บท 121: Chapter 121: The Formation of Team 7
"Naruto," Shinho Aburame called out as he returned to his senses.
Please, for everyone's sake, stop the nonsense.
Did Naruto not notice how the whole classroom was in chaos?
Thankfully, it wasn't that version of the Sexy Jutsu from the original story—where nothing but three clouds of smoke covered strategic parts.
If that were the case, half the class would probably be lining up to shake Naruto's hand while uttering, "Brother, you smell amazing." and wanting to play strategic fencing.
"Huh? What happened?" Ino Yamanaka asked, her vision blocked by Shinho's hand, preventing her from seeing Naruto's transformed state.
She could only catch glimpses of her classmates' exaggerated reactions through the corner of her eye.
She was curious, but she didn't want him to move his hand. He's protecting me, she thought gleefully, her eyes twinkling with affection.
"Nothing important," Shinho said, pulling his hand away, as Naruto dispelled his transformation.
He glanced at Hinata. Unlike Ino, she was more reserved and obedient, not even attempting to sneak a glance.
Naruto dispelled his transformation, looking around at the chaotic classroom with pride.
"So, Sasuke, what do you think?" Naruto grinned as he returned to his seat.
"Idiot," Sasuke Uchiha muttered, turning his head away, refusing to meet his gaze.
"I got a perfect score!" Naruto boasted, inching closer.
"What good is a perfect score if you can't pass the written test?" Sasuke shot back, stepping back from Naruto.
"I filled out the whole test!" Naruto stubbornly insisted.
"..." Sasuke moved even farther away, finding another seat in the classroom.
"Shinho Aburame," Iruka Umino's voice rang out after a few minutes.
"Go get 'em, Shinho-kun!" Ino cheered, waving her tiny fists in an adorable display of encouragement.
Hinata, meanwhile, looked nervous but hopeful, her expression filled with quiet anticipation.
"Don't worry," Shikamaru Nara said lazily, arms folded behind his head. "Shinho's bound to get a perfect score."
Sasuke sat in silence. He also expected Shinho to score perfectly. His only hope now was that he might outperform him on the written exam.
"Shinho!" Naruto gave him a thumbs up, grinning. "Burn with the power of youth!"
Burning off calories, maybe?
Shinho waved his hand dismissively before heading to the adjacent classroom for his turn.
"Shinho," Iruka greeted him warmly, smiling. "Go ahead and draw your card."
Iruka's career had flourished thanks to students like Shinho and Sasuke over the past six years. As the Third Hokage had mentioned, Iruka was on the fast track to a promotion.
It wouldn't be long before he moved up from his position as a regular teacher, likely securing the role as the head of an entire grade.
But they're about to graduate... Iruka sighed inwardly.
He could already foresee his future teaching assignments as dreary in comparison. None of the students in recent years, aside from Hanabi Hyuga, had been as exceptional.
"Transformation Jutsu," Shinho said after glancing at the card he drew.
"Transformation again?" Iruka paused, suddenly suspicious. "Wait, you're not going to pull off another Naruto, are you?"
Ohh, Look at how nervous he is!, Shinho thought, amused. Shaking his head, he reassured Iruka, "Don't worry, I wouldn't do that."
"Good," Iruka sighed in relief. "Alright then, begin."
Shinho pondered for a moment before forming the hand signs. To earn a perfect score, he needed to go beyond the standard version of the jutsu and add something extra.
Iruka's eyes widened in disbelief as Shinho moved around the classroom while maintaining the jutsu.
He transformed into every single student in the class, one after another, flawlessly imitating each of them as he went.
Incredible! Unable to contain his amazement, Iruka declared without hesitation. "Perfect score!"
"Thank you, Sensei," Shinho replied as he approached and accepted his ninja forehead protector.
….
Back in the Hokage's office, the assembled jonin watched Shinho's performance through the crystal ball.
"Impressive," Kurenai Yuhi remarked, astonished. "Even though Transformation Jutsu is the most basic technique, performing it at this level shows a deep understanding of the jutsu."
Kakashi nodded slightly, his Sharingan seeing even more than Kurenai.
Shinho's chakra control was as advanced as a jonin's. At twelve years old, he was already at a level on par with Kakashi himself at that age.
"Cocky little brat," Tsunade muttered, though a faint smile tugged at her lips.
Shizune, noticing the grin, thought, She's being so dishonest with herself.
After spending so much time with Shinho, it was clear to Shizune that Tsunade had grown very fond of him, perhaps even placing him above others in her affections.
