chapter 3

For someone so small, Yeou was definitely someone they'd look up too.

"Anyway, Yeou has returned from a month and a half solo A-rank mission to infiltrate Kiri and gather as much information as he could. The scroll he brought back is valuable to the village for future use." Hiruzen told them and they now felt more awed by the young ANBU captain for his actions for the good of the village.

"Uhm… how old is he exactly?" Kurenai asked once more.

The old man chuckled.

"His turning twelve soon."

"WHAT?!" four jounins screamed at the same time.

Kakashi thought that his superior was just small in stature, NOT that he was actually THAT young!

Asuma's cigarette had fell on the as his mind processed the fact that someone who was a decade or so younger than him was ANBU captain for two years!

"So… lets get back to the forming of teams. Gai, I want you to handle Rock Lee, Tenten, and Hyuuga Neji. As you very well know, Rock Lee is a taijutsu specialist as yourself." Sarutobi explained.

"Not to mention looking like a miniature version too." Thought Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi.

"YOSH! THE FLAMES OF ROCK LEE'S YOUTH WILL SOON BURN BRIGHTER THAN MY OWN!" Gai announced and the rest sweat dropped.

"Asuma, you will have the Ino-Shika-Cho team. Do not underestimate the Nara boy. Despite how he looks, he is a genius as well. He can already use his clan's shadow techniques with ease." Asuma nodded.

"Kurenai, you will be in charge of Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba. I want you to get that girl out of her shell before your team attempts any C rank mission." Kurenai nodded and sighed. It would be a challenge.

"And finally, Kakashi. Your team will be a bit… special. There is an odd number of students graduating so I had to add one more student from another batch. You have Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and…" he paused as he looked up from the paper in front of him and straight at Kakashi who discreetly held his breath.

"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto." The room went dead quiet.

They all knew who the boy was. Not only was he the son of the late Yondaime but he was also the container of the nine tailed fox that had nearly destroyed Konoha nearly twelve years ago.