A week passed by in a flash.
The Ninja Academy's early graduation exams came to an end, and a group of fresh faces, filled with excitement and anticipation, were about to step into the real world of Ninjas; Shinichi also received his notice.
"Chunin Higashino Shinichi, please report to the Fourth-year Class Two classroom at the Ninja Academy tomorrow morning at eight o'clock sharp to assemble with your new team members."
Just as I thought!
The Third Hokage ultimately still wants to place me in a team with my peers.
My teammates should be Shizune and Takashi, right?
Shinichi thought to himself.
The next day, Shinichi donned his gear and hurried toward the Ninja Academy. Just as he was about to step through the school gates, a familiar figure caught his eye.
Kakashi Hatake.
At this moment, he radiated a cold aura that warned others to keep their distance.
"Long time no see, Kakashi," Shinichi greeted him proactively.
"It's you." Kakashi's voice came through his mask, flat and even a bit cold. "Did you also receive this boring notice?"
"Yeah, though it was a bit of a surprise to me," Shinichi nodded.
"Having Chunin team up with a bunch of newly graduated Genin is such a waste of time," Kakashi sneered.
Shinichi shook his head. "Don't say that, Kakashi. The Village must have its reasons for this arrangement. There might even be some of your former friends in there."
"Friends?" Kakashi retorted coldly. "I don't have any..."
"Yo! Kakashi! Shinichi!"
Before he could finish, a loud, energetic voice cut in like a whirlwind. A youth with thick eyebrows and large eyes, wearing a green bodysuit, charged forward like a cannonball. It was Might Guy.
"What a coincidence! Did you guys also receive new team assignments?" Might Guy's voice was full of energy. "I thought only Genin like me would be teamed up with new graduates. I didn't expect you two Chunin to have the same arrangement!"
Kakashi didn't respond, simply turning his face away.
Shinichi gave Guy a smile and patted his shoulder. "Let's go. It's almost time. Don't keep our future teammates and teacher waiting."
The three of them entered the school gates together, walking through the somewhat noisy corridor. At the fork in the teaching building, Kakashi and Guy walked straight toward the classroom labeled Fourth-year Class One.
Shinichi, however, turned toward the neighboring Fourth-year Class Two.
He stopped in front of the door, where he could faintly hear the noisy chatter of boys and girls mixed with excitement, nervousness, and speculation.
He raised his hand and pushed open the door. The sound of the door opening caused the clamor inside the classroom to suddenly fall silent, as dozens of gazes turned toward the doorway in unison.
When they saw clearly who had arrived, the brief silence was instantly broken by astonished whispers.
"Shinichi?"
"Shinichi? Why is he here?"
"He didn't walk into the wrong classroom, did he?"
Someone shouted half-jokingly, "Hey, Shinichi! You're not here to be our instructor, are you? That would be terrifying!"
Shinichi's gaze quickly swept across the classroom, habitually looking toward his former seating area, but he was surprised to find that Ishizuka Takashi wasn't there.
In the three-person seat by the window, in the middle spot that originally belonged to him, sat a girl with a lovely face, deep black hair, and rare ruby-red eyes—Kurenai Yuhi.
She seemed to be leaning slightly, whispering something to Shizune, who was sitting in the seat to her right.
Why is she here?
Isn't she from Class One next door?
A hint of doubt flashed through Shinichi's mind.
Class One and Class Two were adjacent, and many outdoor practical classes and Ninjutsu training sessions were often held together, so it wasn't strange for students from both classes to know each other.
But now, she was appearing in the Class Two room for team assignments and even sitting in that clearly reserved spot... Kurenai Yuhi obviously saw him too, her beautiful red eyes widening slightly in surprise.
Shinichi smiled and walked into the classroom, closing the door behind him as he responded casually to the earlier teasing. "Long time no see, everyone. However, I might have to disappoint you; I don't have the qualifications to be an instructor just yet."
"I'm here this time to join as a teammate. May I ask who the two members of Team Ten are?"
Shizune didn't seem to have fully processed it yet, subconsciously looking at Kurenai Yuhi beside her.
Kurenai Yuhi was taken aback for a moment but quickly reacted. She raised her hand and said, "Over here. Team Ten member, Kurenai Yuhi."
Her voice was crisp, carrying the vitality unique to girls of her age, yet appearing more composed than many of her peers.
Shizune also snapped out of it then, nodding hurriedly in agreement. "And me, Shizune. The two of us... well, plus you, Shinichi, should be Team Ten."
When the team lists were announced yesterday, she had found herself listed alone under Team Ten, while her desk mate Ishizuka Takashi, who was also from the original Class Two and a close friend, had his name on the Class One list.
Later, Kurenai came over to Class Two today and mentioned she had been assigned to Team Ten, making them a pair.
They had just been whispering, guessing who the long-unannounced third teammate would be, eventually concluding it was likely a mysterious figure transferred from another grade or even a previous year.
They never expected that the one pushing open the door would be Higashino Shinichi, who had already become a Chunin.
Shinichi walked toward them, nodded to Kurenai Yuhi, then looked at Shizune and greeted them warmly, "Shizune, and Kurenai, I look forward to working with you."
"I look forward to working with you, Shinichi," Kurenai Yuhi replied naturally and appropriately with a slight nod. Her gaze lingered on Shinichi's face for a brief moment before politely moving away to look at Shizune.
Shizune also nodded in return. "I look forward to working with you, Shinichi."
She was well aware of Shinichi's maturity, composure, and great strength; having him on the team certainly made one feel much more at ease.
The other students in the classroom watched the three of them gather, especially noting Shinichi's calm demeanor, which was clearly different from an ordinary Genin. Whispers broke out again, their eyes filled with envy and curiosity.
After all, Higashino Shinichi was a Genius famous throughout the Village. Last year, he had even dominated the competition and won the championship in the Chunin Exams hosted by Sunagakure.
Meanwhile, Shinichi was also thinking rapidly.
When he received the notice, he had subconsciously assumed his teammates would be Ishizuka Takashi and Shizune. After all, they had been desk mates for years and shared the connection of Teacher Chen, so their coordination should have been smoother.
He hadn't expected Takashi's spot to be taken by Kurenai Yuhi.
In his memories of his past life, Kurenai Yuhi was in a team with Asuma Sarutobi and Raido Namiashi, and would even become Asuma's lover in the future.
But he immediately realized he had made the mistake of being biased by preconceived notions.
Future relationships didn't prove they had any special feelings for each other now.
There was no clear evidence that Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma had mutual feelings during their childhood. Their relationship seemed more like it developed naturally as adults, after Asuma finished his mission with the Twelve Guardian Ninja and returned to Konoha, when both were Konoha Jonin and of similar age.
So, the Third Hokage's intention with this arrangement was... "Could it be that since I'm already considered Teacher Chen's Disciple, the rapport and bonds between Takashi and me don't need to be specially nurtured through being on the same team, so he gave me a new teammate to build bonds with?"
"And since I haven't shown any talent in Genjutsu so far..."
Shinichi's gaze inadvertently swept over Kurenai Yuhi's deep black hair and calm red eyes. "A teammate with great talent in Genjutsu to fill the potential gap in our team's Genjutsu perception and control? A more balanced team configuration?"
This speculation seemed reasonable. As the Hokage, planning a more comprehensive growth path for promising subordinates, including forming teams with complementary abilities, was a perfectly normal consideration.
But such meticulous, almost tailor-made arrangements made Shinichi unable to resist grumbling in his heart:
"Why does it feel like I'm the Third Hokage's biological son? Everything is arranged so thoughtfully..."