze was like a blade quenched in ice as he withdrew it from the direction where Duanmu and Naruto were chatting happily. His brows furrowed slightly, and the hand clenched into a fist tightened unconsciously.

He did not care about a trivial thing like team assignments. Right now, his mind was filled only with how to increase his strength and how to take revenge on that man.

As for these chattering classmates around him—including Sakura, who was always pestering him, and Duanmu, who had just been chatting so happily with Naruto—in his eyes, they were all irrelevant background scenery. In his world, there were only two words: grow stronger and revenge.

Some time ago, he had gone to see the clanswoman who had survived together with him—Uchiha Izumi. But that girl Izumi still believed in Itachi, which made him even more irritated.

He had once thought Izumi was like a gentle older sister. Now it seemed she was just a fool who could not recognize reality.

At the thought, Sasuke's gaze grew even gloomier.

He abruptly turned around, putting his back to the noisy crowd, and walked alone to a large tree at the edge of the training ground. Closing his eyes, he began silently refining chakra. Only the power continuously flowing through his body could make him feel a trace of peace.

Naturally, Sakura would not let go of any opportunity to get close to Sasuke. She immediately shook off Ino, who was still bickering with her, and hurried over to Sasuke's side. She wanted to say something, but the cold aura radiating from him forced her half a step back.

She looked at Sasuke's stern side profile and opened her mouth, but in the end, she still could not say anything. She could only stand quietly at the side, her gaze filled with admiration and a faint, hard-to-detect grievance.

Seeing this, Ino gave a disdainful "hmph," then turned to Choji and Shikamaru beside her and said, "Honestly, Sasuke is still so cold. What's there to like about him?"

Shikamaru had a blade of grass between his lips and leaned lazily against the wall, yawning. "Well, girls are such a pain. No matter how the teams are assigned, there's always going to be boring stuff like this. I just hope our supervising teacher is someone who doesn't manage people much. Best if we get days off every day."

Choji, meanwhile, hugged a bag of potato chips and munched away with crunching sounds, echoing indistinctly, "Mm... As long as there's good food, it doesn't matter who I'm teamed with..."

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from afar. A ninja wearing a Konoha forehead protector, dressed in a green skintight suit, with thick brows drawn across his face, appeared at the training ground entrance. His voice was as loud as thunder. "New students! Quiet down! I am one of your supervising jonin, Might Guy! Today, we will be assigning you to your teams!"

The training ground instantly quieted down considerably, and everyone's eyes focused on Guy.

The students had more or less heard of this jonin, who was famous for "youth" and "hot-bloodedness." This was also somewhat beyond Duanmu's expectations. He had not expected Might Guy to be the one announcing the team assignments this time.

Guy swept his gaze around, nodded in satisfaction, then took out a list. Clearing his throat, he began to read, "All right! We will now announce the team assignments! Team One..."

The team assignment results were announced one after another, and the students found their own teams and supervising teachers with excitement, disappointment, or calmness. Soon, most of the students had finished forming their teams.

"Team 7!" Guy's voice rang out again. This time, he deliberately emphasized his tone.

"Members of Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto! Second Pillar! Haruno Sakura!" Guy paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally landing on Duanmu in the corner. "And... Duanmu!"

"What?!"

"Four people?"

A small commotion and murmurs immediately rose from the crowd. Usually, a squad consisted of three people with one supervising jonin. A four-person squad was an extremely rare situation.

Naruto froze for a moment, then immense surprise burst across his face. "Awesome! I'm in the same team as Duanmu, Sasuke, and Sakura!" He did not care at all about whether there was anything inappropriate about a four-person team.

When Sakura heard that she had been assigned to the same team as Sasuke, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and she nearly jumped up. But when she heard that Naruto and Duanmu were also there, especially Duanmu's name, her smile stiffened slightly, and a trace of complexity flashed through her eyes. Still, being in the same team as Sasuke made that small flaw no longer important.

Sasuke abruptly opened his eyes, a flicker of surprise flashing through them. He had not expected to be assigned to the same team as Naruto, and that fellow named Duanmu as well. But he soon recovered his calm. No matter who it was, none of them could affect his goal.

Duanmu stood where he was, outwardly calm and composed, but waves had risen in his heart.

He glanced at Naruto beside him, who was excited, Sasuke, whose gaze was icy, and Sakura, who looked utterly lovestruck. Then he thought of the legendary "Copy Ninja," Kakashi, and the corners of his mouth could not help curving into a faint, meaningful arc.

This combination really was... interesting. It seemed the days ahead would not be peaceful.

Guy looked at the four members of Team 7 and smiled in satisfaction, revealing his white teeth. "Very good! The members of Team 7 are all present! Your supervising jonin is an extremely outstanding ninja! Now, everyone gather at the training field. Your supervising teachers will be waiting for you there!"

With that, Guy made a standard Konoha ninja gesture, then left in great strides filled with the aura of "youth."

"Let's go! Duanmu! Let's hurry to the training field!" Naruto impatiently grabbed Duanmu's arm and was about to charge forward.

Sasuke snorted coldly and was the first to walk toward the training field in his memory, his steps still quick and steady.

Sakura hurriedly followed Sasuke, and before leaving, she did not forget to turn back and glare at Naruto, signaling him not to get too close to Sasuke.

Naruto stuck out his tongue, not minding at all, then smiled at Duanmu and said, "Let's go, Duanmu! We should catch up too!"

Duanmu nodded, his gaze falling on Sasuke's back, thoughtful.

He adjusted his schoolbag and followed the group, already beginning to consider how he should continue improving himself in this special team while dealing with the various challenges that were about to come. Especially that mysterious supervising teacher—Kakashi Hatake.

He had not expected that after parting at the hospital, the two of them would meet again.