While Kei was imagining who might become his squad's instructor, Minato continued announcing the remaining team assignments one by one from the front. Unsurprisingly, in the teams announced next, those from shinobi clans were still grouped with others from shinobi clans, or with the very best of those from civilian backgrounds.
Not a single team had an unexpected lineup.
Kirigakure's graduation examination already pursued quality to the utmost, so they were naturally even less likely to make haphazard decisions about the more important team assignments that followed.
Every team assignment was necessarily the result of careful deliberation by the Ninja Academy's teaching staff, then submitted to their superiors and finalized only after receiving approval from the village leadership, and even Karatachi Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage.
Those youngsters who understood nothing of how this worked, yet still hoped to be assigned to a team with outstanding fellow graduates, or even handsome boys and beautiful girls, were destined for disappointment. If they themselves were not good enough,
they had no right to expect a place on an outstanding team.
All of this had been decided before it even began.
"Team 22: Shimazaki Shin, Harumayu, Sōran!"
"Yes!"
"That concludes all your team assignments. Please remember your assigned teams. Your instructors will be coming to collect you shortly. Everyone is to remain on standby in the classroom and wait to be called. Understood?"
After announcing all the team assignments, Minato looked at the graduates below him and spoke with a composed expression.
"Yes!"
Only after these newly promoted Genin answered loudly in unison
did Minato nod in satisfaction, gather his documents, and walk out of the classroom.
Not long after Minato left,
adult shinobi wearing standard-issue Mist Ninja flak jackets began entering one after another, each calling out the number of the team they had been assigned to lead.
"Team 5!"
"Team 10!"
"Team 1!"
"Team 19!"
"..."
The graduates who were called stood up in turn and followed their team instructors out of the classroom.
As these Mist Ninja entered one after another,
Kei observed them very carefully. Of course, he could not tell how strong they were from appearances alone, but his special sensory ability allowed him to judge from the faint traces of presence drifting through the air that these first few Mist Ninja were, in all likelihood, ordinary Chunin.
This also matched the makeup of the teams being taken away. Those graduates all came from ordinary civilian backgrounds, with no so-called chosen ones among them. Grouping them together and assigning a Chunin as their captain was perfectly reasonable.
Again, Jonin truly counted among the top fighting forces in all Five Great Shinobi Villages. Without something special, such as background or potential, how could anyone expect a Jonin to serve as their instructor?!
If geniuses really appeared in bulk like cabbages, they would no longer deserve to be called geniuses!
As he watched his fellow graduates being led away, team after team,
Kei felt no stir of emotion. So far, he had yet to see a single Mist Ninja instructor worth noting.
As these graduates left, the classroom gradually emptied, until only four or five teams remained.
A young man wearing a standard-issue Mist Ninja flak jacket over a navy-blue combat outfit appeared in the classroom doorway.
Unlike the previous Mist Ninja, who had almost all been ordinary Chunin,
this young Mist Ninja's presence was clearly a cut above theirs.
The moment Kei saw this young Mist Ninja, he instinctively froze, and a very faint trace of puzzlement surfaced deep in his eyes.
Something about this young Mist Ninja felt faintly familiar to Kei. He kept feeling that he had seen him somewhere before, yet the resemblance was not quite right. Even after searching his memory countless times, Kei still could not find a fitting match.
"Team 7, come with me!"
Just as Kei was thinking that he had mistaken him for someone else and imagined the resemblance,
the young Mist Ninja swept an indifferent gaze over the dozen or so people remaining below and quietly uttered those words.
Then, without waiting for a response,
he simply turned and walked out of the classroom.
Kei, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Mei Terumi all froze. After instinctively exchanging glances, all three rose together and followed the young Mist Ninja.
The four of them left the classroom and headed straight out of the Ninja Academy.
The young Mist Ninja said nothing the entire way, simply walking at the front with an indifferent expression.
Although Kei and the other two all felt a little puzzled, they remained silent, following their team captain with calm expressions.
No matter how one looked at it, the atmosphere felt strange.
However, from an angle none of the three noticed, the young Mist Ninja was also silently observing them. Only after they had walked for nearly an hour and reached an open space on the western outskirts of the village did he stop. Seeing that Kei and the other two behind him still looked calm,
the young Mist Ninja finally revealed a faint smile of satisfaction and nodded lightly.
"Hmm, you three have made a fairly good first impression. I've already reviewed your basic information. My name is Ao, and I'm a Jonin of the village. Starting today, I'll officially serve as Team 7's instructor. There's no need for unnecessary talk. I've always believed in proving everything through action. We'll begin taking missions tomorrow. Any problems with that?"
The young Mist Ninja named Ao looked at Kei and the other two and spoke in a firm voice.
Seeing their captain suddenly stop,
then abruptly launch straight into that speech,
Kei and the other two were all taken aback, but almost instinctively, they immediately straightened and answered in unison, "No, sir!"
Yet just one second later,
all three froze again, looking at Ao with a hint of astonishment.
Their reasons for being surprised differed, however. Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki were both somewhat startled that the young man before them was actually a Jonin.
Kei, on the other hand, was startled by the name the young man had given-Ao!
It was only the instant he heard that name
that Kei understood where his earlier sense of familiarity had come from. This young Mist Ninja before him, who still looked to be in the prime of his youth, was none other than Kirigakure's famous Byakugan Ao from the original story!
It was just that he was now some twenty years younger than when he appeared in the original story, and he had not yet transplanted that Byakugan. His air and appearance were completely different from those in the original story.
No wonder Kei had not recognized him at first.
That familiar, upright gray-blue hair... Hmm, now that looks right.
Kei studied Ao as he silently thought to himself.