Class A

Once Minato finished his speech he and the third Hokage said goodbye to the children and disappeared the same way they appeared, applauded by the children.

"Very well, now I will be calling the ones who will be your teachers for all the years you will be in the academy" Said the chunin.

Just as Minato and Hiruzen did, five chunins appeared next to the chunin who was speaking

"Starting this year a new education system will be implemented, a system that rewards effort and excellence. Starting today you will be assigned to five different classes based on your performance in the entrance exams.

The classes range from Class A, the elite class, to Class E, the worst class. But don't worry if you are assigned to a lower class, the positions in the classes are not fixed, if your performance is good you can be upgraded by one or more levels, but on the other hand if your performance is bad you will be downgraded. If you are downgraded from E class you will lose your chance to become a shinobi and will be assigned to a civilian academy.

A class members will get tutelage from qualified Jonins and even Anbu handpicked by the Hokage himself, plus if you manage to stay in A class until graduation in five years you will be assigned to the teams of the best Jonin sensei in the village" said the chunin.

The children were surprised by the chunin's words, they felt pressured at the thought of losing their right to be a shinobi and fulfill their dream. Some were even furious as this system was very unfair to the children who did not have the privilege of being trained before starting the academy.

After that the chunin started to introduce the teachers of the different classes "This is Umino Iruka and he will be the teacher of the A class. But it doesn't mean that he will be your only teacher, he will be the teacher in charge of the class, but he will have the help of several assistant teachers who will teach you specific subjects" Said the chunin pointing to a chunin with long brown hair tied in a ponytail, he had a scar on his face that crossed his face horizontally passing over his nose.

Iruka upon hearing his name greeted the children, but he seemed to be in no mood, Iruka did not agree with the new teaching system because he was worried about the children who were not from big clans as well as him. He was worried that the children without clan who were already disadvantaged with the previous system would be even more disadvantaged with this new system, but Minato assured him that this would not be the case, according to him no child would lose the right to be a ninja no matter how bad their performance was, according to Minato if they were already passed in the entrance exam they were already qualified to be a shinobi. Also, this system would prevent less skilled ninja from taking too risky missions and losing their lives in vain as the most dangerous missions are assigned to the most talented genins and under the tutelage of a very powerful Jonin, so those who graduate in class E would only get at most B and D rank missions when they graduate.

After introducing Iruka he pointed to another chunin standing next to him, the chunin had long white hair sticking out of his ninja bandana that looked more like a cap "This is Mizuki-sensei will be in charge of the B class."

Mizuki smiled and waved to the children as he heard the chunin's words, but inside anger was eating him up, he wanted to be in charge of the A class, but the Hokage had chosen Iruka over him. That angered him greatly as he believed Iruka was not worthy of such a position.

Then the chunin introduced the teachers of the other classes. After that he took out a piece of paper with the names of the children and what their classes would be

"Now we will announce which class each of you belong to, once you hear your name stand up and form a line in front of your respective teachers" The chunin said in a loud voice.

The man's words made the children fill with anticipation, the non clan children were hoping to be placed in a good class.

"Well let's get started" The chunin said as he cleared his throat.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Class A."

Naruto was not surprised to be placed in the elite class. He stood up and walked towards Iruka who he greeted "Hello Iruka-sensei."

Iruka greeted him back with a smile.

Upon seeing Naruto in class A many of the girls were filled with anticipation waiting to be placed in his class. Their mothers had induced them to catch Naruto's eye and see if they could forge a relationship with him. Among the girls who longed to be in the same class as Naruto were Hinata, Karin, and Ino, but they had genuine feelings about him.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Class A."

Sasuke stood up without saying anything and walked towards Naruto and Iruka.

After that the chunin to call the names of several children and assign them to different classes, those who were assigned to classes B and C were happy while those who were assigned to lower classes were saddened and some were furious

"Shikamaru Nara. Class A"

"What a bummer" Shikamaru said as he stood up and walked towards Iruka in a lazy manner.

"Hi Shikamaru, how nice that you're in class A" Naruto greeted with a smile as he saw another friend in class A.

