(A few days later)
Ⅰ
Today was the day—the orientation. With the morning sun beaming through my window, I got out of bed and made my way to the dining hall for breakfast. After a brisk shower, I returned to my room to dress up in my usual attire: a beige shirt layered over a black undershirt, and a pair of brown trousers. To finish the look, I wrapped my neck with a soft gray scarf.
I left my room after putting my headband around my forehead. As I walked down the corridor of the compound, I met my little brother Konohamaru, humming to himself.
"Morning, Konohamaru!" I greeted him with a smile.
"Hey, big bro. Off to the academy?" he asked, closing the distance between us.
"Yep, orientation awaits. I'll stop by Naruto's place then head to the academy together. What about you? Any plans for today?" I asked, curious about my brother's schedule.
His eyes began to twinkle mischievously and he replied, "I'm going to practice the Sexy no Jutsu. I discovered a lot about what makes a woman really sexy. I hope to surprise the old man with my amazing transformation!"
A cold chill went down my spine as I recalled the day of Ebisu-sensei's（エビス先生） humiliating defeat.
Ebisu-sensei is Konohamaru's tutor and guardian. Konohamaru's parents are Anbu（暗部） who specialized in assassination. They mostly work in the shadows and rarely come back home. So, because of this, Ebisu-sensei was chosen to be Konohamaru's caretaker.
It happened on the day I had my picture taken for the Ninja Registration form. The form tracked our shinobi performance and rank, which functions as a resume. After handing the form and the picture to my grandpa, I was on my way home when I noticed my dear friend Naruto loitering around the entrance of the girls' public bath with my brother. I hid around the corner to see what they were up to and to my surprise, they transformed into girls and went inside.
Moments later, they came out of the building while wincing in pain. I quickly approached them from hiding and asked how the two met and what they were doing.
My brother explained that he had met Naruto during an attempt to ambush our grandpa. Konohamaru assumed that my dear friend had interfered with the attack, but Naruto clarified that my brother had simply tripped upon entering the room. However, despite this, Konohamaru still blamed him for ruining it. In response, Naruto smacked my brother in the head for saying nonsense. Afterward, Konohamaru began following Naruto from behind and begged him to teach the Sexy No Jutsu.
Hearing this, I asked my brother why he wanted to learn that technique. Then he replied that he didn't like being treated as an honorable grandson and just wanted everyone to treat him normally. To do that, he believed he needed to best our grandpa and then take a mantle as a Hokage so that everyone could see his true self.
There was a similarity between Naruto's and Konohamaru's desires. Both of them yearned to be accepted for who they were, not defined by the people's judgment or titles placed upon them. I can relate to their desire as I too had the same feeling when I first came here. The three of us have something in common: we all want to be acknowledged for who we are.
As I pondered these thoughts, Naruto asked me if I could observe their training. He said that I have good control of my chakra and it was better to have someone overseeing the practice. I was about to decline it and said no. But when they gave me those puppy-dog eyes… I couldn't resist.
So, I watched their training session until Ebisu-sensei arrived. Just as Ebisu-sensei was about to take Konohamaru away, my brother executed the Sexy no Jutsu perfectly. But despite this, Ebisu-sensei was able to resist it.
However, when Naruto executed a new jutsu called the Harem no Jutsu（ハーレムの術）, Ebisu-sensei got himself knocked out with his nose bleeding out.
I do not want to talk about the details of the technique since it would haunt me in my dreams, but for those who want to know what it is… Well, it is an enhanced version of the Sexy no Jutsu. The name harem should be able to let you know what it is as you will find yourself surrounded by them.
The impact of the jutsu was so effective that it was a historic moment for an elite tutor to be defeated.
"Well, umm... good luck with that." I patted his head and left the compound.
Ⅱ
As I arrived at Naruto's place, I knocked on the door in a rhythm.
"Who is it?" Naruto's voice came from inside.
"It's me, Darren," I replied.
"Hold on, Darren. I'll be right out,"
A few seconds later, the door swung open.
"Hi, Darren!"
"Hi, Naruto. Ready for the academy?"
"I sure am! Can't wait for orientation!"
"Great, let's—".
"But, there's something I've been itching to do," Naruto cut me off.
"Oh? What's on your mind?" I asked, already sensing the mischievousness in his tone.
"I was thinking of a parkour race to the academy," Naruto suggested.
"A pakour race?" I mused.
Naruto nodded eagerly, his eyes shining with anticipation. "I'm curious to see how much we've improved. And…" he took a deep breath to calm down his excitement. "After taking down Mizuki-sensei and earning my Konoha headband, I feel I can achieve anything!"
I softly chuckled, amused by his enthusiasm. "I see. But are you sure about this? I might leave you in the dust."
Naruto smirked confidently, unwaved by my taunts. "We'll see about that. How about we make things interesting with a little wager?"
"A wager?" I asked.
