[Minato Namikaze[ During the announcement of Teams]

Our current homeroom teacher is giving his speech on our tenure as students but it is visible that his focus isn't on that. To be honest, even I can't focus on doing something that stupid. Most of the students are busy with their gossip and don't seem to care about what he is saying.

The only reason me and the gang are present during this is to get our genin Team designations. I have had some time to myself over the last few weeks after Gran's passing. From the introspections, I have concluded that I was being a petulant man-child for the last 2-3 years(quite literally in my case). It was hard to admit but I was almost acting worse than literal children.

My childish body fucking with my mind and my own issues amplified by the trauma of my parents' death seriously fucked up my brain. Thankfully, Gran helped me with my issues. Honestly, after remembering how unstable I was mentally, I would call it a miracle that I didn't fuck some important things over.

I am still not the most well-adjusted individual as proven by my act of taking Gran's wish of me following the Will of fire incredibly seriously. Any sane person would have taken that advice with a grain of salt,but that's who I am.

Some things define a person and my dependence on my family and friends is one such thing. Fortunately, I won't be having any psychotic episodes anymore but I will never change my dependence on my friends. That's a trait of mine which defines my core.

Therefore, I will try to follow this 'Will of Fire'. I won't suddenly develop empathy for every citizen of Konoha but I will damn well try to improve Konoha in any way I can.

Another thing I took out of that philosophy is kindness and unity. Shodai Hokage and Madara had to join hands to make Konoha. They might have killed thousands but it was the act of kindness Hashirama showed towards Madara that made the creation of this village possible.

I have visited many areas of Konoha in the last few months and the happiness amongst the population is incredible. This world may be a dead world but I can safely say that the happiness index of this world would be many times above my previous world. Shinobi may embody the act of killing but the civilians don't. The civilian population of the world is many times the shinobi population.

The simple fact is that being a shinobi is equated with being the boogeyman in this world. There is a clear divide between the civilians and the shinobi. It's not that shinobi and civilians don't interact with each other. It's just that the perspective on life differs too much between the two. That's why a shinobi would hate to be a civilian just as much as a civilian would hate being a shinobi.

Still, the civilian population in this world is pretty happy as compared to my previous one. Turns out that the constant threat of death by random shinobi has led to job pressure and stuff being none existent. Society in this world tends to promote healthier habits. Of course, there is still discrimination and prejudice amongst the population but it matters a lot less.

This happiness wouldn't have been available in the warring states era where every ninja clan was out for the blood of others. This is why I have decided to be a kinder person. Of course, I won't spare an enemy but I will damn well prefer negotiations before any actual battles as an act of kindness can be much more powerful than a massacre.

Still, I am excited to see who my Jonin sensei is. I want to fight them. The only person I have let loose against was Gran but I knew most of her style by the time I started fighting her back. I won't be accustomed to the enemy ninja's style on the battlefield. Damn you, Gran! You turned me into a guy with loads and loads of battle lust!

Hmm... Looks like Sensei is finally finishing that boring speech. Wait what? I am Jiraiya's apprentice? I was hoping for an apprenticeship but holy shit...this is awesome man!

"...Those of you who haven't been selected for a genin team can leave and meet Chunin Nagumo or Chunin Kousuke for your initiation into the genin corps. They will be available in the corps building no. 7 at * street.

Those of you in an actual team, Congratulations! Your Jonin Sensei will come to pick you up in an hour at most. If any of you have teammates in Year 5, they will be coming to the classroom in 2-3 minutes.

Now, my work here is done. So I give my final goodbye to you all. Once again, all the best for the future..."

After saying this, Sensei leaves the classroom. Most of the children here are despairing at being put in the Genin corps but I find it hard to sympathise with them.

If they were actually serious about being a ninja then it is a blessing that they got held back. Being in Genin corps gives them a better lifespan except in the case of a full blown war. If you are serious about being a ninja and not sufficiently talented then the only outcome for you is death.

If they weren't serious about it then tough luck. There is no place for slackers in a ninja team unless you are a clan heir or a clan kid with strong connections.

Suddenly, I feel two slaps on my shoulders and-

"Congratulations Minato! You finally got what you wanted, didn't you? An apprenticeship is fucking rare buddy. Give it all you got!" " I am happy for you Minato! We need a party at Ichiraku for this. You have to organise a party for this buddy!"

I feel a smile creep up on my face as I turn to face Shikaku and Choza. The last two years have been good for them as well. Choza finally became a little mature a year ago and started training in his family Jutsu intensely after seeing how motivated we were all being.

The results speak for themselves. He is the fourth best Taijutsu specialist in the class after me, Kushina and Hiashi and he can give some trouble to Hiashi in their matches.

Hiashi is coming over to our spot. I give a nod to him which he reciprocates. I apologized to him ages ago. Turns out that he really didn't bear a grudge. Our relationship is of friendly acquaintances. He has become creative in his insults- which is a better way of saying that he's an asshole, not an unlikable one but still an asshole.

Hiashi faces me and says, "Namikaze, I would like to commune with my teammates. It would be kind of you to go torment people elsewhere."

Shikaku and Choza's smiles became a little brittle after Hiashi spoke. Oh... I can just tell that they will have great chemistry (Sarcasm).Never let anyone say that Hyuga don't know how to politely tell you to fuck off. I don't really mind as they must discuss stuff after all.

I smile and say," Okay man! No problems. I will go away. Just don't forget to pull that metre long pole from your ass. Maybe it will help you in a fight?"

I say that and leave without listening to his reply. I can just hear him gritting his teeth and my friends trying to keep their chuckles in.