"What a bummer, it would be better if they had put me in class B, so I wouldn't have to try too hard" Shikamaru said clearly bummed about being put in class A

"Class B"

"Class E" - "Shit, how unfair" Said a boy indignant about being put in class E.

"Class C"

"Class D" - "Too bad, but at least I'm not in E" Said in a low voice a boy assigned to Class D

"Uzumaki Karin. Class A"

Karin sighed in relief as she stood up and started walking towards Iruka and Naruto, but first she didn't forget to greet Hinata who was standing next to her "See you in class A, Hinata" Karin said with a smile.

Hinata nodded her head as she smiled, she knew that she would be put in class A, but she couldn't help but get a little nervous

"Akimichi Choji. Class A!"

"Good" Choji shouted as he saw that he would be in his best friend's class. Choji stood up and opened a packet of chips to celebrate as he walked towards Iruka who quickly scolded him

"Yamanaka Ino. Class A."

"Yay, I'm in the same class as Naruto-kun" Ino shouted out loud.

All the kids and teachers looked at her with strange expressions

Ino quickly became embarrassed 'Oh no, I said it out loud. Now Naruto-kun will think I'm strange' Ino thought as she looked at Naruto to see if he was looking at her strangely, but what she saw surprised her, Naruto was giving her a friendly smile not caring about her words. Ino seeing that Naruto wasn't judging her was glad and stuck her tongue out at everyone looking at her, if Naruto didn't care who they were to judge her

"Inuzuka Kiba. Class A."

Kiba snorted and stood up quickly and gave them all a smug look as he walked confidently towards Iruka

"Aburame Shino. Class A"

Shino stood up and walked without saying anything and stood at the end of the A class line.

As more and more children were assigned to classes, the indignation of the children in class E only grew as they saw that those in class A were children from the big clans who didn't even have to pass the entrance test

"Hyuga Hinata. Class A."

Hinata sighed in relief at hearing her name, even though she knew she would be in class A.

When Hinata stood up the kids from the other classes looked at her with different looks, from admiration to looks of envy and finally looks of hatred. The other children in class A also got those looks, but none of them cared, but Hinata was different her shyness made her freeze in front of the children's stares and she froze in mid-stride. That alone made the teachers look at her in confusion.

Hinata's heart accelerated at being the center of attention and she broke out in a cold sweat and began to blush. Hinata lowered her head in embarrassment and stood in the middle of the way to the A class line.

The chunin in charge of dividing the classes seeing Hinata in the middle of the road was about to scold her, but before he could do so Naruto appeared beside Hinata and took her hand.

Hinata's world that was spinning suddenly returned to normal when she felt someone taking her hand, she raised her head to see who it was and was surprised to see Naruto next to her.

"Come on Hinata, don't worry I'm here" Naruto said with a friendly and confident smile.

Hinata who was nervous before instantly relaxed and calmed down, she forgot about everything around her and focused her attention totally on Naruto who looked like an angel come from heaven to save her. 'So handsome' thought Hinata who was mesmerized by Naruto's face and by the warmth of his hand. She was in this state for a few moments until she realized the situation she was in, her heart raced and her face turned tomato red. Her instinct told her to pick up her hand and run for cover, but she didn't want that, her heart commanding her to stay like this forever. She was in that dilemma between running away because of embarrassment and staying as her heart dictated to her

"See Hinata, we are already here" Naruto said pulling Hinata out of her dilemma as he let go of her hand.

Hinata was surprised to see that she was already in line, she didn't know when or how she got here. But that wasn't what mattered, she felt sad to see that Naruto had let go of her hand. She longed for him to hold her hand again, but she couldn't tell him her embarrassment and shyness prevented her from doing so, she didn't know why she felt this way about Naruto and she didn't even know how she felt about him, but all she knew was that she wanted to hold his hand again and her shyness prevented her from doing so.

'Why do I feel like this? I want to hold his hand again, but I can't do it' Hinata thought as she stared at Naruto's hand. 'Why do I hesitate so much' continued lost in thought the girl until a shout brought her out of her trance.

"THAT'S UNFAIR!" shouted a boy from class E.

