"Team 10: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi."
"Team 9..."
"Team 8: Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame."
Inside the Ninja Academy classroom, Iruka, the head teacher, stood at the podium announcing the student placements.
As per tradition, the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio remained a team. Additionally, the Inuzuka, Hyuga, and Aburame clans—all specializing in perception—were grouped together, forming a dedicated sensory unit.
"Next is Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki..."
Upon hearing his name, Naruto's ears perked up.
"Sakura Haruno."
Beside Naruto, Sakura lifted her head.
"Sasuke Uchiha."
Next to Sakura, the handsome youth stared silently out the window.
"Team 6..."
"Alright, that concludes the assignments. As your head teacher, I feel I should leave you with a few final words..."
With the announcements over, the classroom was a mix of joy and disappointment. Nevertheless, Iruka continued to ramble from the podium, nagging his students about the precautions they should take once they became active shinobi.
"Naruto, do you have any inside info on who our sensei is?"
Ignoring Iruka's lecturing, Sakura nudged Naruto and whispered.
"Ah, well... you'll find out when the teacher shows up, Sakura," Naruto replied with an apologetic smile. He hadn't told her what Kakashi had said yesterday.
The teacher for Team 7 was the current Hokage.
If that news broke, it would cause quite a stir in the classroom, and they would be far too conspicuous.
Ever since Naruto had missed the chance to truly reunite with his father five years ago, his personality had changed significantly. Under Kakashi's direct guidance over the last few years, he had largely outgrown his annoying pranks—though he still had the occasional "brain-fart" moment.
"Eh?" Sakura looked at him, surprised. "Being so mysterious about it."
Naruto's reaction only confirmed her suspicion: he definitely knew who their sensei was. Since he was being so tight-lipped, their teacher had to be a major figure in the village.
Could it be my master, Lady Tsunade? Sakura wondered, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed out the window. Her pink hair fell across the desk, catching Naruto's eye.
Though he had matured, Naruto was still Naruto. From the first moment he had seen Sakura, he had thought she was incredibly cute.
However...
Naruto's gaze shifted from the pink strands of hair to the silent boy sitting on Sakura's other side.
Sasuke Uchiha.
The entire village knew about the Uchiha Incident years ago. Fugaku Uchiha had led the clan in a coup d'état, resulting in the Hokage purging the entire lineage. As the head of the clan, Sasuke's father was naturally the primary culprit.
To put it another way: Kakashi was the man who killed Sasuke's father.
As if sensing Naruto's gaze, Sasuke looked up.
"What are you looking at?" the black-haired boy asked coldly, his dark eyes devoid of emotion.
"Nothing. I just figured since we're teammates now, we should get to know each other better," Naruto replied calmly, shaking his head.
Naruto didn't care if Kakashi was Sasuke's enemy. He only knew one thing: to him, Kakashi was as important as a father.
If Sasuke ever tried to move against Kakashi, he would have to step over Naruto's corpse first. The regret he felt regarding his biological father, Minato Namikaze, had made Naruto cherish his current family, friends, and comrades more than anything.
Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke didn't say much. He simply turned his head back toward the window, watching the trees sway in the wind.
By now, Iruka had finished his lecture and departed, leaving the classroom in a noisy state of excitement.
"Team 10, follow me."
A man with a full beard appeared at the door.
"Our sensei is an unkempt old guy...?" Near the front, Ino Yamanaka's face fell the moment she saw Asuma.
"Team 8, you three brats! Follow me!"
Shortly after Asuma Sarutobi, another jonin arrived. She wore a tan trench coat, her purple hair tied back casually. Compared to her attractive face, her curvaceous figure was even more eye-catching.
Anko Mitarashi.
"Looks like we got a tomboy who's hard to deal with..." Kiba Inuzuka muttered under his breath.
"Ha! You little punk, complaining the moment we meet?" Anko overheard him instantly and snapped. "Go run twenty laps around the Hidden Leaf right now!"
"You see, Kiba? Now you know the price of letting your mouth run," Shino Aburame muttered as he walked past the pale-faced Kiba, dropping the dry remark.
"And you two from the Hyuga and Aburame clans—since you're on a team with this brat, you're not getting off easy either. Run with him!"