"Yep."
"What are we betting?"
"A meal at Ichiraku. Loser buys."
This sounded interesting. "Alright, Naruto. You're on. But don't start crying when I win."
"Hmph, we'll see."
We got into our positions as we both turned toward the direction of the academy. Ready to embark on our thrilling parkour race, Naruto began to count.
"On the count of three, we begin. Ready?"
"Ready." I nodded.
"Okay, here we go."
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
"GO!"
With Naruto's shout, we burst forward.
Ⅲ
"I'm gonna win!"
"No, you are not! It's gonna be me, Naruto!"
We both were neck and neck, running and jumping across the rooftop. Our breath got heavier as we got closer to the academy. The weight of our legs slowed us down, feeling the stamina dwindling each minute. But neither of us was willing to give upーwe pressed on. Keeping our pace steady.
Once we were in the facility, our pace became faster. My arms swinging in full effort, trying to stay in the lead. However, Naruto was persistent in catching up with me. He would push me to the side with his shoulder whenever I was ahead of him.
"Give up, Darren! I can hear your breath giving out already." He taunted.
"You are just imagining, Naruto." I shot back with a smirk. "I think it's your breath that needs a break!" I shoved him off in return.
Our shoulders bumped into each other—again and again. We kept pushing ourselves to the limit, trying to outrun each other. Our eyes burned in a fiery determination as we ran through the hallway.
Then, just as we approached the classroom door, we reached out our hands to open it. And at the same time, we shouted, "GOAL!" upon entering the room.
Our synchronized shout caught the attention of the other Genins. They soon returned to their conversation, unfazed by our dramatic entrance.
"Ha…ha…ha…"
Catching our breath, our chests were burning from the relentless running. Naruto glanced at me, a smirk playing on his lips. "Looks like I made it here first…"
"What are you talking about? I was clearly ahead of you." I shot back.
"Nope, it was me."
"Uh-uh, my foot was just a few centimeters ahead of yours."
"Oh, yeah? Wanna go again after school, Darren?!" Naruto challenged, his hand forming into a fist.
Just as I was about to accept it, a familiar voice cut through our banter.
"It's honestly a wonder how you've got the energy for a race this early in the morning, Darren."
We turned to see Shikamaru and Chouji, walking toward us. Shikamaru's expression was as bored as ever, and it didn't seem he was paying much attention. As for Chouji, he was smiling while munching his potato chips.
"Oh, hey you two. Didn't notice you guys were here already. Especially you, Shikamaru." I glanced at him.
Shikamaru shook his head and sighed. "My mom wanted me to make a good impression for the orientation… She said 'A fine shinobi should always be on their best behavior.'"
"Sounds like she knows that you will miss the big day," I replied.
"As if…" Shikamaru sighed, "Waking up this early is such a drag…". he yawned while scratching the back of his head.
Naruto and I chuckled, amused by Shikamaru's perpetual laziness.
Suddenly, Shikamaru's gaze shifted as if he had just noticed something odd next to me. He rubbed his eyes a couple of times to make sure that what he saw in front of him was real.
"Naruto? What are you doing here? This room is for those who have passed the exam." Shikamaru asked.
Naruto stopped laughing and turned to face him, pointing proudly at the headband tied around his forehead. "Can't you see this, Shikmaru? I am a Genin like you!"
"Wait, you passed?" Shikamaru raised his brow.
"Yep!"
"When did you pass?" Chouji asked. He stopped eating his snack.
Naruto brought his hand up to show the number. "Three days ago."
"Three days ago...?" Chouji repeated.
"That's the same day when we had our exam." Shikamaru crossed his arms. "Did you… have a follow-up exam or something?"
The two leaned in, their curiosity was palpable.
"Actually, I got into a bit of a fight with Mizuki-sensei when he tried to—"
"AHHH!"
I swiftly cut him off, covering his mouth with my hand.
"Umm, Darren. Why did you—"
"It's nothing!" I quickly answered.
"But I heard him saying—"
"It's nothing really! You know how Naruto always turns his story into an epic tale!" I tried to brush it off, keeping a firm grip over my dear friend's mouth.
Naruto and I were instructed to keep quiet about the incident as Mizuki-sensei was still under investigation. Keeping that promise, I didn't want my best friend to tell them how he got the headband. He would get into trouble again if he dared to slip a word of it.
But then, just as Shikamaru was about to press on, we heard a commotion going on from the corridor. We turned our heads to see what it was and there we saw two girls bursting into the room with a dramatic entrance.
"GOAL!" They shouted in unison. The two were also catching their breath, showing that they had raced to the classroom.
What a déjà vu.
"Looks like I won this time, Sakura!" Ino smirked, casting a smug glance at Sakura.
"What are you talking about, Ino?! I got here first!" Sakura shot back, her confidence was unwavering.
"Oh yeah?! Wanna go again, forehead?!" Ino taunted.
