Chapter 56:- Graduation [2]

An hour and a half later, the graduation ceremony had finally begun. In this world, the graduation ceremony is given very importance. All the Jonins who are in the village are invited to attend this ceremony. The family members and friends of the graduates are also invited. 

Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and other Jonin of the Village were here to attend the graduation ceremony. They were sitting at the very front. They were sitting on the second row. The first row is reserved for the Patriarchs of various clans, the council of elders, and the Principal, and the Hokage. 

This time every village Patriarch was present. 

This year's graduation was very special because of many reasons.

For the Hyuga clan, it was because the two Hyuga clan Princesses were going to be graduating.

For the Nara clan, it was because the Son of the Nara clan's Patriarch was going to be graduating.

For the Yamanaka clan, it was the Yamanaka clan's flower who was going to graduate. 

For the Akimichi clan, it was the son of the Patriarch who was going to be graduating. 

For the Inuzuka clan, it was the son of the Patriarch who was going to be graduating. 

For the Aburame clan, it was the son of the Patriarch who was going to be graduating. 

This year, the son of the fourth Hokage is also going to be graduating from the Ninja Academy. Naruto and Kushina were from the Uzumaki clan. So they were representing the Uzumaki clan. The Hokage has given Kushina and Naruto permission to start the Uzumaki clan in Konoha. 

For the Uchiha clan, the last surviving Uchiha clan member was going to be graduating. This would be the last time that a Uchiha clan member is going to be graduating from the Ninja Academy. Because after Sarada there is no one from the clan who is going to study in the academy. Even if Sarada were to get married in the future, then her child wouldn't be considered a complete Uchiha. 

Two of the founding clans of Konoha are dead due to politics and corruption. The Senju clan was already extinct as the majority of the Senju had merged with the village. Meaning the clan members married outsiders and so their bloodlines are no longer considered pure. Tsunade Senju was the last ever Senju clan member left. 

As for Naruto and others, they were sitting at the very back. The boys were made to sit on the right side while the girls had to sit on the left side. There was a walking space in the middle that separated both sides. 

At the stage, the Principal and a few other teachers were standing. The Principal first gave a long speech about speaking of the long history of the Ninja Academy and also speaking of the past graduates who have gone on to achieve big things in their lives. The name of the fourth Hokage was also mentioned by the principal. After all, Minato was one of the greatest genius students that the Ninja Academy ever had. The only few that come anywhere close to Minato are Kakashi Itachi and maybe Orochimaru.

(because I don't know much about Orochimaru's history at the Academy)

The Principal also said just how proud he was of his students. 

After that Iruka-sensei was allowed to give a speech since for the majority of the years he has been the homeroom teacher of this year's graduates. 

As Iruka came to give his speech, he almost cried seeing the faces of his students. These were the students that he had been teaching since they were children. Now they were all grown up. 

Cough.....!!!

Iruka coughed to clear his throat before he started. "I won't say much on this occasion."

"Today would mark the last day of your life as students of this Academy. I am really proud of how far you all have come."

"Being a Genin is just the first step. So I hope that you all won't lose focus and stop trying to improve yourself. After all, there is no limit to how much you can keep improving yourself." Iruka wanted to say more but he couldn't keep his tears so he shortly ended his speech. 

After that Kushina also gave a speech before the award ceremony started. 

"Now the Rookie of the Year award.....!!! This year there has been a tough competition. It was very difficult to choose who was going to win the Rookie of the Year award. But after much thinking and then comparing everyone's performance in each field we have finally chosen a winner." The Rookie of the Year Award is given to the student who was at the very top in every field. 

"Although he joined the Ninja Academy very late, he still was able to not only keep up with others but also surpass others in every field. Whether it was Ninjutsu or Taijutsu or studies and other activities, he always was at the very top." 

"He is the son of Lord 4th and Lady Kushina. He is Naruto Uzumaki." 

"Naruto Uzumaki, please come to the stage to receive your award from Lord Hokage himself." 

As soon as his name was announced everyone started applauding. Everyone on the stage and in the crowd clapped their hands for him. 

All of his classmates applauded for Naruto with smiles on their faces. Naruto fully deserves this award. No one in the class could come anywhere near to him. For the last six months, he has remained unbeatable. 

Naruto smiled as he walked towards the stage. He was finally being recognized. He wasn't being hated anymore. The people loved him. He wasn't outcasted. 

With confident steps, he slowly walked to the stage to receive his award from the Hokage himself. There was also Iruka and his mother on the stage as well. 

Right now everyone's eyes were on him. He was the center of attention. 

After his bloodline became 100% Uzumaki, Naruto had completely changed. He has become the most handsome man in Konoha. Some might argue that he was the most handsome man in the land of fire. And some might even go as far as to say that he was the most handsome man in the whole world. 

The ladies were staring at him in a daze. The men were jealous of his looks. 

Naruto had gained many fans. Many women and girls had a crush on him. 

"Congratulations Naruto...!!! Iruka smiled and congratulated Naruto while shaking his hand. 

