The rooftop of Konoha Ninja Academy 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Following Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Shimizu Mika arrived at the rooftop of the Ninja Academy. Kakashi leaned on the railing and looked at the three children sitting next to each other with a thoughtful expression. After a moment of silence, he spoke, “Well, let’s start with getting to know each other…”

“Getting to know each other?” questioned Mika as she tilted her head in confusion.

Sasuke also stared at Kakashi in surprise, “You want us to introduce ourselves?”

Kakashi explained, “Yes, introducing ourselves will help us get along well with each other…”

Unlike in canon, in this world, this is the first time he has been assigned a Genin squad, therefore, Kakashi doesn’t really have much idea about these things and is following the template of how his Jonin instructor Namikaze Minato dealt with his Genin squad.

Mika questioned, “What are we supposed to say?”

Kakashi stroked his chin for a moment, then said, “How about things you like, things you hate, your dreams for the future, your hobbies… this kind of stuff should be fine…”

Naruto said, “Why don’t you tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk, tell us about yourself so we can see how it’s supposed to work.”

“Me?” Kakashi pointed at himself, then nodded, “Alright then, I guess I will start… I am Hatake Kakashi. Currently, I serve as an aide to Hokage-sama, but I have taken a short break from my duties to train the three of you as per his order… As for my likes and dislikes… hmm… let’s see… I do enjoy reading books in my free time. As for dislikes, there’s not much, I suppose… My hobby is to laze around whenever I can. As for my dream… I am not really sure if I can call it a dream, but I do have one objective that I wish to complete before I die… However, I can’t speak about it to the three of you… you know, classified stuff.”

The trio of Sasuke, Mika, and Naruto looked at Kakashi. All three of them were aware of the fact that Kakashi currently served as the Hokage’s Hand, some people also called him the supporting Kage, so there was not much to say about that… As for the other things about likes, dislikes, and hobbies, they just rolled their eyes.

What attracted their attention most was Kakashi’s dream. Rather than calling it a dream, Kakashi worded it as his objective he wished to complete before his death, and this intrigued them, especially Sasuke. He had known Kakashi the longest among the three of them, but Kakashi had never once mentioned stuff like that, so he was really curious, ‘What could it be that the Hokage’s hand wants to complete before he dies?’

Noting that the three Genin were silent, Kakashi scratched the back of his head and said, “Well, that’s all about me… now it’s your turn… go on…”

Naruto raised his hand with a bright smile and spoke, “Oh, then I will start, Kakashi-sensei… I am Uzumaki Naruto… I like to eat dinner together with Kuroto-Sensei and Yui-nee-chan. Although my favorite food is Ichiraku Ramen that Kuroto-Sensei treated me to when I was very young, anything that Yui-nee-chan cooks for me is equally tasty, so I like her cooking the most… I don’t like it when I am not eating dinner with Kuroto-Sensei and Yui-nee-chan. My hobby is to train with Kuroto-Sensei. As for my dream, I want to become a great Hokage like Kuroto-Sensei to make him proud and protect the people I care about.”

Looking at Naruto, Kakashi couldn’t help but recall Yondaime Hokage, ‘Minato-sensei, unexpectedly, your son also dreams of becoming the Hokage…’ As for Kuroto and Yui, Naruto mentioned, ‘I see… the two of them have really become very important to him…’

It hasn’t been very long since Naruto started living with Kuroto, yet Naruto’s likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams revolve around Kuroto and Yui. This goes to show how much Naruto desired affection and care from someone, and when he received such care and affection from Kuroto and Yui, the two of them became incredibly important in his heart.

In fact, Kakashi feels guilty about Naruto. He should have been the one to look after Naruto and care for him, but… he failed to do that. Kakashi sighed, ‘I am really thankful to Kuroto for providing me with the opportunity to become Naruto’s Genin instructor… I must make it up to Naruto for my previous failure.’

With that in mind, Kakashi turned to Mika and said, “Next, how about you?”