"A bit of a show-off," Shizune commented, critiquing the performance.
"Well, it's understandable for someone his age," Asuma chimed in, a hint of envy in his voice.
If only he'd had such talent in his youth, maybe he wouldn't have spent so many years trying to shake off the shadow of his father, the Third Hokage.
For years, Asuma had been rebellious, constantly at odds with Hiruzen Sarutobi, hoping to carve out his own path.
But no matter how hard he tried, his talents had never quite matched those of his father.
Now, after his time as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Asuma had come to terms with his legacy.
….
"Alright, I've sorted out the team assignments. Head to the classroom and pick up your students," Tsunade announced, picking up a sheet of paper from her desk.
"Yes, Lady Hokage," the jonin replied in unison.
As they exchanged curious glances, Kurenai stepped forward to collect the assignment sheet. She scanned the list quickly and was visibly surprised.
"What is it?" Asuma asked, noticing her expression, growing curious himself.
Instead of answering, Kurenai passed the list to Kakashi.
Kakashi too looked at the list and froze, staring in disbelief.
What kind of dream team is this? he thought, instinctively glancing at Tsunade. Her smile confirmed the assignment was indeed correct.
So much for my easy-going days of reading Icha Icha in peace... Kakashi sighed. With a team this strong, it was clear that the missions would be much harder than usual.
Reluctantly, Kakashi handed the list to Asuma.
"That explains it," Asuma murmured, finally understanding Kurenai's reaction.
….
Meanwhile, in the classroom, Iruka had begun reading out the team assignments.
"Team 7," he called out, "Shinho Aburame, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki."
"Yes!" Naruto leapt to his feet, pumping his fist in the air.
All eyes turned to Naruto with envy. Having the top two students in the class as teammates was like a dream come true—it practically guaranteed success.
"Not bad," Sasuke commented, glancing at Shinho. He was secretly relieved. Shinho was a strong partner, and even Naruto, despite his eccentricity, had proven to be competent enough not to drag them down.
Overall, it was the best possible team he could hope for.
"Oh no, my Sasuke!" Sakura Haruno moaned in disappointment.
"Team 8," Iruka continued, "Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame."
He guessed it exactly right, Ino thought, glancing at Shinho with suspicion.
"Why is Hinata on our team?" Shino Aburame murmured to himself, already sweating nervously.
If anything happened to her, he knew he'd be held responsible. He imagined a future where Team 8 consisted of Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru, while he quietly disappeared.
"Ninth squad." Iruka paused before continuing, "Sakura Haruno, Torune Aburame, and Yakumo Kurama."
"Who… are they?" Sakura looked confused.
She couldn't recall anyone named Torune Aburame or Yakumo Kurama being in her class.
Iruka didn't offer an explanation and moved on. "Tenth squad: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi."
No surprises there—the classic Ino-Shika-Cho trio. But most students were still hung up on the two unfamiliar names in the ninth squad.
Shinho Aburame chuckled softly to himself.
Yakumo Kurama, from the Kurama clan, possessed a rare Kekkei Genkai that allowed her to turn illusions into reality. However, her power was so overwhelming that it had compromised her physical health, rendering her too weak to properly train.
In an accident, her overwhelming mental energy manifested as a creature called Ido, which killed her parents. Yakumo harboured resentment toward her teacher, Kurenai Yuhi, under the mistaken belief that Kurenai had been assigned to kill her.
This led to an eventual confrontation where Yakumo nearly burned down the Hokage's office before Naruto stepped in to defeat Ido.
Shinho had suggested forming the ninth squad with Yakumo and Torune to Tsunade, knowing that Kurenai was Yakumo's teacher in the original timeline.
For the eighth squad, Hinata's team, he had suggested replacing Kurenai with Yamato as their jonin leader, simply because Yamato's skill set would provide them with stronger support.
Kurenai's expertise in genjutsu wouldn't be as useful in the later stages, especially since genjutsu was now largely dominated by the Uchiha clan. Yamato, with his powerful Wood release techniques, was a much safer and stronger choice.
"Squads have been assigned," Iruka clapped his hands, drawing the students' attention. "Now we'll move on to the final part—meeting your squad leaders."
Everyone had already noticed the jonin gathered outside the classroom, and one figure in particular caught everyone's attention—Kakashi Hatake. With his wild white hair and trademark eyepatch, he was hard to miss.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shot his hand up. "What about our rankings?"