"Congratulations son....!!!" Naruto smiled at Kushina before moving to the Hiruzen. 

"Congratulations, Naruto.....!!!" Hiruzen said as he handed Naruto the Rookie of the Year award. 

Everyone once again applauded their hands. 

Sitting in the second row, Kurenai happily clapped her hands. She was really happy to see Naruto again. She was even more happy to see that he had won the Rookie of the Year award. 

'It seems he has become even more handsome...!!!' Kurenai blushed as she looked at Naruto. The last time she met Naruto was around 1 and a half months ago. 

"So Handsome...!!!" Sakura stared at Naruto in a daze. Her cheeks were slightly red. 

Ino had the same look as Sakura. Hinata and Hanabi were no different as well. 

Sarada noticed that every girl was staring at Naruto in a daze. She suddenly felt sour about this. 

"Hmph.....!!! What's so good about him? He is just a little bit more handsome than others." Sarada snorted and said. As usual, Sarada wasn't being honest with herself. 

Once Naruto returned to the stage, Hiruzen gave a long speech. 

"Now, I will mention this year's genin squads." Hearing this everyone became serious. All the genin squad leaders were also present. They already have been informed which genin team they were going to teach. 

"Team 1 is going to be.....!!!" 

"This year's team 7 is going to be special as this year's genin squad will have two Jonin Leaders. Team 7 is going to be Naruto, Sakura, Sarada, and Hanabi Hyuga." Hearing this Everyone in the crowd even Naruto widened his eyes in surprise. 

Everyone was especially surprised to hear that Hanabi Hyuga was going to be in Team 7.

Sakura was really happy that she was on Naruto's team. Ino felt jealous of Sakura. 

Sarada was surprised to know that she and Naruto were in the same squad. After all, she and Naruto were two of the strongest genin. She thought she definitely won't be paired with Naruto. So from the beginning, she had very low expectations. 

Hiashi was really surprised. He thought both of his daughters were going to be in the same squad. After all, this would make more sense. 

"Team 7's Jonin Leaders will be Kakashi Hatake and Kushina Uzumaki." Once again everyone in the crowd was shocked. 

Everyone in the village knew very clearly that Lady Kushina had long retired. If she was going to become the Jonin leader of team 7 doesn't that mean she was out of retirement? 

Seeing the smile on Kushina's face, Naruto knew that his mom had a role in the Hokage's decision. This just went to show despite being retired for 16 years now, just how much political power Kushina still held in the village. Even though Hokage has to listen to her words. 

"Regarding team 7, I would like to clear some doubts. Team 7 will be the only genin squad that will have 6 members; there will be 4 genin and two Jonin teachers. Due to the special circumstances, I have made this decision." Other than putting Hanabi in Team 7, Hiruzen did not find any other Squad where Hanabi would fit. 

Team 7 will be an assault Squad. Hiruzen was going to put all of his hopes on training these four so that in the future these 4 could become the main pillars of the Village. So that in the next five years, someone from this squad could replace him and be the Hokage. Hiruzen had special hopes for Naruto. Naruto already had shown interest in becoming a Hokage. Besides, Naruto's father was the 4th Hokage no one would object to him becoming the 5th or maybe 6th Hokage.

Of course, he can't say this in public. Only the Jonin and the teachers of the Ninja Academy knew of this. Otherwise, Hiruzen's plans might get leaked to the other villages. And the other villages might be other Team 7's lives. 

"As for the two Jonin teachers, both Jonin teachers will be responsible for training all 4 members of team 7. One thing that I would like to make clear is that Kushina will still remain retired. She won't be actively taking part in the mission. She will only train the members of team 7." 

When Kushina asked Hiruzen to make her joint Leader of team 7 along with Kakashi, Hiruzen did not hesitate and agreed without a second thought. 

Because this was a win-win situation for the village. Kushina was a powerful Jonin. It was really unfortunate that she had retired so soon. For years he has been trying to bring her back out of retirement but he always has failed. But because of her son, Kushina came to Hiruzen on her own and asked to become the joint leader of team seven along with her late husband's student Kakashi. 

Kurenai sighed out loud. 'I was hoping that Naruto would be in my squad. But even if he was in my Squad, there is really nothing that I could have taught him.' After all, Naruto was already stronger than her. 

As for the rest of the teams, it pretty much remained the same.

Team 8

Kiba Inuzuka

Hinata Hyuga

Shino Aburame

Team 10

Choji Akimichi

Ino Yamanaka

Shikamaru Nara

Asuma was given control of team 10. But he wasn't able to make it in time for the graduation ceremony. Asuma was told to return to the village around a few days back. If he was informed earlier, then he wouldn't have missed the graduation ceremony of his genin squad. 

"And with that, this year's Graduation Ceremony comes to a come." One by one, everyone began to leave. Meanwhile, Naruto and his classmates along with Iruka and Kushina took a few group photos. 

After that, the adults left them to celebrate. 

The celebration lasted for three whole hours before each Jonin squad leader came to call their respective assigned genin teams 

"Members of Team 7, please come to the roof," Kushina said before she disappeared. 

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