Mika straightened herself and spoke, “I am Shimizu Mika. I like to read adventure tales, and I dislike laboratories and damp underground places where there is no sunlight… My hobbies are sketching and carving, and my dream is to travel the wider world and discover new things out there.”

“I see…” mumbled Kakashi as he thought to himself in surprise, ‘I used to think that girls her age are more interested in boys and love than ninja training and other important stuff, this one is certainly a bit different…’ Then he recalled the file of Shimizu Mika that Kuroto had given him and understood, ‘I suppose it makes sense that she is different from her peers; suffering generally makes people mature after all.’

Shimizu Mika was experimented on by the Foundation and lived much of her childhood inside an underground Root base in isolation, with only books about the outside world as a source of escapism from all that torture.

Kakashi then turned to the last Genin and said, “Well then… you are the last one…”

The boy looked at Kakashi weirdly, “Do you really want me to introduce myself?”

Kakashi shrugged, “Why not?”

The boy sighed lightly and began, “My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like Omusubi with Otaka and tomatoes, and I also like Dango. There is a certain group of people I dislike and loathe with every fiber of my being, but I don’t want to talk about it… My hobby is to train and fight strong ninjas… What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality… I will destroy that group I hate and loathe and recover what they stole from my Chichiue!”

Naruto and Mika looked at Sasuke in surprise. This was the first time they had heard him mention anything so edgy.

Kakashi stared at Sasuke, ‘So, that goal hasn’t changed, huh?’ Kakashi sighed and decided to change the topic. “Good, I agree that all three of you are unique and have your individual ideas. We’ll have our first mission tomorrow.”

“Huh? Really?” asked Naruto in surprise, eagerly questioning, “What kind of mission are we going to have, Kakashi-sensei?”

Kakashi answered, “It’s a task that the four of us will do together.”

Mika and Sasuke also looked at Kakashi with eager eyes.

Without making them wait, Kakashi answered, “A survival exercise.”

“A survival exercise?” asked Naruto with a confused expression, “But haven’t we been doing that kind of stuff at the academy?”

Mika and Sasuke agreed with Naruto. They had been through various kinds of survival exercises in the four years they spent at the academy, so they were curious about what kind of exercise Kakashi was talking about.

“This wouldn’t be similar to the kind of survival training that you went through in the academy, it will be different…” answered Kakashi.

“Different how?” asked Mika.

Hearing Mika’s question, Kakashi suddenly started to chuckle, “Hahahaha…”

Sasuke couldn’t help but ask, “What’s so funny, Kakashi-sensei?”

Kakashi explained with a smile, “Well, I am laughing at the thought of your pitiful expressions after the survival training…”

“Huh?” All three Genin were taken aback.

Kakashi continued, “This is a survival test to determine whether the three of you really have what it takes to be ninjas. If any of you fail to pass the survival training, then you will be considered a failure and sent back to the academy for retraining…”

“What?” Everyone’s eyes widened.

Naruto quickly spoke, “That… that’s unfair! We passed the Graduation Test!”

Sasuke nodded, “Everyone in the village also watched our fights…”

Kakashi’s expression turned serious as he addressed Naruto and Sasuke’s doubts, “Being strong is different from being a capable ninja. Just because you passed the Graduation exam doesn’t make you a capable ninja. It only suggests that you have potential. The decision of whether you will remain Genin and be able to go on missions, or fail and return to the academy, is up to me… That’s right, kiddos, I set the rules here, and you three will have to follow them regardless of how absurd they might sound!”

“Surely you are joking, right Kakashi-sensei?” asked Mika with a troubled expression.

They didn’t question whether Kakashi was capable of such a thing or not; after all, he was the Hokage’s Hand. Kakashi was definitely capable of sending them back to the academy for retraining if he deemed them to be failures as ninjas.

“I am not…” Kakashi shook his head. He then stood up and said, “Be at the designated training ground at 5 o’clock in the morning and bring your ninja gear.” Then he began to leave, “That’s it, you are dismissed…” Just before walking away, he made sure to remind the three Genins, “Tomorrow, you three better skip breakfast, or else… you’ll puke!”