Chapter 23

"The thing I don't understand is why did this Yuu conceal his strength so much. Most children would be happy to show themselves off as geniuses if they had such strength, yet Yuu chose not to do so. Why?" questioned Kurenai. A question they were all asking themselves.

"That I do not know, perhaps only he himself could answer us however what I do know is that he is an individual with similar if not greater potential than Sasuke while possessing a scheming mind capable of outsmarting even us Jonin hence he would be the perfect fit for my team filled with high attack specialists."

Everyone nodded in agreement and just as Hiruzen was about to declare the newly formed teams which would involve sending Sakura Haruno to the Genin Corps, a singular Jonin dressed in clothes with a Kurama emblem.

"I'm afraid that arrangement is not possible Hokage sama" said the Jonin bowing respectfully to Hiruzen.

"And why not?"

The Jonin took a step forward with a document which he handed to Hiruzen "Because Yuu Sakamoto had agreed to serve in a mentorship program underneath the Kurama clan."

Everyone in the room was shocked.

"When did this happen?" asked Hiruzen with a solemn look as he read the document which stated that Yuu had agreed to be tutored by the Kurama clan in Genjutsu as well as various aspects of a shinobi which meant that he couldn't join Kakashi's team.

"On the day of the Genin testing. Our heiress managed to notice that Yuu had a good aptitude for Genjutsu and the arts of the Kurama clan and hence offered him a mentorship proposal of the highest order with the Kurama clan which Yuu happily agreed to" said the Jonin.

For a moment there was only silence as everyone contemplated the Kurama Jonin's words. A genius comparable to Sasuke had already been snatched under their noses by the Kurama clan. No one felt this loss more than Hiruzen who despite his calm look, was internally gritting his teeth in rage.

Eventually Hiruzen heaved a small sigh of sorrow as he inhaled a large amount of smoke to calm himself. "Very well since the document is authentic, Yuu Sakamoto will serve in mentorship under the Kurama clan and Sakura Haruno will remain in her previous position in team Kakashi. That will be all." He said, handing back the document to the Jonin who respectfully bowed before leaving the room alongside the rest of the Jonin. In the office, Hiruzen alone remained lost in his thoughts.

'Juts what exactly are you planning Yakumo Kurama'

Two days after the Jonin meeting, the newly graduated students of the academy could be seen standing in an open field. In front of them were the Jonin who would serve as the teachers of a four-man squad consisting of three Genin and the jonin. The Hokage and Danzo were also present on this day as well.

"Today we are gathered here to announce who will be part of the Jonin four-man squad mentorship. There are also a select few of you whom some Jonin have personally volunteered to mentor due to the skills you have displayed that suit their requirements. For those of you not selected, you will automatically be enrolled into the Genin Corps however no matter which side each of you join, in the end we are all hidden leaf shinobi whose souls burn with the will of fire and who are born to defend and protect our great village." Said Hiruzen. His words seemed to have an effect as Yuu could see the eyes of most students burning with a fiery passion which caused him to shake his head internally however on his face, he displayed a look of awe and motivation to fight for the village.

Hiruzen saw the looks of the students and revealed a satisfied look on his face however when he saw Yuu's look of awe, his smile froze for a second before he continued observing the rest of the students. He then gestured to the first Jonin who came forward and called out the names of people in their teams. One by one students were called forward to either join a four-man squad or to join a master-disciple mentorship program to hone their skills even further. Yuu watched as his classmates like Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru were called forward to join different teams. Even the failure of the year Naruto Uzumaki was called forward to join a team lead by Kakashi alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Soon only one Jonin was left. The remaining students who hadn't been called knew this was their last option of joining a team or mentorship program that would serve to rapidly increase their strength hence all of them couldn't help but close their eyes and pray to whatever god there was out there however their hopes were soon crushed.

Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Choji couldn't help but glance at their classmate Yuu among the students who hadn't been chosen, who despite having not done well in the Ninjutsu test, and wondered why he didn't get selected as his grades in the first section were among the top.

"Yuu Sakamoto" said the last jonin as he looked towards Yuu. Everyone was surprised as they had been when they saw Naruto get selected into a Jonin four-man team as Yuu hadn't done well in the second part of the test which far outclassed his results in the first test, yet he was chosen to be mentored by a jonin. The rest of the students not chosen watched enviously as Yuu walked forward and stood behind the Jonin wearing a Kurama jacket.

'All according to plan' he thought as he gazed forward.

Ino and Choji on the other hand were relieved to see their friend Yuu get chosen. Shikamaru, Sasuke and the rest of the chosen students however simply glanced at Yuu silently trying to determine why he of all people was chosen. The jonin, who all had heard Kakashi's analysis, simply gazed at him silently with numerous thoughts running in their head. This was after all the unofficial best student of the year, and he had slipped from right under their noses. They vowed to be more vigilant in the future to ensure such a thing didn't happen again. Even Hiruzen and Danzo glanced at Yuu for a few seconds before averting their gaze.

"That's it for my selection" said the Kurama clan Jonin much to the disappointment of the remaining unselected students. Yuu could actually hear their hearts breaking and their souls falling into despair as they realized that they were fated for the Genin Corps. The Genin Corps was a large organisation consisting of the majority of Konoha's Genin who weren't talented or lucky enough to be selected to be guided by a jonin. They performed all the menial tasks such as mowing fields as well as the long-term tasks that could take even a decade like guarding the Land of Fire border which the chosen geniuses couldn't be bothered to waste their time on.

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