Why Is This Supervising Jonin So Clueless?

"Do we really have to keep waiting here? Who exactly is our teammate?!"

By the Third Training Ground, a sharp-looking girl with a wild air about her complained to the soft-looking black-haired girl beside her.

"They said they'd assign us someone strong, but aside from Itachi Uchiha, who else in the class can fight?"

The black-haired girl hurriedly tried to soothe her.

"Hana, don't say that. The principal said it himself, so he wouldn't fool us, right?"

"Hmph. What kind of logic is it for a man to make women wait?"

"It's not even time yet. We just got here too early."

"Woof!"

The two girls were talking beneath a tree.

When a voice suddenly dropped down from overhead.

"Yo, you two got here pretty early."

The two girls jumped in fright and jerked their heads up, only to see Naruto hanging upside down from a branch by his legs, smiling at them.

"It's you!"

Hana Inuzuka and Izumi Uchiha had unconcealed delight written all over their faces.

Yesterday, he had shown off his skills in the classroom, and the girls in the class had practically stared themselves cross-eyed—what young girl didn't like a handsome boy?

The eyepatch over one of Naruto's eyes did nothing to diminish his looks. Instead, it added an indescribable air of mystery, giving him the vibe of an edgy teenager.

They had all been certain Naruto would never graduate. Who would have thought that the teammate the principal had told them to wait for would actually be Naruto?!

Naruto was stunned as well. He was used to the standard team setup from the story: two boys and one girl.

He had thought his own team would be the same, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi had sent him two cute girls instead. What was this? Was he trying to tie Naruto down with a honey trap and give him a sense of belonging?

He had no idea about the twists and turns behind it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had said he would arrange teammates for Naruto who wouldn't hold him back, so Principal Iwagami had directly picked the two best students out of more than a hundred graduates and placed them on Naruto's team.

Izumi Uchiha, whose grades were second only to Itachi Uchiha's, ranked first in every subject.

Hana Inuzuka, the acknowledged genius girl of the Inuzuka clan, was calm and composed, meticulous in her thinking, and completely unlike her straightforward mother Tsume Inuzuka or her younger brother Kiba Inuzuka. She aspired to join the medical corps.

Thus, she had been placed with Naruto as the medic of their four-person squad.

The moment Haimaru saw Naruto appear, it bared its fangs and all its fur stood on end.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and released just a trace of the Nine-Tails' aura.

Haimaru immediately cowered like a husky, tucking its tail and hiding behind Hana Inuzuka.

Only then did Hana Inuzuka realize—despite Haimaru's and her own sharp noses, neither of them had noticed when Naruto had approached!

So this was the strength that let him beat up an examiner?

The two girls could not help feeling excited. For a ninja, having such a capable teammate was more reassuring than anything else.

Naruto flipped down from the tree and shook hands with the two beauties in greeting.

"Just you two? Where's the Supervising Jonin?"

Hana Inuzuka's cheeks flushed slightly as she answered in a low voice.

"He hasn't arrived yet. We're waiting for him too..."

Izumi Uchiha, standing beside her, held back a mischievous laugh.

"Where did that loud voice from earlier go? Feeling shy now?"

Hana Inuzuka immediately panicked.

"Who's feeling shy?! I... I!"

"You all got here early."

Just as Hana Inuzuka was left speechless, a dull voice cut in.

Everyone turned to look, only to see a dull-looking Jonin wearing a strangely styled forehead protector standing silently before them.

Naruto's pupils contracted, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

Holy shit? Tenzo, Yamato?

Third had pulled this guy out of ANBU to be a Supervising Jonin this early?

After thinking it over, he found it reasonable.

After all, he had gone berserk three times already. Each time, a few ANBU or Root members must have died. It was only natural to send over a Wood Release ninja capable of suppressing the Nine-Tails to keep watch over him.

Hana Inuzuka leaned close to Izumi Uchiha's ear and whispered.

"Is this the Supervising Jonin who'll be leading us? He doesn't really look the part. Why does he seem so young? And kind of clueless..."

Izumi hurriedly stopped her and quietly warned her.

"Hey, Hana, keep your voice down. Sensei heard all of that."

Yamato was only eighteen at the moment. Even if his face made him look older, the youthful air about him had not fully faded.

"Well, I don't mind. No need to be so tense. It's my first time being a teacher too."

Yamato scratched his head, looking utterly simple-minded.

Any enemy who truly mistook him for a fool probably would not even understand how they died.

Whether it was the ruthless Root or the ANBU that hunted down spies from enemy villages, everyone who had seen it knew just how vicious he could be.

"My name is Yamato. You can call me Teacher Yamato. First, congratulations. Starting today, you are officially ninjas."

"Your next task is to find the designated scroll hidden in this training ground. The scroll contains the mission for this exercise."

Yamato smiled at the three of them.

"Huh? No bell-grabbing?" Naruto asked, rubbing his chin.

"Bell-grabbing? What's that?" Yamato was baffled by the question.

"Nothing," Naruto said with a smile. "If we fail the exercise, do we get sent back to the Academy to repeat the course?"

Yamato's mouth twitched at his words.

He finally understood what Third had meant by "a genius yet lazy Jinchuriki."

"Don't worry. This is only to assess your abilities so we can assign suitable missions. You won't have to repeat the course just because you fail."

Yamato explained helplessly to the three of them.

"Is that so?" Naruto shook his head, his tone full of disappointment.

Yamato: "..."

(╯‵□)╯︵┻━┻!

"You brat, all you ever think about is how to get free ninjutsu!"