"You three!"
With a sharp bang, Kakashi suddenly appeared before Team 7, startling everyone so badly that Sasuke and Sakura dropped their lunch boxes to the ground in shock.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all froze, hearts pounding in their chests. They remembered perfectly well what had been said earlier—if anyone gave their food to Naruto, they would be eliminated on the spot and forbidden from returning to the village.
Immediate disqualification.
Naruto and Sasuke swallowed hard, throats dry. For both of them, whether they could become full-fledged genin was absolutely critical—it could determine their entire futures. For a moment, neither dared to even breathe, eyes locked on Kakashi without so much as a blink.
But what Kakashi said next left their minds completely blank.
"You pass."
The corners of Kakashi's lips curved upward in a bright, uncharacteristically warm smile.
At the same time, in Senju Haruto's ears, that familiar voice echoed once again:
Congratulations, host. You have reached the check-in point. Sign-in officially begins! Abandoning midway will be considered a failure.
Haruto exhaled slowly and simply sat cross-legged on the ground, quietly watching Kakashi announce Team 7's success as the progress bar in his vision filled toward one hundred percent.
Honestly, watching from this close was better than any so-called 3D experience.
Congratulations, host! Sign-in complete!
Reward received: Hydrification Technique and the Byakugō Seal!
"Hm? Hydrification Technique?" Haruto frowned slightly, opening his panel to read the description. "If I remember correctly, that's supposed to be the kekkei genkai of the Hōzuki clan…"
But the details surprised him. The system described it as a secret technique passed down through the Hōzuki clan, allowing the user's body to become liquid and immune to physical attacks.
In other words—it wasn't a kekkei genkai at all, merely a secret jutsu. It was comparable to the Magnet Release used by successive Kazekage: a unique, inherited art rather than a bloodline limit. The secrecy lay only in its unknown method of training.
"That means… I can actually pass the Hydrification Technique on to others."
Haruto muttered to himself.
For him, though, Hydrification wasn't particularly impressive. Its only real strength was immunity to physical attacks—and honestly, who could even harm him with physical strikes now? Worse, the technique was inherently vulnerable to Lightning Release.
Still, just because he didn't care for it didn't mean it wasn't valuable. For ordinary shinobi, Hydrification was an incredibly powerful ability.
"Lee, Hinata, and Neji…"
Those three quickly came to Haruto's mind. Among the genin, they were the most specialized in taijutsu. And Hydrification paired best with close combat.
Of course, Rock Lee was out of the question—he couldn't use ninjutsu at all. Haruto held no illusions about teaching it to him.
But he also knew this much: his ascension to Hokage was only a matter of time. The so-called Konoha Twelve weren't just well-connected; their strength was considerable. After the Fourth Shinobi World War, many of them rose to the highest ranks within the village.
So of course, bringing them firmly under his wing was something he had to do. If he could boost their strength now, it would be an advantage later—especially when it came to confronting the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Even though, from what he knew, the Ōtsutsuki he'd seen weren't that terrifying, the fact that Kaguya herself had been so wary of them was proof enough that some among them were true monsters.
And above all else…
Naruto might have been just an anime once, but for Senju Haruto, this was now a living, breathing reality. Against enemies like that, every precaution was necessary.
"Hinata and Neji, then," he decided with a deep breath. He would find an opportunity to approach them, help them grow stronger personally. And in this world, there was no strict rule against a shinobi having multiple teachers.
After all, Naruto himself had been taught by Iruka, then Kakashi, then Jiraiya, and even Fukasaku of Mount Myōboku…
"No, actually… Iruka and Kakashi were just teachers. Jiraiya was his true master," Haruto corrected himself, shaking his head. A master is for life.
As for the Byakugō Seal—Haruto quickly decided that could go to Kakashi, to compensate for his chronic chakra deficiencies.
"And Sakura already has the Byakugō Seal herself. Helping her strengthen it further wouldn't be bad either."
With that thought, Haruto looked up again, focusing on Kakashi.
"I've never seen genin like you three before," Kakashi admitted, his single visible eye narrowing thoughtfully as he looked at them. "Every other squad I've handled just followed orders blindly. None of them had their own resolve."
The three genin stared at him, still stunned.
Kakashi continued, his voice low but firm.
"Shinobi must remain calm and composed, cautious in every move. Anyone who breaks the rules of the shinobi world is branded as trash.
But… those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
His gaze tilted up toward the sky, words heavy with memory.
Naruto stood frozen, wide-eyed. For the first time, he felt that Kakashi wasn't just reliable—he was genuinely cool. And more than that, his words struck him at the core. Because for Naruto, nothing mattered more than recognition and comradeship.
"I declare this exercise over," Kakashi announced, smile tugging at his lips. "All of you pass. Starting tomorrow, Team 7 will begin official missions!"
"Yattaaa!"
Naruto whooped in delight, fists pumping the air, while Sakura beamed and even Sasuke allowed himself a faint smirk. Kakashi let out a quiet breath of relief.
Truth be told, his chakra reserves were dangerously depleted. He'd need serious rest for a while.
And so, the survival training of Team 7 came to an end.
"Now, about the timeline…"
Haruto thought back, recalling the Naruto storyline he had once watched.
After passing Kakashi's test, Team 7 had begun taking missions. But because they had just become genin, the assignments were the lowest possible rank: finding lost pets, babysitting, helping villagers with errands in nearby towns…
It wasn't until Naruto, frustrated with these dull tasks, complained to the Third Hokage that they were granted a C-rank mission: escorting the bridge builder Tazuna to the Land of Waves.
And it was during that mission… that Team 7 encountered Momochi Zabuza.
Haruto didn't feel strongly one way or the other about Zabuza and Haku. He didn't hate them, nor particularly admire them. But there was no denying the facts—Zabuza had grown disillusioned with Kirigakure's corrupt regime, had attempted multiple assassinations of the Mizukage, and in the end had fled as a rogue ninja.
That meant… if Haruto could cross paths with him, he might extract valuable intelligence on Kirigakure.
And beyond that—
"Zabuza and Haku are strong. If I can persuade them to pledge loyalty to the Land of Fire, it wouldn't be a bad thing at all."