This scene was also being watched by the elite jōnin in the Hokage's office.
Everyone stared at the Third Hokage's crystal ball with black lines on their foreheads.
Sarutobi Asuma said, "So that's the top student of this year — Uchiha Sasuke."
"Judging by his grades, he's very talented — not inferior to Kakashi back in his day."
Kakashi, who was quietly watching the crystal ball, replied calmly, "He might even be stronger than I was back then."
Inwardly, he thought, After all, he's an Uchiha.
The Uchiha Clan held great significance in Kakashi's heart.
His comrade, his former subordinate — both had been from the Uchiha.
He had personally witnessed their clan's power.
The Third Hokage sighed helplessly at the sight.
He thought, That kid Naruto, why does he always create such unexpected situations? Haa…
No one noticed Yoruha.
Over the years, Yoruha's performance had been average — neither excellent nor poor.
Even the Third Hokage had no strong impression of him.
That was understandable; Yoruha had always appeared to be an ordinary student, with nothing special about him.
He wasn't from a ninja clan, so naturally, no one paid him any attention.
After a while, Iruka entered the classroom.
He looked at the students below, and under their nervous gazes, he took out the class assignment list.
Sitting beside Yoruha, Ino prayed in her heart: Please let me be in the same team as Yoruha!
But she didn't know — her future had already been neatly arranged by the Third Hokage and their parents.
The "Ino–Shika–Cho" trio would never be split apart.
In fact, the Twelve Young Ninjas of Konoha had already been assigned in advance.
There was no way anyone else could interfere.
Sure enough, after Iruka read out several team names, Yoruha's name still didn't appear.
When it came to the Tenth Squad, Iruka said:
"Team Ten: Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chōji, Yamanaka Ino."
Exactly as Yoruha expected.
Even though he had forgotten many of the story's details, after living in Konoha for over ten years, he already understood how the village's clans worked.
There was no way the Ino–Shika–Cho trio would ever be separated.
Ino slumped over her desk, sighing weakly.
"What is this? The team assignments are so boring. They didn't even put me in the same group as Yoruha."
Shikamaru groaned helplessly.
"Hey, hey, could you not say that right in front of us? We're your teammates, you know."
Ino huffed and turned her head away.
When she looked at Yoruha, she found him calm — as if he had expected this all along.
She said dejectedly, "Yoruha, looks like we're not in the same team."
Yoruha smiled gently. "The teachers must have their reasons."
Iruka continued reading:
"Team Eleven: Yamada Jumoku, Kagefumi Yoruha, Motonoya Toko."
Yoruha thought, As expected, my teammates are two students I've never heard of.
Team Eleven consisted of three civilians.
Yoruha believed their instructor probably wasn't one of Konoha's renowned jōnin — most likely just an ordinary one, perhaps even a tokubetsu jōnin or a chūnin.
The two classmates whose names he hadn't heard before were now searching around the classroom for their teammates.
Yamada Jumoku was a boy with a personality similar to Naruto's — cheerful and a little odd — and for some reason, he wore a ponytail.
Motonoya Toko, on the other hand, was a pretty girl with long golden hair that fell to her waist.
She wore a pure white top and a plain black skirt with no decorations — her demeanor was calm and quiet.
Yoruha had never paid attention to either of them before.
Likewise, the two hadn't noticed him much, though they seemed to be good friends with each other.
To them, Yoruha was a stranger.
---
After the teams were assigned, each instructor came to the classroom to take their students away.
The first to arrive was Asuma.
As soon as he entered, he said to Shikamaru's group,
"Team Ten, I'm your instructor. Follow me."
Before leaving, Ino looked back at Yoruha reluctantly.
"Yoruha, my family's flower shop is on the market street. I usually help out there — you have to come visit me, okay?"
Yoruha nodded slightly.
If he didn't, Ino probably wouldn't leave.
Shikamaru added, "Yoruha, we'll get going first."
Yoruha smiled. "Yeah, go ahead."
After the three left,
Yamada Jumoku and Motonoya Toko sat down beside Yoruha.
Jumoku, cheerful as ever, immediately turned to him, extending a hand with a grin.
"Hey, Yoruha! I'm Yamada Jumoku. Looks like we're teammates now — let's get along!"
Yoruha smiled back.
"Nice to meet you, Jumoku. I'm Yoruha — let's work well together."
Then Toko reached out her hand as well.
"Yoruha, I'm Motonoya Toko. Please take care of me."
Yoruha gently shook her hand and released it, smiling.
"Likewise, Toko. Please take care of me too."
And so, the three of them met.
While shaking hands, Yoruha could sense their chakra levels — both were rather low, about average for genin.
It was part of his innate ability — a heightened sensitivity to all kinds of energy and danger, not just chakra.
He already had a basic understanding of his two teammates.
He didn't dislike them — both seemed like decent people.
Jumoku's personality was similar to Naruto's, but he wasn't as reckless — just lively and optimistic.
Toko's personality resembled Hinata's, but she wasn't as shy — merely quiet and gentle.
Her looks were on par with Hinata's, and her fashion sense was much better.
From her clothes, Yoruha could tell she came from a well-off family, even if not a ninja clan.
Her outfit alone looked expensive — she was, without a doubt, a little rich girl.
Both Toko and Jumoku were quite curious about Yoruha.
They didn't remember much about him from before.
Jumoku couldn't help but ask,
"Hey, Yoruha, how come I don't remember you at all? Are you a transfer student or something?"
Toko also looked at him curiously.
Yoruha sighed inwardly.
In this class, aside from Shikamaru, almost no one knew him — even though they'd studied together for years.
He answered patiently, "I've actually been in this class the whole time."
Jumoku froze.
"W–What? You've been here all along?!"
He couldn't believe it — after all this time, he had no impression of him whatsoever.
Toko covered her mouth in surprise too.
She was equally shocked.
Yoruha smiled bitterly.
"Maybe it's because I don't like talking to people much."
Jumoku nodded, agreeing.
"Yeah, that makes sense. I really don't remember seeing you — that's so weird."
"But hey, now that we're teammates, we won't let you be alone anymore!"
(No need to remember them since they will only be a background character.)
He grinned brightly.
Yoruha was a bit taken aback.
Seems like it's not only the main cast who have such warmth — even side characters like these aren't bad.
They're just not strong enough, so they end up as background figures.
If they're unlucky, they'll die in the Fourth Great Ninja War… and if they're really unlucky, they might not even make it that far —
killed on some mission before the war ever begins.
---
Advance chapters at Ko-Fi (currently at Chapter 50)
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27