Author notes: Kakashi, Shikaku and the Konoha 12 fought the 4th ninja war and lost, and they all returned back in time to just before Naruto was born. This story is twelve years later.

There is a mention of Shin, a Root member who Sai saw as a brother figure. I decided he is still alive in this, but not doing very well. My reasoning: Root was dismantled before Sai and he had to fight, so before Sai finished his root training.

Thanks to my Beta reader Feiris for correcting mistakes I made as well as helping me with ideas and improving my text as a whole.

Yamato was called in for a meeting with the Hokage. He entered the conference room. Shikaku was sitting next to the fourth Hokage. A few teachers from the academy were on their left side. Yamato recognized Umino Iruka, holding a book that Yamato concluded was school records. On the other side of the table, there was Yuuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma. Jonins. Yamato sat next to them, figuring it was his place to go. A few other jonins entered, and finally, Hatake Kakashi. Shikaku closed the door behind him.

"We called you jonins here because you'll become team leaders of the new batch of graduates," the Yellow Flash explained.

Yamato had figured that part out. It seemed obvious when three academy teachers showed up.

"Iruka, can you present the students before we finish up the teams?" Shikaku said. "Lord Fourth and I have already made a draft, but as their teacher for the past couple of years, we want your opinion as well."

Iruka cleared his throat. "First, we have Sai. He has average grades."

Kurenai asked about his background. Iruka resumed his academic grades, strengths and weaknesses. Yamato decided to add on to it all.

"I'm somewhat familiar with Sai. He was recruited by Danzo not so long before Root was disassembled. He was raised by Shin, whom he saw as a big brother. Shin is quite young himself, but he wanted to care for him. Sai, from what I've seen from interacting with him since, loves to draw and he seems to have come up with a jutsu about that. I saw him spar with Shin."

Yamato decided not to mention that he had had to work with a very young Sai before Danzo was killed. Yamato had his speculations on who had done the job, not recognizing the Anbu mask, but rumors were that it was Kakashi Hatake. Yamato didn't hold any grudge, though, because the order was from the Hokage himself, and what Yamato learned afterwards regarding Danzo was very troubling to say the least.

Shikaku smiled at Yamato talking about Sai. "I thought that you knew him when he was younger, which you did. That's why we think you should be his squad leader. Seeing a familiar face after being an orphan will probably be beneficial to him."

Yamato nodded. It made sense. He would have proposed to take Sai under his tutelage had they not thought about it already.

Iruka continued with the next student without a last name in his list.

"Tsubane is very good with chakra control. She's very intelligent as well. She showed interest in being the medic on her squad." He then turned to the Hokage and his assistant. "I don't know who you planned on having as her teacher, but could anyone help her with wood release? She… hum... showed some skills in that."

Yamato knew why Iruka was a little hesitant. Wood Release was very rare. Senju Hashirama had it, and he was leagues above most shinobi. Yamato had it as well, because of the experiments Orochimaru subjected him to.

"What should I know about her?" Yamato asked, hinting very not subtly that he wanted her in his team. He needed a girl in it anyway.

"She's an orphan. While traveling close to Konoha, Shizune and Tsunade found her. Tsunade mentioned her umbilical cord was still attached to the dead mother, who they assumed died in childbirth just before the two medics came there. Shizune brought her into the orphanage."

That was awful! And that didn't explain why the kid had Wood Release. But no one would know, if that's how the Sannin found her.

"She might be coming from a good clan, because she has that kind of chakra reserve that rivals the Uzumaki," Iruka added.

Yamato stretched on his seat to see the picture. She didn't have the signature red hair of the Uzumaki clan. But Naruto didn't either. Tsubane had blond hair with a little tint of brown in it. She had a fierce look on her face, as shown in the academy pictures.

Iruka continued with Aburame Shino. He resumed reading out his profile by saying he was very quiet, and timid. Apparently, he didn't talk much unless he had questions. He was raised by his clan to use insects. Yamato had expected that kind of remark, having interacted with Aburame clan members before. Even if you hadn't, they were known for their Kikaichu.

Shikaku then mentioned Akimichi Choji. Immediately, Asuma nodded in Shikaku's direction, and seemed to listen with even more interest compared to when it came to the previous reports. Yamato wondered if Asuma knew of his team members beforehand.

"Choji can be distracted in class and is easily influenceable to participate in pranks, and mischievous behavior despite his kind attitude. He has good grades, but he lacks confidence. Especially with his physical abilities. But he still passed our tests and I'm sure with good training, he'll become as good as his parents," Iruka said.

Then there was another civilian, Haruno Sakura. Yamato didn't focus much on her, convinced he'd have Tsubane in his team. Apparently, Sakura also had good chakra control, but very small chakra reserves in comparison to Tsubane.

Iruka then cleared his throat at the mention of Hyuuga Hinata.

"She is the heir of the Hyuuga clan. She's timid, but motivated."

Shikaku intervened. "There is a lot of pressure put on her, because her cousin from the Branch House, Neji, is far stronger. I'm sure one of the teachers here probably agrees with this notion, because you had him at the academy last year."

A teacher Yamato didn't know nodded, saying Neji should have been the heir, and it was sad he was from the branch family.

Shikaku continued.

"We chose Kurenai to be Hinata's sensei. Hiashi has been told. She'll be in the tracking team. Hiashi has agreed to the team type, as it's less likely to cause unnecessary risks that could pose problems for the clan, like enemies getting their hands on the Byakugan."

Kurenai gulped. She didn't seem so confident in having the heir of such an important clan in her charge. Yamato shrugged. Other than a few orphans, a lot of them were heirs, or siblings of those heirs, thus making them the spare. But Kurenai didn't seem to view being in charge of them in such a positive light. Besides, she was a genjutsu specialist, so it seemed like an odd choice to put her in charge of the tracking team. In theory, of course. Shikaku seemed to think it to be the best choice. Genjutsu can hide one's presence, as well as cover their tracks. Obviously, those are vital skills in tracking.

Minato added, "Inuzuka Kiba will end that tracking team with his dog Akamaru. Kiba's hyperactive, so it could conflict with Hinata and Shino's calm personality, but I'm sure they'll balance each other. Iruka, can you give Kurenai the profiles of her students?"

Iruka nodded before executing. He then looked at the next person on his list and sweatdropped.

"Next is Shikamaru."