The next morning, the newly promoted Genin of Konoha appeared before the Hokage one by one, submitting their consent forms to be accepted into the service of the Village.
Sasuke, Karin, and Enma had already prepared their forms, so they were the first to reach the Hokage Tower.
Their interviews were not long.
The Hokage first congratulated them on graduating from the Academy, asked a few random questions, and then thanked them for their willingness to serve the Hidden Leaf.
Since no one else had arrived at the Hokage Tower yet, they decided to head to the Academy and wait for their classmates there.
Karin also visited Suzume-sensei and thanked her for all the Kunoichi-Only lessons, and then they also visited Daikoku-sensei, who was very happy for them.
Next, they went to see the Canteen Lady, Michi, who had already prepared some snacks for them, and they all thanked her as they sat down at their usual spot and finished their meals.
They even met some juniors, who were very excited after seeing their Forehead Protectors, and though Sasuke and Enma did not enjoy socialising much, Karin was the opposite.
Their little sister, who had joined the Academy last September, found them as well and made them purchase things for her, her two friends, Hanabi and Hinoko, and her classmates.
Karin happily answered the children's questions, keeping any exaggerations at bay, and even demonstrated the Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, and Substitution Jutsu.
Since she was feeling generous, she also gave them a few key tips to improve their physiques and stamina, and the children grew even more excited.
When she finally said goodbye to them, she laughed when she found her Nii-san and Sasuke sighing in relief.
"Hey, Shizuka!" the Uzumaki Princess excitedly called out to the lone girl who was sitting in their class and then rushed over to sit next to her.
Enma and Sasuke sat down at separate desks, as usual, and whilst the Uchiha gazed out the window, the Uzumaki took out his gold coin, leant back and placed it on the tip of his nose, spinning it with his Chakra Control.
"Good morning, Enma."
At some point, Ino approached him and mischievously whispered in his ear, and he smiled at her antics.
"Good morning, Ino. You smell nice, as always."
At his words, she beamed a bright smile and sat next to him.
"Thank you."
Since she was sitting alone with him right now, she became very nervous but then took a deep breath and sighed.
"I hope I get to be on your Team."
"I would like that, but I don't think it's possible," he gently said, and she curiously looked at him.
"Why?"
"Your Team was set at birth." He chuckled, and she pouted and then nodded her head.
"Yeah. Ino-Shika-Cho."
"You will be fine. Relax."
"I hope so." She smiled again, but it was not exactly a smile. "Fun days are over for us, aren't they?"
"No," said the Uzumaki, and a smile formed on his lips. "Easy days are over, not the fun days."
She rolled her eyes at his words and then stared at how he was exercising his Chakra Control even as he relaxed.
Years ago, when she had seen it for the first time, she thought it was some fun trick, but when she finally talked about it with her parents, her father told her about how difficult this Chakra Training was. Even some Chunin or Jonin could not do it as well and as easily as the eight-year-old Enma made it look.
She had tried it too and failed miserably. And it had taken her a good two years to finally be able to spin the coin like he could on the tip of his nose.
And yet still, she could not do it for as long and as easily as he made it look.
He could even laugh without breaking his control, which was simply impossible for her. At least, for now.
She remembered how excited she was on the day when she happily informed him that she had figured out the secret technique of this Training. She even demonstrated it, even though she knew he could not see. It was on that day that she learnt about the Uzumaki Clan Hidden Jutsu, the Mind's Eye of Kagura.
He could see her. Well, to be specific, he could see her chakra, and this meant that he could tell that she was performing the same exercise.
Hearing him praise her had become her obsession from that day, and she had worked tirelessly ever since to become a great Kunoichi. She had done it all to impress him and to make him think well of her.
Ino was so lost in her thoughts that she did not even realise the commotion in the class, but when she glanced towards the door, it took her a few moments to grasp what was happening.
"Naruto... Naruto?!" She jumped up when she saw the headband he was wearing.
Enma laughed at her reaction but stayed in his place.
"Oh my God... how?!"
"Hehe... I passed, so Iruka-sensei gave me his Forehead Protector," Naruto happily informed her, but then his expression turned ugly when he heard a voice from behind him.
"You stole it, didn't you? Or is it fake?"
"You!!" He glared at Kiba, who was smirking.
"Always a cheat..."
"Kiba."
Karin's cold voice rang in the class. It was very light, but everyone felt chills run up their spines, especially the boy whose name had been called.
"Take your seat, and wait for Iruka-sensei to come before you reach any conclusions."
Even though the Inuzuka dared to scoff at her words, he did not dare to disregard her suggestion.
Everyone else returned to their seats as well, and Naruto, who wanted to boast about becoming a Genin, pouted and quietly took his seat as well.
It was remarkable how much everyone respected and feared her, but then again, angry Karin was one of their worst nightmares.
As soon as the clock hit 11 am, Iruka walked inside the classroom, carrying a file in his hand, and he was surprised by how quiet and orderly everyone was sitting.
"Now you are behaving like true Shinobi." He appreciatively nodded his head, and Karin brightly smiled at his words. "Yes, Kiba-san?"
The Inuzuka, who had raised his hand, stood up and pointed at Naruto.
"Yes?" Iruka raised his brow at the boy, who finally realised that things were not as he imagined.
