When Reito, Kazuki, and Yuji arrived at the Ninja Academy on Monday morning, sporting their new headbands, they immediately scanned the classroom designated for the orientation meeting. There, sitting near Sasuke in the second row, was Naruto.
As they took their seats, it quickly became apparent that they weren’t the only people wondering why the boy was present. People all around the room were staring in his direction, whispering to each other, and who could blame them? Naruto had failed the Graduation Exam, after all, and just a few days ago, he had committed a serious crime.
“Why do you think he came here today? And to have his picture taken, too?” asked Yuji.
“Maybe he’s just shown up as an act of defiance, to try and force Iruka Sensei to make him a Genin?” Reito suggested.
“That doesn’t explain why he’s not in jail or something,” said Kazuki. “Dad said half the village was out looking for him on Friday. Plus… I heard a rumor this morning.”
“What rumor?”
“According to Kiba, Choji went out for a midnight snack that same night and saw Mizuki Sensei being carried away on a stretcher!”
Yuji blanched at this. “Mizuki Sensei got hurt?” he asked. “If that’s true, it can’t be related to Naruto, can it?”
“Wait, listen!” Reito instructed, seeing their apathetic classmate, Shikamaru, pause by Naruto on the way to his seat.
“What the…? Why are you here?” he asked, the question that most of the students were wondering if the considerable drop in chatter at that moment was any indication. “Today’s meeting is for graduates only.”
“Hey, don’t you see this headband,” Naruto responded cheerily, turning their way and thumbing at his forehead. “As of today, I’m a ninja too! It suits me, don’t cha think?”
There was no mistaking it; Naruto was wearing a Konoha ninja headband, even though one had been denied to him during the previous week’s exam.
“I wonder how he got that?” said Yuji. “Do you think Iruka Sensei gave him a second chance on the test?”
“He probably just stole it,” shrugged Kazuki.
Just then, Sakura and an obnoxious blonde girl named Ino noisily burst through the classroom’s rear door and began bickering about which of them arrived first.
“Hey, Sakura!” Ino yelled as her rival swooned across the classroom in Sasuke’s direction, brutally knocking Naruto over in her zeal. When she caught up with the pink-haired girl, they began arguing over which of them would sit next to Sasuke, which got other female classmates riled up.
“Tch!” Kazuki muttered with a roll of his eyes. “Girls…”
Apparently, Kazuki wasn’t the only one who was annoyed, or perhaps jealous, of this fawning behavior because, at that moment, Naruto climbed on top of Sasuke’s desk, squatted in front of him, so they were face to face, then started staring him down.
Sasuke didn’t react to this provocation, but the girls were incensed.
“Naruto! Don’t glare at Sasuke!” Sakura barked.
“Oh dear. I don’t think picking a fight with the top student will end well for Naruto,” Yuji commented.
As Sasuke’s fans started cheering for him to beat Naruto up, Kazuki said, “Relax, the teachers will be escorting that failure out of here in a minute, anyway.”
Reito wasn’t so sure about this, though. The boy’s presence was still troubling him. Even if Naruto had gotten his picture taken as some kind of stunt, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe a stolen headband could get him through Genin Orientation unnoticed. No, something else must have happened. Perhaps it was, as Yuji suggested, that Iruka Sensei gave him another shot. But after stealing that scroll, possibly resulting in Mizuki Sensei being injured, why would their teacher even entertain the idea of a retest?
Suddenly, the room went silent. A boy in the front row had stood up and accidentally bumped the precariously balanced Naruto from behind. As a result, the squatting boy had been knocked forward into Sasuke, or more specifically, into Sasuke’s lips. The two guys had essentially kissed.
Reito and Yuji burst into laughter at the sight, while Kazuki positively howled next to them, pounding his desk.
The girls were not so amused. After Naruto and Sasuke separated, dramatically coughing and sputtering in disgust, they turned on Naruto, evidently enraged that he had stolen their love interest’s first kiss. By the time they had finished smacking the boy around, Kazuki was wiping tears from his eyes.
Naruto was spared any real harm with the arrival of Iruka Sensei, whose presence caused the girls to disperse.
“Good morning!” said the teacher once everyone had taken their seats. “As of today, you are all fully fledged ninjas. However, you are still Genin. For the thirty students here who have applied to continue your ninja training, the tough part’s still to come!”
“Is he including Naruto in that?” Kazuki mumbled.
“Today, you’ll be assigned to a three-man squad. From here on, your squad will carry out missions as Genin under the supervision of a Jonin-level ninja.”
