The classroom was utterly silent.
Everyone wore serious expressions, listening intently to Sarutobi Asuma's arrangements.
Uchiha Kai was no exception. He, too, was curious—who would end up as his teammates?
Before long, his name was called.
"Seventh Squad: Nara Kazama, Ishikawa Itsuki, Uchiha Kai."
At those words, Kai narrowed his eyes. His gaze swept across the classroom, quickly landing on his two future teammates.
First—Nara Kazama.
A typical member of the Nara Clan. Normally lazy, and for now, nothing else about him stood out. Clearly not from the main family branch; his strength was mediocre. Otherwise, he wouldn't be stuck in Class B.
But still—he was a Nara.
The moment the clan came to mind, Kai frowned. Ever since that incident with Uchiha Yoshio, he had been suspicious of Nara Shikaku. And now, during team assignments, another Nara shows up?
Was this really just a coincidence?
Or deliberate arrangement?
What exactly was the Nara Clan playing at?
His thoughts spun rapidly, but with too little information, he couldn't draw a conclusion.
Next—there was Ishikawa Itsuki.
Just an ordinary civilian ninja. Nothing much to say.
From what Kai knew, this guy could only use the basic Three Basic Jutsu and had trained a little in taijutsu. Of course, he had nothing like the Eight Gates or any inherited taijutsu style. Everything was self-taught.
Sure, his muscles were a little bigger, and he had fought in more street brawls.
Other than that—nothing.
Worse, he had a bad temper. Yet because his test scores ranked him third in the class, he looked down on everyone else.
"These teammates… what a hassle," Kai thought coldly.
"One shady Nara, and one muscle-headed civilian."
"But fine."
"We'll take it step by step."
"If they turn out not to know their place… then I'll just 'let' them go make a sacrifice."
About half an hour later, Sarutobi Asuma finished reading the roster and left the classroom without another word.
Soon after, nine Chuunin arrived, calling out Squads One through Nine.
From the Tenth Squad onward, however, they were true cannon fodder.
No squad leaders, no instructors—just fresh Genin thrown onto the battlefield with nothing but the Three Basic Jutsu and a few kunai.
If they were lucky enough to survive, they might scrape together enough merit to exchange for some common, dirt-cheap jutsu back in the village.
If not—their names would be carved into the memorial stone.
As for the nine squads that did have Chuunin leaders—those "leaders" were little more than consolation.
After all, there wasn't much difference between Chuunin and Genin.
In wartime, a so-called Chuunin was just a Genin who managed to survive a war.
Most of these assigned "instructors" probably knew even fewer jutsu than heirs of the great clans.
Which was, indeed, the truth.
In a small grove, the three members of Kai's squad stood before their assigned instructor.
Chuunin spoke with a calm, detached face.
"My name is Kudo Shin. Aside from the Three Basic Jutsu, I can use one C-rank ninjutsu—Earth Style: Earth Wall."
"In this squad, I'll be in charge of defense. Now, it's your turn."
At those words, Uchiha Kai's eyes lit up.
This was an unexpected surprise.
This Chuunin could actually use an Earth Style.
Don't underestimate a single ninjutsu—this was precisely the difference between cannon fodder and a true ninja.
Judging from his surname, Kudo Shin was just a commoner.
Yet the fact that he had been granted a C-rank ninjutsu meant he had not only survived a war, but also achieved notable merit.
Otherwise, the village would never have bestowed him with such a jutsu.
In a small ninja village, possession of a single C-rank jutsu was enough to qualify as a mid-level leader.
B-rank jutsu users were considered core leadership.
Don't be misled by the original series, where B-rank techniques seemed worthless, A-rank just average, and only S-rank forbidden jutsu barely passable—where true power supposedly required the Mangekyou Sharingan, Sage Body, or Rinnegan, with monsters like Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara as the real benchmarks.
That was nonsense.
Take the current shinobi world—Uchiha Shisui's fame as "Shisui of the Body Flicker" was built largely on his mastery of a single A-rank jutsu.
Hatake Kakashi, with only the A-rank Lightning Style: Lightning Blade Jutsu, was considered an elite Jounin.
Even Nohara Rin and pre-darkening Uchiha Obito were both already Konoha's elite Chuunin.
Were they strong?
Rin only knew the Three Basic Jutsu and a bit of basic medical ninjutsu.
Obito? Considered a disgrace within the Uchiha, hadn't even awakened a one-tomoe Sharingan, stumbled through the Three Basic Jutsu, and knew a couple of clan Fire Styles.
And yet, they were both placed in Class A, the village's most elite group, and became disciples of Namikaze Minato.
And this was in Konoha—the strongest of the Great Villages.
What about the other big villages?
What about the smaller ones?
It didn't bear mentioning.
All of which proved—Kudo Shin was indeed qualified to be proud.
"I'm Ishikawa Itsuki. I know the Three Basic Jutsu and taijutsu." Itsuki announced proudly. "I'm ranked in the top three of the class—the best of the best.
I believe that given time, I'll become the strongest ninja. I want to be our squad captain."
He looked smug, arrogance written all over his face.
As a civilian, he had no real understanding of the shinobi world.
Especially now, ranked among the top three of Class B, his pride was even more inflated.
What he didn't know was that his so-called 'top three' wasn't even worth competing for. Clan heirs didn't bother fighting over rankings in the cannon fodder class. Unlike Class A, which was filled with true geniuses, what was the point?
Even if he went home with that title, his clan peers would just laugh at him.
Otherwise—would he really have placed third?
Kai, though inwardly contemptuous, still smiled and spoke politely.
"I'm Uchiha Kai. Besides the Three Basic Jutsu, I know a little of my clan's Fire Style."
"As for captain—I have no objections."
Nara Kazama yawned. Seeing everyone else had spoken, he added lazily,
"I'm Nara Kazama. I know the Three Basic Jutsu, plus a little clan ninjutsu. I don't care who the captain is."
Kudo Shin listened to their introductions, genuinely surprised.
Two clan ninjas in his squad—he hadn't expected that.
Unlike Ishikawa, Shin truly understood the difference between clan ninjas and civilians.
But when he heard that both Kai and Kazama weren't interested in being captain, his surprise faded, and he didn't bother pressing the issue.
Instead, he looked at Ishikawa with open disdain.
An arrogant, hotheaded civilian like him?
On the battlefield, they were always the first to die.
Not his concern.
He had already decided—Uchiha Kai and Nara Kazama were worth getting closer to.
As for Ishikawa Itsuki?
Heh.
In Shin's eyes, the boy was already a dead man.
After taking a deep breath, Shin finally concluded,
"Alright, it's settled.
When I'm not with the squad, Ishikawa Itsuki will be the captain.
Tomorrow morning at eight, meet at the village gates. We'll be heading for the Mist battlefield."
"Go home and prepare yourselves."
"..."
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