"Now, everyone assembled here has graduated from their exams and have proven themselves worthy of becoming Genin! However, not everyone here will manage to make it onto a team led by Jonin, but starting this year, instead of just leaving you to yourselves, those of you that do not qualify for a Jonin Sensei will instead be assigned to a Chunin to learn under. We want you all to receive as much guidance as possible to become the best Shinobi that you can be!"
Hiruzen stood in front of us, looking down from the stage and projecting his voice and gaze over the large collection of students standing on the training grounds, all of whom were staring up at us with anticipation in their eyes.
Looking over my students and seeing some of the students who had graduated last year mixed in as well, I smiled softly at the sheer amount of new Genin we had; it was more than I had ever seen before, and it was hopefully the start of something incredible.
Obviously quality is better than quantity, but the changes that I had helped bring about and the fact that this had been a good batch of students was what made me so proud as I looked over the sheer number of Genin, and the hope was that we could continue to produce so many promising, talented young Shinobi to scare away the idea of war from the minds of the other villages.
"Now, as I call your names, please step forwards! You will be assigned a Jonin Sensei or a Chunin Sensei, all of whom have prepared already to receive students! First up!"
We had already been given the script for this ceremony, so I glanced at Kakashi as he stepped forwards, surprising the assembled parents and other Shinobi as they got to witness one of our best taking in a team...
Though, there was also pity on those adults faces as they saw that it was Kakashi, since he didn't have the greatest reputation as a teacher; something that I would swiftly remind the man of after this was over, since I knew who he was to teach.
This wasn't a group he could refuse either, so he was begrudgingly up here, which was a tad irritating to me; they needed a teacher AND a protector, and yet he really only qualified for the latter at the moment, and that was a problem.
"Naruto Uzumaki! Sasuke Uchiha! Sakura Haruno! You shall form a team with Kakashi!"
The blonde troublemaker, the black haired Uchiha, and the pink haired medic hopeful all stepped forwards, only to blink in surprise as they looked at the masked man in front of them, who was well known across all of the Lands.
Walking off the stage, Kakashi nodded to his new charges before gesturing for them to follow him off the training grounds, jumping away and taking his team to somewhere secluded to get to know them.
"Next! Hinata Hyuuga! Kiba Inuzuka! Shino Aburame! You shall form a team with Kurenai!"
I gave my wife a small smile and a nod as she too stepped off the stage, approaching the three very different Shinobi and leading them away as well, though she simply walked away with them following behind her calmly.
"Neji Hyuuga! Rock Lee! Midori! You shall form a team with Might Guy!"
"Ha HA! Let's gather together, my YOUTHFUL team! Come, come!"
The shout from the bowl cut, green jumpsuit wearing man surprised most here who wasn't accustomed to him, and that included two of his new team - Neji frowned, while poor Midori almost leapt out of her skin, the shy girl being thrust into an environment that was honestly... way out of her comfort zone.
"Next! Tenten! Ami! Fuki! You shall form a team with Kokoro!"
It was my turn to step off of the stage, my smile still present as I looked down at the three girls in front of me, who were staring at me in surprise and in joy as they held back from lunging forwards to hug me.
"Come on girls..."
Nodding to them, I mirrored Kakashi and put them through a bit of a test, leaping away and leading them through the village as I made my way towards somewhere important; Hokage Mountain.
I could hear all three jumping behind me, leaping from rooftop to branch back to rooftops as they tried to keep up, their shorter legs and weaker chakra making it a difficult task, but certainly a manageable one as we made our way up to the carved mountain above our village.
When I reached the top, I took a seat on the edge and watched as they finally made their way up with me, the three girls confused and a bit out of breath from the sudden shift of being stationary to moving fast.
"Tell me, when you look down over the village, what do you feel?"
"Pride."
Ami's answer was quick and it made me chuckle, so I peeked back at the girls and stared at Tenten and Fuki next, both of whom were frowning at my question.
"Um... home. Happiness. Warmth."
Tenten's answer was hesitant, and a moment later Fuki answered "Yeah, home. Peace. Security."
"Pride, home, happiness, peace... all good answers. All things that can be taken from you, if you slack off. Do you understand? You look down upon your home, the place that raised you and gave you this chance. In return, you are expected to protect this place, like it protects you. That is your duty now. Understood?"
Each of the girls nodded, their eyes landing on the vast village beneath us as they drank in the serenity and beauty of our home, the weight of their future settling in on their small shoulders.
"But, that is for the future; you might be Genin, but now you are MY Genin, which means I will not be tolerating any slacking, got that? I have a year minimum to whip you into good enough shape to truly be ready to be on your own, though I don't think I'll let you head to the Chunin Exams so early..."
Musing to myself on what to do, I got up and brushed off my clothes, smiling widely as I turned to look at my students and asking "So who's up for a nice little game of tag~?"