A noticeable number of the students’ backs straightened at hearing this news, Reito’s among them. He immediately began wondering about what criteria would be used to decide the teams, but Iruka Sensei answered that question for him with his next sentence.
“The groups have been determined so that the strength of your team will be balanced. We’ve done this based on your performance at the academy and in last week’s exams. Now for the assignments…”
Reito’s shoulders dropped. If that was the case, it all but ruled out the chance of him being grouped with his friends. With him, Kazuki, and Yuji pretty much bottom of the class, there was no way they would be put together. It also meant that he was likely to become a hindrance to whichever talented students he was grouped with to make up for his shortcomings. He just hoped that didn’t mean he would be on a team with the likes of Sasuke or Sakura.
From what Reito knew of his fellow students’ ability levels, the first three teams did indeed seem well-balanced.
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“Team Four will consist of… Reito Tsu—”
Reito cursed under his breath, “Typical. Unlucky number four!” He braced himself for the news and the inevitable groans of his new teammates.
“—Yuji Saito, and Kazuki Torimoto.”
“Huh?” Reito couldn’t help voicing. His reaction was lost, however, amidst a cheer from Kazuki. Yuji remained silent but looked pleased.
“What’s wrong? Not disappointed, I hope?” said Kazuki with a playful elbow to the ribs while Iruka Sensei moved on.
“No, of course not,” said Reito. “I’m just surprised. They said the teams were grouped for balance. I thought for sure that we would be separated.”
“I wasn’t expecting us to be on the same team either,” said Yuji. “I’m glad, though.”
“Yeah, me too,” Reito agreed, but he couldn’t help feeling that their assignment didn’t make sense. His confusion grew as other teams were announced, particularly when it came to Team Seven.
“Now then, the next group is Team Seven…” Iruka Sensei announced. “Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha.”
Reito frowned, and not just because Naruto had been assigned to a team, which served as proof of his graduate status. The top student, the bottom student, and Sakura, who was the smartest in class but lacked physical prowess… Their team was perfectly balanced, a fact that Iruka Sensei reiterated following Naruto’s noisy objection to working with Sasuke.
The final three teams seemed just as well thought out, though Reito couldn’t help noticing that the division of clan members was suspicious. The final team, for example, Team Ten, had the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka Clan kids grouped together. They might technically be balanced as a team, but compared side by side with him, Kazuki, and Yuji in terms of overall ability, they had a clear advantage.
Reito was aware that his resentment of the students from clans was rearing its ugly head, but he couldn’t help thinking the groups were unfair. It was like the deck had been stacked against them, not to mention some of the other groups of less able students. Was there something he was missing about all this?
“Once again, congratulations on graduating!” said Iruka Sensei with a toothy grin, his hands on his hips as he proudly surveyed his students. “In the afternoon session, I’ll introduce you to your Jonin instructors, who will explain the next part of the process. Until then, you’re dismissed.”
***
During the break, Reito, Kazuki, and Yuji ate lunch in their usual spot, in the shade of a large maple tree, the roots of which protruded from the earth to form a bench of sorts.
“What’s the matter, Reito?” asked Yuji out of the blue.
“Huh?” he replied.
“You’ve been quiet since the assignments.”
“You’re not actually mad about being grouped with us, are you?” Kazuki asked.
“No!” Reito insisted. “I’d much rather be with you guys than anyone else, you know that. I just don’t understand how it happened. Naruto getting grouped with Sasuke and Sakura makes perfect sense. Something similar should have happened to each of us. Team Ten and Team Eight… They have clear advantages over other teams. And as for us…”
“Who cares? That just makes us the underdogs! After how our training went yesterday, I say we show ‘em what happens when you underestimate us!”
Yuji smiled meekly and nodded approvingly. “Other teams will require an adjustment period, while our bond is already strong,” he asserted. “That should count for something.”
With his concerns all but alleviated by the confidence of his friends, Reito grinned widely. “Right!” he agreed.
At that moment, Naruto ran past the boys toward the school, one hand clutching his stomach, the other holding his backside.
“What the…?” said Kazuki. “Well, whatever the reason for his being here today, let’s just be thankful we’re not on his team!”
***
Back in the classroom, the students found a group of adults awaiting their return, undoubtedly the Jonin teachers that Iruka Sensei had mentioned. They were an odd-looking bunch. Most wore typical uniforms, while others wore their flak jacket over something else. There were also one or two who pretty much neglected the uniform, such as an attractive, red-eyed female Jonin, who left with Team Eight in a kimono of sorts.
