"Forgot? Eh?! That's actually very possible," Naruto blurted out, speaking his mind immediately. "Heh heh, if that's really the case, I'm definitely going to make Grandpa Third switch us to a more reliable teacher. What do you think, Menma?"
Sasuke, sitting to his left, looked like his face was about to freeze over.
His posture suggested that if they had to wait much longer, the brooding Uchiha might actually explode.
Only Menma remained calm, replying casually, "Maybe something came up and delayed him. We have nothing else to do anyway, so waiting a bit longer won't hurt. Ninjas often encounter unexpected situations, after all."
"Oh? That makes sense, actually," Naruto nodded, agreeing easily. Being simple-minded, he didn't even realize Menma was just giving a perfunctory answer.
"Then let's..."
Just as Naruto was about to say something else...
Creak.
The sound of the classroom door sliding open cut him off.
Hm?!
Oh?
A second later, a man with spiky silver-white hair, wearing the standard Leaf flak jacket, appeared in the sight of Menma, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
The familiar appearance and aura.
The newcomer was none other than the illustrious "Mr. 50/50," Kakashi Hatake.
"So, you're the members of Team 7. I'm your captain. Hmm... first off, my first impression of you isn't bad. Let's go. We need to move somewhere else to properly introduce ourselves."
Kakashi's gaze swept over the four students one by one as he spoke in a lazy, unbothered tone.
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out of the tiered lecture hall.
Menma, seemingly prepared or perhaps acting on reflex, stood up the moment Kakashi turned around and followed him out.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were momentarily stunned.
But they quickly snapped out of it and hurried to catch up. The group of five left the ground-floor classroom, climbed the stairs, and headed straight for the rooftop.
Kakashi leaned back against the railing, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked calmly at Menma, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura as they arrived one by one. Finally, a faint smile appeared on his masked face.
"Let's start with self-introductions. We'll likely be working together as a team for several years, so we need to get to know each other."
What do you mean 'likely'? We're already on the same team! Is this guy even reliable?
Sakura, who had been struggling to hold it in since the beginning, finally exploded internally. The look she gave Kakashi became increasingly strange.
She seriously doubted Kakashi's reliability.
But on the surface, she had to maintain her "good girl" image, so she kept her mouth shut.
"Why do we need self-introductions? Big Brother Kakashi, I think the one who needs to introduce himself is you! Also, you seem to owe us an explanation for being late, right? Otherwise, I'm going to tell Grandpa Third that you delayed official business!"
Just as Sakura was about to speak, Naruto, standing in the middle, put his hands on his hips and puffed out his cheeks, shouting at Kakashi.
"Eh? Naruto-kun, you know this teacher?"
Sakura asked, blinking in confusion.
Even Sasuke spared Naruto an extra glance.
He hadn't expected Naruto to know their team captain personally.
Menma, however, found it perfectly normal. In this timeline, Naruto openly carried the title of "Son of the Fourth Hokage." All the civilians and most ninjas respectfully called him "Master Naruto."
His treatment was identical to that of Hiruzen's own grandson, Konohamaru Sarutobi.
Kakashi was the Fourth Hokage's direct subordinate.
He might not have dared to visit or contact Menma, but interacting with Naruto was absolutely fine. As long as Naruto had looked into his father's past even slightly, knowing people like Kakashi or Genma Shiranui was completely normal.
"Of course! Big Brother Kakashi was my dad's subordinate back in the day. I definitely know him! Grandpa Third didn't tell me, fine, but you didn't tell me either, Big Brother Kakashi! And here I was wondering who would lead our team," Naruto said, nodding to Sakura matter-of-factly before turning a slightly resentful look back to Kakashi.
"Haha, that was Lord Third's order too—not to tell you beforehand. Well, as Naruto said, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I'm a Jōnin of the village. I don't have anything I particularly like. If I had to say what I dislike... it would be people who disregard ninja rules. If you want to stay on my team, you'd better remember that well~~"
Kakashi narrowed his visible eye slightly, his tone carrying a distinct chill.
"Ehh?!"
"What?!"
Sensing the cold intent radiating from him, not only Sakura but even Naruto instinctively shrank back.
"Alright, I get it, Big Brother Kakashi," Naruto mumbled, pouting.
"Good. Now it's your turn to introduce yourselves! Oh, and Naruto, you have to do it too!"
Kakashi clapped his hands lightly and smiled.
"Eh? Oh!"
Naruto paused, then nodded vigorously.
He started immediately: "My name is Naruto Namikaze! I love Ichiraku Ramen! I don't really hate anything right now. My dream is to surpass all the previous Hokage and become the greatest ninja ever!"
As he spoke, he adjusted his forehead protector, his face full of excitement and determination.
Listening to Naruto, the smile in Kakashi's eye deepened.
"Next."
Kakashi shifted his gaze directly to Menma.
Menma gave a faint smile and said, "My name is Menma Uzumaki. I don't have anything I particularly like or hate. My dream for the future is to make everyone acknowledge me!"
There wasn't a shred of falsehood in that statement.
It really was Menma's dream.
However, the "acknowledgment" he sought might not fall within the standard definition of the word.
After all, Menma believed in "persuading people with reason." Oh, wait—"reason" here meant physics. Brute force.
To him, that was the most logical and correct approach in this world.
Morality? Justice?
In this world, those were ultimate luxuries.