Early in the morning, all the young Ninjas gathered in the classroom.
This was their last day at the Ninja Academy, yet each of them was exceptionally excited, with not a trace of disappointment to be seen.
The classroom was bustling with noise—some were chatting loudly, others were exchanging graduation mementos, and some were pointing and commenting on graduation photos.
Sunlight streamed in through the windows, filling the room with golden light.
Sato Fan sat in the last row by the window, his feet propped up on the chair in front of him, watching the lively scene in the room with boredom.
Thirty people.
Exactly thirty graduates this year, no more, no less.
He had spent seven years, steadily ‘performing’ his way through a class that started with over forty students, finally scraping by just enough to graduate.
He had a good idea of most people’s team assignments.
Team 7 would definitely be Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, led by Kakashi.
Team 8 would be Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, led by Kurenai Yuhi.
Team 10 would be Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, led by Asuma.
The rest would be the background-character teams.
And he would be assigned to one of those background-character teams, taken away by a background-character Jonin along with two background-character teammates.
Perfect.
Bang!
The classroom door was flung open, and Naruto burst in like an orange cannonball.
“I’m here!!” he announced loudly, wearing his signature goofy grin.
Right behind him was Sasuke, expressionless and steady-paced, as if he hadn’t just walked into a classroom but onto a battlefield.
Following him was Sakura, her face flushed, constantly stealing glances at the back of Sasuke’s head.
“Uzumaki Naruto!
Today is team assignment day, how dare you come when you failed the exam—”
“I don’t care!
I’m already a Genin of Konoha!!” Naruto pointed to the forehead protector on his head.
“Didn’t you fail the graduation exam?”
Naruto:
“So what!
I’ll still become Hokage and show you all!!”
A wave of laughter erupted in the classroom.
Sato Fan watched the scene, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Still the same Naruto, full of energy no matter what.
Naruto chuckled as he walked to his seat.
As he passed Sasuke, for some inexplicable reason, he stood on a desk and stared at him, and a passing background-character classmate provided the assist!
“Whoa—!”
Sasuke instinctively turned around, but it was already too late.
Their faces collided solidly.
More accurately—mouth to mouth.
The entire classroom fell silent instantly.
It wasn’t ordinary silence; it was time-stopping-level silence.
Thirty people, including Iruka, all stood frozen as if under a binding spell.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the two faces pressed together in the center of the classroom.
Naruto’s eyes were wide as saucers, his pupils shrunk to pinpoints.
Sasuke’s eyes were also wide—the ever-expressionless Uchiha genius now wore a look that could only be described as ‘horrified.’
One second.
Two seconds.
Both of them sprang apart simultaneously, as if electrocuted.
Naruto staggered back several steps, landing on his rear, his expression a spectacular mix—first confusion, then shock, finally morphing into an indescribable mix of shame and indignation.
His mouth opened and closed like an electrocuted frog: “You, you, you—I, I, I—”
Sasuke’s reaction was even more intense.
He fiercely wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, the motion so forceful it seemed like he wanted to scrub off a layer of skin.
His face—that perpetually cold, icy face—was now visibly reddening at a rapid pace, from his neck all the way up to the tips of his ears.
“You idiot…” Sasuke’s voice was low, squeezed out from between clenched teeth, his eyes looking as if he wanted to skin Naruto alive.
“I didn’t do it on purpose!
Something tripped me on the floor!” Naruto scrambled up from the ground, his face flushed crimson, his voice high-pitched and frantic.
“Then why weren’t you watching where you were going!”
“I was!
You’re the one who didn’t dodge!”
“Why should I dodge?!
You’re the one who crashed into me!”
“Couldn’t you have just dodged a little!”
“How was I supposed to know you’d trip inside the classroom!
Are you a child?!”
The two stood facing each other like fighting cocks, red-faced and thick-necked, hurling accusations.
Naruto clenched his fists, Sasuke’s hands were also tightly balled, and the air was thick with the smell of impending explosion.
Finally, someone in the classroom snapped out of it.