When the last Jonin was called forward, a tall woman in full uniform with short orange hair and a toothpick in her mouth, who Reito noticed had a particularly stern expression, there were only two teams left, his Team Four and Naruto’s Team Seven.
Seeing her standing there with her arms crossed, chewing on the pick as she eyed the six remaining students with disdain, he almost hoped that she wasn’t their teacher, but that would have meant they didn’t have one, which fed into his fears about the grouping of the teams. What if they were about to be told they weren’t graduating, after all?
“And finally,” Iruka Sensei announced brightly, “Amaya Daigo will be taking charge of Team Four.”
“Unlucky number four, eh?” the woman complained out of the side of her mouth before heading for the door. “Alright, you three, let’s go.”
Reito, Kazuki, and Yuji got up to follow their new teacher. Before departing, Reito gave the Team Seven members a respectful nod, hoping for their sake that they weren’t the ones being dropped from the program. However, he regretted it instantly when Sasuke averted his eyes. Sakura turned up her nose, and Naruto jumped to his feet, yelling, “Huh? What about us? We’re stronger than those guys! Where’s our Jonin?”
Shaking his head, Reito decided that perhaps the three of them deserved each other—
“Sit down, Naruto,” Iruka Sensei chastised. “I’m sure Kakashi Sensei will be along in a minute.”
—and their unreliable instructor.
***
Unsure about their new angry-looking, Jonin instructor’s personality, the boys followed her in silence for about ten minutes, chancing questioning glances at one another along the way. She led them out of the academy and to a bench in a quiet area, where she signaled with a wave of her hand for them to take a seat. As they did so, she remained standing, scrutinizing them, still chewing on her toothpick.
“I see no need for introductions,” she said enigmatically, then looked away as if bored by the prospect of teaching them. “We won’t be spending much time together.”
Reito frowned at this statement. Looking to his right, he saw that neither Kazuki nor Yuji appeared ready to challenge it, so he said politely, “Could you please explain that, Amaya Sensei?”
The woman turned to him, took her toothpick out of her mouth, and answered bluntly in her gruff tone, “I don’t believe in coddling people. I’ve reviewed your records, and you three aren’t cut out to be Genin.”
At this, Kazuki found his voice, “Hey! We graduated! That’s not for you to decide!”
“Actually…it is,” Amaya Sensei responded darkly. “Of the thirty graduates who applied to become Genin, only nine students will be officially recognized as such. The other Jonin instructors and I have the unenviable task of cutting down that number.”
“But Iruka Sensei already said we were Genin!”
“I’m sure he didn’t want to crush the spirits of his precious students.”
“And what about those who fail?” Reito asked.
“The remaining twenty-one of you will be sent back to the academy…if you want to try again next year. Otherwise, you will be reassigned.”
“Reassigned,” asked Yuji despondently.
“There are many ways to contribute to the village that don’t require ninja training. For instance, the Intelligence Division and the Medical Division are always looking for new staff. Analysts, technicians…nurses, janitors…”
Reito felt his eyebrows contract at these words but held his tongue.
“We don’t want to be janitors or nurses!” Kazuki roared.
“No?” said Amaya Sensei in a mocking tone. “Then bird keepers, perhaps? Or shrine workers? Or how about tea shop waiters?”
“We want to be ninjas!”
“How are the nine students selected?” Reito asked in as calm a tone as he could manage, his fists clenched tightly. The woman was ridiculing them, even using information about their families. He had to stay in control.
“I’ll be administering your real final exam tomorrow,” Amaya Sensei confirmed, then pointed her toothpick at each of the boys in turn, “but for you three, it’s pointless. As I said before, I’ve reviewed your records… It seems I’ve been given the duds this year.”
“Duds?” Kazuki repeated in consternation. “Just give us your test, and we’ll see who the duds are!”
“We’re hard workers,” Yuji added.
Amaya Sensei flicked her toothpick away while shaking her head. “You don’t get it, do you?” she said with an exasperated sigh. “You three were put together for a reason. My test is just a formality. You’ve already been ruled out to make room for students with real potential.”
Reito couldn’t help letting out a small but audible gasp. Was that it? Was that the reason the boys were teamed up? Had the teachers already decided that they, as three of the lowest-ranked students, weren’t worthy of consideration or the risk of dragging down stronger candidates? As much as he didn’t want to believe this was the answer he had been looking for, there was some undeniable logic to Amaya Sensei’s words.
“I’m telling you this for your own good. You three have no talent. Give up on becoming a ninja!”