Chapter 104: Discussing Graduation Teammates (Part 2)
After breakfast, they went to the Academy.
Hoshikawa received an incredibly warm welcome. People greeted him all along the way, and when he entered the classroom, it reached its peak. You'd think a major celebrity had arrived.
"Cocky bastard," Asuma Sarutobi muttered, watching Hoshikawa being surrounded. He shook his head, but in reality, he was envious and secretly wished he could be in Hoshikawa's place.
Kakashi Hatake glanced over and then ignored the crowd. He was used to this kind of scene. In fact, he used to be the one surrounded; now it was Hoshikawa. He was actually quite grateful for the change. He couldn't deal with this kind of situation.
"Hoshikawa!"
Rin Nohara's eyes sparkled, and an unconscious smile spread across her face. Hoshikawa had been gone for almost two weeks, and she had so many questions she couldn't ask anyone. Now that he was back, they could train and study together again.
"Damn it!"
Obito Uchiha noticed Rin's expression and subconsciously clenched his fist.
"Long time no see."
Hoshikawa finally broke free and walked over to them.
Rin and the others all greeted him back, even Obito, who responded with a reluctant grunt.
"That guy told me to ask you something," Asuma suddenly remembered.
"That guy?"
Hoshikawa raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about the Hokage?"
"That's him," Asuma said nonchalantly. "He asked when you plan on graduating."
At the word "graduating," Kakashi immediately looked up. If it hadn't been for Hoshikawa, he would've become a genin after his first year, instead of still being a student.
Rin's heart skipped a beat. She both wanted to graduate and didn't. She wanted to because they'd get a team leader, but she didn't want to because it meant they'd all be separated.
"Next year, I think," Hoshikawa said after a moment's consideration.
Minato Namikaze had already had a run-in with the Cloud Village's A and B combo, so it would be difficult to just lay low and grow stronger. Graduating in the fifth year was a year early, which wasn't too soon.
"Then I'll graduate next year too," Asuma immediately declared. "We can be on the same team. We'll become famous across the shinobi world, the next Legendary Sannin!"
Hoshikawa's lips twitched. Is this the 'Kobe and I combined for 82 points' strategy?
"No way!"
Kurenai stepped forward and grabbed Hoshikawa's hand, meeting Asuma's challenge head-on. "His teammate is definitely me!"
"It could be me!"
Might Guy joined in the fun. Although, it wasn't just for fun. He really wanted to be on a team with Hoshikawa and Kakashi.
Rin pursed her lips, wanting to say something but holding back. Of course, she wanted to be on the same team as Hoshikawa, but her personality prevented her from being as direct as Kurenai.
"Rin, you can be on my team! I'll protect you!"
Obito quickly jumped in, worried that Rin might say "Hoshikawa," and if she did, everything would be over. According to the village's rules, ninja teams stayed together until they became a Special Jōnin or a full-fledged Jōnin. It was a long time, and Obito couldn't imagine what would happen.
Rin flinched slightly. She looked at Obito's expectant gaze and couldn't bring herself to reject him directly, so she said, "Team assignments are up to the school."
"I believe in our bond!" Obito said confidently.
"Hold on!"
Hoshikawa quickly stopped them. "It's too early to be talking about teams. Besides, we don't get to choose our teammates."
The last part was a lie, of course. But they were all still kids, and few of them knew the inside scoop, so they all accepted it.
"Haga..."
Kurenai was about to ask, but Hoshikawa gave her a meaningful look.
She immediately relaxed and didn't ask further. She remembered Hoshikawa had once told her his teammate would definitely be her, so what he just said must be a lie.
Hoshikawa chatted with them for a bit before returning to his seat.
He stroked his chin, lost in thought. Since his sensei was Tsunade, he could choose his teammates. He had already settled on Kurenai, but he still needed one more.
Who should it be?
Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, and Asuma Sarutobi were all strong. Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha were a little weaker, but they had a lot of potential.
Hoshikawa quickly ruled out Obito. Putting aside their mediocre relationship, if Obito was targeted by Madara Uchiha, Hoshikawa might become the catalyst for his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hoshikawa then considered another question. What would his role be?
A ninja team was made up of three people. The typical formation included a medical ninja, with the other two being either sensor-type or combat-type ninjas.
Hoshikawa could be a medical ninja or a combat ninja. After thinking it over, he decided that combat was more fun.
So, should he choose Rin?
If she were to be teamed up with Obito as in the original series, the chances of her dying were 99%. By changing the team's composition, he might be able to save her life.
