Chapter 305: New Recruits
Konoha, early March.
The chill of spring was in the air.
The annual Ninja Academy graduation season was set in this early spring time, when the cold was still lingering amidst the warmth.
There was still a hint of coolness in the wind, but the training ground on the Ninja Academy side was already heating up.
This year's graduation exam was held right here.
"They're relying on practical combat assessment this year," Haruno Sakura said with a touch of emotion. She was standing on the roof of the teaching building, looking down at the students participating in the exam on the field. "Back then, we were tested on the simplest Clone Jutsu!"
She had returned to Konoha a month ago. At this moment, she was still wearing her previous coffee-red down jacket, with straight cropped pants on her legs. The fur on her collar was very long, just enough to hide the slight smile at the corner of her mouth.
"And Naruto still couldn't pass such a simple question..." Sasuke said faintly, the corner of his mouth curling up imperceptibly. "He can clearly use the Shadow Clone Jutsu so well, but he just can't do the ordinary Clone Jutsu. What an idiot!"
"Testing practical combat is probably because the situation has been tense recently..." Kakashi leaned against the rooftop railing, glanced at Haruno Sakura, and said, "Anyway, the graduation exam is just the first hurdle. To truly become a Genin, they still have to pass their team leader's test."
Sakura looked back at Kakashi leisurely. His test back then had given Team 7 quite a surprise...
She hadn't expected that so soon, it would be her turn to give others a surprise!
"Then what kind of test should I set for them?" the pink-haired girl said with a smile, her eyes full of mischief. The wheel of fortune turns, and now it was her turn to give others a surprise...
However, she then thought, "What if they can't pass?"
"So don't go overboard..." A drop of cold sweat appeared on Kakashi's face. He felt as if he had led a pure student astray.
"Test? Is it that teamwork test?" Hinata, standing on the side, asked with a hint of doubt. "It wasn't that difficult, was it? How could they not pass?"
"Kurenai-sensei didn't make things difficult for you, did she?" Sakura said, and by the way, she gave Kakashi a sharp glare. "Back then, Kakashi-sensei's test was full of 'fun'!"
Kakashi scratched the silver hair on his head and laughed dryly.
"Haha, didn't you all pass in the end!" he said, squinting his eyes. "Let bygones be bygones. Let's see if there are any good seedlings this year!"
The four people standing on the rooftop stopped talking and turned their gazes to the graduation exam going on downstairs.
"Hah!" A student wearing a scarf attacked with a series of fierce kicks, forcing the Chunin who was acting as the proctor to retreat repeatedly.
His last kick was a Konoha Hurricane, a powerful heavy kick that swept fiercely at the proctor's waist!
Poof! The proctor instantly transformed into a log, and the fierce side kick broke the log in two.
Substitution Jutsu!
The candidate wearing the scarf was startled, and then, the proctor, who had suddenly appeared behind him, pierced the candidate's clothes with a kunai.
"Failed!" The Chunin proctor shook his head, retracted the kunai, patted his shoulder, and said, "Go back, try again next year!"
"Next!"
Seeing this, Sasuke on the rooftop shook his head.
"Too slow reaction, too poor ability to adapt on the spot! And his fighting style is just blindly attacking with taijutsu. If this year's graduating students only have this level of strength, I suggest you just send them back to the Ninja Academy, Sakura."
"Not necessarily. This year I'm leading Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi," Haruno Sakura said with a smile. "You should remember the three of them. They often came to play with Naruto."
Sasuke and Hinata both nodded.
"The grandson of the Third Hokage, right? A child trained by Lord Third shouldn't be weak," Sasuke said.
"Hn, the three of them are very strong. Actually, the one I'm most optimistic about is Moegi, that girl with the pigtails. She has a lot of potential in ninjutsu," Haruno Sakura said. "To be honest, their Troublemaker Trio shouldn't need to be tested on teamwork, right?"
She turned her head and asked, "Kakashi, is this test an unwritten rule that every team has to go through?"
"It's up to you. If you think they're fine, you don't have to test them. Decide according to the specific situation."
"Is that so..." Sakura replied. As her eyes moved, she suddenly thought of a question. "In other words, you thought the three of us had big problems back then!"
The pink-haired girl glared at Kakashi dangerously.
"Kakashi-sensei, we haven't sparred in a long time... I heard your Sharingan leveled up recently?"
"Haha, no, no, you are all my proudest students!" Kakashi waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Let's talk about sparring next time!"
With a swish, a figure appeared on the rooftop, saving Kakashi, who was about to be dragged out by Haruno Sakura for a duel. "Ah, Shino! You're here!"
"Sorry, I'm late," Shino said, wearing a mask.
"No, you're just in time!" Kakashi said with a smile, taking out a mask from his pocket and putting it on. "Let's go!"
Sasuke and Hinata also took out their masks. The two walked over and high-fived Sakura goodbye. "Good luck!" Hinata said.
Nodding to each other, the four of them left the rooftop with a Body Flicker.
Only Haruno Sakura was left alone, watching their retreating figures. "When did Hinata join the Anbu too?"
She seems to be copying Hyuga Hotaru's path...
