The commotion in the classroom gradually settled as the initial shock wore off. Uchiha Sasuke sat at his desk, still staring at his newly awakened three-tomoe Sharingan, his expression one of pure confusion.
Why does my Sharingan always awaken in the weirdest ways?!
His first tomoe had surfaced after Naruto's ridiculous antics during sparring. The second had emerged after Naruto had dragged him into yet another absurd situation. And now… the third tomoe had appeared because of a kiss—a completely accidental one—with that idiot Uzumaki Naruto.
Sasuke's thoughts spiraled downward. Does this mean… if I want to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, I'll have to marry Naruto?!
A shiver ran down his spine, his body stiffening at the horrifying notion. "Tch… no way." He shook his head violently, as if trying to physically rid himself of the idea. Damn it! Why am I even thinking about this?!
All the hairs on his body stood up—and unfortunately, something else almost did too!
On the other side of the room, Haruno Sakura clenched her fists, her face twisted in pure agony.
Ahhhhhhh!!!
Her heart felt like it had been shattered into a thousand pieces.
Sasuke-kun… His first kiss… His first kiss was stolen… By NARUTO of all people?!
A vein popped on her forehead. Her love rival wasn't another girl—it was the orange-clad idiot sitting right next to her!
Meanwhile, Hinata Hyuga, who had been watching the events unfold in stunned silence, hesitated before whispering in a barely audible voice, "N-Naruto-kun… d-do you like Sasuke-kun…?"
Her hands trembled, and her face was redder than ever.
Just as the chaotic emotions in the classroom reached a boiling point, the various jōnin instructors arrived to take their newly assigned students. One by one, the students were led away—Sarutobi Asuma took Nara Shikamaru and his team, Yūhi Kurenai led Hinata's group, and soon, the classroom was almost empty.
Souta Kazuki watched the process unfold with mild curiosity. So the team assignments are unchanged from the original.
As the teams left one by one, only four people remained in the room—Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Souta Kazuki himself.
He glanced around. Where's my jōnin leader? He wasn't particularly looking forward to being stuck with Team 7, but given the situation, it seemed inevitable.
Looks like I really got placed in Team 7 after all… Souta sighed. He wasn't against it, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed.
The morning dragged on, but their instructor had yet to appear. The group sat in growing impatience.
Naruto, unable to sit still, suddenly blurted out, "Oi! Why hasn't our jōnin-sensei arrived yet?! Souta, who do you think our teacher will be?"
Souta leaned back, arms crossed. "No idea. But considering how late they are, I'd say they're either incredibly lazy or suffering from serious health problems."
"Hah? What do you mean?" Naruto tilted his head.
Sasuke and Sakura also turned their attention toward Souta, curious about his reasoning.
Souta smirked. "It's simple. Any competent ninja knows that discipline is important. If they're not here after this much time, it means they're either undisciplined or… they've got a serious case of kidney deficiency."
Naruto blinked. "Kidney deficiency?"
Sakura furrowed her brows. "That doesn't make any sense…"
Sasuke, however, nodded thoughtfully. "Actually, that might be true. If he can't even arrive on time, he's probably not a very capable jōnin."
With that single comment, the entire team came to a silent agreement—their jōnin instructor was a man with weak kidneys.
Meanwhile, Hatake Kakashi, still fast asleep in his apartment, suddenly sneezed.
"Hmm… Someone must be talking about me…" He lazily turned over, slipping a certain orange book under his pillow.
He had stayed up late reading Icha Icha Paradise the night before, completely forgetting about his assignment today. "Ah… wasn't there something important today?" He muttered to himself.
After a moment, his sleepy mind finally connected the dots.
"Oh right… The Third Hokage said something about a kid named Souta Kazuki… and something about seeing if Jiraiya-sensei would be interested in taking him as a disciple."
Kakashi yawned. "Well… Jiraiya isn't back yet, so I'll have to handle him for now… What a pain…"
Despite his realization, he made no effort to move. Instead, he shut his eyes again, mumbling, "Just a few more minutes…"
…
…
Why was his back aching so much lately?
Back at the Academy, Souta suddenly stood up, stretching. "Alright, I'm done waiting. If our sensei isn't here, we might as well get something to eat."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Oh! Barbecue?! Let's get barbecue!"
Sasuke stood up without hesitation. "Tch. No point in waiting for a weak jōnin. I'd rather be training."
Sakura hesitated. "B-But… what if our teacher comes and we're not here?"
Sasuke shot her an indifferent look. "Then he should've been on time."
With that, he turned and left. Sakura bit her lip but quickly followed after him.
Naruto cheered. "Let's go, let's go!"
The four of them exited the Academy, heading toward a nearby barbecue restaurant.
Hours later, Kakashi finally arrived at the classroom, his usual sleepy expression in place.
Sliding the door open, he casually walked in—only to be met with an empty room.
"…Huh?" He blinked.
He shut the door.
Then, after a pause, he opened it again.
Still empty.
"W-Where are my students?!"
His drowsy demeanor vanished in an instant as a wave of panic hit him. Without wasting another second, he activated the Body Flicker Technique, dashing straight toward the Hokage's office.
BAM!
The door to the Hokage's office slammed open as Kakashi burst in, panting.
"Hokage-sama!!!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been discreetly using his crystal ball to spy on the women's bathhouse, nearly had a heart attack. In a panic, he covered the ball with his hat.
"O-Oh! Kakashi…? What is it?"
Kakashi, still catching his breath, shouted, "My students are gone!!!"
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Gone?"
"Yes, gone! They weren't in the classroom!"
The old Hokage stroked his beard calmly. "Ah, I see. If your students are missing, I'll simply assign you new ones—"
Then he froze.
He slowly turned to Kakashi, his eyes wide. "Wait… you said Naruto and Sasuke are gone?!"
Kakashi nodded frantically. "Yes!"
Silence.
Then—
"BWAH?!"
Hiruzen shot up from his chair, his face pale. "Find them! NOW!"