Kakashi Hatake walked into the classroom holding a copy of "the romantic ninjutsu tales of shimura, Volume Six," whose cover was exceptionally well-preserved, and his indifferent gaze swept over the only three remaining students.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Sakura Haruno, you are Team 7."
He shook the novel in his hand.
"I am the squad leader, Kakashi Hatake."
Sakura blinked in confusion.
Why does this Jonin look like he hasn't woken up yet?
And the cover of that book looks so suspicious... The title is familiar, but why is the cover different from what she remembers seeing before?
Naruto was desperately trying not to laugh.
He actually brought the romantic ninjutsu tales of shimura to their formal meeting?
Kakashi, you haven't skimped on supporting the Comical Author of Lanling over the years, have you!
Sasuke frowned slightly.
Is this silver-haired uncle, who looks completely lethargic, really a Konoha Ninja?
The four of them arrived on the rooftop.
Kakashi leaned lazily against the railing, finally closing "the romantic ninjutsu tales of shimura, Volume Six," and casually stuffed it into his ninja tool pouch.
"Well~ how about this."
He scratched his silver hair, and his exposed right eye curved into a crescent moon.
"Since none of you are speaking, I'll start the conversation!
Anyway, how about we start with a brief self-introduction so we can get to know each other?"
He cleared his throat and spoke in a monotone voice, as if reading a mission report: "My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate? I don't have anything I particularly like or hate. As for my dream..."
Kakashi looked up at the passing clouds, and his voice suddenly gained a hint of etherealness: "Yare yare, at my age, there aren't many dreams left to pursue."
Sakura listened, dumbfounded.
What kind of self-introduction was that?
He was completely fooling them!
The little person inside Sakura's mind was roaring maniacally.
This supervising Ninja is just as unreliable as his appearance suggests!
Seeing that the three of them made no move after his self-introduction, Kakashi pointed his finger at Naruto.
"You go first!"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto."
The blonde boy flashed his signature brilliant smile.
"I like training and eating with my friends, and I don't have anything I particularly hate.
My dream is to become the Hokage and protect the Village."
What a bright and cheerful kid!
Kakashi nodded.
Kids like this are easy to guide. Besides, his previous teacher was Might Guy; hopefully, he isn't as single-minded as Might Guy!
After Naruto finished speaking, Sasuke spoke up without waiting for Kakashi to call on him.
With his hands shoved in his pockets, his tone was indifferent:
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. What I like is confidential, what I hate is confidential. My dream is also confidential."
(His real dream was actually to kill Uchiha Itachi to avenge his parents and the Uchiha clan.)
Kakashi got a massive headache after hearing that.
One was bright and cheerful, the other was utterly cold. This combination was even more extreme than the dynamic he and Obito had back then.
He couldn't help but rub his temples, sighing internally: the Sandaime really had arranged a "surprise" for him.
"He really is a problem child..."
He muttered quietly, turning his expectant gaze toward the last team member, "So, what about this female student?"
"My name is Sakura Haruno, and I like Red Bean Dumpling Soup! I don't have anything I particularly hate!"
Sakura answered quickly, her voice clear as a bell. As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Naruto. Seeing him smile at her, she became extremely focused:
"My dream is..."
She paused briefly, her pink hair fluttering slightly in the wind.
"To become a beautiful and powerful female Ninja."
This answer made Kakashi raise an eyebrow slightly.
He noticed that Sakura had subconsciously looked toward Naruto next to her just now.
Interesting. He heard that Naruto often hung out with two girls, Ino Yamanaka and Hyuga Hinata.
It seems his teacher's son is quite popular with girls!
"Since the introductions are over, listen closely to your first mission!"
Kakashi held up his index finger, lowering his voice mysteriously.
"Gather tomorrow morning at five o'clock at the Village Training Ground."
He paused intentionally, noting that all three students were paying attention.
"Also, a friendly reminder: don't eat breakfast!
I'm afraid you might throw it right back up."
Sakura, who was still inexperienced, gasped in shock at Kakashi-sensei's words: "Kakashi-sensei, does that mean we're going to face something terrifying?"
Although Sasuke remained expressionless, his slightly leaning posture betrayed his interest.
They had just become Genin, and they were already getting a mission?
And it sounded like it carried a certain degree of danger.
Naruto watched quietly as Kakashi played his little joke; Kakashi currently looked a bit like a weird uncle deliberately trying to scare elementary school students!
He recalled the silver-haired Jonin's difficult half-life.
He had worn a mask since childhood, and after the trauma of his father's suicide in his youth, he became even colder and more isolated.
Just when he finally started to open his heart thanks to the warmth of his comrades, he was struck by a series of even crueler blows.
"Obito's death" burdened Kakashi with his best friend's dying wish, and that Sharingan was both a gift from Obito and a chain limiting Kakashi's Chakra.
Following that, the tragedy of accidentally killing Rin pushed him further into an abyss of endless self-reproach.
When the Fourth Hokage and his wife were sacrificed one after another, this genius Ninja once again sank into an endless dark inner world.
Kakashi's first half of life was tragedy after tragedy, as if the world was constantly targeting him.
It was as if the world enjoyed clipping the wings of a genius like this, making him struggle and roar in the mud, gradually becoming powerless, until, when he stopped struggling, it slowly swallowed him up with the despair and suffocation of death.
Thinking of this, Naruto couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for that perpetually passionate, bushy-browed teacher.
Looking at it now, Might Guy truly was incredible.
Judged to have no talent as a Ninja, he used sheer persistence to move people.
Losing his father young didn't cause him to sink into the black abyss of despair; he remained optimistic.
With his near-stubborn friendship and perseverance, he kicked open Kakashi's tightly shut heart time and again, forcefully pulling his best friend out when he had sunk into the dark inner world for the second time.
These two, along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, and SasuNaru from the original work, are all classic combinations of 'The Scatterbrain' and 'The Grump.'
Thinking of this, Naruto sighed silently.
The world shouldn't be like this, constantly repeating tragedies across generations.
"We'll talk about it later."
Kakashi waved his hand, feigning profoundness.
"Have sweet dreams tonight, or the next few days might be nightmares."
He successfully activated his 'Great Deceiver Mode,' and watching the two students look nervous, his eyes narrowed into slits.
Genin fresh out of the academy are the easiest to fool.
Naruto, knowing Kakashi was referring to the Bell Test, paid it no mind, while Sakura and Sasuke, who were unaware of the details, were preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Sakura's worry was clearly written on her face, and although Sasuke appeared calm, his tightly pressed lips and slightly furrowed brow showed that he was preparing for a serious challenge.