On the other side, the assessment downstairs was also coming to an end.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" "Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
The collision of two ninjutsu on the field announced the end of the last person's assessment.
"Katsuragi Huayin passes the assessment!" Iruka raised his hand and announced loudly. "Today's assessment ends here!"
He took out a list, walked to the middle of the field, and said in a clear voice, "Now, I will read out the list of candidates who have passed the assessment. Those who hear their names, come stand in front of me!"
"Yakushi Yū, Yu Xiaohong, ..., Sarutobi Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, ..., Katsuragi Huayin!"
"Come to the classroom at 2:00 PM sharp. We will announce the team assignments, and your Jonin team leaders will come to meet you for the first time. Remember, don't be late!"
"That is all. Dismissed!"
When the Konohamaru Corps trio arrived at the classroom, Iruka had already written the list of each group on the blackboard.
As expected, the three of them were assigned to the same group.
"Ah, you're here. Then come with me," Iruka said.
He walked in front, leading the three of them out of the classroom. "Your team leader is Jonin Haruno Sakura. You all know her, right?"
"It's Big Sis!" Udon raised his hand and shouted loudly.
"Big Sis is Boss's Boss's Boss," Moegi added calmly.
"Is Big Sis a Jonin too?" Konohamaru focused his attention on another matter.
Iruka took a breath, a vein faintly popping on his face, and lectured, "You three are too rude! You should call her Sakura-sensei. Don't call her Big Sis, it's disrespectful, do you understand! Also, Sakura became a Jonin last year!"
"Didn't Big Sis just graduate two years ago? I don't want her to be our teacher. We want to find a more powerful teacher!" Konohamaru said indignantly.
Iruka led the three of them into an empty classroom. Hearing this, he glared at Konohamaru. "Idiot, Sakura is very strong, no worse than other Jonin!"
"Really?" Even Udon and Moegi looked over with skeptical eyes. "She just graduated two years ago!"
Iruka sighed and waved his hand, signaling for the three of them to sit down.
"Forget it, I'll give you one last lesson!" He quickly wrote a row of large characters on the blackboard: "Kage, Jonin, Tokubetsu Jonin, Chunin, Genin, Academy Student."
"Listen up!" He turned around and said loudly, "Every ninja village basically divides ninja into these levels. From students studying in the Ninja Academy, to being promoted to Genin after passing the exam, then being promoted to Chunin after the Chunin Exams or regular assessments, then Tokubetsu Jonin, Jonin, and finally the 'Kage' of each village."
"In terms of strength arrangement, it generally follows this hierarchy. Academy students are the weakest, then Genin, Chunin, Jonin, and the 'Kage' level is the strongest ninja in the village."
"So Big Sis is a ninja second only to Lord Hokage?" Udon raised his hand and asked.
"No, what I just said was a rough analysis. There will be discrepancies in individual cases. For example, you guys, before taking the exam, were already much stronger than ordinary Genin!"
"Then what about Big Sis's strength?" Moegi asked.
"I said just now, Sakura's strength is very strong, no worse than any Jonin. She is publicly recognized as a 'Kage'-level ninja whose strength can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Hokage, one of the strongest ninja in the village!" Iruka said loudly, his expression serious and solemn, without any hint of joking.
"'Kage'-level!" The three boys and girls immediately opened their mouths wide in surprise. "The strongest ninja in the village!"
"Ahem." A throat-clearing cough from outside the door interrupted Iruka's last lesson. The four turned their heads and saw a pink-haired girl standing at the door.
"Iruka-sensei, you're exaggerating too much!" Haruno Sakura walked into the classroom with a smile and said, "A 'Kage'-level ninja, hn... Iruka-sensei, you can leave this to me."
"Alright, good luck!"
Haruno Sakura watched Iruka walk away, the smile on her face instantly fading. She said seriously to the three students, "Alright, from today on, I am your team leader. Although we've met before, let's start with a formal self-introduction!"
Before her voice had fallen, Konohamaru raised his hand and shouted loudly, "Wait a minute, Big Sis, why are you our team leader!"
Big Sis...?
The corner of Haruno Sakura's mouth twitched. She felt that the excitement and pride of being a Jonin team leader that had just risen instantly disappeared.
Is this how you address a teacher?
The girl's delicate brow rose. She flickered in front of Konohamaru and gave him a solid knock on the head.
With her movements, Konohamaru couldn't even see it clearly.
"Ouch!" This little brat immediately squatted down, clutching his head. Haruno Sakura then said seriously, "First, don't interrupt before the teacher has finished speaking. Second, don't call me Big Sis. From now on, call me Sensei. You have to learn to respect your teacher, understand?"
"Sensei, are you really as powerful as Iruka-sensei said?" Udon asked, sniffling.
Seeing the suspicious expressions on the other two's faces, Haruno Sakura also sighed.
Knowing them before also had its disadvantages. The teacher's dignity was gone.
If it were someone else, Konohamaru probably wouldn't dare to be so arrogant; in front of an acquaintance, he was getting a little carried away.
What to do?
I have to establish the dignity of a teacher in front of them...
Sakura said calmly, "Follow me."
She jumped out of the window and led the three little brats away from the school.
"I'll show you my true strength!"
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