I try to spot a lonely corner and I end up spotting Mikoto and Kushina happily chattering while Inoichi is sitting on the nearest desk and tuning the girls out while reading some book named 'How to be friends with dumbasses?'. Oi Oi! How the hell has noone noticed this before? Inoichi's fucking with us and no one has noticed!

"Hey girls!" I call and wave to them. They spot me and wave back enthusiastically as well.

I will freely admit that I had reservations about Mikoto but they were mostly due to unreasonable paranoia. Mikoto and Kushina would have been great friends without my intervention. They still are. Seems like some people will be friends in every world.

Still, Mikoto proved herself a great friend contrary to my baseless suspicions of her being an Uchiha spy-Yes, I know that's stupid and I thought that too but it was an itch in the back of my mind that refused to go away. Fugaku affected my vision of Uchiha pretty badly. She hasn't shown any sign of even trying to give away my secrets. It was just me being stupid again.

As soon as I reach Kushina's vicinity, she practically jumps-

"Congratulations Minato! You are awesome dattebane!"

-and hugs me. I hug her back and pat her head. She's an adorable little munchkin. We have been living together for weeks and she resembles a cat far too much (except she's hyperactive).

Mikoto comes over and joins in on the hug.

"Congratulations Minato! You deserve that apprenticeship more than anyone in this generation." Mikoto says that with a smiling face.

For a second I feel guilty over receiving this apprenticeship. Kushina or Mikoto deserve this far better than I do. I basically cheated. I ruthlessly crush that guilt immediately. I have helped Kushina and the others as well. If I hadn't cheated, my friends wouldn't have been this much better than their canon selves( I think that I helped them improve).

I smile back and say," Nah! You all are pretty great too. I just got a bit lucky... Oh hey, Inoichi! Won't you congratulate me?"

The fucker has the gall to close his book, show me his middle finger and then go back to the book.

Before I curse him, Mikoto turns my face over to her," Leave him alone Minato! He's just salty that he's the weakest member on our team. Also...can you stop hugging me?"

I step backwards immediately and am greeted with smug smiles from both the girls. Damn they got me!

I prepare to quip back-

"Are Team 8 in this room? If yes, come with me to the roof." A 6'2 feet man with pitch white eyes and brownish hair wearing a pale white yukata spoke those words authoritatively.

Shikaku, Choza and Hiashi who were apparently bickering amongst themselves stopped immediately and straightened themselves up. They quickly followed behind their Jonin Sensei...

After sometime, another person entered the almost deserted room- Almost all the teams had left with their Jonin Sensei. This guy was ...far less intimidating. He had an average height of 5'9 and possessed red tribal marks typically found on Inuzuka shinobi. He wore the typical Jonin vest and wore a lazy expression on his face.

He spoke with a lazy drawl in his tone," Yo Team 9... If you are in this class then follow me to the Training ground 9. Your first task is to reach there in less than 7 minutes. And your time starts now!" He immediately leaves the room after speaking his piece.

Kushina and Mikoto turned their heads toward each other immediately. They appear to be having some kind of mental conversation while Inoichi closed his book immediately and made a run for it. Kushina and Mikoto's staring contest ended in less than 2 seconds and then they were gone...

I waited for some time before a guy with spiky white hair entered the room. He is built like a shithouse and his face is the epitome of seriousness. I would have believed him to be a model Ninja had I not known about him being a 'Super pervert'...

He immediately spots me in the room- kinda hard not to with only 7 students here- and speaks with his baritone voice (how I wish to attain that deep tone): "You there with the spiky yellow hair. If you are the brat I am supposed to train, then reach Training ground 7 in 3 minutes. If you can't even do that, consider your apprenticeship rescinded."

He immediately disappears in an explosion of white smoke. I am sure his intimidation tactics would have affected me much better if I didn't know as much as I know about him and if I didn't spend the better half of my last year being repeatedly pummeled to the ground by a S rank shinobi.


I reach the Training ground in under 2 minutes and spot Jiraiy- Sensei standing like a statue in the middle of the clearing which looks suspiciously like the one where Kakashi would have given his team the bell test.

He stares at me intensely and says," You performed...adequately. Your next task is to move me from the spot I currently occupy in a span of 60 minutes. Failing that, you will be sent back to the academy. Let's see if you actually got some skills or Lady Mito was bluffing about you."

His condescending voice and that smirk of his irritate me but by now, I am used to insults much worse during spars. Gran made sure to educate me in the art of insults as well.

I reply to him with a smirk of my own," Oh I don't know, old man. I think it will be an easy win considering that your hair is completely bleached. How old are you anyway? 70?"

He doesn't reply except with a slight twitch of his left eyebrow but that was indication enough that I irritated him.

I smile confidently and get into the posture for a charge and then 'Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'. Me and my clones flood him with a volley of 'Rasengan'.


A/N: Take another chapter you weebs! Next chapter will be from Jiraiya's perspective. Wish me luck as I will be writing my first long fighting scene in the next one.

I have tried to show that Minato has developed a bit and is aware that he was acting as a man child. I always thought that either the civilian population of Narutoverse will be in a state of constant despair or a state of constant happiness due to the Narutoverse being incredibly fucked up.

Do tell if there are things which could have been executed better in this chapter. Your feedback is the drug that gives me motivation so keep commenting down your opinions. Seriously, my writing speed depends on your feedback.

Anyways, I hope you all like the chapter. If you spot any bullshit plotholes, inform me and I will patch them up.

If you are interested, here's the discord server's link: discord. gg /72vandfbmG

Goodbye and stay tuned for the next chapter.