March 28: Morning - Hokage Tower.
Jiraiya was in front of the Hokage giving his report. "They're all talking about it," Jiraiya said, voice serious. "Every major village has heard the rumors. They know something happened in the Land of Earth but they just don't know what."
"What about the Hidden Stone village?" Hiruzen asked.
"They're in the dark too. Three major events were detected but I heard that none of the scouts from the Hidden Stone village found anything useful."
"Three?" Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah. Daichi's attack on Orochimaru. That giant Fire Hydra. That was the first event. And shortly after we left, there were two more."
A large map of the Land of Earth was spread on the desk with red pins marked on two locations.
"We weren't the only ones in the Land of Earth that day." Jiraiya pointed to the pin marked on the western side of the Earth country. "This was the location we originally assumed where Tsunade might be. The second event came from here. Many people in the surrounding lands felt an earthquake and the sensor ninjas in the Hidden Stone village sensed chakra fluctuations and pinpointed it to this area. It was the use of some kind of jutsu. Based on what I learned, the land was completely destroyed and reshaped."
"And I'm guessing Orochimaru's lab in that location is completely gone, right?" Hiruzen already had the answer in his mind but asked anyway.
"There's no trace of it left."
"So someone knew about it, huh. Where was the third event?"
Jiriaya pointed to the other red pin. The location it marked was the place where they found Tsunade Senju. "It was right here. Shortly after we left, there was a massive explosion that completely reshaped the whole land, just like the second event. Based on what I learned, it was caused by a powerful lightning attack. Someone was fighting in these two locations… Someone other than us."
Hiruzen was silent for a few moments. He already had the culprit in mind for the two mysterious attacks. "Dragon. I'm guessing those were him."
"Yeah."
"What about the Finance minister?" Hiruzen wanted to know what action the Royal court of Earth would take after they found one of their ministers attacked.
"They somehow found out about what Dragon did. They know he was the one responsible for the attack on the minister and they've put a big bounty on him."
"What about the matter of Tsunade's abduction? Do they know about that?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "No. That's the crazy thing. There's no mention of Tsunade or Orochimaru. The Royal court only released a statement saying that the Finance minister was involved in a serious crime and was punished. All his assets were seized and redistributed. But there's no mention of anything else. I heard that the Tsuchikage had a tense meeting with the Earth Daimyo but nothing more than that. And since we've already declared Dragon as a criminal, they don't suspect us. For now, we're in the clear."
"I thought the Earth Daimyo would be furious and would put pressure on Onoki to find the ones responsible for the attacks but it seems I'm wrong."
"Actually, they're blaming Dragon for all three attacks. The Hidden Stone ninjas are trying to find any and all information about him even as we speak."
The Hokage sighed. "I suppose we should count ourselves lucky but I have a feeling there's more to this than we know… Still, what about the other villages? Do they suspect something?"
"With only the aftermath remaining and no visible culprits, none of them have any idea what's going on."
Hiruzen nodded. "Good work Jiraiya."
"Hey, if it wasn't for Lord Second and his nifty teleportation jutsu, I wouldn't have been able to get all this done in this short of a time… Where is he by the way?" The Toad Sage asked.
"He's studying what little notes and data we've gathered from Orochimaru's bases. He wanted to understand Orochimaru's curse seal on Anko."
"I see… And what about Tsunade? Is there any progress?"
Hiruzen could see the concern on his former student's face. "There's hope. Daichi came up with a new serum that can save her. He's in his lab at the moment, running some last minute tests. He'll begin the new treatment at noon. Those mushrooms you brought were greatly helpful."
Jiraiya sighed in relief and the weight on his heart slowly lifted. "I'm glad… Sensei, if it's alright with you, I'd like to be here for that." Jiriaya spoke in a serious tone.
Hiruzen smiled and nodded his head. "Of course. I completely understand."
The two of them looked outside and saw the sun slowly rising in the sky.
"It's almost time for the Jonin meeting." Hiruzen softly spoke.
"Right. Today is orientation day for those little brats huh."
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. I've delayed it long enough."
"Well then, I'm gonna go and relax. Call me when Daichi's ready."
With those words Jiraiya vanished in a puff of smoke.
Several minutes later the Hokage office had several Jonin in attendance. The Hokage briefed them on the current situation and soon they got to the main reason they were there.
