Aoba had a hunch. Naruto's unrestricted use of the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique likely had something to do with Asura's influence.
Much like how Sasuke could ultimately absorb Orochimaru in the original storyline, both Naruto and Sasuke, as children of destiny, seemed to have the Six Paths Sage watching over them on a spiritual level.
This led him to feel somewhat conflicted whenever he interacted with Naruto and Sasuke, wondering if the old sage was observing him from the shadows.
He engaged with Sasuke more because he knew the Six Paths Sage favored Asura's reincarnation. Sasuke, as Indra's reincarnation, seemed more like a tool in the grand scheme.
Upon graduation, the students faced team assignments.
To him, these were still just a bunch of kids, but in Konoha, or any shinobi village for that matter, they were already official ninja.
And a ninja's job involves performing missions, from basic tasks like river cleaning to finding lost pets, escorting caravans, clearing out bandits, and even confronting rogue or enemy ninjas.
Death and killing would become routine in their lives.
In the classroom, the new graduates waited for their team leaders to pick them up.
Soon, Kurenai, Asuma, and others came and left with their respective teams.
By the end, only four remained in the room: the early graduate Karin, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno.
The four exchanged glances, puzzled, as they were supposed to be assigned in teams of three. What did it mean for the four of them to be left? Was someone going to be eliminated?
It wasn't until around noon that Aoba arrived, leisurely strolling in after waking up late that morning.
Karin already knew he would be her team leader, and Sasuke, being Aoba's half-student, was well acquainted with him.
Naruto also knew Aoba, though the village's restrictions had previously limited their interactions.
Previously, he hadn't been allowed to get close to Naruto, but now he was assigned as Naruto's team leader. Once again, Aoba was grateful for having friends in high places. With Kakashi and Shikaku's support, simple proposals could be discreetly pushed through without Konoha's elders noticing anything amiss.
"What? It's you, Aoba-san? I can't believe you showed up two hours late!" a chorus of complaints came from the kids, annoying Aoba, especially with Karin joining in the scolding.
Aoba wanted to say, "If I'm late, blame your mother," but then thought better of it. These were kids, after all, so he bit his tongue.
"...Alright, follow me."
Traditionally, the jonin leader would assign a test for the new team members.
Kakashi's bell test, for example, was designed to assess combat skills, information-gathering abilities, and team bonds.
However, Aoba didn't have time for games. Instead, he assigned them a river-cleaning mission and sent the kids off.
Now, only Aoba and Sakura Haruno remained in the room.
Sakura now realized she was the one who'd been left out, though it didn't seem like she was being completely dismissed.
She knew who Aoba was; as did most civilian ninja in Konoha. Born into poverty, he'd risen to fame with his swordsmanship, fighting the Raikage twice without defeat, becoming an idol for Konoha's civilian shinobi.
However, he was usually low-profile, with few close connections.
Sakura couldn't understand why he'd singled her out.
"You're Haruno Sakura, right? According to my records, you scored full marks in most theory exams at the academy?"
"Yes." Theory had been Sakura's pride, but spending time around Sasuke and Naruto made her realize her substantial gap in combat ability.
Sakura had once dreamed of becoming a powerful shinobi like Lady Tsunade, but in reality, the mere difference between Sasuke and Naruto felt insurmountable.
Her strong performance in theory seemed irrelevant in actual combat.
"Have you practiced tree climbing and water walking?"
"Yes."
She had learned these skills from Sasuke and Naruto. She'd done well in training but lagged in chakra and physical strength, making her combat power pale in comparison to those two prodigies.
Aoba extended his right hand, gathering a small amount of chakra in his palm, which gradually took the shape of a small bird under his control.
While impressive, this was actually just a flashy trick, nowhere near the power of the Rasengan.
The Rasengan involved intense compression and rotation of chakra, producing significant damage.
What Aoba had demonstrated was simply a basic manipulation without rotation or compression, requiring only precise control.
"Try it. Let's see if you can do this."
Sakura understood what this legendary jonin was asking her to do. She focused intensely, attempting to recreate the technique.
However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the bird's wings to move.
Soon, she was panting from the effort.
"That's enough; you did really well."
Aoba had only expected her to manage basic chakra shaping, but her control was better than expected, almost completing the bird form.
The final step, where the bird would move, was truly advanced and on a different level from the initial shape manipulation.
"Sakura Haruno, I have a question. Would you like to become my student?"
"Wha… But… Aoba-sensei, may I ask why me? I'm not exceptional. Sasuke, Naruto, even Karin who graduated early—they're all much more capable than I am. They…"
"They're different, at least from us."
"Us?" Sakura couldn't understand why Aoba, a figure of such importance, would consider them in the same category.
"Haha, you haven't noticed? Those three are unique. Sasuke is a descendant of the Uchiha clan, Konoha's once most prestigious family. He's a natural-born wielder of the Sharingan, with its boosts in genjutsu and dynamic vision.
"Naruto Uzumaki and Karin Uzumaki both belong to the Uzumaki clan. Members of their clan possess vast reserves of chakra from birth, with life force and physical stamina that far exceed ordinary people. Do you understand what I mean?"
"You mean…we're both civilian ninjas?"
"Exactly. Neither of us has a special bloodline or a kekkei genkai. And there's something else we have in common.
"Do you know? When I was in school, I also scored full marks in theory."
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Currently on Chapter 111/112 - The Sannin Reunite/ A Proactive Deal