"Nothing, Sensei." He quickly bowed and took his seat and was really glad that no one brought up what he had said earlier.
"Sensei..." Naruto, however, did not want to forget what happened, but one glance from Karin was enough to quieten him down.
As their instructor, who had taught them for the last two years, Iruka could guess pretty much what was happening.
"I have an announcement to make," he said, grabbing all their attention. "Uzumaki Naruto has passed the Genin Test after he successfully mastered the Clone Technique yesterday."
At his signal, the blond Uzumaki stood up and walked by his side.
"Please show the class your Clone Technique, Naruto-kun."
The boy brightly smiled and started performing the Clone Jutsu hand seals, and then quickly made a cross.
Iruka froze when Naruto did exactly what he had warned him about earlier.
The entire class was suddenly filled with dozens of Naruto.
"Y-yes. Thank you, Naruto-kun. Please dispel your clones and return to your seat."
"Hehe..." Naruto brightly grinned at Kiba, who was stunned after what he had just seen, and it was the same for most of the students in the class, except for Enma, Sasuke, and Karin.
"Wow... he can't create two clones, but he can create dozens of them?" Ino rolled her eyes, thinking that Naruto was just playing around in the Tests.
Then again, he was known for doing silly things to attract the attention of people.
It was the same boy who painted the faces of the four Hokage on the Hokage Rock, not once but many times.
"Seriously, his pranks are overdone at times. I can't believe I fell for it..."
"He mastered that Jutsu last night." Enma, who was sitting next to her, lightly said. "He was not faking anything."
"What?"
"Yes."
"Oh..."
Ino curiously looked at the blond boy, who was rubbing his success in Sasuke's face, irritating a certain cherry-blossom-haired friend of hers.
"How?"
"Not the same jutsu. It's an advanced-level Clone Technique. A B-Rank Jutsu," Enma whispered, and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh..." She again curiously looked at the blond and inadvertently glanced at their Hyuga friend, who was sneaking glances at him and blushing at whatever thoughts she was cooking up in her head. "You know, Hinata likes Naruto a lot." She kept her voice very low, but a certain Inuzuka still heard her and furrowed his brows.
"I think everyone other than him knows that." The Uzumaki chuckled and then straightened his back to listen to Iruka-sensei's last lecture to them.
Their Instructor informed them that they were now going to be divided into cells of three, and put under a Jonin, who would lead their Team as a Leader and be their new Sensei. It would be under the supervision of their new Sensei that they would take on missions and go through advanced Shinobi Training.
"The Cells are formed in light of the results of the graduates, their potential, and also to form Special Units, excelling in their respective fields..."
Once the lecture ended, Iruka-sensei opened his file, and he started announcing the Teams that were approved by the Hokage.
"Team 1..."
"Team 2..."
"Team 3 and Team 4 are already in circulation, so, Team 5: Uzumaki Karin..."
As soon as her name was called, the Uzumaki Princess clenched her left fist.
"Nakagami Shizuka..." her heart dropped. "And Uzumaki Enma."
The moment she heard that her brother was with her, relief washed over her, and she took a deep breath before smiling in his direction.
She then shared a high-five with Shizuka, who was sitting next to her.
"Sensei, how is this a balanced Team?" Kiba suddenly raised his hand and asked. "Enma has perfect scores. Karin too had perfect scores. And Shizuka is also ranked in the Top 10."
Iruka-sensei raised his brow at the boy, who seemed to be in a foul mood for some reason.
"Why don't you go and ask the Hokage about it?" Ino's voice rang through the class, and Inuzuka's face turned ugly.
"I cannot tell you exactly why the Hokage formed the team with the three of them, but I have my guesses." The Instructor smiled. "Karin-san and Enma-san are both Sensory Type Ninja with excellent combat abilities, and Shizuka-san is a weapon specialist and an excellent tactician. Yes, their team is strong, but as I said earlier, balance is only one of the things taken into consideration. In the end, each team is formed so that they can serve the Village to the best of their abilities and potential. Understood?"
Kiba nodded his head and turned quiet, feeling a little silly now. However, only he knew how unsettled his heart was right now.
"Team 8: Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba."
Thankfully, he felt that he had not been paired with some losers. Shino was Top 3 in the Class, and Hinata was also in the Top 10, tied at sixth place with Shizuka. Thankfully, he did not have Naruto on his Team.
"Team 9 is already in circulation, so, Team 10: Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino."
Enma chuckled when he heard the girl by his side take a deep breath and sigh.
"Congrats."
"Thanks." She rolled her eyes and then smiled at her two old friends and now teammates, who nodded back to her.
"Sensei, you skipped Teams 6 and 7..."
Someone in the class called out, and Iruka-sensei nodded his head.
"Oh, yes. Team 6 is already in circulation. As for Team 7: Haruno Sakura..."
The moment her name was called, the cherry-blossom-haired girl clasped her hands together in a prayer.
"Uchiha Sasuke..."
"Yes!" She pumped her fist in the air, and the people in the class chuckled at her antics.
"And Uzumaki Naruto."
Sakura's brows twitched when she heard the last name. She really disliked Naruto for how much of a troublemaker he was and how he always pestered her, and over the years, she had completely stopped talking to him.
In her eyes, only her Sasuke-kun and Enma-kun mattered...
She was just happy that she was on a team with one of them.