Early in the morning, the second-generation Ninja from various clans began their journey to school.
They had all completed their graduation exams and received their forehead protectors. Today, they were returning to the Ninja Academy to confirm their three-person team assignments.
"Boss Trunks, who do you want to be teamed up with?"
Trunks, with his striking silver hair, was never short of followers.
Of course, his love for pranks meant he was also the child Jin disciplined most frequently. Yet despite this, nobody could deny he was the most talented among Jin's children.
"Anyone is fine. I'm more concerned about who's qualified to be my Instructor. I hope it's not someone weaker than me."
Trunks sat in the most prominent seat in the center of the lecture hall, his boots crossed on the desk, radiating an aura that declared, "I'm the boss, and heaven itself can only rank second."
"So cool, Boss Trunks!"
"If I get placed on your team, you've got to look out for me!"
"Maybe Jin-sama himself will be your Instructor? Honestly, besides him, I don't think anyone in Konoha is qualified to teach you, Boss Trunks."
His followers eagerly showered him with praise.
On the other side of the room, Ino blinked and leaned in to whisper to her best friend, Sakura.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, don't you think Trunks is really handsome?"
"Well, yes... but his personality is pretty annoying too."
Sakura shot a glance at the self-proclaimed king of the class, Trunks, before her eyes unconsciously drifted towards Sasuke, who was sitting quietly in the second-to-last row.
'My heart belongs only to Sasuke!'
Frankly, Sakura could probably give Obito a run for his money in the [Number One Simp] contest of the Naruto World.
Jin couldn't fathom how any woman could willingly marry a man who had repeatedly tried to kill her. Wasn't she afraid he might stab her in her sleep?
Perhaps that was true love.
"Trunks is handsome, sure, but his personality is a real handful. I think Kazui is nice too. He seems so gentle and easy to tease. I kind of want to just hug him and pamper him~~"
Ino's gaze then shifted to another boy, this one with orange hair, sitting almost invisibly in the corner.
Uchiha Kazui.
Trunks's younger brother by one year.
A sword was strapped to his back.
At the moment, he was curled into the corner of the classroom, radiating social anxiety and clearly hoping nobody would talk to him.
Despite sharing the same bloodline, the two brothers' personalities were like night and day.
Incidentally, Sakura and Ino's friendship hadn't shattered like it did in the original work.
It's primarily because this year's class had several more handsome boys, which split the girls' attention.
Once Ino realized Sakura was fully devoted to Sasuke, she promptly redirected her focus to Trunks and Kazui.
"Wait, what? My dad is going to be Hokage?"
From another part of the classroom, Naruto's loud exclamation drew the attention of over half the students.
Sitting on the desk next to him was a girl whose demeanor was strikingly similar to Trunks's. She sat with her legs crossed, a sword at her waist, wearing a black Shihakusho, her hair tied in a single ponytail.
"I heard it from my family. Aunt Tsunade says she's tired of being Hokage and wants to find someone to take over as the Fifth. Dad thinks Namikaze Minato is a good fit."
The girl raised her spirited eyebrows, speaking as casually as if discussing what to have for dinner.
Uchiha Ichika.
Trunks's younger sister and Kazui's older sister.
She's the daughter of Jin and Kuchiki Rukia… or rather, Uchiha Rukia.
As the entire classroom buzzed with discussions about their various interests, Iruka walked in.
His family had been rather fortunate. During the coup twenty years prior, they hadn't been among those expelled from the village.
Jin had been somewhat surprised to learn this, but he hadn't dwelled on it. After all, Iruka was one of the rare individuals in the Ninja World with hardly any discernible flaws, so letting them stay was no issue.
Trunks, who had his feet propped up on the desk in front of him, and Ichika, who was sitting on her own desk, both quickly assumed proper sitting postures.
It wasn't out of fear of Iruka himself, but rather the fear that he might report their behavior to their father.
'This year's graduating class is truly impressive...' Iruka couldn't help but muse internally as he surveyed the familiar faces in the lecture hall.
The children of the various clan's heads were one thing, but the man himself had three children graduating this year alone!
"Now we will begin the team assignments." Iruka announced, taking a steadying breath and picking up the list from the podium, "Students assigned to the same team should sit together and wait for your Instructor to arrive."
"First, Team 1..."
About five minutes later, he reached the main event.
"Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke."
"Team 8: Uchiha Kazui, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino."
"Team 9: Uchiha Ichika, Hyuga Hinata, Uchiha Trunks."
"Team 10: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji."
The moment Iruka finished announcing the team assignments, the classroom erupted.
Students began searching for their new teammates, their discussions lively and energetic.
However, one figure suddenly stood up. It's the class king, Trunks.
"Hey, hey, Iruka-sensei," He called out, "I was told team assignments consider balancing the strength of each group. So why am I, the top graduate, put in the same team as Ichika, who's ranked second? Isn't that ridiculously unfair to the other teams?"
Ichika, only half a year his junior, instantly grasped his underlying meaning. He just doesn't want to be on the same team as her!
"Trunks, what's that supposed to mean? I don't want to be stuck with you either!"
"Um, everyone, please don't fight... We're going to be comrades from now on..."
Hinata, sandwiched between the two, looked utterly flustered, reminiscent of Rin playing peacemaker between Kakashi and Obito in the original timeline.