"I'll post the rankings on the bulletin board after you meet your squad leaders," Iruka responded. "Check it out later."
"Who's in first place?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.
"Shinho Aburame," Iruka paused for a second before adding, "and Sasuke Uchiha."
"What?" Naruto looked as though he'd been struck by lightning.
"Me?" Sasuke stood up, equally shocked. He had never expected this.
"Yes," Iruka confirmed. "Both of you received perfect scores in both the written exam and the three basic jutsu tests."
Sasuke was stunned for a moment before a grin slowly spread across his face.
Six years. It's been six long years, he thought, overwhelmed with emotion.
He had never once beaten Shinho in any test or exam, but today, he had finally tied for first place. It might be a tie, but to him, it was a victory—a first step toward many more to come.
The realization made his body tremble with excitement, and he had to fight back tears.
[Achievement unlocked: Sasuke's 'First Step to Victory'. Reward: Thunder Wings Gu.]
[Lightning Wings Gu: A rank-3 Gu, capable of manifesting wings of lightning that grant the user the ability to fly for a short period.]
Shinho glanced at Sasuke, seeing him on the verge of tears.
Was the pressure really this much for him? he wondered, though he couldn't help but be pleased with the new reward. The ability to fly was a rare gift in the ninja world.
"Squad 10, please step forward," Asuma Sarutobi called from the doorway.
"See you later, Shinho-kun," Ino waved goodbye as she stood up to join her teammates.
"Squad 7," Kakashi's voice followed soon after.
Sasuke was momentarily taken aback. Kakashi Hatake is our squad leader? After finally tying for first place, this felt like a second piece of incredible news for the day.
"Wow, it's Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto beamed. He was thrilled.
Having trained with Might Guy, Naruto had seen Kakashi many times, and they were already somewhat familiar with each other.
"Let's find a quiet place to get to know each other," Kakashi suggested. "How about the rooftop?"
He was unusually pleasant toward the three of them—after all, his students weren't just any ordinary kids.
"I'm down!" Naruto was still brimming with excitement.
Sasuke nodded, indifferent to the location. He didn't mind as long as it wasn't a hassle.
Shinho, however, thought of a line from a different life. Makoto Itou: I have no objections.
[tl/n: from my searches, I found out that this line is referencing a visual novel 'School days' and the few pictures I could find on Google were all of this guy 'Makoto itou' standing on the traditional grilled rooftop of Japanese high schools.]
The four of them headed up to the rooftop.
"I'm Kakashi Hatake. I don't have any dreams or specific hobbies," Kakashi introduced himself with his usual nonchalance. "Now it's your turn. Just introduce yourselves however you like."
"Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto exclaimed, raising his hand high. "My dream is to become Hokage!"
Kakashi nodded, completely unsurprised by the declaration.
"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said flatly. "My dream is to kill a certain man."
"Who's that?" Naruto asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"Don't ask. If he says 'that man,' just leave it at that," Shinho pulled at Naruto's sleeve to quiet him down.
"Oh, I get it!" Naruto exclaimed, nodding as if he'd uncovered a deep secret. You understand nothing, Shinho thought, his energy drained.
"And you, Shinho?" Kakashi looked expectantly at him.
"I want to become Hokage," Shinho said, keeping his response simple.
Kakashi stroked his chin thoughtfully. Pretty standard answer, he mused. But there's plenty of time to dig deeper into these three.
"Alright, be at Training Ground 1 tomorrow at nine o'clock sharp," Kakashi clapped his hands, signalling the end of their first meeting. "That's it for today. And I'll be treating everyone to Ichiraku Ramen tonight."
"Yay!" Naruto cheered, his face lighting up with joy.
"I'm not going," Shinho and Sasuke replied simultaneously.
"...?" Kakashi was stunned, the awkwardness palpable in the air.
"Aunt Mikoto invited me over for dinner," Shinho explained, glancing at Sasuke.
"I see," Kakashi nodded. "Well, Naruto, guess it'll just be the two of us then."
"Hey, Naruto," Shinho casually handed him a small, crumpled piece of paper.
The note had a simple sentence written on it: Show up tomorrow at eleven.
Because, of course, Kakashi would be late.
With that, the four left the rooftop, wrapping up their brief first meeting.
[Achievement unlocked: 'Three Years and Three More'. Reward: Golden Moon.]
[Golden Moon: A rank-3 Gu, which releases a golden crescent slash that strikes enemies with cold, biting power.]
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