Konoha, at the Yamanaka home.
Yang Cheng and Ino had successfully graduated and officially become ninja.
To celebrate, Rino Yamanaka had closed her flower shop for the day and spent quite some time preparing a whole table of dishes to reward Yang Cheng and Ino.
"Now that you've graduated from the Ninja Academy, you're real ninja.
Carrying out missions outside the village is different from staying here. Although the Shinobi World has been at peace these past few years, there are still plenty of dangers.
After graduation, you should soon be assigned to separate teams, each with a jonin instructor to teach you."
Inoichi Yamanaka wasn't worried about Ino. Following the usual practice, she would probably be placed on a team with Shikamaru and Choji.
After all, the three of them were practically a package deal thanks to the Ino-Shika-Cho connection.
Compared with Ino, Inoichi Yamanaka was actually more concerned about what sort of team Yang Cheng would join and who his jonin instructor would be.
Whatever things were like in other ninja villages, in Konoha, the jonin instructor and teammates assigned after graduation played a major role in a Konoha ninja's career.
Reluctant as he was to admit it, Inoichi Yamanaka knew that beneath its apparent prosperity, Konoha had its own social hierarchy.
A civilian ninja without any connections, like Yang Cheng, generally couldn't obtain many resources unless he demonstrated exceptional talent and strength.
That was why Inoichi Yamanaka was now debating whether to visit the Third Hokage, explain Yang Cheng's talent and potential, and try to secure special training for him.
After all, the boy usually kept far too low a profile. Even Inoichi, who was practically his adoptive father, had only discovered how strong he was a few days ago, let alone anyone else.
In fact, over at the Hokage Building, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was studying the student records Iruka had delivered. As he puffed on his pipe, a troubled expression crossed his face.
Konoha only had so many outstanding jonin. For the village's future, he naturally had to invest those limited resources in the children with greater potential.
Compared with children from civilian families, those born into ninja clans had better resources and education from an early age. Their future achievements naturally tended to exceed those of ordinary civilian ninja.
After all, people like the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, were few and far between.
Most of the students had already been assigned to teams, but two profiles still remained on the Third Hokage's desk.
Had Yang Cheng been there, he would have discovered that those two profiles belonged to him and Sakura.
The Third Hokage had already decided to make Kakashi Team 7's jonin instructor.
He had also settled on two of Team 7's members.
Kakashi had once been Minato's student, making him the perfect choice to look after Naruto.
And as Sasuke Uchiha was the sole surviving child of the Uchiha Clan, having Kakashi of the Sharingan teach him was an excellent match.
It was choosing Team 7's final member that left the Third Hokage in a bind.
He had already assigned most of the ninja clan children and intended to reserve this last spot for a promising civilian ninja.
Yang Cheng was Inoichi Yamanaka's adopted son, and his parents had been ninja who died fighting for Konoha. He could certainly be called an inheritor of the will of fire.
Moreover, although Yang Cheng's theory grades were average, his practical combat scores ranked among the best in his class.
Sakura Haruno was also a civilian ninja from Konoha. Her practical combat scores were below average, but her theory grades were the highest in the class.
Overall, judging solely by their written records, Yang Cheng and Sakura Haruno each had their strengths.
After some hesitation, the Third Hokage ultimately assigned Sakura Haruno to Team 7.
The reason was simple. Following the usual practice, graduates of the Ninja Academy were grouped into teams of two boys and one girl.
Putting Yang Cheng on Team 7 would have broken that pattern...
By the time Inoichi Yamanaka came to see the Third Hokage, the students' team assignments and records had already been distributed.
When he learned that Yang Cheng had demonstrated strength comparable to a Chunin at just twelve years old, the old geezer couldn't help regretting his decision.
But when he pulled out the earlier records and saw who he had assigned as Yang Cheng's jonin instructor, his eyes lit up.
Back at the Ninja Academy, after Iruka-sensei announced their teammates, everyone sat in the classroom waiting for their jonin instructors to arrive.
Aside from Team Guy, whose members had graduated a year before Yang Cheng's class, everyone present and their team assignments matched his memories.
Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame formed Team 8, with Kurenai Yuhi as their jonin instructor.
Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka formed Team 10, with Asuma Sarutobi as their jonin instructor.
Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno formed Team 7, with Kakashi Hatake as their jonin instructor.
As for Yang Cheng, he was on Team 6, and his other two teammates, a boy and a girl, were extras whose names even he couldn't recall.
A background NPC paired with two extras-he hadn't expected that combination, but it made sense.
Yang Cheng had long known who the Konoha 12's jonin instructors were, so he wasn't surprised at all when Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi entered one after the other.
What he was curious about now was who would be assigned to teach him.
Konoha only had so many jonin. Even if his instructor wasn't an elite jonin like Kakashi Hatake, surely they wouldn't just fob them off with a Chunin because they were background NPCs?
"Nanju Yang Cheng, Ai Ling Ben, Wu Luochuan-all members of Team 6. I'm your jonin instructor, Mitaraishi Anko. Come with me."
After Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi, a female ninja entered the classroom wearing a pale yellow trench coat and a yellowish-brown skirt, her dark purple hair tied into a bun.
Compared with Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi, Anko's entrance was downright over the top: she walked in carrying a large flag over her shoulder.
The flag even bore words along the lines of "Team 6's jonin instructor, Mitaraishi Anko, has arrived!"
Not only did this female jonin seem utterly uninhibited, but her clothes were also remarkably daring.
Unlike Kurenai Yuhi, who had been covered up from head to toe, Mitaraishi Anko wore nothing beneath her large trench coat and short skirt except a fishnet bodysuit.
And although Anko was boisterous, fun-loving, and impulsive-every bit a
tomboy-she certainly had an impressive figure.
At least in Yang Cheng's eyes, Kurenai Yuhi and Anko weren't even in the same league in that respect...
Mitaraishi Anko was a Special Jōnin of Konoha. Her strength might have fallen considerably short of Kakashi and the others, but when it came to status and seniority, she was by no means beneath them.
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