All of them were assigned a Genin team and the Hokage took the crystal ball to see what was happening in the academy.
Ninja Academy.
"You really think so?" Choji asked his friend as they walked the halls of the academy and made their way to class.
"Well, it should be like that. Grouping students from our three clans has been a tradition." Shikamaru replied with hands in pockets.
They reached their destination and Choji opened the door. The two new Genins saw many students already there, eagerly discussing their future with their friends.
"Looks like almost half the class is already here. And here I thought we would be early."
"I told you Shikamaru."
Then the two friends saw Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Hinata sitting on one side of the room chatting and made their way to them.
Naruto saw his friends and a big grin formed on his face. "You guys are here."
"Naruto, you're here earlier than I thought." Choji spoke as he opened a new chips bag.
"Yup. Of course I wouldn't be late. It's orientation day."
Shikamaru looked around and saw that Sasuke was sitting quietly near a window and ignoring everything else happening in the class. 'He's here too, huh. So the only ones missing are…'
At that moment they heard the sounds of footsteps rushing towards them. The classroom door suddenly slammed open and Ino and Sakura ran inside.
"I'm first!" Both kunoichi declared and then began gasping for deep breaths a second later.
"I won, Sakura."
"Dream on, Ino. I had to look back to see you. My toe was at least an inch ahead."
'Of course, it was a race. They may like different people but still they're trying to compete with each other.' Shikamaru internally sighed as he saw Ino and Sakura make their way towards their group.
"Hi Sakura." Naruto smiled sheepishly as he looked at his crush.
"Hey Naruto. Hey everyone." Sakura gave a polite greeting and then turned her attention to Sasuke who was sitting near the window.
"Hey Sasuke. How have you been? Is your injury alright?" Sakura asked even though she knew Daichi perfectly healed that wound.
"It's fine." The Uchiha looked at the girl, gave a short reply and turned back to look outside the window.
"Mind if I sit next to you?" Sakura asked but didn't get a reply. 'Cha. Come on. At least pretend like you heard me.' Inner Sakura yelled at the boy.
"Things are calming down in the village. So that's a relief. Our orientation day has been delayed enough." Kiba spoke, changing the subject. "Arf."
"Yeah. I get what you mean. Whatever happened must be over. My dad's back home and he seems a lot more relaxed than before." Shikamaru nodded with his friend.
"Do any of you know what happened?" Ino asked but almost everyone shook their heads.
"Daichi knows what's going on." Naruto spoke and immediately everyone's attention turned to him.
"What do you mean?" Ino asked. "Did you see him?"
"Yeah. A few days ago. We met each other at the Hokage tower. He was with his Jonin sensei. He said he knew what was going on but he couldn't tell me."
Naruto's answer got everyone's curiosity piqued. Sasuke's eyes slightly narrowed and shifted towards the blond boy. 'He must have been part of some high level mission.'
"You met his Jonin sensei?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded. Then he scratched his head trying to remember the man's name. "I don't remember his name though. Eh! It's probably not important."
"How could you not remember his name? I really hope you're more focused when you're out on missions." Sakura sighed tiredly.
"Like that's going to happen." Sasuke mumbled but Naruto heard him.
"What'd you say?" Naruto immediately squatted on top of Sasuke's desk and glared down at him.
"Get out of my face Naruto." Sasuke was annoyed as Naruto invaded his personal space.
"Make me." Naruto narrowed his eyes and held his stance.
Shikamaru and others only sighed tiredly at his antics.
"Naruto, stop bothering Sasuke." Sakura frowned and spoke.
"Yeah. You're disturbing him. Get lost." Several girls in the class came angrily.
Naruto looked at them and then turned his attention back to the Uchiha. 'Sasuke this, Sasuke that… What's the big deal with this guy? Sure he saved my life but still…'
Suddenly someone behind Naruto stood up from his seat and accidentally bumped into the boy.
"Bang." The sudden shove from behind knocked Naruto forward and his forehead collided with Sasuke's.
"Ow!" Naruto held his head in pain.
"The hell's wrong with you, idiot? Don't make me beat you up." Sasuke held his head in pain and glared at the blonde haired kid.
"I'd like to see you try." Naruto immediately glared back at the Uchiha.
At that moment Sakura walked forward and bonked Naruto in the head. "Can't you just keep calm and not bother him?"