The bell for class rang.
Rōichirō walked into the classroom right on time. He glanced around and noticed Hoshikawa in a daze, paused for a moment, and then ignored him.
"Students, please take out today's textbook," Rōichirō said from the front of the room, beginning his lesson.
Hoshikawa snapped out of his thoughts, putting the teammate issue aside, and started to think about his next training plan. If he was graduating in his fifth year, he had about a year and a half left. He had learned a wide variety of jutsu and couldn't advance all of them at once, so he needed to prioritize.
Hoshikawa thought for a moment, then wrote down Medical Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Lightning Release in his notebook.
Medical ninjutsu, he decided, was a must. As Tsunade's student, he had to master it. And a great medical ninja could turn the tide of a battle, so he couldn't be lazy.
Genjutsu was a powerful tool against regular ninjas, even if it wasn't as effective against the Uchiha clan. He and Mei Terumi had used it to kill four of Yomitsu's men in an instant.
Lightning Release was his innate chakra nature. It was something he could use without raising suspicion.
Additionally, there was the matter of the Cloud Village. The B-rank Lightning Release Armor was already so strong, let alone the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode. The only problem was he couldn't get his hands on the training method just yet. He couldn't just go back and tell them that Kushina Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, could he?
Hoshikawa frowned slightly. Was there any other intel of equal value? He couldn't think of anything off the top of his head.
Time flew by, and soon it was the end of the school day.
"Let's go train!" Asuma said, buzzing with excitement. When Hoshikawa had been away, he felt something was missing. Now that he was back, things were right again.
"Huh?"
Kakashi suddenly looked up and saw an unexpected person: Sakumo Hatake.
"Kakashi," Sakumo said, noticing his son's gaze, and walked toward him.
"Father," Kakashi asked, confused. "Are you looking for me?"
"No, I'm looking for Hoshikawa," Sakumo said, shaking his head. He had gone to Tsunade's house first, but Hoshikawa wasn't there, so he came to the Academy.
"You guys go on ahead," Hoshikawa said, knowing what Sakumo wanted to talk about. He motioned for Kurenai and the others to leave first.
"Okay, but hurry up." Kurenai waved to him, a hint of reluctance in her voice.
"Here you go," Sakumo said once the others had left, handing him two bank passbooks. "This is the payment for the Land of Demons mission."
"Thank you." Hoshikawa took the passbooks, surprised. "Two million ryo?"
"Another million ryo is for your sensei. You can give it to her," Sakumo explained.
"Oh, okay." Hoshikawa had thought the two million was all his.
"Because the village benefited a lot from this mission, it's not just money," Sakumo said with a smile. "The Hokage said you can each choose one ninjutsu to learn."
Hoshikawa's eyes lit up. "Choose any one" was a wide-open offer.
Still, there were certain forbidden jutsu that would take too long to master right now, and he wouldn't even be able to use them yet. Besides, with his status and connections, he could learn anything he wanted later on anyway.
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Hoshikawa: the Rasengan.
He felt it was a good choice. It would greatly increase his power. Like the Strength of a Hundred Seal, it didn't require hand signs, which made it incredibly useful in combat. Although Jiraiya and Minato weren't in the village right now, they had surely submitted the Rasengan's scroll to the village. According to Konoha's rules, creating a ninjutsu and submitting it to the village earned you a reward. While others might not do it, Minato Namikaze was a true, dyed-in-the-wool practitioner of the Will of Fire.
"You can go to the Hokage when you've made up your mind," Sakumo reminded him.
"I will, thank you, Sakumo-ojisan." Hoshikawa paused. "Is there anything else? If not, I'm going to go train with Kakashi and the others."
"Go on," Sakumo said with a smile.
Hoshikawa quickly left the Academy and ran straight for the Hokage's office. He had to get there before Hiruzen Sarutobi left for the day to ask for the Rasengan.
Hokage's Office.
Hoshikawa raised his hand and knocked. When he was allowed in, he entered.
"Hoshikawa," Hiruzen said, a bit surprised to see him. "It's rare for you to come to me alone. Have you already decided which ninjutsu you want to learn?"
"I want to choose the Rasengan," Hoshikawa said, getting straight to the point.
Hiruzen's eyebrows went up slightly. The Rasengan was an A-rank ninjutsu created by Minato Namikaze, and only a few people even knew it existed. But then again, Hoshikawa had a good relationship with them, so it wasn't all that surprising.
"Alright," Hiruzen agreed.
.............
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