Not long after, the instructor arrived.
He took out a sheet of paper and began reading aloud the team assignments.
"Team One… Team Two…"
"Team Three: Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, Ebisu."
The instructor continued reading from the front.
Genma Shiranui and Ebisu, who had been laughing just moments ago, finally stopped smiling.
At last, it was Kyohiko Yoshimine's turn.
"Team Seven: Kyohiko Yoshimine, Kurenai Yuhi."
Kurenai Yuhi looked at Kyohiko Yoshimine and blinked.
Thankfully, it was only one of them.
Although both Kyohiko and Guy were extremely hardworking and should be quite strong, the sparks that had just flown when the two of them interacted were honestly a bit too much for the young Kurenai Yuhi to handle.
The Ninja Academy instructor continued reading.
"Team Eight…"
Kurenai Yuhi grew anxious.
Wait?
Why were there only the two of them?
Kyohiko Yoshimine glanced at Kurenai Yuhi and said quietly, "Don't worry. Ask again after we go outside."
"Uh… okay."
Kurenai Yuhi nodded, suppressing the doubts in her heart.
Outside the classroom—
"Teacher, why does Team Seven only have two people? Normally, isn't it a jonin leading a three-person squad?" Kyohiko Yoshimine asked.
The academy instructor looked equally awkward. Scratching his head, he said, "That… I don't really know either. You should understand once you meet your jonin leader this afternoon."
"Huh?"
Kurenai Yuhi looked completely lost, utterly unable to make sense of the situation.
The instructor used the Body Flicker Technique to flee at lightning speed, leaving only Kyohiko Yoshimine and Kurenai Yuhi staring at each other.
Now it was their turn to be dumbfounded.
Of course—
Kyohiko Yoshimine already had a guess in his heart, though he wasn't sure whether it was correct.
There was a certain unlucky, high-pressure genius boy who had already become a chunin last year, yet due to his personality and conduct, couldn't manage relationships with his teammates at all.
Hatake Kakashi.
Could it be him?
...
At two o'clock in the afternoon, each team gathered inside the Ninja Academy. Downstairs, students who hadn't yet graduated were still attending class, while the newly formed teams waited for their jonin leaders to arrive.
Kyohiko Yoshimine sat in his seat, thinking about his future direction.
He had already figured out part of how the system worked.
Being placed on the same team as Kakashi seemed to offer certain advantages.
The only problem was—
He had no idea who the jonin leader would be.
Minato Namikaze?
As he pondered, he unconsciously spun a kunai between his fingers.
At that moment, Kurenai Yuhi finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"Kyohiko-kun, I… I have something I'd like to ask."
She was a year or two older than Kyohiko Yoshimine, and since they hadn't been in the same class, they weren't particularly close.
However—
Since they would be teammates from now on, getting to know each other better was only natural.
Kyohiko Yoshimine stopped spinning the kunai.
"What is it?"
"Are you… training your finger dexterity?"
Kurenai Yuhi pointed curiously at the kunai fluttering like a flower between Kyohiko Yoshimine's fingers.
Kyohiko paused slightly, then let out a small laugh.
"It's just a habit."
"A habit…"
Kurenai Yuhi nodded and said nothing more, but the look she gave Kyohiko now carried a hint of respect.
Forming a habit required years of relentless training—undoubtedly involving hardships and suffering she could hardly imagine.
No wonder he and Might Guy had so much in common.
She let her imagination run wild.
Kyohiko Yoshimine had no idea what the young girl was thinking. He was simply wondering—
Would getting closer to her help him squeeze out some rewards?
Not long after—
Knock, knock!
There was a knock on the door.
The next moment, the door opened. Kyohiko Yoshimine looked up and almost burst out laughing.
A silver-haired boy wearing a mask walked in, eyes half-lidded. His expression was stiff as he forced himself to act nonchalant and sat down.
Kurenai Yuhi's mouth fell open.
She blinked repeatedly, her face filled with disbelief.
Then—
"You're not our jonin team leader, are you?!"
"Hmph."
Kakashi turned his head away and said nothing.
Kyohiko Yoshimine leaned over and whispered a reminder.
"Kurenai, Kakashi only became a chunin last year. He can't be a jonin."
