This scene was also witnessed by several jonin inside the Hokage's office.
All of them stared at the Third Hokage's crystal ball with black lines on their faces.
Asuma said, "So that's Uchiha Sasuke, the top student of this year."
"Judging from his grades, he's excellent. Not inferior to Kakashi back then."
Kakashi, who had been quietly watching the crystal ball, replied calmly, "He might even be stronger than I was at his age."
After all… he's an Uchiha.
The Uchiha Clan carried weight in Kakashi's heart.
His friend. His former subordinate. Both had been Uchiha.
He had seen firsthand the power of that clan.
The Third Hokage watched the scene with helpless exasperation.
Naruto… why does that kid always cause such unexpected trouble?
None of them paid any attention to Yoru.
Yoru's grades over the years had been average—neither good nor bad.
Even the Third Hokage had no particular impression of him.
That was only natural.
By his previous image, Yoru was just an ordinary student.
Nothing special. Not from a ninja clan.
There was no reason for anyone to pay attention.
After a while, Iruka walked into the classroom.
Under the nervous gazes of the students, he took out the team assignment list.
Ino, sitting beside Yoru, silently prayed.
Please let me be assigned to the same team as Yoru.
Unfortunately, she didn't know her future had already been clearly arranged by the Third Hokage and their parents' generation.
The Ino–Shika–Cho formation would never be separated.
Or rather, the Konoha Twelve had long since been arranged.
There was no room for deviation.
Sure enough, Iruka read several teams, and Yoru's name didn't appear.
When he reached Team Ten, Iruka announced:
"Team Ten: Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, Yamanaka Ino."
Exactly as Yoru expected.
Even though he had forgotten many details of the plot, he had lived in Konoha for over a decade.
He already understood the general structure of the village clans.
How could the Ino–Shika–Cho formation possibly be split?
Ino slumped over her desk weakly. "What kind of team assignment is this? I'm not even on the same team as Yoru."
Shikamaru sighed helplessly. "Hey, can you not say that right in front of us? We're supposed to be teammates."
Ino snorted.
When she looked at Yoru, she noticed how calm he was, as if he had long expected this outcome.
Dejected, she said, "Yoru, we're not on the same team."
Yoru smiled. "The teachers must have their reasons."
Iruka continued, "Team Eleven: Yamada Shumu, Keibun Yoru, Motoya Tada."
Yoru thought to himself, As expected. My teammates are two students no one's heard of.
Team Eleven consisted entirely of civilian-born students.
Yoru believed their instructor would likely not be one of Konoha's well-known elite jonin.
Probably just an ordinary jonin.
Or perhaps even a special jonin. Possibly even a chunin.
Meanwhile, the two unfamiliar classmates were scanning the room, searching for their teammates.
Yamada Shumu was a boy with a personality somewhat similar to Naruto's—though oddly enough, he wore his hair in a ponytail.
Motoya Tada was a rather pretty girl with long golden hair flowing down to her waist. She wore a pure white top and a plain black skirt without any patterns.
She looked quiet and refined.
Yoru had never paid much attention to the two of them before.
Likewise, they seemed to have little impression of him.
However, the two of them had always been on good terms with each other.
To them, Yoru was a stranger.
After the teams were finalized, the guiding jonin began arriving to collect their students.
The first to enter was Asuma.
As soon as he stepped in, he looked at Shikamaru's group. "Team Ten. I'm your jonin instructor. Follow me."
Before leaving, Ino looked at Yoru reluctantly. "Yoru, my family owns a flower shop in the shopping district. I usually help out there. You have to come visit me, okay?"
Yoru nodded slightly.
If he didn't agree, she probably wouldn't leave.
Shikamaru also said, "Yoru, we'll get going."
Yoru smiled. "Yeah. See you."
After the three of them left, Shumu and Tada moved to sit beside Yoru.
Shumu was cheerful. As soon as he sat down, he turned to Yoru, extended his hand, and grinned.
"Yoru, nice to meet you. I'm Yamada Shumu. Looks like we're teammates now. Let's take care of each other."
Yoru smiled back. "Nice to meet you, Shumu. Please take care of me as well."
"Yoru, I'm Motoya Tada. Let's work well together," Tada said generously, extending her hand as well.
Yoru shook her hand lightly before letting go. "Likewise, Tada."
And just like that, the three of them became acquainted.
When he shook their hands, Yoru could sense the chakra within their bodies.
It wasn't particularly abundant.
Just at the level of ordinary genin.
This was one of the side effects of natural energy—heightened sensitivity to energy.
Not only chakra, but energy fluctuations and even danger felt clearer to him now.
With just that brief contact, Yoru had already gained a preliminary understanding of his two teammates.
He didn't dislike them.
Both had decent personalities.
Shumu was similar to Naruto, but far less impulsive—just cheerful.
Tada was somewhat like Hinata, but not nearly as timid—simply quiet and gentle.
Her looks weren't inferior to Hinata's either.
Her fashion sense, however, was far superior.
Yoru could tell at a glance that although Tada wasn't from a ninja clan, her family background was definitely well-off.
The clothes she wore were clearly expensive.
Most likely, she was a little rich girl.
Both Tada and Shumu were extremely curious about Yoru.
They truly had no impression of him.
Shumu couldn't help asking, "Yoru… why don't I remember you at all?"
"Were you a transfer student or something?"
Tada also looked at him, equally curious.
Yoru felt somewhat helpless.
It seemed that aside from Shikamaru, hardly anyone in class had really noticed him.
Despite being in the same classroom for six years.
He patiently explained, "I've been in this class for six years."
Shumu froze. "Y-You've been here for six years?!"
He couldn't believe it.
Six whole years—and he had no memory of Yoru whatsoever.
Tada covered her mouth in shock.
She was just as stunned.
Yoru gave a wry smile. "Maybe I just don't talk to people much."
Shumu nodded earnestly. "Yeah… I seriously have no memory of you. That's so strange."
"But from now on, we're teammates. We won't let you be alone anymore."
He grinned brightly.
Yoru was slightly taken aback.
So it's not just the main cast who have people like this.
Even background characters can be decent people.
They just don't have the strength to stand in the spotlight… so they fade into the background.
The unlucky ones might even die during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The unluckier ones might not even survive long enough to see it—falling during some random mission instead.