The time had come for team assignments.
Inside the Ninja Academy classroom, students were being called out one by one by their respective squad leaders.
"Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin, and Uchiha Obito. I'm your jonin instructor—come with me" said a blond man with a smile as warm as the sun as he stepped into the room.
That man was none other than the future 4th Hokage. Just look at that damned charisma — strong yet humble, kind without seeming weak. No wonder Orochimaru lost to him. Compared to Orochimaru's cold and shadowy aura, Minato radiated openness and strength.
In Konoha, unlike other shinobi villages, the Hokage wasn't just required to be strong — they also had to be approachable.
"What the — Kakashi, am I dreaming? Our teacher is the Yellow Flash!" Obito slapped his own face hard, only to confirm it wasn't a dream.
"Stop yelling. Let's go" Kakashi said coldly, trying to keep a cool exterior—he didn't want to come off as immature in front of Minato.
After a brief goodbye to Mitsuki, Rin followed the group as they left with Minato.
Watching them go, Mitsuki couldn't help but wonder who his team's instructor would be.
After all, his teammates included Ruri — the top and second-ranked students of their class. Their instructor had to be at least a jōnin.
"Shimizu Mitsuki, Uchiha Ruri — come with me."
A man with a long ponytail and wearing a standard flak jacket stepped into the room.
After exchanging greetings with Kurenai and Anko, Mitsuki got up and left with him.
A forest clearing inside the village.
"I'm Yamanaka Inoichi, your jōnin instructor. Heiji, come introduce yourself to your new teammates," Inoichi said after his own introduction, glancing over at the third member waiting nearby.
The boy looked around twelve or thirteen. Long, straight black hair. White eyes. No doubt—a member of the Hyuga clan.
"I'm Hyuga Heiji" he said flatly. It was hard to tell if he was naturally stoic like Kakashi or just indifferent for another reason.
"I'm Shimizu Mitsuki. Looking forward to working with you" Mitsuki said politely. In the shinobi world, people who were overly friendly at first meeting usually turned out to be the most dangerous.
"I'm Uchiha Ruri. Let's not waste time on pointless missions, alright?" Ruri snapped back coldly, clearly unimpressed by Heiji's attitude.
"Haha, don't mind Heiji — he's just bad at expressing himself. And he's only two years ahead of you guys anyway. You might as well think of him as a peer" Inoichi quickly stepped in to diffuse the tension.
Leading a team isn't easy... Inoichi sighed internally, hoping they'd build real camaraderie during their missions.
"You all seem full of energy, so why don't we chat a bit?" Inoichi clapped his hands. "Tell me your specialties, goals, that sort of thing. I, for example, specialize in sensory ninjutsu. My current goal is to help Konoha win this war and bring peace. Heiji, you go next."
"As you can see, I'm from the Hyuga clan. I specialize in taijutsu and sensory techniques. My goal is to survive this war."
Exactly what Mitsuki expected. Everyone in the shinobi world knew the Hyuga were taijutsu specialists — just like everyone knew the Uchiha excelled at genjutsu and fire style.
"I'm skilled in the Uchiha clan's genjutsu and Fire Style. For now, my goal is to grow stronger. That's all" Ruri said, head held high with pride.
Ever since graduation, Ruri had seemed oddly excited about going to war. Mitsuki couldn't quite wrap his head around her battle-junkie mindset. Was she actually looking forward to it?
If that were true, then Ruri really was born in the wrong era. If she had been around when Madara left the village, she'd probably have followed him right out the gates.
"I specialize in Lightning Style, Earth Style, and sensory ninjutsu. My current goal is to survive the war as well" Mitsuki said.
…And to settle things with Kirigakure. Not that he could say that out loud—what kind of freshly graduated genin declares war on one of the Five Great Nations?
"Oh? I see you're carrying a short blade. I assumed you specialized in kenjutsu?" Inoichi asked, pointing at the blade on Mitsuki's lower back.
"This?" Mitsuki drew the weapon. "It's called Mistcutter. A birthday gift from my father and his teammate"
When he said "teammate" Mitsuki couldn't help but glance at Ruri beside him.
Ruri raised an eyebrow. Why's he looking at me while talking about his sword?
Clearly, communication between Ruri and her father, En , wasn't exactly thriving.
Mitsuki had no interest in poking at family drama. Right now, his focus was surviving the war.
"That's a fine blade" Inoichi said, but deep down he felt awkward.
He'd looked into both Mitsuki and Ruri's files after seeing the team assignments. He knew Mitsuki's parents had died in the war. Probably not the best topic to linger on.
Heiji sensed the awkward mood and was about to say something nice about the sword, but Inoichi quickly changed the subject:
"Well then, now that we've all met, how about some ramen? My treat."
"I'm in!"
"Sure."
"I'll pass. If there's nothing else, I'm heading back to train" Ruri said curtly. She didn't have time for idle chit-chat.
"That's… a bit troublesome" Inoichi muttered.
"Come on, Ruri." Mitsuki stepped in. "If teammates don't know each other well, coordination suffers. Poor coordination lowers mission success rates."
Having been classmates for years, Mitsuki knew exactly how to talk to her.
Ruri imagined the team constantly failing missions because of miscommunication. Her eye twitched.
"…Fine. If it's about improving team efficiency, I'll go. Let's just get it over with."
On the way to the ramen shop, Inoichi gave Mitsuki a subtle thumbs-up from behind.
Thumbs-up.jpg
"By the way, Inoichi-sensei,"
"Hmm? What's up, Mitsuki?"
"I heard most new teams go through some kind of test?"
"Oh, that? Nah, no need for that with you guys. You and Ruri were the top of the class. If you two failed, the whole batch would need to repeat the Academy! Haha!"
"I see."
After ramen…
Inoichi gathered the trio and said, "Alright, Team Inoichi, listen up. Go home and prep your gear. We're heading out tomorrow at 7 AM sharp. We've got a mission to escort supplies to the frontline between the Land of Rivers and Sunagakure. I'll explain the full details on the road. Any questions?"
"None."
"Good. Then — Team Inoichi, dismissed!"
"That was fast." Mitsuki wandered through the village streets after the meeting.
He wondered how things were going on Rin's side. Knowing Minato's style, he was probably making them try to snatch some bells…
"Should I peek with the Six Eyes?…Nah, that'd make me feel like a stalker" Mitsuki vetoed the idea.
"Well, guess I'll go practice some ninjutsu" He figured there wasn't anything left to prepare at home anyway. Time to head to the secret training spot he shared with Rin and keep developing his techniques.