Before long, the teacher arrived.
He pulled out a sheet of paper and began reading out the team assignments.
"Team 1… Team 2…"
"Team 3: Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, Ebisu."
The teacher continued calling out names.
Shiranui Genma and Ebisu, who had been laughing earlier, finally stopped smiling.
At last, it was Kyōhiko's turn.
"Team 7: Yoshimine Kyōhiko, Yūhi Kurenai."
Yūhi Kurenai glanced at Kyōhiko and blinked.
At least it was just one of them.
Though Kyōhiko and Guy both seemed diligent and likely strong, the sparks that flew between them earlier were a bit too much for the young Kurenai to handle.
The academy teacher moved on.
"Team 8…"
Kurenai grew anxious.
Wait a minute—
Why were there only two of them?
Kyōhiko leaned over and whispered, "Don't worry, we'll ask after we step outside."
"Uh, okay."
Kurenai nodded, suppressing her confusion.
---
Outside the classroom.
"Teacher, why does Team 7 only have two members? Normally, it's supposed to be a jōnin-sensei and a three-person squad, right?" Kyōhiko asked.
The academy teacher scratched his head awkwardly. "Well… I don't know either. You'll probably find out when you meet your jōnin-sensei this afternoon."
"Huh?"
Kurenai's face was blank, completely lost.
The teacher quickly shunshin'd away, leaving Kyōhiko and Kurenai staring at each other.
Now they were the ones dumbfounded.
Of course, Kyōhiko had a guess—though he wasn't sure if it was correct.
There was that unlucky, high-pressure prodigy who, despite becoming a chūnin last year, had a personality and attitude that made teamwork nearly impossible.
Hatake Kakashi.
Was it him?
---
2:00 PM.
The newly formed teams gathered in the academy building. Downstairs, younger students were still in class, while the graduates waited for their jōnin instructors to arrive.
Kyōhiko sat quietly, contemplating his future.
He had already figured out some aspects of the system's mechanics.
Being on the same team as Kakashi might have its benefits.
The question was—
Who would their jōnin-sensei be?
Namikaze Minato?
As he pondered, he absentmindedly twirled a kunai between his fingers.
Finally, Kurenai couldn't hold back any longer.
"Kyōhiko-kun, I… I have something I'd like to ask."
She was a year or two older than him and hadn't been in the same class, so they weren't very familiar.
But since they were now teammates, they needed to get to know each other.
Kyōhiko stopped spinning the kunai.
"What is it?"
"Are you… practicing finger dexterity with that?"
Kurenai pointed at the kunai dancing like a blossom between his fingers.
Kyōhiko paused, then chuckled.
"Just a habit."
"A habit…"
Kurenai nodded, falling silent, but her gaze now held a trace of respect.
Forming such a habit required years of relentless training—something that undoubtedly involved hardships she couldn't even imagine.
No wonder he and Might Guy got along.
Her mind raced with assumptions.
Kyōhiko had no idea what the girl was thinking. He was more focused on another question—
Would building rapport help him "shear the sheep" more effectively?
---
A short while later.
Knock knock!
The door was rapped twice.
Then it slid open. Kyōhiko looked up and nearly burst out laughing.
A silver-haired boy with a mask walked in, his eyes half-lidded and his expression stiff as he forced himself to appear indifferent before taking a seat.
Kurenai's jaw dropped.
She blinked rapidly, disbelief written all over her face.
Then—
"You're not our jōnin-sensei, right?!"
"Hmph."
Kakashi turned his head away, refusing to answer.
Kyōhiko whispered a reminder.
"Kurenai, Kakashi only became a chūnin last year. There's no way he's a jōnin."
"Oh, right."
Kurenai's thoughts were a mess, her face a picture of utter confusion.
Kyōhiko suppressed a smirk.
So it is him!
Which meant—
"Kakashi, does this count as repeating a grade?"
"..."
Kakashi shot him a sidelong glance, then faced forward again, ignoring the question entirely.
Tch.
Kyōhiko held back the urge to tease further and sat up straight, maintaining the classroom's eerily silent atmosphere.
If this were a game from his past life, Kakashi would be classified as a boss-level challenge—far beyond the likes of Might Guy, who could be handled with mere words.
This required a slow, strategic approach!
For now, he'd wait and see who their sensei was.
Just as Kyōhiko was deep in thought, footsteps echoed outside.
All three of them snapped their attention toward the door.
Was this their teacher?
But after a long wait, the footsteps stopped abruptly—as if the person had entered another classroom.
Kurenai frowned.
She whispered, "Our teacher… just vanished."
Kakashi replied flatly, "As shinobi, all we have to do is wait."
"..."
Kyōhiko glanced at them, his lips twitching.
If Kurenai's senses weren't mistaken—
Then their teacher was clearly the type with a mischievous streak, using this to observe their personalities and abilities.
Who could it be?
And when they finally met, how should he introduce himself?
Kyōhiko's mind raced with possibilities.
---
Outside the door, Jiraiya sighed inwardly.
At his age and status, he never expected to be personally assigned to lead a team of fresh academy graduates.
What a pain.
All because of that old man!
He observed the trio inside discreetly.
"The girl's sharp—good at genjutsu, probably has sensing potential too. Maybe she could be trained as a medic or support. The silver-haired brat's a handful, no wonder nobody wants him. A real problem child. As for the last one…"
"Tch. Doesn't seem easy to deal with either. I'm just making life hard for myself!"
Jiraiya stroked his chin, recalling last night's discussion.
---
Flashback.
Hokage's Office.
"Old man, I was just about to leave the village for research! And now you're making me take on students? You're doing this on purpose!"
"The village needs you," Hiruzen said.
Jiraiya scowled but fell silent. After a long pause, he asked, "Are the three kids you're assigning me that special?"
"One of them is Hatake Kakashi."
Jiraiya froze.
"...That kid's already a chūnin, isn't he?"
"Take a look."
Hiruzen handed him a stack of documents.
Jiraiya flipped through them—page after page of complaints from fellow shinobi about Kakashi's behavior. At this point, no team was willing to take him.
Hiruzen could force the assignment, but…
The old man clearly wanted one of the Sannin to handle the problem.
Jiraiya thought of the late Hatake Sakumo and sighed.
His eyes then landed on another file buried in the pile.
He picked it up.
That kid.
He read through the details carefully.
A descendant of the Senju.
Over a year ago, the boy's parents died, and since then, his personality had changed—becoming more withdrawn, eccentric, and distant from his peers.
Another war orphan.
Jiraiya clenched the paper, lost in thought.
The Second Shinobi War had made the Sannin famous, but it had also claimed countless lives under their command.
A hardworking kid like this, with a personality shaped by loss…
"Are the other two slots flexible? Add him in. I'm interested."
"You know him?" Hiruzen seemed surprised.
The boy had graduated early, but he hadn't left much of an impression beyond his proficient substitution technique and solid taijutsu.
"A diligent, clever kid. I think he has the same potential as Minato."
Hiruzen considered this before nodding. "Very well. Then it's him, Kakashi, and… who else? You decide."
"Doesn't matter."
Jiraiya's eyes skimmed the list and picked the most suitable candidate.
"Her, then."
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Extra Chapter: On Every 50 powerstones
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