"Both of you, be quiet!" Iruka's voice cut through the noise, showing no intimidation in the face of Konoha's two most prominent 'rich second-generation heirs'.
He had Jin's explicit permission to teach them as he saw fit, with no need for special treatment.
"The team assignments were decided by the Hokage herself," Iruka stated firmly, "We consider more than just raw strength, as personality is also a major factor. Trunks, your and Ichika's personalities are... challenging, to say the least. Putting you together is meant to help you both learn to work together. Hinata's calm nature should help mediate between you. Do you understand?"
Under Iruka's stern gaze, the defiant aura of both Trunks and Ichika visibly deflated, and they reluctantly sat back down, though their expressions remained sour.
"Alright, team assignments are complete. Now, everyone wait quietly for your Instructors to arrive."
With that, Iruka gathered his materials and left the classroom.
The room's atmosphere quickly became lively again. The Instructors didn't all arrive at once… they came every few minutes, each calling out a team number and leading their three new students away.
"Team 8, follow me."
Kurenai, with her slender figure and ruby-like eyes, stood at the door and gestured lightly for them to follow.
"Ah! Aunt Kurenai!" Kazui exclaimed.
Kurenai smiled warmly and gently patted Kazui's orange hair. Of Jin's children, he was her favorite, largely because Trunks and Ichika were such a handful.
"Tch, a woman? Can she really teach us properly?" Kiba muttered under his breath, unimpressed.
Whoosh-
A sudden, invisible force, like a giant hand, slammed into Kiba and sent him flying to slam against the back wall of the lecture hall.
"Does this student now believe I am qualified to teach him?" Kurenai asked coolly, one hand resting on her hip.
Naruto and the others gulped audibly, 'So scary...'
Ten minutes later.
"Team 10: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, please come with me." This voice was as gentle and warm as a spring breeze.
Seeing Rin standing at the doorway, Ino's eyes lit up. "Such a kind-looking teacher! Life on her team should be pretty easy."
"Troublesome..." Shikamaru grumbled, holding his head. He'd heard about Rin from his father. Honestly, he wasn't thrilled about being taught by one of Jin's women.
It felt like being next to a sleeping tiger… incredibly dangerous.
"Aunt Kurenai and Aunt Rin? Their skills are... passable, I suppose. But neither is truly qualified to instruct me." Trunks declared with his characteristic pride.
"Feeling proud, are we? But your father doesn't seem very satisfied with your current level, Trunks."
A voice, starkly different from Rin's gentle tone, cold and sharp, came from the doorway. The speaker was a stunningly beautiful woman with golden hair.
Seeing her, Trunks nearly toppled out of his chair.
Among his father's partners, only one could truly overpower him in terms of strength: the woman now standing before him.
"Aunt #18!?" Ichika also cried out in shock, "But... you just had a baby! Is it really okay for you to be working?"
"Let's go." #18 offered no further explanation, simply brushing a strand of hair from her face and uttering the single, terse command.
After #18 led away Team 9, comprising two troublemakers and one peacemaker, a full hour and a half passed, and the trio of Team 7 still waited in the increasingly empty classroom.
Staring at the clock above the blackboard, Naruto finally lost his patience, "Where is our Instructor?! He's almost two hours late!"
Sakura wasn't feeling much better, but in an effort to maintain a ladylike composure in front of her crush, she forced a smile, "I'm sure he must have been held up by something important..."
As for Sasuke, even without experiencing the trauma of his clan's massacre, his innate tendency to act aloof seemed hardwired into the DNA of every Indra's Chakra Reincarnation. He remained in his seat, hands steepled under his chin, silently perfecting his 'cool loner' pose.
Another thirty minutes dragged by.
Finally, a silver-haired man sauntered in, late beyond belief.
…
Lunchtime.
"Yesterday, my family was shopping at a mall in West City," Krillin complained to the group, "Maron saw a bag that cost 79,000 Zeni. I didn't buy it for her, and she's been giving me the cold shoulder ever since."
Even though Jin had gifted them a villa in downtown West City as a wedding present, daily living expenses were still Krillin's responsibility.
After all, the old saying held true: you should help a friend in a crisis, but not with their chronic poverty.
"How is 79,000 expensive?" #17 retorted, turning his head, "It's been the same price for years! Making quality goods is difficult. Wages haven't gone up in forever. Maybe the problem is you haven't been working hard enough?"
After being thoroughly put in his place by Goku, #17 had abandoned his goal of killing him.
Through Bulma's connections, he'd found work as a forest ranger and was reportedly dating a female zoologist.
He'd dropped by today mainly to see his little niece, the one currently perched on Jin's shoulder. She was a small child with the same golden hair as her mother, dressed in Pikachu pajamas.
Uchiha Maron.
Speaking of which, there were now three women named 'Maron': Krillin's wife, Maron, his daughter, Little Maron, and now Jin's daughter, Uchiha Maron. It was getting a bit confusing.
Krillin rolled his eyes, "I'm starting to get it now. When choosing a woman, you can't just look at her face. Personality matters a lot too..."
He stood up to leave.
"Leaving already, Krillin?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd better get back and keep an eye on Maron. Who knows, if some guy offers her a bag in exchange for... you know... she might actually say yes..."
Watching Krillin's dejected retreating back, even #17 felt a twinge of sympathy, holding back his laughter.