Farewell, Team 7

Farewell, Team 7

The sheet on the blackboard mattered more than the graduation exam results. Because it did not list scores, but who you would be with for the next few years.

The list was posted on the blackboard. It was not printed, but handwritten by Iruka. Because this was the last time he would write the names of the students he had taught.

The students crowded around the front. They were not lining up, just shoving their way in. Some shouted, "Found it!" Some asked, "Which class are you in?" Others complained, "Why am I with this guy again?"

Ringo stood in the back. He did not push forward. Because the list would eventually be copied to each class anyway; there was no need to crowd around. But his heart skipped a beat.

"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Ringo."

Naruto and Sasuke—one was the loudest in class, the other the coldest. Me, I was the most invisible.

But the invisible one was in the front row now.

The three of them were assigned to the same row. Naruto was on the far right, in the corner. Sasuke was in the middle. Ringo was on the left, by the aisle.

He used to sit by the window in the back row. Now he sat by the aisle in the front row. It had changed, but he was still on the edge.

Naruto stood and pointed at Sasuke. "Why is it this guy?!"

Sasuke gave a "Hmph" and turned to look out the window.

Ringo: "..."

Naruto looked at Ringo. "You're not saying anything either, but at least you don't go 'hmph.'"

Ringo spoke. "Yeah."

Naruto said, "'Yeah'? Are you answering me or huffing at me?"

Before speaking, he had to think twice. Not because he was scared, but because he did not know what tone to use. This was better than Sasuke, at least—he was listening. Naruto's standards were low.

Outside Sasuke's window, a bird flew past. It was not flying toward Hokage Rock, but out of the village. Ringo glanced at it, but the bird had already flown away.

Kakashi arrived two hours late. He climbed in through the window.

"I got lost on the road of life."

Naruto said, "Who are you trying to fool?!"

Sasuke: "..."

Ringo: "..."

It was not that they did not want to question him. There was just no point. Someone who was late would not stop being late just because they were questioned.

Then came the introductions. Naruto wanted to become Hokage. Sasuke wanted to kill that man.

Ringo said, "I don't want to do anything, but I also don't want to do nothing."

Kakashi had been looking out the window. After hearing Ringo's answer, he turned around.

"Vague, but not perfunctory."

He was not trying to sound profound. He truly did not know what he wanted to do. It was not that he had no goal; his goal was in the system, not on his lips.

Kakashi stood before the three of them. Not on the podium—he squatted down to their seated height.

He was not looking down on them. They simply were not tall enough yet for him to need to look down.

Naruto waved his arms around, his shadow on the wall several times larger than he was.

The introductions ended. Kakashi stood, walked over to Ringo, and patted his shoulder.

"You look a little different from what the list says. Tomorrow's survival exercise—I'll verify it myself."

The moment Kakashi turned around, the system panel appeared. Not white, not purple, not gold. It was orange.

"Detected Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja. Orange fragment drop possible. Trigger condition unknown."

Ringo stopped breathing for half a second.

Orange. Higher than gold.

His heartbeat sped up, but his expression did not change. Because orphans did not casually let others see their emotions. He had learned that too early.

The system panel was orange. It was not merely a change in color; its border was glowing. White used to glow, purple did not, gold glowed faintly, but orange was burning.

Where Kakashi had patted his shoulder was not hot. It felt as though he had patted a question mark into his body.

That question mark remained beneath his skin. It did not disappear, and it did not hurt. It simply existed.

After leaving the classroom, a system prompt appeared. The countdown read "00:37:22" remaining.

It has to be within these thirty minutes.

Ringo did not go to the training ground. He went straight back to his apartment. He could not synthesize outside; what if it glowed? The last time he synthesized something, a cat outside the window had glanced over. He did not know what the cat had seen.

Two purple cards. Iruka's Recognition and Taijutsu Enhancement. He placed them into the synthesis slots. Path A, 85% success rate.

It was not gambling. The discount was already helping me; if I still gambled, that would be greed, not cleverness.

Synthesis successful. Purple: "Taijutsu Mastery," a lasting effect. More stable than enhancement.

It was not that he could suddenly jump higher. Every step simply became steadier.

The sensation of synthesis was no longer a warm current, but a constant temperature, like soaking his hands in hot water for ten minutes. Sustained, not pulsing.

The purple card in the slot differed from the previous purple card. It was not "Teaching Experience," but "Mastery." Not someone else's recognition, but his own.

Ringo left the classroom. Hinata was at the door. She was not waiting; Team 8's classroom just happened to be next door.

"Class assignment. Team 8."

"Yeah."

"Kiba and Shino."

Ringo said, "Naruto and Sasuke."

Hinata said, "Naruto-kun is very loud."

Ringo said, "Yeah."

The two bumped fists. Like they did at the training ground.

"Good luck."

"Yeah."

It was not worry. They knew the other would be fine. They themselves had to be fine too.

The hallway outside was not wide. The two of them were not blocking the way, but people behind them still had to walk around. So it was not a place to linger.

Their fist bump was not forceful. Their fists lightly touched, then separated. Like intersecting footsteps on the training ground.

Hinata turned and left. Her forehead protector still hung around her neck rather than on her forehead. Ringo glanced at it, then turned away as well.

Back in his apartment, Kakashi's words still echoed in his ears.

"Tomorrow's survival exercise—I'll verify it myself."

Verify what? Verify how many cards I have, or verify how orange fragments drop?

The countdown had reached zero. The discount was gone. But the orange remained.

Ringo sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the card slots. Purple Taijutsu Mastery, gold Wind Cutter Technique. And that orange question mark.

Not now. But someday.