Someone laughed first, then like dominoes, the entire classroom exploded into chaos.
Some were doubled over with laughter, others covered their mouths, and some let out incomprehensible shrieks.
Sakura sat in her seat, her expression going through the entire process from shock to stupefaction to daze.
Her mouth was slightly agape, her eyes fixed straight ahead, as if her soul had been sucked out.
Ino beside her wore a similar expression.
And then—
“Ahhhhhhhhh—!!!”
The girls’ screams nearly blew the roof off.
The sound was sharp enough to pierce eardrums, mixed with exclamations like “Oh my god,” “No way,” “What did I just see.”
The boys, meanwhile, were egging them on—some whistled, some pounded desks, and others shouted at the top of their lungs: “Naruto!
You hit the jackpot!”
“Kiss!
Kiss!” Some fearless soul took the lead in shouting, immediately drawing a chorus of agreement.
“Shut up!!!” Naruto and Sasuke roared back in unison, then glanced at each other before simultaneously turning their heads away.
Sato Fan didn’t join in the commotion.
He sat in the last row, and while everyone’s attention was on those two unlucky souls, his right hand had already silently slipped into his pocket.
There was something hard inside—a camera he had spent a fortune on.
Not the high-grade stuff Ninjas used, but the most ordinary civilian version, sold at Konoha’s general store.
The image quality was average, but it would do.
It had cost him a full two months’ worth of allowance.
When he bought it, he told himself it was to document life.
But at this moment, he clearly knew—this investment was worth it!
The corner of his mouth curled up in a barely noticeable arc.
Photo, secured!
He needed to think carefully about the value of this photo.
Sell it to someone else?
A gossip magazine?
A black-market information broker?
Or keep it to blackmail Naruto and Sasuke themselves in the future?
A kissing photo of the Uchiha genius and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
If this thing made it to the black market, who knows how many explosive tags it could be traded for.
But now wasn’t the time to cash in.
He had to wait, wait until both of them became major figures—then the value of this photo would be maximized.
He mentally labeled this photo: long-term investment.
“Quiet!!!”
Iruka’s furious roar finally overpowered the classroom’s uproar.
Veins bulged on his forehead, and he looked like an enraged lion.
“Uzumaki Naruto!
Uchiha Sasuke!
Both of you, sit down!
Now!
Immediately!
Right now!”
Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other before stomping back to their seats, sullen.
There were three full rows between them, but the air was still thick with awkwardness.
“Alright, alright, enough of this commotion.” Iruka wiped the sweat from his forehead and picked up the list on the desk.
“Now, team assignments begin.”
The classroom finally quieted down, everyone perking up their ears.
“Teams are decided after comprehensive consideration of each person’s abilities, personality, and team balance.
Starting today, you will operate in three-person squads, carrying out missions under the guidance of your team’s Jonin.”
Iruka cleared his throat.
“Team 1—”
Names were called out one after another.
Sato Fan didn’t listen carefully.
He ran through the list in his mind, confirmed a few key pieces of information, and then zoned out.
After all, his fate wouldn’t be in the first few teams.
When Team 4 was called, Sato Fan finally heard his name.
“Team 4, Sato Fan, Inuzuka Kenji, Kazamatsuri Rin.”
…
“Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura Haruno, Uchiha Sasuke.”
As expected.
“Team 8, Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino.”
“Team 10, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji.”
Sato Fan leaned back in his chair, his fingers feeling the camera in his pocket, savoring the scene from earlier.
Sato Fan mentally reviewed his two teammates’ names.
Inuzuka Kenji—a branch member of the Inuzuka clan, not a main line, average grades.
Kazamatsuri Rin—civilian background, skilled with shuriken, below-average grades.
Neither were named characters from the original story.
Utterly unremarkable existences.
Two average performers, teamed up with one bottom-tier like himself.
And then look at the Ino–Shika–Chō and the dog-bug-eye combos.
Yep, these team assignments…
Perfect.
Background-character team, background-character teammates.
Like a drop of water falling into a pond, not even a ripple.
