50 Team Assignment (1)

A week after the whole Scroll of Seals incident and incidentally six days since I cleared the rank E dungeon, it was finally time for the genin team announcement and formation. After the intense Hidden Boss fight that left a gaping hole on my shirt from where the doppelganger had sunk its teeth in, I had to replace them. I cleverly avoided wearing the Rogue's Hoodie during the boss fights, knowing that any further damage to the jacket might render it unusable.

I was now spotting, from the feet up, the Soldier's Swift Boots, the pair of black Rogue's Pants and a tight fitting long sleeved navy blue shirt paired with the Rogue's Hoodie. I had on two rings; the Uncommon Silver Ring and the Rare grade Arcane Ring. Other accessories included a pair of +3 DEX fingerless gloves, the Rare grade Soldier's Dog Tags, the 'cool' Earring and Elastic Hairtie which gave me +5 CHA each.

My hair which had been grown out was now styled in a loose manbun at the back of my head, tied together by the Elastic Hairtie. Sheathed diagonally across my back was the Uncommon grade Wakizashi. It was the first time I was openly carrying a weapon, albeit sheathed, into the Academy. But I figured that now that I was an official genin of Konohagakure, it was a suitable look.

The moment I stepped on to the Academy grounds, a system notification appeared.

[Quest [Graduation] Completed!]

Graduate and become an official genin of Konoha!

Pass the graduation exams (√)

(Bonus) Receive Rookie of the Year achievement (√)

(Hidden) Reach level 20 before graduation (√)

(Hidden) Help Naruto out of deadlast position (X)

Rewards:

+5000 EXP

New Title: [Konoha Genin]

(Bonus) New Title: [Rookie of the Year]

(Hidden) New Perk: [Monstrous Talent]

(Hidden) New Perk: [Jinchuuriki's Companion] (X)

Titles:

[Konoha Genin]: Increased REP gain with Hi no Kuni citizens. Decreased REP gain with everyone else.

[Rookie of the Year]: +10 to all stats

Perk:

[Monstrous Talent]: Receives 7 free stat points every level up instead of 5.

Finally! I was wondering when that quest was going to be completed. I had received it at the start of my last year in the Shinobi Academy and had become worried when it showed no signs of completion even after I graduated last week. But it seemed like it the system was just waiting for me to be assigned a genin team or something.

I had to hold back a whistle after reading through the new titles and perks I received. The +10 to all stats from the [Rookie of the Year] title was simple yet impressive. It was the equivalent of 8 level ups worth of stat points all at once. The Monstrous Talent perk seemed even more potent. With two additional free stat points whenever I levelled up, in another 21 levels which seemed so far away, it would surpass the stat boost from the previous title.

Soon, I made my way to the classroom, not before being greeted and congratulated by various people, other students and teachers alike, on the way there. These past 4 years I had meticulously crafted the persona of a popular yet affable star pupil. It took more effort than I had expected, being seen as the charming and amiable student that I designed myself to appear. But the effort had paid off and its results more than satisfactory.

Opening the sliding door, I was met with a cacophony of "Shinji-kun!" or "Yo, Shinji!" by my classmates, and I quickly found myself as the center of attention while being surrounded by them.

Adopting a warm smile and a general congeniality, I went to take a seat while responding to their questions and assorted statements. It truly was troublesome being this popular.

Some of the students, now newly minted genins, were pushed aside as I heard a familiar bark. I turned my head to a side and saw Kiba shoving his way through the crowd.

"Outta my way you punks!" He snapped, as the gathered genins parted way to let the aggressive Inuzuka through. "Oi Shinji!"

"Sup." I greeted.

"Hey, some scary lookin' ANBU came by to ask my sister some questions yesterday. It was about you learnin' medical jutsu or something. What's up with that?" Kiba asked, while I reached out to pet Akamaru, who was now familiar with my scent and presence.

They must have been checking up on my story about learning from Hana. The Hokage's agents sure are meticulous. Yet I didn't get why they would pay so much attention to little old me.

"Ah it's nothing. They were just wondering where I learned medical ninjutsu from." I answered, though I was formulating my response with some degree of caution. There was some stuff I wasn't allowed to reveal, the Scroll of Seals incident being one of them .

"They!? You mean the ANBU? Why the heck do they know or even care about you learnin' medical ninjutsu?" Kiba asked, baffled.

Before I could answer however, one of the other kids exclaimed, "Woah, ANBU? They must be trying to recruit Shinji-kun! Makes sense, he's a genius after all."

That prompted the rest to gasp in amazement and some whispers among themselves.

"Hey, hey, don't get carried away and go around spreading rumors." I said, trying to calm them down.

The very same kid had a face of realization, "Ah, ANBU recruitment is all done hush-hush on the down low. It must be a secret right, Shinji-kun?"

"That's not what I-"

"Ah don't be humble Shinji-kun! Wow, ANBU at age twelve huh? Don't forget us when you get famous!"

"Yeah, yeah! Don't worry Shinji, we'll keep your secret!"

