Chapter 33: End of graduation Ceremony
Chapter
33: End of Graduation
The unexpected class configuration
left everyone in the classroom stunned. A team of four was unusual. Within
their cognitive scope, graduation classes should be in teams of three, with a
team leader. Why did a team of four suddenly appear now?
Everyone widened their eyes, looking
back and forth at Menma, Sasuke, and Naruto with a hint of surprise. Shikamaru
raised his eyebrows, showing a look of astonishment. As for Haruno Sakura, she
subconsciously cheered when she heard the news about the class division.
"Yeah, yeah!!!" she
exclaimed, not only thrilled to be in the same team as Sasuke, her long-time
crush, but also happy to be with Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage, and
Menma, the top student in the academy.
Haruno Sakura had enough reasons to
be happy. However, her cheers attracted countless envious and jealous looks
from the class, mostly girls but also some boys. After all, who wouldn't want
to be in the same team with the best students?
Haruno Sakura sensed the 'hostile'
gazes immediately. After shrinking her neck, she sat down with an awkward yet
polite smile, closing her mouth. She had no doubt that if she continued, these
jealous classmates might directly pounce on her!
'Don't pay attention to me, don't
pay attention to me,' she muttered under her breath, pretending to be an
ostrich with its head buried in the sand.
Naruto and Sasuke, after being
slightly stunned, also looked at Menma with different expressions in their
eyes.
"Hoo ho! We can be in the same
team, Sasuke, Menma, and Sakura. We need to give each other more advice from
now on!" Naruto said with a hearty smile, holding out his thumb, looking
at Sasuke and Menma.
In this life, due to different
circumstances and treatment, Naruto wasn't as obsessed with Haruno Sakura as in
the original work. His relationship with Hinata was much stronger. Despite
having the same experiences in childhood, Naruto, as the son of the Fourth
Hokage, had the support of the Hyuga family, who had no reason to oppose his
relationship with Hinata. Therefore, their relationship was not as close, but
Naruto's nature remained the same, making him still have a good impression of
Haruno Sakura.
"That's not fair!
Iruka-sensei!" one student shouted. "Why are Menma-kun, Sasuke-kun,
and Naruto-kun in the same team?" another cried out. "Ahhh! I can't
accept it!" "Sensei! This is unscientific! There are four people in a
team!" "Sensei, please explain!"
The brief moment of shock was
followed by an uproar, thanks to Iruka's gentle personality. The students were
in turmoil, not caring about the number of people in the team but about the
three best students being in the same team. Menma and Sasuke were the fixed top
two. Although Naruto's theoretical results hindered him, he was still firmly in
the top five. Such a team configuration was unacceptable to many.
The more they thought about this,
the more resentment they felt towards Haruno Sakura. Her small frame began to
tremble under the intense scrutiny.
"Ahem, be quiet, be
quiet," Iruka coughed a few times, patting the podium lightly. "The
divisions between Menma, Naruto, and Sasuke were arranged by the Hokage
himself. You little guys, please stop arguing."
"Hey!?" "Did the
Hokage personally arrange it?" "Isn't it?" "That seems
understandable. After all, it's Sasuke-kun, Menma-kun, and Master Naruto!"
"Ahhh! I still can't accept it!!!!" "Then why can Haruno Sakura
go in?" "Ahh! I can't understand!"
Unexpected, but also seemingly
reasonable. Menma gradually calmed down after the initial shock. Should he
lament the strong inertia of the original plot? Or acknowledge that the Third
Hokage really knew how to arrange things?
This allocation indeed seemed more
reasonable. As Menma had thought before, if they had to choose the most
suitable Jonin to lead the three of them in Konoha Hidden Village, it was
definitely Hatake Kakashi. Everyone else had different problems or shortcomings.
Only Kakashi was the most suitable, or rather, the only suitable candidate.
'Is this actually the arrangement?
But it doesn't matter,' Menma thought, nodding gently to Naruto with a peaceful
expression. He also glanced back at Sasuke, who shifted his gaze
simultaneously. However, noticing Menma's gaze, Sasuke snorted, turned back,
and faced Menma with the back of his head. This made Menma chuckle inwardly.
Sasuke was born with the attribute of tsundere.
No matter how the little guys below
howled, the result of the four-member team of Class 7 was a foregone
conclusion. Iruka put on a stern face, using his authority to suppress the
students, avoiding chaos.
"Class 8, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba
Inuzuka, Shino Aburame." "Class 9..." "Class 10, Shikamaru
Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi!"
After Class 7, there were no more
unexpected class division announcements. Except for Menma, who seemed like a
random intruder, everything was no different from the original book.
"That's the class division.
Everyone whose name has been called, wait here for your instructor. I wish all
students good luck in their ninja careers," Iruka said, taking a deep look
at the students he had taught for six years, including Menma. Then he turned
and strode out of the large tiered classroom.
Not long after Iruka left, ninjas
wearing Konoha uniforms came in one after another, calling out the classes they
led one by one.
"Class 1, follow me."
"Class 3." "Class 11." "Class 5."
The graduates of the called teams
stood up one by one and followed their instructors out of the classroom. The
number of people decreased rapidly. In the end, when the bearded Asuma and the
young Kurenai Yuhi came together and took away the eighth and tenth classes,
only four people were left in the large classroom: Menma, Naruto, Sasuke, and
Sakura.