First Meeting of the Rookie Twelve

The entrance ceremony was held in the auditorium of the Hokage Building, and the Third Hokage's speech was surprisingly brief. There was no long-winded indoctrination about the Will of Fire, no tedious recitation of ninja rules. The old man simply set down his pipe, looked at the mass of new students below, and said, "From today onward, you are Konoha's ninja. Eat well, train well, and get along with your classmates." Then, amid everyone's stunned silence, he smiled and announced the ceremony's end. Shinichi gave the Third Hokage's speech high marks in his heart—turning "don't die" into three sentences that still made people feel cared for was a skill forged over decades as Hokage.

Getting back to the classroom was where the real event began. Iruka stood at the podium, tapping the roll book and telling everyone to introduce themselves in order of their student numbers. The moment he finished speaking, the classroom erupted—not with noise, but with the kind of restless disturbance that seemed calm on the surface while undercurrents churned below. The children of each clan sized up those around them from the corners of their eyes. The Hyuga Clan watched the Uchiha Clan, the Uchiha Clan watched no one, and Shikamaru Nara of the Nara Clan had already slumped onto his desk, ready to catch up on sleep.

Sasuke was the first to go up.

Uchiha Sasuke rose from his seat and walked to the front with crisp, efficient movements. When he turned to face the class, his hands hung naturally at his sides and his back was ramrod straight. For a six-year-old to carry himself like that, he had either been strictly trained from childhood or possessed an innate, unyielding spirit. Shinichi thought it was both.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I like tomatoes and hate natto. My dream is to revive the Uchiha Clan, and..." He paused, his voice dropping. "To kill that man."

The air in the classroom instantly froze. Even Choji Akimichi, who had been eating chips, stopped chewing. Shikamaru lifted his head from his folded arms and squinted at Sasuke, then lay back down. Several girls whispered to each other about who "that man" was, while Ino elbowed the person beside her to signal that they should not ask. Hinata lowered her head, lightly tracing something along the edge of her desk with her fingers. Naruto Uzumaki sat to Shinichi's left, and his expression shifted from curiosity to confusion—he clearly knew nothing about the Uchiha Clan massacre, but instinctively felt that this black-haired boy carried something similar to himself.

Shinichi showed no surprise. Of course he knew Sasuke was talking about Itachi, but he also knew that Sasuke's hatred for Itachi was still brewing at this stage. More than anything, it was an emotion that mixed anger at being betrayed with grief over losing his family, with no outlet to escape through. He wrote a short line in his notebook: "Sasuke: excessively defensive personality. To break the ice, strength on equal footing is needed, not sympathy." It was a habit he had developed as a product manager in his previous life—creating simple profiles for every important person and recording their personality traits and approaches for dealing with them.

The second to go up was Sakura Haruno.

Sakura was so nervous on her way up that she nearly tripped over the podium. By the time she steadied herself, her face was red all the way to her neck. Gripping the hem of her clothes with both hands, she stammered, "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like... I like..." Her gaze drifted uncontrollably toward Sasuke, who stood nearby, and her voice grew softer and softer until she seemed ready to shrink into her collar. Iruka gently prompted her, "You can sit down now," and only then did she run back to her seat in relief.

Shinichi noticed that after Sakura returned to her seat, she secretly glanced at Naruto. It was not the furtive look of a girl in love, but the puzzled look of someone wondering, Why does that blond keep staring at Sasuke-kun? Then she looked at Shinichi again, her gaze lingering on the Senju Clan crest on the back of his school uniform. A trace of curiosity appeared in her eyes.

Shinichi wrote in his notebook, "Sakura: high aptitude for theory, lacks self-confidence. Guidance should focus on helping her build self-recognition and reduce her dependence on others' evaluations. She can later be cultivated as the core of a medical team." Once he finished, he felt that this was not quite the sort of psychological assessment one would write for first-year elementary school enrollment. But it could not be helped. Occupational habit.

Then came Hinata Hyuga.

When Iruka called, "Hinata Hyuga," everyone in the classroom turned to look at the dark-blue-haired girl huddled in the corner. It would have been fine if she had stayed seated, but once she stood up and every gaze fell upon her, her face instantly turned red like a boiled shrimp. Her fingers twisted together as she repeatedly wrung the hem of her clothes, and though her lips moved, no sound came out for a long while. The eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan, a genius who had awakened the Byakugan at six, could not even manage to say her name in front of twenty-some classmates.

"It's all right. Take your time." Iruka crouched down, resting the roll book on his knees as he looked Hinata in the eye. "Just tell us what food you like."

