The next day, the Hokage’s office.
Hiashi Hyūga stood quietly to one side, watching the Third.
Hiashi had just finished explaining that Tiange wanted to serve as a squad jōnin instructor.
“Knock.
Knock.
Knock.”
The Third tapped the desk one beat at a time, weighing the pros and cons in silence.
If it were any random squad, fine.
But Hiashi’s request was specifically for a rowdy one.
The Third’s thinking matched Hiashi’s exactly, when it came to rowdy, there was only one squad that fit the bill.
The problem was that both students involved were far too special.
One was the Fourth’s son.
The other was someone the Third couldn’t afford to provoke.
Originally, the Third had planned to assign Kakashi to lead that squad.
But now Tiange had suddenly made this move, and the Third was forced to reshuffle the assignments entirely, and more than that, to seriously consider whether handing that squad to Tiange was even a good idea.
“Third Hokage, the reason we’re doing this is for Konohagakure’s sake.”
“You’re aware that Tiange’s bloodlust runs far too deep.
Both Hizashi and I are worried he’ll sink into being nothing more than a killing machine.”
“If that ever happens, there probably isn’t anyone in Konoha who could stop him, is there?”
“So we thought, let him lead a rowdier squad.
Maybe that can smooth out this murderous streak of his.”
“Otherwise, I’d much rather have him lead Hinata’s squad.
Tiange’s mastery of Gentle Fist is the greatest in the history of the Hyūga clan.”
Those words plunged the Third into silence.
The Third had to take the concern seriously.
If Tiange truly lost himself in slaughter and went on a rampage, could the Third even stop him?
If that happened, it would be an absolute catastrophe for Konohagakure, the hell-on-earth kind.
But that squad was far too special.
A Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and an Uchiha orphan.
Could Tiange really lead them well?
Especially that Uchiha boy.
“One question — does Tiange Hyūga know anything about the Sharingan?”
Hiashi immediately understood.
The Third asking that meant the Third was relenting.
Hiashi spoke up at once.
“Third Hokage, you know the Hyūga and the Uchiha have been rivals since the Warring States era.”
“As long-standing rivals, how could we not have gathered information on the Sharingan?”
“As the old saying goes, the one who knows you best is always your enemy.”
“Please rest assured.
I can say with confidence: no one understands the Sharingan better than the Hyūga.”
“Very well.”
“I’ve heard enough.
I’ll make the arrangements — you may go.”
“Yes.
Thank you for your trouble, Third Hokage.”
Hiashi offered a polite word and turned to leave.
It was no empty boast.
The Hyūga had long studied the Uchiha as their oldest rival, and not for any complicated reason.
Both were dojutsu clans, and the Uchiha’s Sharingan could evolve.
The Byakugan could not.
That was the precise reason the Hyūga had always studied the Sharingan, to find a path of evolution for the Byakugan.
Their understanding of it was genuinely deep.
Time flew by, and before long the day of squad assignments arrived.
At the ninja academy, Iruka stood at the front of the room with the roster in hand and began the announcements.
“Team 1…”
“Team 2…”
“…”
“Team 6…”
“Team 7 — Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki!”
“Team 8, Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame!”
“Team 9…”
“Team 10, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka!”
“That concludes the squad assignments for this cycle.”
Before Iruka could say another word, Naruto started hollering.
“Iruka-sensei, fine, whatever about Sakura, but why would someone as outstanding as me end up in the same squad as this guy?”
Ugh.
What on earth gave you the delusion that you were outstanding?
“The squads are balanced by ability.
Sasuke ranked first overall, Sakura ranked first in theory, and Naruto, you ranked dead last in everything.”
The implication was clear: Naruto, you’re the one dragging this squad down.
Naruto missed it completely.
He was still seething about this guy who had stolen his first kiss that very morning, gotten him beaten up by every girl in class, and was his rival in love on top of it all.
“I don’t care, I’m not being in the same squad as him, Iruka-sensei, swap me to a different one!”
“Idiot.”
Sasuke shot him a look of pure contempt and turned away, unwilling to waste another glance on the fool.
“Naruto, the squad roster is final and cannot be changed.
Furthermore, this list was personally confirmed by the Third Hokage, know when to stop.”
Iruka erupted, unleashing a torrent of words that left Naruto shrinking into himself like a frightened quail.
Watching Naruto tremble and finally go quiet, Iruka muttered inwardly.
The Hokage was right, with Naruto around, this squad really is a rowdy one.
But…
will it truly be fine, having that person lead them?
What if Naruto’s antics push him too far, will nothing actually go wrong?
Iruka was deeply worried.
That person had only just returned a couple of days ago and had already stirred up a massive incident.
Iruka had no idea why the Hokage had made this decision, and had no power to change it.
“Team 7, come with me for a moment.”
“All other squads, stay in the classroom, your jōnin instructors will arrive shortly.”
Still uneasy, Iruka decided to give these three a word of warning.
Especially Naruto.
The moment they stepped outside, Naruto caught Iruka’s hesitant expression and couldn’t hold back.
“Iruka-sensei, you called us out here, does that mean you have some jutsu you want to teach us?”
“No.”
“Listen to me carefully, all three of you.”
“Under absolutely no circumstances are you to provoke your jōnin instructor.
If you do, the consequences will be severe.”
“Especially you, Naruto, once you provoke him, even the Hokage won’t be able to stop whatever he decides to do.”
Iruka’s expression was dead serious.
Sasuke and Sakura both tensed.
Anyone Iruka-sensei would warn them about this gravely was definitely not someone easy to deal with.
No other squad had received this kind of warning, only theirs.
Their jōnin instructor was someone very special.
“Iruka-sensei, you’re joking, right?
Even the Third Hokage can’t stop him?”
“The Third Hokage is the Hokage, the strongest person in Konoha.
What is there that can’t be handled?”
“Naruto, I am not joking.”
“Just remember what I said, do not pick a fight with him.
Rein in that temper of yours and stop causing trouble.”
“All right, get back inside.
They should already be here.”
Iruka turned and walked away, leaving the three of them to head back to the classroom with very different expressions on their faces.
At that same moment, in the teachers’ office, all the jōnin instructors for this generation had assembled.
“Kakashi, that person still hasn’t shown up.
We’re heading out first, you’re on your own.
Good luck.”
Asuma gave Kakashi a light pat on the shoulder, then walked off toward the classrooms together with Kurenai Yuhi.
Meanwhile, in the classroom, Tiange looked out at the noisy, chaotic crowd below and felt a flicker of irritation.
Killing intent leaked out on its own.
The classroom went silent in an instant.
Every student stared up at Tiange, trembling.
“Team 7, follow me.”
Cold.
Utterly devoid of emotion.
Was this person really a teacher?
➤ Next: Don’t Give Me a Reason to Kill Him