The sun blazed high in a cloudless sky.
In the Land of Fire, deep within Konohagakure—
At the Ninja Academy.
Inside a classroom—
Uzumaki Naruto sat cross-legged on the floor, his fox-like face twisted in exasperation as he watched newly minted genin walk out one after another. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and scrunched up his brows.
"Hey! It's been forever already! Where's our Team 7 teacher!?" Naruto shouted, furious.
He pulled out a crumpled Ichiraku ramen voucher, stared at the expiration date written on it, and slowly fell into despair. Grabbing his head, he wailed, "Aaaaah—! If he's any later than this, my ramen voucher's gonna expire!"
He had saved that voucher for a long time—planning to use it to invite Sakura to Ichiraku for a date once Team 7 was officially formed.
Uchiha Sasuke, arms crossed and chin resting on his hands, glanced at Naruto with cold disinterest. A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Hn. Idiot."
"Sa–Sasuke-kun is so cool…" Haruno Sakura ignored Naruto completely, her eyes full of sparkles as she peeked at Sasuke with an infatuated expression.
"You arrogant jerk…" Naruto puffed up, ready to snap back—
Then his blue eyes spun with sudden mischief. A sly grin crawled across his face.
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Naruto climbed onto a chair and wedged an eraser in the crack of the classroom door. He stared at his little trap with great satisfaction.
"Should be fine if I put it right here."
"Hehehe… A teacher who dares to show up this late? Let's see how embarrassing this is gonna get!" Naruto clamped a hand over his mouth, already imagining their instructor stepping through the door and getting smacked in the head.
Sakura lifted her head and looked at the eraser stuck between the door and frame. Then she frowned and scolded him—
"Naruto! What do you think you're doing? We're members of Team 7 now—we should give our new sensei a good first impression!"
But in her heart?
Yes! Perfect!
Nice one, Naruto!
Put a few more! Teach that late-coming teacher a good lesson!
"Hn. Childish tricks." Sasuke leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, eyes cold. "Most jonin can avoid this kind of trap in their sleep."
Graduates were always divided into three-man squads—
Two boys, one girl—to encourage competition.
And the teachers leading these squads… were almost always jonin-rank shinobi. Elite among elite.
No jonin would ever fall for something as low-level as this.
Naruto rested his hands behind his head and grinned.
"Sasuke, you stuck-up jerk—you're saying that, but deep down you're hoping it works, right?"
Sasuke snorted. "Don't lump me together with a super-idiot like you."
"What was that!?" Naruto's grin vanished instantly. A throbbing vein appeared on his forehead as he grabbed Sasuke by the collar, ready to throw hands.
"Stop it already, idiot. You're nowhere near my level," Sasuke said, still cool, still hands in pockets.
"Naruto! Let go of Sasuke right now!" Sakura yelled angrily.
Naruto sagged like a deflated balloon.
"Sakura-chan… I'm the one getting yelled at here!"
"Because it's your fault!" Naruto snapped back at Sasuke immediately after being scolded.
The air filled with gunpowder—
Naruto glaring at Sasuke,
Sakura glaring at Naruto,
Sasuke staring back at Naruto.
Click—
A soft sound.
The classroom fell silent as the door began to open.
All of Team 7 turned to look at the figure stepping inside.
A handsome, clean-featured young man walked in. He had messy white hair, a black hooded sweatshirt, black casual pants, and matching black boots. His build was lean and tall—around one eighty-five.
But what stood out the most were his eyes.
Clear, sky-blue irises—bright as gemstones—yet carrying a chilling hint of danger.
This was Hyūga Ayato.
A transmigrator.
"That's our teacher? He's… he's so handsome!" Sakura whispered, covering her mouth, pink blossoms practically floating in her eyes.
"This guy looks even more stuck-up than Sasuke… hehehe, wait till you embarrass yourself," Naruto snickered, peeking up at the eraser ready to fall.
Sasuke just gave a short "Hn," claiming he wasn't interested—but his gaze, too, flicked toward the descending eraser.
Everyone watched.
The eraser dropped toward Ayato's head—
Then stopped.
It froze midair.
And drifted—slow, silent—into his waiting hand.
Team 7 all stiffened, eyes widening in shock.
The eraser… stopped?
Then floated into his palm?
What kind of technique was that?
Naruto stared blankly at the man standing at the door.
"You're kidding… that's fake, right!?"
"So this is the power of a jonin? Interesting." Sasuke's lips curled slightly.
Sakura breathed, "So cool… even cooler than Sasuke…"
No one understood what Ayato had done—
But it looked strong.
And impossibly cool.
Ayato twirled the eraser between his fingers. His sky-blue eyes swept over the three students as he smiled—completely unapologetic.
"Sorry for being late. I was busy turning down a few kunoichi who wanted to mate with me."
"M–Mate with you!?"
All of Team 7 froze.
Was that really something he should say to kids!?
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hyūga Ayato of the Hyūga clan. Because of… several unpleasant circumstances, I'll be your instructor from today onward."
He paused.
The eraser hovered above his palm—
Then shot forward like a bullet, slamming straight into Naruto's face.
THWACK!
Naruto was blown backward, rolling across the floor several times before ending up sprawled on his back, dizzy, eyes spinning.
Ayato brushed off the chalk dust from his hand and smiled lightly.
"Anyway—I'm your new teacher. Let's get along from now on, little brats."