Naruto : The System Files

Chapter no.108 Genin Teams

The chunin groaned internally. It was not fair. The teachers of the Academy were all supposed to be beyond reproach. How? How could he have even imagined an operation of sabotage was being conducted in the heart of Konoha, inside its very military school? It was T&I job to uproot spies, not his!

He trusted his colleagues to do the right thing.

How do you weigh the words of a child against the words of an adult?

"But you did not even attempt to verify Naruto's claims. And why would you expect them to do the right thing when you did not?"

Iruka shook his head and refused to follow this train of thoughts. Now was not the time, he had duties to attend to first. The brown-haired man focused again on his ex-students.

Hinata was curled into the same old ball of insecurities even with Naruto befriending her.

He had advocated for her to receive help. But her father had refused.

A Hyuuga did not need psychological support, Hinata as a Hyuuga, ergo Hinata did not need a shrink.

Iruka had concluded Hiashi was a son of a dog.

Shikamaru Nara was being his usual self, asleep and not having Ryo to care about the world around him. Not to say the boy with the pineapple cut was selfish; he did not care about himself either. The complete lack of personal drive was proof enough. Nara, Underachievers Inc. Shino Aburame was a proud member of his clan. The boy, hidden behind a high-collared beige coat, was silent, observing, and silent. Invisible.

Ino Yamanaka sat in silence while being admired by a few of the other girls as the Messiah.

Sakura was gushing over Sasuke.

The chunin was thankful for the psychological follow-up or he had no doubt the raven-haired Uchiha boy would have murdered any of his fangirls right now. It was such a waste, these girls had potential, and they were wasting it. But while it was the rule of the Academy to impose a certain amount of discipline, it was ultimately the parents' role to set their children straight.

Choji Akimichi was doing what he was best at and it was unfortunate for a clan heir's main talent to be his capacity to eat. Kiba Inuzuka, a feral-looking boy with a small white dog roosted on top of his head, was boasting. Ami was being insufferable, and so on. They had not changed. It had been barely a week, of course they had not changed. It felt like a month to Iruka but the youngs were blissfully ignorant of what was happening around them.

Well, no more.

They were ninjas now and they would have to grow up quick if they did not want to be on the receiving end of a career-ending incident.

A kunai through the skull was rarely forgiving, strangely enough.

Iruka coughed once, coughed twice, molded some chakra without the need of hand sign -he had become familiar enough with the jutsu to shape his inner energy instinctually- and roared, his head growing five time its normal size.

"Shut up!"

The Akimichi people were not the only one who knew about partial extension jutsus. The class stilled and all genins looked at the teacher. Iruka stared back, meanly. He had given two or three farewell speeches over the past few years and normally they were supposed to be encouraging.

In light of what had been happening behind the scene, he would be harsher today.

"You're shinobi now." Iruka barked dryly, startling some of the genins. "This headband you gained is merely the first step. Yesterday, you had a rank, a standing, a score that placed you among your peers; today, you are nothing but genin. Whether you were first or last yesterday has no bearing on who you are today, as you are nothing but genin. Yesterday, you were the oldest and the strongest of the Academy, today you are the youngest and weakest, you are nothing but genin."

Iruka swept a glance over his ex-charges. They were shocked by his tone; never had Iruka Umino, the kind teacher, spoken so.

"You can be proud to have passed the Academy but remember that there is still much more to learn. Remember that you're stepping out of school into the vast world. Do not doubt the skills you acquired here but do not become arrogant, for today, you are nothing but genin."

The teacher sighed at the flabbergasted looks he was receiving. In the eyes of some children, not necessarily those Iruka wanted to, shone some doubts. It was better than nothing. He would not solve everything today.

"I will now announce the teams.Team ten under Asuma Sarutobi; Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Sasuke," said Iruka dispassionately.

There were a loud outraged cry from a certain pink haired girl before the teacher silenced her with a glare and continued to announce the teams.

So Hinata felt weird because she did not know what to think.

Kiba was a loud, boastful boy who was nonetheless kind with his friends. She hoped she could gain his friendship. As for Sasuke…

Franky, Sasuke was an enigma. He was the heir to the Uchiha clan, the sole surviving member of the ruling family after something had happened many years ago. Since they had entered the Academy four years ago at age eight, Hinata had always seen the raven-haired boy alone and brooding.

About what exactly, Hinata could only guess but it probably concerned the family the boy had lost.

Not that Sasuke was alone, no.

He was the last of his line but not the last of his clan.

But the Uchiha who were left in Konoha after whatever had happened were distant cousins at best and apparently, their bloodline had receded to the point they were not able to use it.

Sasuke was the last potential wielder of the famed Sharingan.

Heir to the second most powerful clan in Fire Country.

Expected to do great things.

Orphaned.

Pressured.

Judged.

Hinata understood why the boy felt alone. She knew what it felt like, to a certain extent. Yet where she had caved in, he was the rookie of the year, undoubtedly the best ninja in class.

"Today, you are nothing but genin."

The warning of Iruka echoed in her head. Could Sasuke be nothing but a genin too? Wasn't he better than all of them?

Better than her?

"Yesterday, he had a rank."

Her teacher's words bounced within her mind.

"There is still much to learn."

Could she leave her rank behind her?

Could she shake the yoke of her past failures off her?

Could she learn too?

Could she change like how Naruto changed?

....

[ Author Note:

Hey everyone, Adamos-Amet here!

So, I've finally managed to fill in one of Kishimoto's plot holes regarding how Naruto managed to take the graduation exam three times despite being the same age as the other Konoha genin. It's pretty simple, really. Just like we saw with characters like Minato and Itachi in the anime, early graduation is a thing – you just have to apply for it. So in my story, Naruto applied to take the exam early and was failed each time.

Now, here's a question for you all: In this subplot of Iruka uncovering a conspiracy around Naruto's genin exams, who do you think is orchestrating it and why? Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Cheers,

Adamos-Amet