Watching as the classmates who had been divided into teams were led away one group after another, Uzuki Yūgao began to fidget uneasily.
"Hey, hey, Makoto-nii, what do you think our jōnin squad leader will be like?"
"How would I know? Yūgao, I don't mind you treating me like a know-it-all, but could you stop treating me like a prophet? I can use ninjutsu, but I really can't do divination magic."
"I'm just curious."
"Please strangle the little curiosity imp in your head. A ninja needs patience—we'll know soon enough."
Higashino Makoto appeared calm and unhurried, but in his heart he was already rejecting his earlier guess. After all, he was the top graduate this year, having achieved a perfect, full-score result.
Even if the Third Hokage were muddleheaded, there was no way he would hand Makoto over to the Uchiha.
And even if he were willing, his close ally Shimura Danzō would never agree.
Good grief—if you won't give me the top graduate of this class, fine, but you actually give him to the Uchiha? Monkey, you've changed.
After a while, a middle-aged ninja with a lean build finally walked in. He wore the standard green flak vest, a ninja cap with a metal forehead protector, had an average height, and half-long brown hair.
That said, black-haired and brown-haired people really were the most common in Konoha—yellow, white, red, blue, and purple were all outliers.
Uzuki Yūgao said in surprise, "Eh, Kumomi-ojisan, why are you here? Don't tell me you're our—?"
"Yes, you guessed right. Team Three—Higashino Makoto, Uzuki Yūgao—come with me."
That was right. The man's name was Gekkō Kumomi—the father of Gekkō Hayate, an old family friend of the Uzuki household, and a senior and close friend of the Higashino couple.
All three families knew one another, and both the Gekkō and Uzuki were families that could only just be called clans—calling them commoners would also be accurate. They were staunch supporters of the Hokage faction. That was why Konoha's jōnin squad leaders were never chosen at random.
Seeing that the squad leader was Gekkō Kumomi, Higashino Makoto had already guessed who the final teammate would be.
Sure enough, when the two of them followed Gekkō Kumomi to a secluded training ground, a familiar figure jumped down from a tree.
Gekkō Hayate!
His look had changed somewhat. Like his father, he wore a ninja cap. Aside from height and age, he already matched the image in Higashino Makoto's memory.
This really was… a father-and-son duo going into battle together.
Uzuki Yūgao was extremely surprised. "Hayate-nii, how could it be you?"
It seemed that she had not known in advance that Gekkō Hayate would be joining this team. After all, this kind of thing did not need to be decided with the input of a rookie genin like her.
Higashino Makoto asked curiously, "You've been graduated for a year already—why are you alone? Where are your teammates?"
"Well, it's a long story." Gekkō Hayate sounded somewhat helpless. "More than half a year after we graduated, our squad went on a C-rank mission and ran into a Sunagakure missing-nin."
During wartime, aside from Kumogakure having fewer, every village had plenty of missing-nin active all over the shinobi world. Running into one was normal.
"So? Your teammates died in action?"
Gekkō Hayate shook his head. "No. We killed him. It's just… sigh—my teammate Umamatsu suddenly ran over and tried to search the body. We didn't have time to stop him, and he got his leg blown off by an explosive tag and became crippled. He won't be able to be a ninja anymore."
"The other female teammate was terrified and withdrew from the mission squad. I recommended her to Sakura-obasan's codebreaking class—she has some talent in that area."
This Sakura was Uzuki Sakura, Yūgao's mother—a functional chūnin who belonged to Konoha's intelligence decoding unit.
Higashino Makoto had not expected things to turn out this ridiculously funny. That was why the shinobi world was not a place where people with thick nerves could get by—some ruthless types would leave you a "gift" even after they died.
Only protagonist plot armor could block it. For example, Naruto—without plot armor, a tiny explosive-tag trap could send you flying. Nawaki, you agree, right?
Nawaki: "???"
After hearing that, Higashino Makoto and Uzuki Yūgao both tilted their heads and looked at Gekkō Kumomi, who was about to become their jōnin squad leader. The meaning was obvious: they had not expected him to be this unreliable.
Gekkō Kumomi was already a mature jōnin—how could he not see that someone was looking down on him?
