"Come in,"
Suguru heard this voice and followed Masumi through the door. He was then greeted by an old man garbed in red and white, smoking from a pipe. The smoke that rose into the ceiling dissipated out an open window.
Stacks of books were placed on top of a sturdy wooden desk, and incomplete paperwork flooded the area directly in front of the old man.
"Lord Hokage," Masumi took a knee and lowered his head.
Suguru did the same.
"Raise your heads. Especially you, Hiryu Suguru. To have graduated a few years in advance is an impressive feat. I am looking forward to your future feats."
Looking at Suguru, Hiruzen was reminded of the child who stared unceasingly into his eyes. Even when he looked away, the child's gaze still lingered. 'To think that he would be a talent of this caliber... This is good news.'
The pressure from the other Hidden Villages had been increasing as of late. The losses caused by Fugaku and Danzo's fight in the Root headquarters and the Uchiha Massacre were immense.
A few of Konoha's more secretive systems had to be placed on hold, unable to continue functioning without the proper personnel.
Without Root at full force, a lot of hindrances that other villages might have faced had disappeared. Many of Danzo's meddling plans had been foiled in a single night.
Itachi, who had been another promising genius, had also defected. Konoha was much weaker than it once was.
With someone like Suguru bolstering morale, Hiruzen's job would get easier in the future.
Thinking up to here, Hiruzen spoke, "Take this and treasure it. With it, is the identity of a Konoha shinobi."
Standing up, Hiruzen personally handed Suguru a headband with Konoha's insignia carved on its metallic plate. To show his loyalty and respect, Suguru put it on as he stood up. A resolute gleam shone in his eyes.
Then, Suguru wiped the look in his eyes and bowed. Gratitude replaced his expression.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
With that, Suguru was now officially a shinobi of the Leaf.
***
Heading home, Suguru began thinking about what kind of genin squad he was going to be assigned to and what kind of jounin sensei he would have. With the number of jounins in the village, Suguru wanted to try figuring out who it would be as a way to test his information-gathering abilities.
"...Nah, I'll keep it as a surprise." Suguru chuckled and went home to rest for the first time in a while.
The next morning, Suguru returned to the Academy and met with Masumi. Upon seeing his teacher, he greeted him.
"Good morning, Masumi-sensei."
"Good morning, Suguru," Masumi smiled, "Congrats — you've been assigned a jounin sensei and a genin squad just a few minutes ago. It took a while for the Hokage to decide whom you were going to be grouped with."
Suguru tilted his head and a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
"There was a lot of a discussion," Masumi happily explained, "All you have is the basics of everything, and it didn't seem like you learned anything other than what we had already taught you."
Suguru continued tilting his head, still expressing confusion.
Masumi shrugged, "Basically, you're a blank slate, so we weren't sure what kind of squad would be the most helpful for you and your squad's growth."
Suguru nodded, and upon seeing this, Masumi chuckled.
"Anyway, you can meet up with your squad inside. The other two have already arrived."
***
Walking into an empty classroom, Suguru was met with two curious gazes. One was male, and the other was female.
Suguru glanced over and saw two older kids looking at him. He didn't recognize them.
A small staredown occurred. Silver eyes fluttered between the two pairs of black irises, keenly analyzing their features.
The girl had a very gentle disposition, however a trace of brutality could be seen hiding beneath the curtain of her consciousness. Her light brown hair nearly reached her waist.
The boy had a calm demeanor with long black hair and a strict glint in his eye. It was clear that he seemed to be the stuck-up kind at a glance.
Together with Suguru, all members of this squad had long hair. Though it was more likely a coincidence, it would have been quite a peculiar choice on Hiruzen's end.
When the staring contest reached its peak, the three new squadmates heard a bark.
—Woof!
It was like a deep rumble, thunderous and somewhat terror-inducing. Suguru and the other two looked to the doorway and soon were met with the visage of a huge black hunting hound that stood taller than a fully grown man.
Walking beside the hound was a woman with red fang markings on her cheeks and messy, beast-like hair — or perhaps calling it a mane was more apt. She looked at the kids like she was gazing at mere prey.
A tense few seconds went by as the three shivered under her gaze.
'So this is the bloodlust of a wild beast—' Suguru couldn't control his own screaming instincts.
Even though he was calm in his mind, his body refused to listen.
'How terrifying,' Suguru thought.
The pressure suddenly lifted.
"Yo, you little brats. My name's Inuzuka Hitomi, and I am your jounin sensei. Come on, let's head out for some introductions and a little test of courage." The way Hitomi spoke was like a growl with each throaty syllable. When she grinned, a pair of fangs were seen growing out of her mouth.
'Will this be another bell test?' Chuckling, Suguru was the first one to follow. The other two walked right behind him.
A bubble of excitement surfaced in Suguru's stomach, riling up his adrenaline. He wondered if he could grab a bell for himself, unlike Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
Upon reaching a place called Training Ground 24, Hitomi told the three genins to sit down.
"So? Tell me about yourselves. You're a team now, so you gotta at least know each other's names. I didn't hear any talking on our way here."
"I'm Kurama Yumiko... er, what do we need to say exactly, Hitomi-sensei?"
"Hobbies, likes, dislikes, and maybe your goals too if you want." Hitomi rested her back on her giant hunting hound. The terrifying beast had become a fluffy cushion in the blink of an eye.
"Ah, well, I like to paint and do pottery. I like flowers and demons, and I use them a lot in my artwork. As for dislikes... I'm not really fond of milk and nuts."
"Any goals?"
"Well— I want to become a master of Genjutsu, like my parents."
Hitomi nodded, then turned to look at the two boys.
Suguru didn't speak up, so it was the other boy who went first.
"I'm Senju Isao. I like using swords. My hobby is calligraphy, and I dislike rule-breakers and noise."
Isao seemed to contemplate for a moment.
"I aim to be as strong as Tsunade-sama, one of the legendary Sannin."
It was Suguru's turn.
"Hi, I'm Hiryu Suguru. You could say that I have fun studying. Topics like Biology and Fuinjutsu are my favorite. I dislike training my body, though I don't mind its necessity. As for my goal — I really want to do research in the future."
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I made a P@treon! Hehe~
Link: pa treon.com/ubemantou
(No space.)
You can now read up to FIFTEEN (15) chapters on P@treon!
Big thanks to Godphaze, CosmicOwl, HE, Drowz, Calm Dxwn, and Melon for supporting me on P@treon! <3
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