"Have you really become Hokage-sama's official disciple, Suzuki?"
Shikamaru, who was normally far too lazy to care about village gossip, opened his eyes wide as he looked at his friend. Suzuki has always been strangely low-key, but this news was entirely impossible to ignore.
"Yes."
Suzuki nodded calmly. He had absolutely nothing to hide. He had acquired a massive political asset; what was the point of possessing such high-level status if he didn't actively use it?
"That is amazing!" Ino squealed, practically vibrating with happiness.
Hinata covered her mouth in surprise. Even though she had overheard the news from her father the night before, hearing Suzuki confirm it directly filled her with an overwhelming sense of joy.
Why were the two clan heiresses so thrilled?
It came down to raw political capital. As a civilian orphan, Suzuki's background was a massive liability. No matter how smart or strong he was, the noble clans would have always looked down on him. But by securing the support of Hiruzen Sarutobi—by becoming the direct disciple of the Third Hokage—Suzuki's talent was guaranteed, and his social status had instantly skyrocketed to a level that forced the elite families to respect him.
He was now officially walking the same path as the legendary Sannin: Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.
How powerful was their influence? Even though all three had abandoned the village, their names alone still commanded absolute awe and fear. Tsunade possessed the ultimate pedigree as the First Hokage's granddaughter. Jiraiya was a wandering eccentric, yet if he returned, the village would practically worship him. And Orochimaru, despite being a branded traitor, still possessed enough terrifying charisma to attract loyal followers like Mizuki.
Suzuki was now the fourth disciple. The youngest. And he had secured the position right at the twilight of Hiruzen's reign.
Was Suzuki incredibly lucky?
What a drag... Shikamaru thought, watching the rest of the class whisper in awe. While the others blindly attributed Suzuki's rise to luck, Shikamaru knew better. The Hokage didn't pick disciples based on charity. Suzuki possessed a terrifying level of competence. Realizing that his friend was basically the most valuable human asset in their generation, Shikamaru subtly shoved Ino forward.
"Ah!"
Ino "slipped" once again. Fortunately, Suzuki caught her smoothly by the waist.
"I-I'm so sorry, Suzuki-kun..." Ino blushed furiously.
"It's fine. Just be careful; you're a bit clumsy today, Ino," Suzuki replied smoothly.
"Ehehehe..." Ino laughed shyly, making absolutely no effort to step out of his embrace.
Shikamaru, however, immediately ducked behind Choji's massive back.
"S-Shikamaru..." Choji whispered, sweating profusely. "Hinata's eyes are terrifying right now... She's looking at me like I'm a slab of dead pork..."
"Just ignore it, Choji. Do not make eye contact," Shikamaru muttered. He had bet his life on playing wingman. If Ino fumbled this opportunity, he was genuinely going to slap the back of her head.
The atmosphere in the classroom had fundamentally changed. The civilian students realized that getting close to Suzuki was now nearly impossible. He was completely out of their league.
"Suzuki-kun is so amazing..."
"Yeah, do you think he might actually become the Hokage now?"
While the commoners whispered in jealous awe, nobody was stupid enough to provoke him—especially after he had publicly humiliated Sasuke in combat training.
Sasuke, sitting a few rows away, overheard the whispers. He clenched his fists beneath his desk, his knuckles turning white with raw, hateful envy.
Why him?!
Sasuke was the elite prince of the Uchiha clan! His Sharingan had already awakened! Why was a nameless, faceless civilian orphan chosen by the Hokage instead of him?!
"HEY EVERYONE! I'M HERE!"
The tense political atmosphere was instantly shattered by a painfully familiar, booming voice.
"BOW DOWN AND RECOGNIZE! NARUTO-SAMA IS OFFICIALLY A NINJA, DATTEBAYO!"
Naruto stood in the doorway, proudly pointing to the shiny new forehead protector strapped to his brow. Just like in the original timeline, Iruka had passed him after the incident in the forest. While Naruto hadn't actually defeated Mizuki, Suzuki fully acknowledged that, without Naruto's clone army acting as a distraction, executing the elemental jutsu combination safely would have been harder.
"Sasuke-teme! What's wrong? Why are you sulking so early in the morning?!"
Naruto immediately spotted Sasuke's furious scowl and hopped onto the desk directly in front of him, squatting down to glare at his rival face-to-face.
Sasuke glared back coldly. The tension was thick enough to cut with a kunai.
Suddenly, a student in the row ahead leaned back, accidentally bumping into Naruto.
Naruto lost his balance and tipped forward. Sasuke's eyes widened in horror.
Their lips crashed together.
"..."
The entire classroom froze in absolute silence.
"NARUTO, YOU DEAD MAN!"
Sakura Haruno shrieked like a banshee, violently launching Naruto across the room with a brutal punch. She immediately hovered over the traumatized Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun! Are you okay?! Let me wipe your mouth!"
"Goweh!"
"Blegh!"
Naruto and Sasuke both gagged violently on the floor, dry-heaving and desperately wiping their lips in utter disgust.
"Those two are definitely gay for each other," Shikamaru commented, letting out a heavy sigh.
"I completely agree," Suzuki nodded deadpan. Despite being relatively friendly with Naruto, Suzuki kept a strict professional distance from Sasuke. Yet, somehow, the universe always forced those two into a chaotic, inseparable bond.
Suzuki glanced at Sakura, who was currently screaming at Naruto like a deranged demoness, and shook his head. No matter how high her textbook test scores were, Sakura was just a civilian girl with zero tactical awareness. Unlike him, who possessed the Manager and a highly analytical mind, Sakura Haruno was...
Let's just not mention it. A complete waste, Suzuki concluded silently. She is a cute thought.
The classroom eventually settled down when a heavily bandaged Iruka walked through the door. Iruka offered Suzuki a subtle, respectful nod—still slightly dumbfounded that his former student was now his ultimate superior's apprentice—before addressing the class.
"I will now announce the Genin squad assignments," Iruka declared.
Suzuki mostly tuned out the announcements, opting instead to discreetly unroll the edge of one of the jutsu scrolls Iruka had given him. He was specifically analyzing a basic Genjutsu formula.
Genjutsu is dangerous, Suzuki thought, his eyes scanning the chakra requirements. It was essentially a localized cyber-attack on the brain's sensory network. Since it was an invisible, psychological threat, he desperately needed to develop a way to protect himself, as he didn't want to be caught in one.
"Team 7," Iruka called out. "Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura Haruno."
"YES! TRUE LOVE CONQUERS ALL!" Sakura cheered, throwing her fist in the air.
"..." The rest of the class groaned.
"And Uzumaki Naruto."
"Yahooo!" Naruto screamed in triumph.
"NOOOOO!!!" Sakura wailed in despair.
Suzuki ignored the chaotic shouting, completely absorbed in the sealing matrix of the Genjutsu scroll.
"Team 8," Iruka continued. "Suzuki Tanaka. Hinata Hyuga. And Shino Aburame."
"...."
Suzuki froze. He slowly lowered the scroll, his dark eyes blinking in genuine shock.
Wait. What?
Where was Kiba Inuzuka? The original team 8 was different from the canon!
"Eh?"
While Suzuki sat there utterly dumbfounded by the Hokage's unexpected roster change, Hinata lowered her head, a gentle, unimaginably warm smile blooming across her face.