"What are you staring at? It wasn't me leading the squad back then." He shot the two of them a sharp glare, with one palm brushing off a blame that did not belong to him. Then his expression turned serious as he warned them, "Hayate's experience should serve as a wake-up call for you. As ninjas, you must remain vigilant at all times; otherwise, it's very easy to lose your lives."
"After that incident, I had Hayate train at home for several months, and at the same time wait for you to graduate. After all, the three of you grew up together and are familiar with one another."
For a full-fledged jōnin of Konoha to step in regarding his own son's team assignment, this kind of minor matter was something Konoha would accommodate.
After all, Higashino Makoto had ranked first in the entire academy year after year. Ever since Shisui graduated, Makoto had surged ahead alone, leaving everyone else so far behind they could not even see his taillights.
For a genius like this, the Hokage's side would certainly pay close attention. After graduation, arranging for friends who grew up together to be teammates made their bonds as solid as possible—simply perfect.
"Alright, enough chatter. From this moment on, Class Three of this year's graduates is officially established. Each of you, introduce yourselves."
Uzuki Yūgao looked a little puzzled. "Kumomi-ojisan, do we really need to introduce ourselves? You should already know us very well, right?"
"This is procedure." Gekkō Kumomi's expression was stern. "Also, I am now your jōnin squad leader and your direct superior. When we're on duty, you are to address me by my position."
"From now on, pay attention. During missions, you may call me 'Sensei' or 'Captain,' but you are absolutely not allowed to call me 'ojisan' or 'father.' That counts as an information leak and can be exploited by the enemy."
"Most importantly—obey orders!"
The little girl shrank her neck back, not daring to argue, and obediently said, "My name is Uzuki Yūgao, nine years old. I like admiring flowers, and my dream is to own a big private flower garden."
"My name is Gekkō Hayate, ten years old. I like the feeling of growing together with friends, and my dream is to become a master swordsman."
"My name is Higashino Makoto, nine years old. I like training, and as for my dream—protecting Konoha's comrades."
This dream was very politically correct, but the right of interpretation belonged entirely to Higashino Makoto. Protecting Konoha's comrades was not wrong—but who counted as a comrade, the authority to define that still rested in Makoto's hands.
Gekkō Kumomi was naturally very familiar with the three of them—after all, the relationships among the three families were there for all to see.
"Very well. Originally, before a team is formally established, there is still one test. Anyone who fails it would not be allowed to graduate. Given my understanding of you, that test can be skipped."
"However, I still need to check your actual strength so I can make plans for future missions. Now, each of you, report the abilities you are best at."
Uzuki Yūgao said, "I'm good at Konoha-style swordsmanship, and mid- to low-level Wind Release ninjutsu and genjutsu."
Gekkō Hayate was much the same: "I'm also good at Konoha-style swordsmanship, and mid- to low-level Wind Release, Water Release, and genjutsu."
The Wind Release and Water Release the two of them used had both been taught by Higashino Makoto, though he had not taught them much. He mainly reminded them to focus on nature transformation training.
As long as nature transformation was mastered to a sufficient depth, learning corresponding ninjutsu later would be very easy, and it would even be possible to develop techniques suited to one's own combat system.
That said, the two of them were, after all, ordinary ninjas without any bloodline enhancement. Their progress could not be compared to those with cheat-like advantages and required a considerable amount of time to refine.
As for genjutsu, it was one component of the inherited swordsmanship systems of their two clans.
When it was Higashino Makoto's turn, he thought for a moment and said, "I guess I'm more of an all-rounder. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, medical techniques, and sensing are all decent. Um… I also know a bit of sealing techniques."
He was not bragging. Over the past year, he really had studied basic sealing theory and runes—mainly because they were useful when developing defensive ninjutsu—so he had learned some along the way.
The other three were dumbfounded. What kind of god-tier statement was this? Was he even speaking human language?
Gekkō Hayate and Uzuki Yūgao were even more shocked. We all grew up together—your strength being high was one thing, and medical ninjutsu was understandable, but sensing and sealing? What kind of nonsense was that?
Gekkō Kumomi took a deep look at Higashino Makoto. Before taking charge of this team, he had specifically contacted his old friends Higashino Jirō and Uzuki Yūya.
Based on Jirō's letters, he had thought he already understood Higashino Makoto well enough. But now it seemed that his old friend, long stationed on the front lines, had outdated information—he had no idea what kind of monster his own son had become.
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