"It's time for team assignments…"
Iruka began to read the all-important team roster. Sakura Haruno's mood was a bit complicated; she glanced at Uchiha Satsuki, who was sitting not far away, whispering something to Naruto…
She had fantasized about being in the same team as her… After all, Satsuki was both strong and beautiful…
But as soon as that thought emerged, another feeling of reluctance welled up. But, if we're assigned to teams, I'll probably be separated from Ino, right…
Because Satsuki in this timeline is a girl, there wasn't the fierce rivalry between Sakura and Ino Yamanaka over Sasuke as in the original story.
While they occasionally had small competitions, they generally maintained a very good friendship.
"Ino, who do you want to be with…"
Sakura was about to turn her head and quietly ask Ino next to her who she hoped to be teamed with, when she was surprised to find Ino with her eyes tightly closed, hands clasped together in front of her chest, muttering rapidly and incessantly.
"Not with Naruto… Not with Satsuki… Not with Naruto… Not with Satsuki…"
"Ino? What are you doing?" Sakura completely failed to understand the meaning of her friend's strange behavior.
Just then, Iruka on the podium read out familiar names.
"Team Seven, Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura Haruno…"
Sakura looked towards the podium, however, at the very moment her name and Naruto's name were called out—
An extremely sudden, bone-chilling coldness, like invisible needle points, abruptly pierced her back!
Sakura jolted violently. She couldn't describe the feeling… It was like being targeted by something extremely terrifying, hidden in the dark, filled with an indescribable sense of oppression!
What's going on?!
Sakura instinctively tensed her body, frantically trying to turn her head to find the source of this terrifying threat—but Iruka's next sentence clearly rang out.
—and, Uchiha Satsuki."
Huh?!!
She… really got teamed with Satsuki?! The immense joy of being in the same team as the person she admired instantly dispersed that strange sense of threat, making Sakura's mood soar from rock bottom to the peak like a rollercoaster!
And almost at the exact moment the name "Uchiha Satsuki" was spoken, that suffocating coldness that had locked onto her, receded like a tide, disappearing without a trace.
Sakura blinked blankly, not yet having time to ponder what that strange feeling was, when she was overwhelmed by immense joy.
"That's great, Ino! I'm with Satsuki…!"
Sakura immediately turned around, eager to share this huge joy with her best friend, however, she saw Ino looking at her with an extremely complex expression.
In her eyes, there was the relief of having just escaped a great calamity, but more than that… there was a deep… pity?
"Sakura… listen carefully."
Ino reached out and firmly grabbed Sakura's shoulders, her expression unprecedentedly solemn and serious.
Startled by her friend's sudden serious demeanor, Sakura subconsciously responded, "Yes…?"
"Absolutely! Absolutely! Do not get too close to Naruto! Especially… do not appear near them when he and Satsuki are together! Otherwise… something truly, truly terrifying will happen!"
"Eh? Naruto? Why?" Sakura was completely bewildered, "Naruto doesn't seem like the type who would…"
"Just listen to me! Trust me!" Ino interrupted Sakura's question, tightening her grip a little more, "For your own safety! Remember this!"
On the other side, completely unlike the anxious Ino, Uchiha Satsuki's biggest worry did not materialize. When she heard her name closely linked with Naruto's, the huge stone in her heart finally completely dropped.
She rarely showed such a joyful expression, turning slightly to whisper something to Naruto beside her, her eyes and brows filled with undisguised delight, and Naruto also smiled in response.
On the podium, Iruka did not notice these small interludes below and continued to read the team assignments.
"Team Eight, Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Shino Aburame."
"…"
"Team Ten, Ino Yamanaka, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji."
Hearing that her teammates were Nara Shikamaru, the laziest in the class, and the chubby Choji, Ino still couldn't help but pout, a wave of displeasure rising in her heart.
Ugh… Seriously, why these two guys…
But this bit of displeasure was quickly replaced by another, stronger emotion: the relief of having survived a disaster.
Oh well, oh well… Although it's a bit boring, it's much safer than… much safer than being teamed with those two guys!
— — — — — —
After that, it was time to wait for each Jonin instructor to claim their new team members. The students in the classroom gradually decreased as names were called out one by one.
Slowly, those familiar faces appeared again in sequence.
Sarutobi Asuma, with a cigarette in his mouth and looking like an old man, pushed open the door and casually waved towards Team Ten. "Team Ten, let's go."
He then led Ino Yamanaka, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji out of the classroom. Before leaving, Ino didn't forget to look back and give Sakura a "good luck" look.
Immediately after, the cool and elegant Yuhi Kurenai also walked in, her gaze accurately landing on the three members of Team Eight. "Team Eight, follow me."
Hyuga Hinata quietly responded and quickly followed, Inuzuka Kiba, however, energetically shouted "Osu!", while Shino Aburame silently pushed up his sunglasses.
Other unnamed background students were also successively led away by their respective Jonin instructors.
Soon, the once noisy classroom was left with only three isolated individuals—Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Satsuki, and Sakura Haruno.
The atmosphere became somewhat subtle for a moment.
Sakura looked at Satsuki's cool and beautiful profile sitting in the front row, took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and with a slight blush on her face, proactively walked up to strike up a conversation.
"Um… Satsuki-chan, after our Jonin instructor arrives… should we go have lunch together? Just to… celebrate being in the same team, and we can get to know each other better…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Satsuki rejected her directly without even turning her head.
"No need. I have something to do later."
"Eh?" Sakura didn't expect to be rejected so bluntly and quickly tried to salvage the situation, "But… we're about to fight side-by-side in the same team, shouldn't we get to know each other and build some rapport at this time…?"
"Not interested."
Satsuki's tone remained cold, "Rapport or whatever, we can build it during missions. You just need to make sure you don't hold us back during missions."
Satsuki was indeed a bit troubled at the moment. She had originally thought, she had even worried a little before that this girl named Sakura Haruno might have inappropriate feelings for Naruto.
As it turned out, this girl had been trying to talk to her ever since, and that overly enthusiastic and focused attitude made Satsuki feel a bit annoyed and… wary?
Meanwhile, Naruto silently watched this scene. The Satsuki who exuded a cold aura of "do not approach strangers" towards others was the normal state of "Uchiha Nizhu Zi" that he was familiar with from the original story.
She only showed this attitude to people other than himself, Uncle Fugaku, and Aunt Mikoto.
Only at such times could Naruto clearly see the shadow of the arrogant Sasuke from the original story in Satsuki.
Uh… did I overdo it a bit?