"Oh, right…"
Kurenai Yuhi's thoughts were in complete disarray. She still hadn't figured out what was going on, her face a perfect picture of confusion.
Beside her, Kyohiko Yoshimine pressed his lips together, barely holding back a laugh.
So it really is him.
In that case—
"Kakashi, does this count as repeating a grade?"
"..."
Kakashi glanced at him briefly, then stared straight ahead, completely ignoring the question.
Tch.
Kyohiko Yoshimine suppressed the urge to mock him, sat up straight, and maintained the eerily quiet atmosphere in the classroom.
According to the monster-difficulty classifications from his previous life's games—
The Kakashi sitting in front of him was at least boss-level difficulty. Definitely not someone like Might Guy or Kenji who could be dealt with using just words.
This would require patience.
Better to see who the teacher was first.
As Kyohiko Yoshimine was thinking, a series of footsteps sounded outside the classroom.
All three of them turned their eyes toward the door at the same time.
Was it their teacher?
They waited for quite a while, but the footsteps suddenly stopped, as if the person had gone to another classroom instead.
A trace of confusion appeared on Kurenai Yuhi's face.
She whispered, "Our teacher… just disappeared."
Kakashi said calmly, "As ninjas, all we need to do is wait."
"..."
Kyohiko Yoshimine glanced at the two of them, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
If Kurenai Yuhi's perception wasn't mistaken—
Then their teacher was probably indulging in a bit of malicious humor, using this to observe the personalities and abilities of the three of them.
Who could it be?
When they finally met and introduced themselves, how should he respond?
Kyohiko Yoshimine's thoughts raced.
...
Outside the classroom, Jiraiya let out a sigh.
He hadn't expected this.
Even at his age and status, he still had to personally lead a team—and a bunch of freshly graduated kids at that.
Really—
All that old man's fault!
He secretly observed the situation inside.
"The little girl is sharp, skilled in genjutsu, and seems to have potential in perception… perhaps she could be trained in a medical or support role."
"The silver-haired brat is hard to get along with. No wonder no one wants him. He's a troublesome one."
"As for the last kid…"
"Tch. He doesn't look easy to deal with either. I've really brought this suffering on myself."
Jiraiya stroked his chin, recalling what had happened the night before.
Inside the Hokage Building, yesterday—
"Old man, I was just planning to leave the village for some travels, and now you're making me lead students? You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
"The village needs you," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.
Jiraiya curled his lips. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Are the three kids I'm taking really that special?"
"Hatake Kakashi is one of them," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
Jiraiya fell silent immediately. After a long pause, he finally spoke again.
"Isn't that kid already a chunin?"
"Take a look."
Hiruzen Sarutobi handed him the document.
Jiraiya accepted it and saw that it was filled with complaints from other ninjas about Kakashi. At present, almost no team was willing to take Kakashi in—everyone was making excuses.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could, of course, force an assignment.
But—
The old man preferred that Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, help guide him personally.
Jiraiya thought of Hatake Sakumo's suicide and sighed quietly. He didn't immediately refuse. His gaze swept across the desk.
Then—
He noticed another document among the stack.
Jiraiya picked it up.
It was that kid.
He read it carefully.
It detailed Kyohiko Yoshimine's background.
A descendant of the Senju clan.
More than a year ago, the child's parents had died, and since then his personality had changed drastically. He had become withdrawn and somewhat eccentric, unable to fit in with the rest of his class.
A war orphan…
Jiraiya clenched the paper in his hand and fell silent.
The Second Shinobi World War had made the Sannin famous—but countless ninjas had also died under their command.
Such a hardworking child, with such a personality…
"The other two slots aren't fixed yet, right? Add him. I'm a little interested in this kid."
"You know him?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in mild surprise.
This child—
Although he had graduated early today, Hiruzen didn't have a particularly deep impression of him. He only remembered that his Substitution Technique was extremely polished, and his taijutsu was quite good.
"A very hardworking and very intelligent child. I think he has the potential of Minato," Jiraiya said.
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent for a moment, then nodded lightly.
"Alright. Then it'll be him, Kakashi, and one more. Who that is—entirely up to you."
"Doesn't matter," Jiraiya replied. His eyes swept over the list before settling on one person.
"Her."