The Hokage's office was heavy with the scent of old scrolls and pipe tobacco.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat behind his desk, his old eyes seeming to see through the very walls of the room. He had listened to our story—my carefully curated version of it—with unnerving stillness.
Naruto, fidgeting beside me, had backed up every word. Iruka had stood by us, a silent, formidable pillar of support.
"A tragic affair," the Hokage finally said, taking a long drag from his pipe. "Mizuki was a promising chunin. To fall so far... the lure of power is a corrupting force." His gaze, sharp and penetrating, settled on me.
"Hinata-san. Your Byakugan perception is commendable. To have sensed Mizuki's ill intent was a great service to the village."
"I was only doing my duty to my comrade," I murmured, my head bowed in a show of appropriate Hyuga deference.
"And the jutsu you used," the Hokage continued, a slight, knowing edge to his voice. "The Eight Trigrams Revolving Heaven is a secret technique of the Hyuga main family. I was unaware it was part of the standard academy curriculum."
I had prepared for this. "It is not, Hokage-sama. It is... a family gift. My father... believed I was unworthy of it. I learned it in secret. I apologize if I have overstepped."
It was a calculated risk, invoking Hiashi's disapproval. It cast me as a rebellious but talented child, a narrative that was both believable and sympathetic.
It also painted Hiashi as the villain in my own small story, which suited my purposes perfectly.
The Hokage's gaze softened slightly. "To have mastered such a technique on your own speaks of a prodigious talent. The Hyuga clan should be proud." He paused. "I understand your team assignments have already been processed.
Team 7, Team 8, and Team 10. However, given recent events, a slight rearrangement may be prudent."
My heart stopped. No. This was not in the plan. The teams were sacrosanct. Team 7 was the crucible.
"Iruka-sensei has vouched for the exceptional synergy between you and Uzumaki Naruto," the Hokage said, steepling his fingers. "Your combined performance tonight was... exemplary. Therefore, I have decided to place the two of you together on Team 7, along with Uchiha Sasuke, under the leadership of Hatake Kakashi."
Relief, so potent it was dizzying, washed over me. He wasn't separating us. He was cementing it. He was putting the Uchiha prodigy with the two monsters I was carefully cultivating. It was a powder keg. And I was the one holding the flint.
"As for your teammate," the Hokage went on, looking at Naruto. "I believe Haruno Sakura will be an excellent fit. Her academic scores are top-notch. She will balance the team."
Sakura. A pawn. A non-entity. I almost pitied her.
"Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke," the Hokage concluded. "Team 7. You will meet your new jounin instructor tomorrow at the designated training ground. Do not be late."
We bowed and were dismissed. Outside the office, Naruto was practically vibrating with excitement. "Did you hear that, Hinata?! We're on the same team! With Sasuke! This is gonna be awesome!"
I offered him a small, serene smile, but my mind was already racing. Kakashi. The Copy Ninja. The Sharingan-wielding, Icha Icha-reading enigma. He was the next variable. The next test.
He was a jounin of prodigious skill and deep-seated trauma. He would see things. He would question. He would be a far more difficult opponent than Mizuki ever was.
"I'm glad, Naruto-kun," I said softly. "It will be nice to have a familiar face."
"A familiar face? We'll be partners!" he grinned, clapping me on the shoulder. "We're an unstoppable team!"
Yes, we were.
But he only understood the half of it.
***
The next morning, we assembled on the bridge. Sasuke was already there, leaning against the railing, a pillar of brooding silence. Sakura arrived a few minutes later, fussing over her hair and immediately trying to engage Sasuke in conversation, much to his annoyance.
Naruto and I arrived together. I noted with satisfaction that Sakura's cheerful demeanor faltered for a second when she saw how close Naruto and I were walking.
She saw the easy way he stood by my side, the way he deferred to me with a glance. A wall, invisibly and irrevocably, was already being built.
We waited. An hour passed. Two. Naruto's patience wore thin. He started pacing, then yelling at the top of his lungs. "WHERE IS HE?! OUR SENSEI IS LATE!"
Sasuke scoffed. "Calm down, dead last. A real shinobi knows how to wait."
"He's not late," I said quietly, my eyes fixed on the far end of the bridge. "He's been here the whole time."
Everyone froze. Naruto stopped yelling. Sakura's jaw dropped. Even Sasuke turned to look at me.
"What are you talking about, Hinata?" Naruto asked.
I pointed to a spot on the railing where a leaf had settled. "A subtle genjutsu. The air currents are wrong. And there's a faint chakra residue. It's an observational technique. He's testing us."
As if on cue, a cloud of smoke erupted in the middle of the bridge, and a silver-haired man with a mask covering half his face materialized. He held a bright orange book in one hand.
"Yo."