In the archives room, Mizuki smiled as he pulled Sasuke's file from a drawer. After signing a few lines, he handed Sasuke a file folder.
"Take good care of this. It's your Ninja Record Book. The teachers have already filled in some sections for you. Just attach your photo to the file and hand it over to your supervising Jonin."
"Thank you, Teacher Mizuki," Sasuke said softly, turning to leave. After a few steps, he paused at the door, as if remembering something, and turned back.
"Oh, right, Teacher Mizuki, I just remembered something."
Mizuki asked with a smile, "What is it?"
"I ran into Senior Tsubaki this morning before coming to school."
Mizuki's expression froze, unsure why Sasuke had suddenly brought up his fiancée.
Sasuke's calm voice continued, "I overheard Senior Tsubaki muttering about some kind of anniversary while passing by. Teacher Mizuki, if you don't have anything urgent today, you should head home early—maybe buy her a bouquet of flowers and a small gift."
'Rather than becoming someone else's discarded pawn, spending the rest of my life in prison,'
'I'd rather cherish the present. A simple, ordinary life might not be so bad after all.'
With a silent sigh, Sasuke turned and left the archives.
"Anniversary? What anniversary?" Mizuki murmured to himself, his face a mask of confusion. "Is today some special occasion?"
Later that afternoon, after school let out, Mizuki emerged from the academy, his expression somewhat gloomy.
Because Naruto had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique early on and placed second in the practical exam, he passed the graduation exam smoothly despite a slightly lower score on the written portion.
Thus, Mizuki had no opportunity to manipulate Naruto as he had in the original timeline. But he wasn't foolish enough to try seducing other failed candidates.
Naruto's special status allowed him to obtain the Forbidden Scroll, but anyone else would have been denied.
As Mizuki walked through the streets of Konoha, his usual gentle smile remained on his face, but a dark shadow flickered in his eyes.
'It seems I won't have the chance to join Lord Orochimaru for now.'
He had once personally killed an injured comrade during a mission to complete his objectives.
In Kirigakure, such an act would have earned him immediate promotion and a raise.
But in Konoha, murdering a comrade cost him his position as an academy teacher and landed him on the village's gray list, effectively cutting off any path to advancement.
Thus, Mizuki began contemplating defecting to Orochimaru.
'Never mind. I'll buy a bouquet for Tsubaki first.'
Without realizing it, he had arrived at the flower shop. Suddenly, Sasuke's words from earlier that day flashed through his mind.
Though he still couldn't remember what special occasion it was, the thought of Tsubaki, his fiancée of many years, prompted him to buy a bouquet and a small gift.
The night passed uneventfully, with Konoha remaining as peaceful as ever.
Late that night, after the meeting to assign teachers to the new graduates, Kakashi was asked to stay behind by the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage handed him a file folder. "Kakashi," he said, "these are the members of Team Seven, whom you'll be guiding. Take a look."
'As expected.'
'Sasuke is in my team.'
Opening the folder, the first student's profile immediately caught Kakashi's eye.
Name: Uchiha Sasuke
Gender: Male
Rank: Genin
Date of Birth: July 23rd
Age: 12
Ninja Registration Number: 012606
Intelligence: Ranked first in the written exam, first in the practical assessment, and first in the graduation exam.
Notes: Received guidance from Konoha Jonin Hatake Kakashi one year ago.
'This makes the evaluation in two days even more complicated.'
Kakashi felt a headache coming on. He knew Sasuke's strength already rivaled that of a Jonin. More importantly, Sasuke understood the purpose of the evaluation.
With a slight headache, Kakashi flipped past Sasuke's profile to examine his next student.
'Teacher's kid, Naruto, huh?'
On the second registration sheet, the boy's photo showed a face covered in bizarre markings, contorted into an outlandish grimace.
A flicker of memory crossed Kakashi's eyes, and after a moment, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Gender: Male
Information: Theoretical Exam: 35th place; Practical Exam: 2nd place; Graduation Exam: 3rd place.
He learned many ninjutsu and taijutsu techniques from Uchiha Sasuke, and the two frequently sparred.
Two years ago, he became a disciple of a retired ninja from the village, focusing primarily on taijutsu training.
'Taijutsu, huh?'
Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly. Though not a taijutsu specialist himself, he frequently trained and sparred with Might Guy, making him quite familiar with the martial art.
He had even mastered a portion of the Eight Inner Gates technique.
His own taijutsu skills were considered among the best of Konoha's Jonin. While Naruto's file stated he was highly proficient in taijutsu, Kakashi didn't take it too seriously, planning to assess Naruto's taijutsu during the upcoming evaluation.
With this in mind, Kakashi pulled out the third registration form from the bottom of the stack.
A girl with vibrant pink hair, wearing a red high-collared tracksuit, gazed forward with sparkling emerald green eyes and a radiant smile.
Name: Haruno Sakura
Gender: Female
Information: Theoretical Exam: 2nd place; Practical Exam: 3rd place; Graduation Exam: 2nd place.
Two years ago, she became a disciple of Genin Maruboshi Kosuke, focusing on ninja skills and Water Release techniques.
'Skilled in Water Release?'
Kakashi shook his head slightly. As the self-proclaimed "Copy Ninja" and "First Technician of Konoha," he possessed chakra of all five elemental affinities.
While he wasn't a master of Water Release techniques, even many Elite Jonin from Kirigakure couldn't surpass him in this art.
Moreover, Kakashi had never heard of Haruno Sakura's teacher, Maruboshi Kosuke. As a mere Genin, he clearly wasn't a particularly skilled Water Release ninja.
'How could a ninja fresh out of the Ninja Academy possibly pull off anything impressive with Water Release?'
Having reviewed Haruno Sakura's file, Kakashi decided to use Water Release to humble the naive young girl two days later.
'It seems the main focus of the assessment in two days will have to be on Sasuke.'
'Otherwise, things could easily go sideways.'
Having reviewed the files of the three genin, Kakashi mused privately.
Well aware of Sasuke's capabilities, Kakashi resolved to devote most of his strength to dealing with him.
As for the other two, he figured they might at best reach the level of a Chunin, easily dealt with with minimal effort.
"I've finished reviewing them, Third Hokage," Kakashi replied respectfully, returning the files to their folder.
"Hmm," the Third Hokage nodded. "In that case, get some rest and prepare for the assessment in two days."
"Yes, sir!"
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