The day after Naruto and the others finished their graduation exams, the whole class gathered in the classroom to wait for the team assignment results.
What none of them knew was that on the large tree outside, a figure was quietly observing them.
That person was none other than Hoshiyomi.
For such an important plot moment—the team assignment and formation of the three legendary "rookie powerhouse teams"—there was no way he would miss it.
So he activated Transparent Escape Technique early in the morning and hid there, waiting for the announcements.
Inside the classroom, groups of kids chatted in low voices—things like:
"I hope we get assigned to the same team."
"I really want to team up with xxx; if we get on the same team, maybe I'll have a chance!"
The girls who had passed the exam were gathered together, swooning over Sasuke near the window.
Sakura and Ino were seated on either side of him, practically glued to him.
Before Sasuke—veins bulging on his forehead—could explode, the two girls had already started fighting.
"Forehead girl! Why are you sitting so close to Sasuke? Can't you see he's frowning?
You'd better restrain yourself—acting so shamelessly will only make Sasuke-kun hate you more.
Right, Sasuke-kun~?"
Ino struck first, firing her verbal cannon at Sakura.
Sakura's pink hair practically stood on end. She whipped around and glared back:
"What are you babbling about, Ino-pig?! Sasuke-kun is clearly annoyed with YOU.
Go sit somewhere else and stop interrupting my alone time with Sasuke!"
Watching the two girls tear each other apart over Sasuke, Hoshiyomi silently screamed with delight—only regretting he didn't have popcorn. That would've made the show even better.
While the classroom was buzzing with arguments and chatter, two figures—one boy and one girl—entered the room, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
It was Naruto and Hinata.
Because of Hoshiyomi—and a certain mysterious force from the East—their relationship had drastically changed.
Shortly after Hoshiyomi and Tsunade visited the Hyūga clan, Hiashi brought Hinata to visit the Namikaze household in return.
The mutual affection between the two young ones was obvious—their eyes gave everything away.
Both sets of parents noticed it immediately.
Once it was clear the two liked each other, everything progressed naturally.
Minato and Kushina didn't care about the political value of the Hyūga clan but were very fond of Hinata, a well-educated and gentle lady.
Hiashi, meanwhile, held no objections toward Naruto—and in fact was secretly pleased that Naruto's status could help strengthen ties with Konoha's upper echelon.
Both families were very optimistic about the relationship.
With parental support, Naruto and Hinata's romance advanced at lightning speed.
Right after the break ended, the two officially started dating.
When school resumed, the sight of them holding hands shattered countless hearts—especially among the girls who had secretly admired Naruto.
But after a full year together, Naruto and Hinata were unfazed by everyone's stares.
They quietly found a spot in the back of the room to whisper sweetly to each other.
Sasuke, who had been suffering from a headache thanks to his fangirls, suddenly felt a flash of inexplicable jealousy as he watched the couple.
Unable to stand the noise anymore—and perhaps influenced by that sour feeling—he stood up and calmly moved to sit near Naruto and Hinata.
The move worked.
Seeing the couple behind him, the girls grew too embarrassed to keep pestering Sasuke.
Even Ino and Sakura gave up and sat together gloomily.
A moment ago they were bitter rivals—now they suddenly felt a deep sense of "we're both unlucky in love…" solidarity.
Sasuke finally had peace.
Naruto, however, was annoyed and about to argue with him when Iruka walked in to announce the team assignments.
...
Hoshiyomi was thoroughly enjoying the developments in the classroom when a clear voice suddenly called up from below:
"Lord Hoshiyomi, what are you doing here?"
Hoshiyomi looked down and saw Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi gazing up at him.
The one who had spoken was Kurenai.
Hoshiyomi smiled at her in greeting and replied:
"Ah, Kurenai. I just had nothing to do, so I thought I'd come observe this year's youngsters. There are quite a few kids among them that I have high hopes for, especially the nine students you three will be leading."
The three of them were children of Konoha's upper ranks, and their assignment as instructors for these students had already been approved by their families, so none of this was surprising. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Hoshiyomi at the teaching building, Kurenai and Asuma went inside.
Kakashi originally intended to follow them, but after glancing up at Hoshiyomi in the tree, he hesitated. Instead of heading in, he leapt up and sat beside him, puzzled:
"Lord Hoshiyomi… why was I assigned to be a jōnin instructor?"
Hearing this, Hoshiyomi chuckled and replied directly:
"Look at yourself—you're already in your late twenties, almost thirty in a couple of years, and all you do is bury yourself in ANBU.
Your father and mother worry about you so much their hair has gone white.
If we let you stay in ANBU any longer, we're afraid you'll really turn into a machine."
Kakashi muttered inwardly: My dad's hair was white to begin with…
But fearing Hoshiyomi might smack him, he kept that to himself and instead replied awkwardly:
"I don't think there's anything wrong with being in ANBU.
And I don't really like kids. Even if they're the kids of Minato-sensei, that doesn't change anything."
Hoshiyomi sighed quietly. Although he had saved Kakashi from the tragic fate of the original story, some aspects of Kakashi's personality had been altered as well.
With his family intact and no major emotional upheavals in his life, this Kakashi lacked the deep, enlightened air of someone who had been tempered by suffering.
His personality at this age wasn't much different from when he was a child—quiet, withdrawn, focused entirely on training.
The more he trained, the more he resembled a robot.
That was precisely why, when Hoshiyomi suggested Kakashi take on the role of jōnin instructor, Sakumo agreed immediately without a moment of hesitation.
Even Sakumo hoped that interacting with young students would help his son's mindset mature and brighten.
Hoshiyomi patted Kakashi on the shoulder:
"Don't treat being a team leader like another mission.
We chose you because we want you to become friends with them—communicate with them.
Teaching them is also a form of training for you.
Kakashi, you need to understand: burying yourself in work and training like a machine won't get you anywhere.
Humans have emotions.
Training that ignores emotions hits a very hard ceiling."
Kakashi thought about this for a moment, then nodded:
"…I understand."
With that, he jumped down from the tree.
He intended to see for himself whether Hoshiyomi's words held any truth.