"Ow. Sakura, that hurt."
"Hmph! You deserved that one."
In the Hokage tower, Hiruzen looked at the scene through his Crystal ball and sighed. "As usual, Naruto is right in the middle of trouble. You're going to have your hands full with him, Kakashi." Hiruzen said as he glanced at the man.
The silver haired Jonin sighed as he recalled the encounter he had with the boy.
In the academy, just then the classroom door opened and Iruka sensei walked in. He saw Naruto holding his head in pain, an angry Sakura, an annoyed Sasuke and the deadpan expression on Shikamaru and the others.
Iruka sighed as he took in the strange scene. 'I don't even wanna know.' "Everyone, take your seats."
All the students quickly took their place and soon everyone was quiet with their attention completely on Iruka.
"I know the wait has been frustrating, but the delay was necessary. The village was facing a high-priority emergency. I don't know the full details, but it's been resolved now."
"Can you tell us what happened, Iruka sensei?" Naruto asked.
Iruka shook his head. "I'm sorry Naruto, but that's confidential information." Naruto pouted hearing that answer.
Iruka continued. "Now, on to the most important thing today. As of today you're all ninjas. To get here you've faced difficult trials and hardships." Iruka's eyes then went to the future Rookie nine as he recalled their confrontation with Mizuki.
"But the road ahead is nothing compared to what you've experienced till now. Now, you've all just become Genin. All Genins will be grouped into three man squads. And each squad will be led by a Jonin."
Ino, who was sitting behind Sakura, spoke in a low voice. "I wonder who's going to be on Sasuke's team?"
Sakura kept a straight face as she knew Ino was only trying to get a rise out of her. Her inner self on the other hand… 'Cha! It's gonna be me! Who else? After that whole Mizuki debacle, the Hokage has to put us together. My love will conquer all!'
"We want each team to have a balance of strength and abilities. That's how we set them up." Iruka held up a clipboard, and several Genin sat up straighter. "Now I'm going to announce your squads. These squads are final unless restructured by the Hokage himself."
A hush fell over the room. Naruto leaned in, barely able to sit still. Iruka cleared his throat and began.
"Team 01-..."
'Come on. Where's my team? Where's my team?' Naruto was impatiently gazing at his teacher.
"Team 07- Naruto Uzumaki…" Naruto's eyes widened and he froze.
"Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha."
"YESS!" Naruto leapt to his feet, pumping both fists into the air. "Alright! Yeah. I'm on a team with Sakura!"
But then after a few seconds he stopped his celebration and blinked a couple times. It was only then that he registered the last name Iruka said. "Wait. You said Sasuke. I'm on a team with him?" Naruto asked Iruka loudly, pointing at the Uchiha.
"Yes. Now shut up and sit down, Naruto." Iruka groaned and looked at the boy menacingly. Seeing Iruka's glare, the prankster ninja wisely decided to keep quiet and sat down.
Sakura blinked in surprise. Her eyes darted to Naruto for the briefest second, then to Sasuke. Her expression was unreadable for a moment… then she smiled—genuinely. "Well… at least it won't be boring," she muttered under her breath.
Sasuke kept his usual cool expression but said nothing.
Iruka moved on. "Team 8 is Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame."
Hinata let out a small gasp but quickly lowered her head, nervousness creeping in. She looked at Naruto and was sad that she wasn't on a team with him.
Kiba grinned. "Heh! This is gonna be awesome." Akamaru barked from the top of Kiba's hood.
Shino nodded quietly. "Logical pairing. Sensor, tracker, and assault types."
Iruka smiled faintly before continuing. 'At least they have a good head on their shoulders.'
"Team 10 is Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi."
"Just like I thought. " Shikamaru mumbled. He then looked at Ino and sighed. 'I just hope she doesn't boss us around too much.'
Ino crossed her arms, tossing her hair back. "Hmph. I really can't believe I'm with you two lazy heads… Could be worse I guess…"
Choji munched on his last chip. "Guess that makes us the new Ino-Shika-Cho."
"Alright! That's all the teams. Your Jonin instructors will meet you here shortly. Please wait patiently." Iruka added as he looked at everyone in the class. "Good luck to all of you." With those words he left the room.
Naruto leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. 'I wonder who our Jonin sensei is gonna be?'