Chapter – 67: Team 9

[Rei POV]

The next morning, each and every student who passed the exams yesterday assembled at the academy training ground. Most of them were here way before the appointed time. Everyone was displaying their headbands proudly, their faces glowing with excitement.

'Should I call them as being overly optimistic or just childish?' I think, 'Well, with this kind of mentality, their first mission outside the village can have two outcomes, either they would end up having a rude awakening or they die!'

'Not my problem anyway, I just hope my teammates don't die off too early or it will be a big hassle for me…'

'The main thing is, Kakashi is here… that means there should be no major changes to the canon… however, something seems to have changed about him… oh, I get it, experience! those are the eyes of someone who has killed before…'

Anyway, I didn't come here in advance like them and when I did arrive, the place was already crowded. As one of the last ones to arrive, I didn't have to wait for long before Masaki-sensei arrived with a pad in hand.

"Good morning everyone, all of you who passed the test yesterday have been assigned into your respective three-man squads and your team leaders who will also be your jonin sensei have also been selected. And before you ask, No, you will not be allowed to request for any kind of change to this arrangement… and while you are a genin, your team will be like your second family, so keep that in mind and do treat each other nicely…"

With that said, he started calling out names.

"Team 1: …"

"Team 2: …"

"Team 3: Namiashi Raidō, Sarutobi Asuma, and Yuhi Kurenai."

…

"Team 7: Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin, and … Hatake Kakashi!"

Initially, Obito gets really excited upon hearing that he is going to be on the same team as Rin, but as soon as he hears his other teammate's name, his face turns ugly; like a rotten tomato… I smile and shake my head at his antics.

…

"Team 9: Yashiro Kazuma, Uchiha Rei, and Moriyama Yuri."

'So, some people I have no idea about, ha? this could mean two things, either they die in this war or they were some minor characters. I would prefer it if it's the latter, but who can say...'

…

After all the teams were called out, Masaki-sensei tells us to wait for our jonin sensei and leaves. A few minutes later, I already saw many teams leave with their sensei; the one that I paid the most attention to was of course Orochimaru when he came to fetch Anko and others from his team. Although, I was just using a clone in Kiri, who knows what weird methods the snake has. So, I had to be extra careful around him. Thankfully nothing happened.

When only a few teams were left, a blond ponytailed shinobi enters and says, "Team 9, follow me. Anyone who fails to reach the training ground with me will be sent back to the academy, and you don't have to worry, I will not use my full speed…" and starts sprinting towards a far-away training ground.

'Is fate playing with me? last time we met, I blasted him with hundreds of explosive tags, and next thing I know he is my sensei?' I think looking at my supposed jonin sensei, 'The only thing for me to be happy about is, I have kept the events from deviating too much from canon. So, my future knowledge should still be useful for quite a while…'

Since the clone that I am using currently is too weak, I had to use my everything just to keep up with his casual pace. If even I am like this, you can imagine the others; especially when Inoichi seems to be going around in circles!

Even though Inoichi didn't say it specifically, I perfectly understood his intentions. Most jonin would test their students in their own way before even considering if they want to teach them, like the famous Bell Test. And the brilliant part is, he is not just testing our speed and stamina. He is testing whether we will help each other, or are we so focused on our personal excellence that we have forgotten to work as a team!

'So, this is how an experienced Jonin thinks? Man, you cannot underestimate anyone…' I think.

Once I understood his intentions, it became really easy to impress him. My thought process is simple; since he is looking for teamwork, I will show him what he wants to see. People, no matter how smart they are, tend to like others who tell them what they want to hear. That is one of the main reasons why many people in my previous world fell into a lot of scams; especially ones in the name of God, it was very easy to fool people with this, the scammer just had to convince them that if they paid a hundred dollars today, God will soon make them rich and boom, people just couldn't stop sending them more money hoping that they would become rich one day!

Anyway, understanding the meaning of his actions, I slow down and start waiting for my teammates; it's time to put on a show. Once they appear, I ask if they can continue running. Seeing as they were breathing heavily, I could guess their state but still, they nod. They don't want to go back to the academy too, so they are dragging their worn-out bodies with just their will and refuse to let go. Seeing this, I make a sad face and start slowing down my speed to match theirs.

"Rei-kun, why don't you go ahead, if you go now, maybe you have the chance to catch up to sensei and pass… you don't have to slow down just for us… we don't want to drag you down… so…" she says embarrassedly.

I shake my head and say resolutely, "What's the point? Think about it, if this was a battle and one of my teammates is injured, should I just run ahead and leave him behind? Takuma-sensei, from whom I am learning medical ninjutsu says that we should never leave a comrade behind… this might be just a test however, I will never abandon my comrades… that's my ninja way… If my team succeeds, I will succeed with them otherwise all of us will just go back to the academy…"

They are not dumb, suddenly understanding dawns on them too. We are a team and we should be together; both in success and failure!

"Rei is right, If all of us cannot pass, no point in passing at all… but Rei, I promise, I will never ever become a burden to you again…" says Kazuma.

"Me too…" adds Yuri with newfound resolve.

With the Acting 101 class done, I and the others reach the training ground around a couple of minutes after Inoichi. When we reach the place, we see our sensei already there waiting for us.

"You guys are too weak… but you have the spirit of a shinobi as I can see you understand the meaning of being a comrade, so I am passing all of you!" he says with a smile, "Now, let's first properly introduce ourselves and after that, I will need to see your combat abilities..."