Class Assignments Announced—Why Are These Familiar Faces Together Again?

"Lord Naruto, if I apply to clean toilets at the border now, is it too late?"

Kakashi wore a pained expression as he made one last attempt to struggle.

The Third Old Man took a cheerful puff of smoke and mercilessly shattered his hopes.

"Too late. This is the village's top-secret mission. You're the only one for it."

Kakashi closed his eyes in despair.

He knew he had truly fallen into a pit this time.

And it was a bottomless fire pit that could explode at any moment!

The next morning.

The Ninja Academy's corridors buzzed with chatter.

Today was the big day when the class assignments would be announced.

This was a crucial step that would determine their future as ninjas.

What kind of teammates and instructor they got would largely decide whether they could survive brutal missions.

The classroom was even livelier.

Sen still strolled in at the very end of the bell, slow and unhurried.

He headed straight for the window seat in the back row—the "protagonist's reserved seat."

He flopped into his chair and casually propped his legs up on the desk.

Sunlight streamed through the window, warmly bathing him.

[Photosynthesis] activated automatically, making him hum in comfort.

He had just closed his eyes, ready to catch up on some sleep.

"Big Bro! Big Bro, you're finally here!"

A golden head suddenly popped up in front of him, blocking his precious sunlight.

Naruto Uzumaki.

He wore a brand-new Konoha forehead protector and looked as excited as a monkey fresh from a fight.

"Look! My forehead protector! Iruka-sensei gave it to me!"

Naruto pointed at his forehead and proudly puffed out his chest.

"Last night, I did something earth-shattering—I beat that bastard Mizuki until he was flat on the ground!"

Sen's head started to ache from the noise. Rolling his eyes, he reached out and pushed Naruto's face away.

"I know, I know. Stop blocking my sun."

"And don't forget what you promised me. From now on, you're handling all the classroom cleaning."

Naruto patted his chest without a care.

"Leave it to me! As long as I'm in the same class as Big Bro, I'd even clean toilets!"

At those words, an extremely ominous feeling suddenly welled up in Sen's heart.

What a cursed mouth...

Soon, Iruka entered the classroom carrying the roster.

His head was still wrapped in bandages. Clearly, last night's Scroll of Seals incident had caused him plenty of trouble as well.

But his eyes were full of anticipation for this group of newly graduated genin.

"Quiet! Everyone, take your seats!"

Iruka slapped the blackboard, and the classroom instantly fell silent.

"Congratulations on graduating successfully. From today onward, you are ninjas capable of standing on your own."

"Next, I will announce the three-person squad assignments."

"Each squad will be led by a jonin instructor and carry out missions assigned by the village."

At that, everyone nervously perked up their ears.

"Team Ten: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi!"

"Yay! It's the three of us again!" Ino cheered happily.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, slumped over his desk with a lifeless look. "What a drag..."

"Team Eight: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame!"

Hinata blushed and secretly glanced at Sen, who was sleeping in the back row, feeling a little disappointed.

"Next..."

Iruka paused. His gaze swept over Naruto and Sasuke in the front row before finally landing on Sen in the back.

His expression became somewhat complicated, as if he were desperately holding something in.

"Team Seven!"

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto jumped to his feet and shouted, "Yes!"

"Sakura Haruno!"

"Great!" This time, Sakura was the one cheering.

She immediately turned toward Sasuke, her eyes filled with little stars.

Naruto's face instantly fell, like an eggplant hit by frost.

"Why do I have to be in the same class as this lovesick girl...?"

"And..."

Iruka raised his voice.

"Sasuke Uchiha!"

Now Sakura screamed like crazy.

"Yay! I'm in the same class as Sasuke-kun! This is amazing!"

Naruto completely broke down.

Clutching his head with both hands, he howled in agony.

"No! I object! Why do I have to be in the same class as this stuck-up Sasuke?!"

"What can he do besides look cool?!"

Sasuke cast him a cold glance and gave a disdainful snort.

"Just don't hold me back, dead last."

Watching this classic scene of chaos unfold.

The whole class began whispering among themselves. With three people whose personalities clashed so completely thrown together, wouldn't they be fighting every day?

Just when everyone thought Team Seven's assignment was finished.

Iruka looked at the roster and swallowed.

He took a deep breath, then made a solemn announcement loud enough for the entire class to hear.

"Due to special circumstances, Team Seven will exceptionally gain a fourth member!"

The classroom instantly erupted.

"A fourth person? I've never heard of a squad having four members!"

"Who is it? Who has enough pull to get an exception like that?"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stopped arguing and stared at Iruka in surprise.

Iruka's gaze passed through the students in the front rows and fixed firmly on the window-side corner in the very back.

"Team Seven's fourth member—"

"Sen Senju!"

Dead silence.

The entire classroom seemed to have hit pause.

Everyone's jaws nearly dropped to the floor.

That was Sen Senju!

The monster from the graduation exam who had created a tangible Wood Clone without even forming hand seals!

The freakishly strong guy who had slapped the sixth-grade bully straight into a wall!

How could someone like him be assigned to Team Seven?

Could their squad leader be some god with three heads and six arms?!

"Boom!"

After that brief silence, the classroom erupted into an intense uproar.

"This is so unfair! With Sen Senju on their team, Team Seven is basically invincible!"

"Exactly! What mission wouldn't be a piece of cake for them?"

But the three members at the center of the storm reacted very differently.

Sakura covered her mouth, her face filled with shock.

She glanced at Sasuke, then at Sen in the back row.

Both were prominent figures at the academy. Now she had plenty to choose from.

Naruto stood frozen for a full three seconds.

Then—

"Awooo!"

He let out an ecstatic wolf howl.

Like a golden cannonball, he shot across more than half the classroom and lunged straight toward the back row.

With a thud!

Naruto wrapped himself tightly around Sen's leg, so excited that tears nearly burst from his eyes.

"Big Bro! This is great! We really got assigned to the same class!"

"With you protecting me from now on, let's see who still dares bully me!"

Meanwhile, Sasuke Uchiha sat in the front row.

The moment he heard the name "Sen Senju," his body suddenly stiffened.

He slowly turned around.

At some point, his black pupils had transformed into a one-tomoe Sharingan.

His scarlet eyes fixed on the sleeping figure in the back row.

They burned with an unprecedented, overwhelming fighting spirit and unwillingness to yield!

Sen Senju...

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he repeated the name in his heart.

So this is the village's arrangement.

Putting me together with this monster.

Good! Excellent!

Sasuke clenched his fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

This way, I can keep an eye on him at all times. One day, I'll defeat him with my own hands!

Sensing the classroom's suddenly bizarre and feverish atmosphere.

Sen groggily opened his eyes.

He looked down at Naruto, who was clinging tightly to his thigh like an oversized accessory.

Then he looked up at Sasuke in the front row, who was glaring at him with his Sharingan like he was having a chuunibyou episode.

And beside him was Sakura, wearing a completely lovestruck expression.

Sen rubbed his throbbing temples.

"What is this mess?"

He sighed helplessly, feeling that his wonderful lazy life had truly come to an end.

What Team Seven?

This was clearly the ultimate mixture of a powder keg, a bunch of troublemakers, and a battlefield of romantic rivalry!

Old man, you set me up.

Sen cursed silently.

He could already imagine that once they started going on missions, those three would surely tear the sky apart.

How was he supposed to lie comfortably on a lounge chair and bask in the sun then?

"What a drag."

Sen rolled his eyes and kicked Naruto away.

"Get back to your seat already. Stop getting in the way of my sleep."