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It was eleven at night. Kushina tiptoed into Shin's room. Shin was still awake.
"Shin, I'm here to sleep with you."
Kushina lunged towards him, but a hand shot out and grabbed her by the collar.
"Hey! Put me down, Tsunade! You meanie!"
Kushina shrieked, glaring at Tsunade. She hadn't expected Tsunade to be awake at this hour.
"Hmph, I knew you'd sneak in here. Back to your own room, young lady."
Tsunade dragged Kushina away, ignoring her protests.
Kushina cast a pleading look at Shin, but he could only offer a helpless shrug.
"Tsunade, what's it to you if I sleep with Shin?" Kushina demanded.
"You're both too old to be sharing a bed now."
Tsunade ignored Kushina's further protests and tossed her back into her own room. Kushina pouted, defeated.
The next morning, at breakfast, Kushina glared at Tsunade before dragging Shin off to school.
"Little brat, still glaring at me? Just you wait," Tsunade muttered under her breath.
At the Academy, Shin noticed that they were the last to arrive. Even Nawaki, who was usually late, was already there.
The students, all wearing their forehead protectors, were a mix of excitement and nervousness. After the team assignments, they would be real Shinobi, ready to go on missions.
"Shin, who do you think your Jōnin-sensei will be?" Nawaki asked excitedly.
"My guess is your sister, Tsunade," Shin replied.
Tsunade had promised him a surprise yesterday, and he suspected this was it.
"Really? Did she tell you? Did she say who my sensei would be?" Nawaki looked at Shin with anticipation.
"She didn't tell me. It's just a guess. Who do you want your sensei to be, Nawaki?"
Shin shook his head. It wasn't confirmed, but he was pretty sure Tsunade would be their Jōnin-sensei.
"I want Orochimaru-sama!"
Nawaki's eyes shone with admiration. He seemed genuinely eager to be on Orochimaru's team.
Shin gave him a strange look. Orochimaru? What was so appealing about him?
Then he remembered that Orochimaru did have a certain charisma. In the original story, many were devoted to him.
"I don't understand why you like that creepy guy."
Shin shook his head. He didn't dislike Orochimaru, but he didn't particularly like him either. The current Orochimaru wasn't as sinister or twisted as he would become.
"Orochimaru-sama is a genius, one of the strongest in Konoha. He's way stronger than my sister."
Nawaki seemed to idolize Orochimaru.
"Don't let your sister hear you say that, or you'll be in trouble," Kushina warned.
"Settle down!"
Tanaka-sensei entered the classroom. Seeing the chaos, his face darkened.
Nawaki scurried back to his seat, and the others followed suit.
Tanaka-sensei was still a formidable presence.
The team assignments began. One by one, Jōnin entered the classroom, read out the names of their team members, and left.
"Team Three: Senju Nawaki, Uzumaki Kai, Hyūga Hizashi."
Orochimaru entered, read the names, and left without a word.
Nawaki's face lit up. He couldn't believe he was actually on Orochimaru's team. He rushed out with Kai and Hizashi.
"Team Five: Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Akiko, Inuzuka Tsume. Follow me."
Jiraiya entered and called out the names.
Minato and his team left. The classroom was getting emptier.
"Uzumaki Shin, Uzumaki Kushina, Uchiha Mikoto, you three are Team Nine. Come with me."
When only a few students remained, Tsunade entered and called out their names.
Shin smiled. He had guessed correctly. Tsunade was their Jōnin-sensei.
They followed Tsunade to a training ground in Konoha.
"Shin, you don't seem surprised at all," Tsunade observed.
"I already guessed it was you. This must be the surprise you mentioned."
"Hmph, you guessed it again. How annoying."
Kushina scowled. She wasn't thrilled about having Tsunade as their sensei. She almost wanted to request a transfer.
Mikoto, however, was delighted. Not because of Tsunade, but because she was on the same team as Shin and Kushina.
"Now, I'll assess your abilities. Don't hold back," Tsunade said.
She wasn't going to give them another test, but gauging their strength was necessary.
As their Jōnin-sensei, she needed to know their capabilities to assign them appropriate missions.
"Is this assessment really necessary?" Shin asked.
"Of course. I can't assign you missions without knowing your strength. Unless you want to do D-rank missions, then we can skip this."
There were five mission ranks in Konoha. D-rank missions were the lowest, simple tasks with no combat or risk, such as weeding, babysitting, and cleaning the streets.
C-rank missions involved some risk of injury, but no combat against enemy Shinobi.
B-rank missions were dangerous, often involving combat and the risk of death.
A-rank missions were even more dangerous, often involving Jōnin or stronger opponents. Genin weren't allowed to participate in these.
S-rank missions were the most dangerous, involving the safety of the village or even the nation. They were rare, but when they did occur, they were a big deal.
S-rank missions required elite Jōnin or even Kage-level Shinobi. They were the highest paying missions, but also the most perilous.
Fresh graduates usually started with D-rank missions. But it seemed Tsunade wasn't planning on giving them those.
That was fine with Shin. He had no interest in those low-level missions. They wouldn't help him improve, and the pay was pathetic.
Besides, he didn't need the money.
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