The next day.
Inside a classroom at the Ninja Academy, people were bustling.
Today was the ceremony for newly promoted Genin to be assigned to their teams. One by one, the recently graduated boys and girls tied their newly acquired headbands in their preferred positions.
Some tied their headbands properly on their foreheads, some used them as belts, others as armbands, chokers, and some even tied them on their thighs; in short, they were tied everywhere imaginable.
The energetic and passionate youths were all looking at each other, anticipating their teammates for the upcoming assignments.
There was more than one class per grade, and most people only found others familiar but didn't know them or their names.
When there are many people, they tend to cluster, forming their own small circles.
They were divided into several groups, almost by class.
Only three people hadn't integrated into any group, as if isolated in their own small world.
The three were Natsuri, Sasuke, and Naruto.
Neither Natsuri nor Sasuke were the type to hide in corners, and Naruto was purely where his companions were.
This peculiar trio in the center of the classroom drew glances from others, but no one pointed fingers or actively approached them to chat.
For various reasons, the three were celebrities at the Ninja Academy. After recognizing them, the people around them stopped staring intently and instead observed them out of the corner of their eyes.
As the school bell rang, a teacher from the Ninja Academy walked in and immediately began a speech.
"Students, congratulations! From today onwards, you are officially a..."
The teacher's lengthy and passionate speech would normally make the impatient youths sleepy, but today, everyone's patience was greatly enhanced, and uncharacteristically, no one fell asleep.
No one sleeping didn't mean everyone enjoyed listening to such platitudes.
The teacher lectured on stage.
The students chatted below.
Fortunately, this teacher's cultivation was insufficient, and he reached the end of his speech after nearly an hour.
As a teacher, at the time of graduation, his words were mostly personal experiences and sincere wishes, which sounded serious and unappealing.
Everyone present was looking forward to the start of their Ninja life. Everyone believed they were the protagonists of their era, the darlings of destiny.
A new chapter of the Ninja World awaited them to turn.
It wasn't until many years later, after acquaintances of their age died for various reasons, that the survivors truly understood the cruelty of reality.
And how important and precious the boring content the teacher spoke of today was.
"....Alright, no more talk. Now, I will begin announcing the team assignments. Everyone, pay close attention."
The teacher took out the roster he had been holding, cleared his throat, and began.
"First up is Team One..."
When calling out names, the teacher would intentionally emphasize the tone and lengthen the ending sound, ensuring everyone could hear clearly.
As expected, Neji, Tenten, and Lee were in one team, and Natsuri, Naruto, and Sasuke were in another.
"Yay, Natsuri-boss, did you hear? We're still on the same team, I just don't know why that arrogant Sasuke is also on my team!"
Naruto was actually very happy to be on the same team as Natsuri and Sasuke, but it was impossible for Naruto to admit he was happy to be with Sasuke.
Teenagers entering the budding stage of puberty are always particularly concerned with their pride, thus saying one thing but meaning another.
Upon hearing Naruto's remark, Sasuke directly shot him a disdainful look, along with a special epithet.
"Idiot Naruto!"
Considering the three were the only students who graduated early, and their purpose was to participate in the Chunin Exams, the possibility of them being temporarily paired with unfamiliar people was slim to none.
Naruto wasn't stupid; it was just that as his life got better and his friends grew in number, he had completely given up on thinking.
Naruto, who no longer needed to constantly consider others' feelings or bear everything alone, finally began to reveal his true nature.
When Yuuki first saw him, the Naruto who always observed others' expressions and was forced to mature had completely disappeared.
As more and more names were called, the chatter in the classroom grew louder.
Some were happily sharing about being assigned to reliable teammates, while others were nervously making awkward conversation with their crush.
Well, there was more awkward conversation.
After all, they were all teenagers, and a vague and hazy attraction to the opposite sex was common among most of them.
".....Alright, that's all for the team assignments. Has everyone understood?"
"Understood!" x N
The scattered and uncoordinated replies did not surprise the teacher.
Seeing that no one raised any questions, the teacher finally said.
"Now, wait for your Jonin instructors in the classroom."
Every three-person team had a Jonin instructor, unlike in the original story where there were only a few teams, and all their instructors were Jonin.
Most Genin instructors were Chunin, and they couldn't refuse. Kakashi's refusal of students was a unique case, like a scorpion's dung.
In the original story, the teams led by Jonin were all carefully selected, either having good backgrounds or being exceptionally outstanding.
The instructors gradually arrived and led their respective students away. Half a day passed, and only Natsuri and her two teammates remained in the classroom, unpicked.
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