"I... I like cinnamon rolls... and..." Hinata's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. Her eyes slipped past Iruka's shoulder to steal a glance at Shinichi, then immediately dropped again. "Nothing else."

At that moment, Shinichi recalled the Hidden Cloud Village kidnapping incident. Though he had already changed everything in this world, Hinata was still the same introverted Hinata, someone who needed a great deal of time and patience to guide her along. When she looked toward him during her introduction, she probably could not have explained why she had taken that glance herself. But his judgment confirmed it—Hinata already had a basic favorable impression of him. Training interactions could be arranged gradually.

Shikamaru Nara's introduction was the shortest in the whole classroom. He swayed to his feet with his hands in his pockets and said, "Shikamaru Nara. There's nothing I especially like or especially hate. My dream is to become an ordinary ninja and live an ordinary life." Without waiting for Iruka to nod, he sat back down. Shinichi nearly laughed aloud. At six years old, Shikamaru had already written "trouble is a pain" into his life philosophy. That consistency could rival Hashirama's Wood Release.

When Choji Akimichi came up, he was still holding a bag of chips. Only after Iruka gestured at him with his eyes did he reluctantly set it on the desk. "I like barbecue and chips, and I hate celery," he said, then added, "And I hate it when people call me fat." As he said that last part, he shot a warning glare at several boys snickering nearby. Shinichi made a mental note: Choji: strong self-esteem, sensitive about his body. His confidence can be built early through diet and training.

Ino jumped onto the podium and introduced herself at a speed like a string of firecrackers. "Ino, I like flowers and handsome people, and I hate boys with no taste—" Halfway through, she saw Iruka helplessly push up his forehead protector. Sticking out her tongue, she added, "Oh, and I hate bitter things," before skipping back to her seat. As she passed by, she left behind a faint scent of shampoo, and several girls crowded around to ask what brand she used.

When Shino Aburame stood, his high-collared coat hid most of his face, while his sunglasses reflected the cold light of the fluorescent lamps. Before he could speak, Kiba Inuzuka beside him shouted for him, "Shino Aburame, the bug guy!" Akamaru barked along with him. Shino fell silent for a moment, then pushed up his sunglasses.

"Shino Aburame. I like insects. I hate people who do not respect insects."

Shinichi wrote in his notebook: Shino and Kiba have complementary personalities. They can be developed as a team in the future.

By the time it was Naruto's turn, he could no longer wait—before Iruka had even finished calling his name, he leaped out of his seat and charged to the podium. Slamming both hands onto the desk with enough force to send the chalk box flying, he made Iruka hurriedly shield the ink bottle. Naruto paid no attention to the chaos. He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like Ichiraku Ramen! Especially miso pork ramen! What I hate is instant ramen that was ready three minutes ago but still hasn't been eaten, because it gets soggy! My dream is to become Hokage! And make everyone in the village acknowledge me!!"

That speech moved not only the entire class; even two chunin passing through the hallway stopped and looked in through the window. Some children muttered, "He's so loud my ears are going to burst," while others secretly laughed. Naruto did not notice any of the whispers, because Shinichi was clapping. Not the perfunctory sort, either—his palms came together in three solid, rhythmic claps that rang through the quiet classroom.

Iruka began clapping as well.

Finally, it was Shinichi's turn. He rose and walked to the podium, his six-year-old steps neither hurried nor slow. Once he was in place, his steady gaze swept across the classroom.

"Senju Shinichi. I like training. I like Ichiraku Ramen, especially miso ramen with extra pork."

Naruto eagerly chimed in from below, "Yeah! He always gets extra pork!" Ino's eyes lit up as she turned to whisper with the girl beside her. Sasuke, who had been resting his chin on one hand while looking out the window, turned around upon hearing the latter half.

"My dream is to become an outstanding ninja who can protect his companions."

When he returned to his seat, Naruto excitedly slapped him on the shoulder. "That was so cool! I'm going to introduce myself like that too!" Sakura could not help glancing over again. Ino openly looked him up and down, then told the girls beside her, "His hair is kind of messy, but he looks pretty good." Hinata lowered her head and repeatedly traced something on the desktop, perhaps making up for not daring to look at him properly earlier.

Shinichi closed his notebook and completed everyone's profiles with their first impressions in his mind. Shikamaru glanced at him from the side, his gaze pausing on the notebook's cover before he closed his eyes and continued catching up on sleep. Perhaps this boy, who hated trouble more than anyone in the class, had already noticed something. But guided by his instinctive aversion to trouble, he did not pursue it.

Outside the window, April sunlight fell perfectly upon the empty seat between Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki, like a golden coin that had not yet been picked up.