Class Assignments

If the plot hadn't gone off the rails, Team 7 should have been Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. As for which team he himself would be shoved into, he had been thinking about it these past few days.

The best outcome would naturally be Team 7.

Following the main storyline, he would at least know roughly what was going to happen.

The worst outcome would be getting assigned to an unfamiliar team, then giving Danzo a chance to make a move. That would be a real headache.

"Team 8: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame."

"Team 10: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi."

When Ino heard that she hadn't been placed with Chiya, she immediately wilted, though she had been mentally prepared for it. Ino–Shika–Cho had always been grouped together.

Shikamaru had no reaction at all, slumped over his desk as if he had long accepted his fate. Choji was still eating chips, only lifting his head when he heard his name.

After reading out several teams, Iruka finally turned to the next page.

"Team 7."

The classroom instantly grew much quieter.

Sakura tensed all over, clasping her hands together as she muttered something under her breath.

Iruka glanced at the list.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto froze, then immediately leaped to his feet.

"Yeah! My ninja career is finally about to begin!"

"Sakura Haruno."

Sakura's eyes lit up.

She was just about to celebrate when Iruka read the next name.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Ah!"

Sakura nearly cried out, her whole face flushing red.

Naruto's expression immediately fell apart.

"Why do I have to be on a team with Sasuke?"

Sasuke did not even raise his eyelids.

Iruka ignored them. He merely paused and looked at the final line on the list.

"And Uchiha Chiya."

The classroom fell silent for a moment.

Then, the room erupted into noise.

"Huh? Aren't there supposed to be three people in every team?"

"Why do they have four?"

"Both Uchiha are in Team 7?"

Naruto reacted the most strongly, pointing at Chiya and Sasuke as he shouted, "No way! Why do I have to be teamed up with two stuck-up Uchiha all by myself?!"

Chiya leaned against the back of his chair and lazily glanced at him.

Naruto snorted.

"I don't want to be on a team with you guys!"

Sasuke finally looked up at him.

"Dead last."

"Who are you calling dead last?!"

Naruto immediately looked ready to pounce.

A vein throbbed on Iruka's forehead.

"Naruto! Sit down!"

Only then did Naruto reluctantly sit back down, still grumbling under his breath.

Sakura, on the other hand, was thrilled.

One Sasuke, one Chiya.

Naruto was a bit of an eyesore, but this team was simply perfect.

Ino watched from the side, her teeth itching with envy.

"Forehead, you're way too lucky."

Sakura immediately put her hands on her hips.

"Can't be helped. It's fate."

Chiya's mouth twitched when he heard that.

Now she was bringing fate into it.

Still, he felt relieved inside.

He had really made it into Team 7.

Hokage Office.

Kakashi held Team 7's roster and studied it for quite a while.

His normally listless gaze paused slightly when it reached the final name.

"Lord Hokage."

Kakashi raised his head, his voice carrying its usual lazy tone.

"Three are troublesome enough. I have to take four?"

The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, smoke rising from his pipe.

"Yes, Kakashi. Your task is an important one."

Kakashi said nothing, merely lowering his eyes to look over the file again.

Uchiha Chiya, one of the surviving Uchiha.

He supposedly suffered a fatal wound to the chest, yet it healed miraculously after he was sent to the hospital.

Kakashi's gaze lingered on that line for a moment.

Then the Third Hokage suddenly spoke.

"Sasuke and Chiya are Uchiha orphans. In the future, they will certainly develop their Sharingan. At present, you are the only one in the village who knows how to use the Sharingan. No one is more suited than you, Kakashi."

Kakashi closed the file and sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll do it."

The Third Hokage did not smile. His expression instead grew more solemn.

"Kakashi, Danzo has his eye on that child as well."

At the mention of Danzo's name, Kakashi's gaze finally turned more serious.

The office fell quiet for a moment.

"I understand."

Root Base.

In the dim room, Danzo had also received the team assignment list.

A Root ninja knelt on one knee before him.

"Lord Danzo, Uchiha Chiya has been assigned to Hatake Kakashi's Team 7."

Danzo looked at the roster, his face expressionless.

"Kakashi..."

He lightly tapped his cane.

"Sarutobi is guarding him closely."

The Root ninja asked in a low voice, "Should we continue arranging for someone to approach him?"

Danzo did not answer right away.

After a while, he said coldly, "No rush. Once he becomes a genin, he will have to leave the village for missions sooner or later."

The Root ninja lowered his head.

"Yes."

Danzo tossed the roster onto the table, not a trace of warmth in his single eye.

"An Uchiha who survived after having his heart pierced cannot be left in Sarutobi's hands to go to waste."

In the classroom, the instructors for the other teams arrived one after another.

The students were called away one by one.

Team 8 left.

Team 10 left as well.

There were fewer and fewer people in the classroom. In the end, only the four members of Team 7 remained.

Naruto could still sit still at first, but after waiting half an hour, he was about to explode.

"Why hasn't our teacher come yet?!"

Sakura was dissatisfied too, but she held it in.

Sasuke leaned by the window, his face cold.

Chiya had his head down on the desk, catching up on sleep.

He had slept too little last night. He was genuinely sleepy now.

Naruto paced around the classroom several times. Then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he moved a chair to the doorway.

Hearing the movement, Chiya raised his eyes for a look.

Of course.

This kid had brought out another chalkboard eraser.

Chiya was impressed.

He had just pulled this stunt yesterday, and he was doing it again today.

Couldn't he come up with something new?

Naruto wedged the eraser over the door, then turned back and flashed the others a smug grin.

"The moment that teacher walks in, heh heh..."

Sakura looked a little nervous.

"Naruto, isn't this a bad idea? He's a jonin instructor."

Sasuke said flatly, "A jonin wouldn't fall for this kind of trap."

Chiya laid his head back down on the desk.

"Not necessarily."

The moment he finished speaking, the door was pushed open.

With a smack, the eraser fell right onto the newcomer's head.

The classroom went silent.

A silver-haired man stood in the doorway, wearing a mask, his forehead protector slanted over one eye. He held a book in his hand and did not look like a reliable teacher in the slightest.

Naruto blanked for a moment, then clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! He fell for it! He really fell for it!"

Sakura's face went pale.

Sasuke fell silent as well. Was this guy really a jonin?

Chiya raised his head and looked at the man in the doorway.

Kakashi Hatake.

He had finally arrived.

Kakashi slowly removed the eraser from his head. He looked at Naruto, then Sakura and Sasuke, before finally letting his gaze settle on Chiya.

For some reason, Chiya felt that look lingered on him longer than on the others.

Kakashi set the eraser aside, his voice lazy.

"Well, how should I put this..."

He closed the book in his hand.

"My first impression of you is that I really dislike you."

Naruto's laughter abruptly died in his throat.

Watching this scene, Chiya nearly failed to keep a straight face.