Clearly, Anko had no intention of letting the other two slide. Hinata and Shino remained silent, resigned to their fate.
As the teachers arrived one by one, the number of graduates in the room dwindled rapidly until only Team 7—Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke—remained.
"So slow..." Sakura grumbled, slumped over the desk.
"Just be patient, Sakura. Maybe the teacher got held up with something," Naruto said with a light chuckle.
Because of the relationship between Kakashi and Tsunade, the two had seen a lot of each other over the last few years and were quite well-acquainted. As they sat in the empty classroom with sunlight streaming through the windows, there was a sense of peaceful stillness.
"It seems the three of you have quite a bit of composure."
A voice rang out, causing the trio to snap their heads toward the source.
"No... no way?!" Sakura stared in shock at the man who had appeared.
"Yeah, pretty much," Naruto laughed sheepishly.
Sasuke, however, kept his eyes locked firmly on the man standing before them.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am your instructor for Team 7. I am also the current Hokage of the Hidden Leaf... Kakashi Hatake."
Later, at Training Ground 3—a place very familiar to Kakashi—he sat on the grass facing the three students.
"Now then, let's do some self-introductions. Tell me about your interests, hobbies, things like that. I shouldn't have to teach you how to do this, right?"
Dressed in standard jonin gear, Kakashi looked at the three fresh graduates with a warm smile.
"So, who wants to go first?"
His gaze swept over them, finally landing on Naruto, who looked eager.
"Alright, Naruto, why don't you start?"
At Kakashi's prompt, Naruto spoke with excitement.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! My favorite thing is ramen! What I hate is when Kakashi-ge—Sensei won't let me eat instant noodles! My dream is to become an excellent Hokage, just like Kakashi-sensei!"
Naruto paused mid-sentence. It was still a bit difficult to switch from calling him "Big Brother Kakashi" to "Kakashi-sensei" after all these years. Then again, if he kept calling Kakashi "Brother," and the future Ichigo called him "Brother Naruto," wouldn't the family hierarchy get all messed up?
Hearing Naruto's words, Kakashi smiled wordlessly and shifted his gaze to the only girl in the group.
"I... my name is Sakura Haruno. I like red bean soup with mochi. I hate mint because it always has a weird taste to me. As for my dream... I want to become the greatest kunoichi in the shinobi world, just like my master, Lady Tsunade!"
Sakura had finally recovered from the shock of the Hokage being her teacher. She was nervous at first, but she quickly found her footing.
Kakashi nodded. It seemed the "graduation hike" and Tsunade's tutelage over the years had matured this civilian genius. His efforts hadn't been in vain.
To be honest, there wasn't much Kakashi could teach Naruto or Sasuke. He had already given Naruto the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique and the Rasengan. Sasuke had Itachi's guidance regarding the Sharingan; while Kakashi had experience with it, he couldn't compare to a Mangekyo holder like Itachi.
Kakashi intended to focus his efforts on Sakura. That was why he had gone out of his way to look after her.
The ultimate power of Naruto and Sasuke lay elsewhere: Naruto needed to master the Nine-Tails, and Sasuke needed the Eternal Mangekyo. Mastering the Nine-Tails required the Island Turtle and the Falls of Truth in the Hidden Cloud. The Eternal Mangekyo required Itachi's eyes.
Kakashi couldn't provide either of those things for them—at least not yet. As for Six Paths Yin and Yang powers, that was even further out of reach.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha."
Without waiting for Kakashi to ask, the black-haired boy spoke, his eyes fixed intently on his teacher.
"I have no hobbies, and there is nothing I like or dislike. I have no dreams."
"I am a man who has nothing."
Sasuke would never forget that day—the day his father and mother lay in their coffins. The former glory of the Uchiha had been turned into a mark of shame.
The place where he grew up was the very place that had killed his parents. Yet, his older brother told him that the Hokage and the village weren't the killers. Instead, it was his parents who had tried to stir up chaos and plunge this peaceful village into war.
This realization caused Sasuke immense agony. He wanted revenge, but his brother's words left him with no target. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't leave the village. He wanted to hide, but every detail of his daily life reminded him of the cruel reality.
What could he do?
Sasuke had no idea. He could only numb himself through the pain and hardship of training, trying to forget everything—trying to forget this agonizing reality.
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