"Why are those kids in class A if they didn't even take the entrance exam like us, I know because I was there all day and I didn't see any of them" said the indignant child

The boy's words incited other children from classes E, D and C. Even some children from class B joined them in protesting

"Look at that little girl over there, she can't even walk to the line without help. How is she deserving to be in class A" Said the boy pointing at Hinata, which once again made her the center of attentions

Hinata returned to her paralyzed state due to her shyness.

The chunin in charge and Iruka were about to intervene when Naruto stepped forward stepping in front of Hinata and looked at the boy pointing at Hinata.

"You think we're not worthy to be in this class?" said Naruto in a cold voice.

The boy flinched a little but still stood his ground "Yeah, you guys don't deserve to be in class A without even taking the entrance exam" Said the boy as he crossed his arms and gave her a smug grin

Suddenly a great pressure of chakra hit all the kids who were not satisfied by their classes forcing them to kneel on the ground

"If any of you manage to stand up, I will give up my place in class A and go to class E" Naruto said in a cold voice as he increased the pressure a bit carefully so as not to hurt them seriously

The boy who had targeted Hinata was kneeling on the ground terrified, Naruto looked like a god looking at them as nothing more than ants before his feet

Even the chunin who were present began to sweat as they felt Naruto's chakra pressure that wasn't even directed at them

Sasuke gave a snort of contempt upon seeing the state of the unruly children.

The girls who were present looked at Naruto with admiration in their eyes, an admiration that was slowly turning to adoration

Among the girls looking at him with adoration was Ino who was falling more and more in love with him.

Karin only gave a smile of approval when she saw Naruto putting in his place the boy who made fun of Hinata.

Even Sakura who was in love with Sasuke started to admire Naruto and her cheeks started to redden, but she quickly shook her head 'I do only like Sasuke-kun' thought Sakura

Hinata not feeling the looks of the boys opened her eyes in confusion, she raised her head and saw everything that was going on 'Na ru to' said in a low voice almost inaudible Hinata

Naruto seeing that no one could move withdrew his pressure, which made the children sigh in relief and collapse on the ground

"Hump, you scumbag. If you can't even stand that what makes you think you deserve to be in A class?" Said Naruto full of contempt "One more thing, if you ever tease Hinata again I'll rip your finger off" Naruto warned leaking a bit of murderous intent which terrified the kids.

Hinata seeing all that Naruto had done for her made her heart race and warm, but she also felt guilty 'Naruto-kun is doing all that because of me. If only I was more sure of myself none of this would have happened. I must be strong for my Naruto' Hinata thought as her eyes filled with determination.

Naruto turned and ignored the unruly children, he looked towards Hinata and walked over to her. "Are you okay Hinata?" Naruto said concerned, he knew she was having trouble with her shyness.

Hinata nodded her head and said "Yeah, I'm fine Naruto-kun thank you" Hinata said loudly surprising Naruto

"That's good, I'm glad" Naruto said with a smile that was interrupted by surprise once again when suddenly Hinata took his hand

"Can I hold your hand Naruto-kun? It gives me more confidence" Hinata said a little embarrassed.

Naruto quickly overcame the surprise and said with a smile "Sure Hinata-chan you can hold my hand all you want" Naruto said as some blush colored on his cheeks

The chunin seeing how Naruto had handled the situation was filled with admiration for the boy 'as expected from the son of the Hokage' thought the chunin before clearing his throat and continuing to assign classes

Sakura who had not yet been assigned to any class began to get anxious, she wished to be in the same class as Ino and Sasuke plus all her friends. But she didn't belong to any powerful clan so she wasn't sure if she would be in the class despite how hard she had studied.

"Haruno Sakura. Class... ¿A?" Said the chunin confused, Sakura should be assigned to class B as despite her high intelligence she lacked physical qualities and her chakra was very low, but to her surprise the Hokage had put her in class A. The chunin shrugged, if the Hogake had put her in the A class he must have his reasons.

"Haruno Sakura. Class A."

'Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssss' celebrated the inner Sakura while outwardly she just sighed in relief as she stood up and walked towards the A class line.

After that the chunin finished assigning the kids to classes.

Naruto's group of friends were happy to see that they were all in the same class.

Iruka directed his students to what would be their classroom from now on.

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