"You guys, seriously, like I said-"

Before I could finish my sentence however, the sliding door opened once more and thankfully Naruto walked in spotting his brand new forehead protector before they could come up with even more ridiculous ideas. The blonde sauntered in with smiling brightly and proudly displaying the forehead protector.

Next to me, Kiba spotted Naruto walking in and mockingly spoke, " What are you doing here, Naruto? This isn't for dropouts. You can't be here unless you graduate, baka."

Naruto's good mood soured immediately before he defiantly pointed to his forehead protector, "Oh yeah? Do you see this? Do you see? Open your eyes dogbreath. It's an official Konoha forehead protector! I passed the graduation, dattebayo!"

"Heh, you can't fool me with a fake ass imitation forehead protector you deadlast!" Kiba chortled.

"This bastard, hey I'm not lying to you!" Naruto yelled back, before turning towards me, "Ask Shinji! He knows!"

Caught off guard at the sudden attention turned towards me, I turned to the rest and nodded, "He's telling the truth. He had a special graduation exam and he passed it. So Naruto's an official Konoha genin just like us."

Kiba and the rest looked taken aback by my declaration, but they didn't put up much of a fight, although the Inuzuka scion still looked slightly dissatisfied, "Heh, special graduation exam for Naruto? Yeah sounds about right, he needs all the help he can get after all."

Naruto beamed proudly, "That's right, I'm a special genin! …wait, was that an insult?"

Kiba laughed, "HAH! Yeah you're real special alright, real special."

The blonde's eyebrow twitched, "What's that supposed to mean!"

I rolled my eyes and gestured at the Inuzuka, "Lay off him Kiba, we're all here to graduate together."

Kiba shrugged, "Fine, fine. I'll let you off for Shinji's sake, Naruto-baka."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm letting you off for Shinji's sake, dogbreath!"

"Sure, whatever."

"Arf arf!"

"Don't turn your back on me bastard! You too, Akamaru!?"

Tired of the exchange, I interjected, "Calm down Naruto. Just sit down. We're going to get our genin teams soon, so just think about that."

Naruto folded his arms defiantly, "Hmph, fine. Ooh I hope I get in a team with Sakura-chan! Oh and you too, Shinji!"

I smiled in response, "You bet." Definitely not Sakura though. I was thankful the girl was not one of those who followed the trend and developed a crush on me instead of Sasuke like the others. I didn't particular dislike the girl, but she was definitely one who took her fangirling to another level. Sasuke had told me before that he once found her snooping around outside the Uchiha Clan compound before he chased her away. That sort of behavior was worrying, especially for me who had plenty of secrets that I would prefer to stay secret.

After some time, as more and more students started streaming in and taking their seats, Iruka finally entered the classroom, holding a clipboard with what I assumed to be a list of our names and team assignments. I was tempted to activate my Sharingan to catch just a glimpse of my team assignment, but ultimately rationality won over excitement. Besides, I already knew what team I was getting. If all went as it did, I should be on the same team as Hinata and Naruto.

"Settle down, class!" Iruka shouted and the fresh genins complied. Though we had all already graduated and became official genins, no longer students of his, there were still a degree of respect and esteem afforded to the man who had taught us for four years.

Iruka stood at the front of the class and looked upon his gathered genins with pride. "As of today, you are all official shinobi. To get here, you have faced difficult trials and hardship. And for that I commend you. But that is nothing compared to what you will face from today onwards. What comes next will be far more difficult. You are only genin, the lowest level of ninjas. Don't start getting a big head and thinking you're some big deal, got it!?"

"Hai Iruka-sensei!" We chorused.

Satisfied with our response, Iruka nodded. "All of you will be grouped into three man squads. Each squad led by a jounin, an elite shinobi."

Some of the less informed genins widened their eyes at the news, and I felt an instant piercing gaze on my back from several of them.

"Shinji-kun's team…"

"I will definitely…"

"Please Kami!"

I rolled my eyes at the mutterings of some fangirls behind me and caught Sasuke's glance. Heh, too bad Sasuke, you won't be able to get on my team. Our scores were just too high, there's no way they would put us together.

Iruka glared at the noisy class, "Quiet! I know some of you probably have people you want to be grouped with, but don't bother making a fuss. These team assignments are final, no matter how much you beg. I will now announce the squads."

I quickly tuned out the team formations, only perking up when I heard a familiar name.

"…and now Team Six. Haruno Sakura, Kawasaki Taro and Kaori. Your squad leader will be Tamaki Jun."

Oh, how unexpected. Sakura was in the same team as Kaori? Hm I guessed that made sense. Since Hinata stepped up to become top kunoichi, Sakura naturally got bumped down a notch. But that other guy, I had zero impression of him, nor their jounin sensei. Honestly, I wasn't that confident of their team's chances to pass the 'real' graduation test.

Without Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura would've had no chance in Kakashi's bell test. Kaori too wasn't exactly blessed with talent. Their team was sure to face some hardship.

"Team Seven…" Iruka began.

I straightened up in my seat. This was it, the start of everything.