The word "forehead" hit a nerve, and Sakura's response was immediate. "Bring it on, Ino-pig!"
The tension quickly escalated as they locked eyes. They were about to get ready for the next round of the race.
But then, Ino soon noticed us watching from the side, abruptly bringing their argument to a halt.
"Oh, hey there." she greeted us, her tone shifting to something more casual.
"Hey, Ino." Shikamaru replied.
"What were you guys doing?" She walked to us and placed her hand on her hip.
Sakura also joined the conversation as she followed Ino behind.
"We were just talking to Darren and Naruto before you showed up," Chouji explained.
The mention of Naruto's name caught Ino's attention. She turned to look at him, and her eyes widened in a slight surprise when she saw me covering my dear friend's mouth.
"Why are you covering his mouth, Darren?" She asked.
"Oh, you know. I'm just trying to calm him down about how he graduated, that's all." I replied, keeping my hand tight.
She wasn't entirely convinced, her brow arching skeptically. She shifted her focus to Naruto and asked, "How did you graduate Naruto? Did Iruka-sensei give you a second chance to take the exam or something?"
Before I could stop him, Naruto wrenched my hand away with surprising force. "Nope!" he declared proudly. "I fought Mizuki-sensei when he tried to hurt Darren!"
The room fell silent for a moment as Naruto's words hung in the air. I froze, panic sugaring within me.
"You fought Mizuki-Sensei?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Oh yeah!" Naruto continued, puffing out his chest with pride. "I used the shadow clones to save him! The old man, I mean the Hokage was so impressed by my heroic action, he gave me the headband to let me graduate!"
I braced for the worst, expecting the others to ask me to clarify if this was true.
But to my surprise, they started to laugh.
"You still glamorize your tale, Naruto? No wonder Darren had to keep you under control." Shikamaru smirked.
"Yeah! You've got quite the imagination!" Chouji added, holding onto his stomach.
"You gotta stop doing this, Naruto. You are putting enough trouble for Darren." Ino gave me a knowing look.
"B-but it's true! It really happened!" Naruto argued.
"Oh, I bet it is." Ino teased with a grin. "But, next time please make sure to tell us how you saved Darrenーin a believable way."
Naruto then looked at Sakura, hoping she would believe him.
However, Sakura shook her head. "You need to grow up, Naruto. No one is ever going to believe your ridiculous stories if you keep doing this."
And with that, Naruto's shoulder slumped down, looking so defeated.
Ⅳ
"From this day forward, you are all Ninjas of Konoha Village. To get here, you faced difficult trials and hardships to earn the Konoha Headband. However, this achievement signifies not an end but a beginning—a turning point. Now, you are a Genin, all of you will be grouped into squads, each led by a Jounin, an elite Shinobi."
The mention of squad assignments immediately captured everyone's attention. Each squad would be made up of two boys and one girl. There are exceptions, like all-boy or all-girl but the norm has always been two boys and one girl.
However, Iruka-sensei's next revelation had sent the entire class by surprise.
"But before I move on to the squad assignments, there's one additional matter I need to address. This year, one squad will consist of four Genins."
All of the Genin exchange their curious glances upon hearing this.
"Four Genins? Darren, did you know about this?" Ino asked, knowing that my grandpa was involved with the squad assignments.
"Nope." I shook my head. "First time hearing it."
"Hmm… My dad didn't mention anything about this. I wonder who it could be…" she furrowed her brow.
"Who knows? I have a feeling it's going to be troublesome. But I'm sure it won't be me. I already know which team I will be on." Shikamaru chimed in.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well, it's because our fathers and their fathers were part of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation. It has been going for fifteen generations, so everything is set in stone."
"Oh, come on Shikamaru. Not everything would follow it accordingly. Things can change, you know." Ino remarked.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, considering her words. "That's true. But it's easier to accept things rather than hoping for change. Makes life less troublesome."
"You're so hopeless, Shikamaru." She sighed. "There's nothing wrong with having a bit of hope." Her gaze slowly shifted to Sasuke who was sitting in front of her. I could see that she was daydreaming about being on the same team.
As her attention remained fixed on Sasuke, Iruka-sensei began announcing the assignment. "Alright, let's get started."
Ⅴ
As more names from the list were being called upon for the assignment, Iruka-sensei finally revealed Team 7's members: Naruto Uzumaki, Haruno Sakura, and Sasuke Uchiha.
At first, Naruto was overjoyed to be on the same team as his longtime crush, Sakura. However, his excitement quickly disappeared when Sasuke was added to the team.
Ino buried her cheeks in her hands, disappointed that she wasn't part of Sasuke's team. Shikamaru's prediction turned out to be true as Iruka-sensei announced the members of Team 10ーShikamaru, Chouji, and Ino.
However, just when we thought the announcement was finalized, Iruka-sensei called out another member's name on the team: Darren Sarutobi.