“Team assignments are complete.” Iruka put down the list, his gaze sweeping over each face.
“Starting today, you are all official Ninjas.
Your team Jonin will come to collect you.
The specific arrangements will be explained by your Jonin.”
He paused, his voice suddenly softening a bit.
“One last thing—no matter which team you’re assigned to, no matter what path you take in the future, you are all the best students I’ve ever taught.
Good luck to you all.”
Scattered applause broke out in the classroom.
A few girls began wiping away tears.
Soon, team Jonin arrived one after another to collect their squads.
“Team 4, assemble on the training ground.”
A voice came from the doorway, and before anyone could react, the speaker was already gone.
He stood up, pushed his chair back into place, and headed out of the classroom.
“Sato!” Naruto called out.
“Which team are you in again?”
“Team 4.”
“Oh!
So we’re not together…” Naruto sounded a bit disappointed but quickly perked up.
“No problem!
We’ll still run into each other on missions!
Sato, do your best!
Don’t hold your teammates back!”
“You’re the one who shouldn’t hold others back,” Sato Fan said.
“I won’t!
I’m the man who’s going to become Hokage!”
Sato Fan smiled but said nothing more.
He walked in that direction.
As he crossed the training ground, sunlight shone directly on his face, warm and comforting.
When he reached the clearing, two people were already waiting there.
Inuzuka Kenji leaned against a crooked tree, a blade of grass in his mouth, a grayish-brown Ninja dog crouched at his feet.
The dog wasn’t large, its fur a bit mottled, ears drooping, looking rather listless.
Seeing Sato Fan approach, he gave him a once-over and nodded.
“You’re Sato?”
“Yes.”
Kenji didn’t seem interested in chatting.
He nodded and fell silent.
His Ninja dog, Little Gray, trotted over, sniffed Sato Fan’s pant leg, sneezed, wagged its tail, and ran off.
Kazamatsuri Rin leaned against a wall not far away, hands in her pockets, gaze fixed distantly.
She wore a dark blue Ninja uniform, her hair tied in a high ponytail, looking neat and efficient.
A bulging Ninja tool pouch hung at her waist.
Hearing footsteps, she merely glanced sideways slightly, not even offering a greeting.
Sato Fan didn’t mind.
This kind of personality was best—they wouldn’t meddle.
The three of them waited in silence, no one speaking.
After about ten minutes, a man’s voice came from behind.
“Everyone here?”
Sato Fan turned and saw a man in his thirties ambling over.
He wore an ordinary green flak jacket, but it hung loosely on him, as if two sizes too big.
His face was expressionless, his hair disheveled, his eyes half-open, the whole person looking as if he’d just crawled out of bed.
Kusakabe Takashi, Special Jonin.
“I’m your team Jonin, Kusakabe Takashi.” He stopped in front of the three, his gaze lazily sweeping over them.
“Hmm…
Inuzuka, Kazamatsuri, Sato.”
“Yes.”
Kusakabe stared at them for two seconds, then yawned.
“Alright, everyone’s here.
Let’s begin.”
“Begin what?” Kenji asked.
“Evaluation.” Kusakabe pulled a form from his pocket and glanced at it.
“You all passed the graduation exam, but that’s just paperwork qualification.
Whether you can become real Genin depends on today’s performance.”
He took three bells from his waist pouch and shook them in his hand.
“Rules are simple.
Before noon, snatch one bell from me, and you pass.
Those who don’t get one—”
He put the bells away.
“—get sent back to the Academy for retraining.”
Kenji’s expression changed instantly.
He straightened up, a fighting spirit igniting in his eyes.
Rin’s gaze also shifted slightly, her body leaning forward a bit.
Sato Fan’s expression didn’t change.
He had known this was coming.
“You can prepare in advance or discuss tactics.” Kusakabe took a few steps back and leaned against the wall.
“Time starts…
now.”
The evaluation had begun.
Sato Fan stood in place, watching Kenji and Rin charge toward Kusakabe, already calculating in his mind how he should ‘perform’ later.