Hatake Tatsuya in Naruto

"Ha ha ha ha!!" Tatsuya burst into laughter in the Hokage's office, unable to contain himself. As expected, it had turned out exactly like this.

Namikaze Minato, Kakashi, and the others shifted awkwardly, their faces flushed with embarrassment. On the surveillance screen, Naruto and Sasuke, caught in an unrelenting twist of fate, found themselves reenacting yet another infamous scene—their world-renowned kiss.

Minato's scalp tingled with the sheer awkwardness of it all. His gaze locked onto the image of the two boys, their faces close, caught in a moment that had just started the most infamous rumors in Konoha.

Minato couldn't help but think that by tomorrow, everyone in Konoha would know: the son of the Hokage and the Uchiha heir had kissed.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Minato's mind. Should Konoha's Constitution be revised? Perhaps it was time to allow for more... flexible interpretations of marriage. Could men marry men, for instance?

A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he stared at the screen, a mix of resignation and amusement filling him. Naruto, it seemed, was always full of surprises.

Minato glanced at Kakashi, a teasing glint in his eyes. "What about you, Kakashi? Any thoughts on Guy?"
Kakashi, who had been lazily flipping through his book, visibly tensed. He carefully shut the book, slipping it into his pocket as if preparing for an escape.
"I—uh—like women," he stated flatly.
Minato raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I didn't ask that."
Before Minato could say another word, Kakashi disappeared in a blur of movement, vanishing over the rooftops like his life depended on it.
Minato sighed, watching the dust settle. "Well… that was suspicious."

...

What happened next was exactly as expected. Iruka's arrival instantly silenced the noisy classroom, drawing the attention of all the graduates. He began to announce the class pairings for the 30 students of this year's graduating class.

In the end, however, only three groups were truly worthy of being called a team. The rest were just a disorganized mess waiting to fall apart.

"Class 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke."

As Iruka called out the names, the classroom held its breath.

Before Haruno Sakura could fully comprehend what was happening, Naruto, who had just lost his first kiss and was feeling the sting of it, shot up from his seat. He pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke and yelled, "Iruka-sensei! I'm so much more awesome than this guy! Why do I have to be stuck with him?!"

Iruka raised an eyebrow, a few seconds of silence hanging in the air before he spoke, his tone surprisingly calm. "It's to balance the strength of each group."

"Because you're the class' weakest link," Sasuke added coldly from behind Haruno Sakura, sharpening the sting of his words.

Naruto's face flushed red with fury. "What did you say?!"

The tension in the room was palpable as the two boys glared at each other, ready to clash once again.

Unlike in the original timeline, however, Naruto's status as the son of the Hokage gave him an aura of authority that commanded respect. Even though Sakura, a civilian girl, still didn't quite like him, she wouldn't dare treat him as roughly as she did before.

This, of course, was the power of privilege.

...

...

"This team is really something else," Tatsuya remarked, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at Namikaze Minato. "The Hokage's son, an Uchiha, and then a little civilian girl with no special traits to speak of."

Tatsuya's voice held a note of amusement as he observed the combinations. "Why add a civilian girl?"

Minato scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He could never admit that his decision was made to stir things up between the two boys, hoping that adding a girl to the group would provoke some reaction.

And of course, he couldn't reveal that his initial intention was to put Hinata in that group.

But after thinking it over, Minato realized that Hinata was the top student in her class. Pairing her with Sasuke in the same group would only inflate the power of Class 7. It didn't take much to imagine how that could disrupt the balance.

Then, of course, there was the relationship between Hinata and Tatsuya to consider, which complicated things further.

After much internal debate, Minato decided to stick with the original pairings from the first series.

"Class 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke."

He sighed, finally coming to terms with his decision.

"Class 8: Hyūga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba."

"And Class 10: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chōji."

...

...

After announcing the class placements, Iruka gave a final instruction: "Wait for your instructor in the classroom," before exiting.

Moments later, Shiranui Genma, accompanied by another Jōnin from Konoha arrived. One by one, the various graduates began to leave, following their designated instructors. About twenty minutes later, two new figures entered the room almost simultaneously.

"Everyone in Class 10, please gather together," one said.

"The eighth class, come with me," the other called.

The newcomers were Rin and Kurenai.

"Kurenai-san! Rin-senpai!"Hinata's delicate face lit up in surprise. Both of them were more than just mentors—they had been like older sisters to her, taking care of her since she was younger.

"I'll be your instructor from now on, Hinata," Kurenai said with a warm smile, gently ruffling Hinata's hair. "I'll be counting on you."

"Mm." Hinata nodded shyly, her face flushed from the attention.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Rin Nohara, and I'll be in charge of your future ninja missions," Rin announced cheerfully. Her tone was more informal compared to Kurenai's, but just as warm and reassuring.

Unlike Kurenai's faintly heroic presence, Rin had the air of a big sister, someone who always made others feel at ease.

"Good, gentle onii-chan... I feel like life's going to be better now," murmured one of the students, visibly relieved. Originally dreading being placed in a class with someone they found difficult to get along with, or a teammate they thought of as lazy, they were now instantly reassured by Rin's comforting smile.

"What... a female ninja..." Inuzuka Kiba muttered under his breath, a bit surprised by the appearance of two female instructors.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow slightly, but said nothing, letting Kiba's comment slide.

"Anyone with talent can become exceptional, no matter the circumstances. There are some things no one can teach. But those who cannot change through education are doomed to mediocrity."

Tatsuya walked slowly into the classroom, stifling a yawn. "If you want to be a ninja, remember this," he added casually.

Hatake Tatsuya!?

The eight students—except for Hinata—were suddenly startled.

Aburame Shino thought to himself, The strongest man in the ninja world...

Uchiha Sasuke swallowed nervously, his mind racing. I've heard... he once saved Big Brother Shisui...

"Uncle Tatsuya? You're our guide Jōnin?" Naruto exclaimed, his voice full of excitement.

Naruto wasn't unfamiliar with Tatsuya, who occasionally helped him and his mother keep the Nine-Tails in check during its rampages. Although Naruto didn't fully understand the extent of Tatsuya's power, his father had once said that Tatsuya's strength was something even he could never hope to match. That alone left Naruto with a sense of awe and curiosity.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel a spark of hope at hearing Naruto's question. If this man is teaching me... perhaps I can finally kill Itachi.

Tatsuya raised a hand, cutting through the silent anticipation. "Stop. I'm not interested in doing anything 'boring' for free, and besides, I'm still a Genin."

With a bored expression, he added, "My nephew will teach you. The catch is, he has a small issue—he's always at least three hours late for any meeting."

Having said that, Tatsuya glanced up at the clock on the wall and then spoke, his tone casual but carrying an edge of amusement. "You all better be mentally prepared."

At his words, many of the students couldn't help but twitch their eyes in confusion.

"Genin?" they wondered, Is he serious? And why did his tone sound so... proud?

Without giving them any time to dwell on it, Tatsuya turned and walked out of the room.

Rin and Kurenai followed suit, leading their respective classes—Class 8 and Class 10—out the door.

Only Class 7 remained, standing there in stunned silence.

"Three… three hours?" Naruto echoed, his eye twitching in disbelief.
"Is he for real?!" Sakura exclaimed, gripping her head as if trying to physically process the information.

This was also around the same time the famous Konoha 12, the core group of young ninjas, officially came into being.

Meanwhile, in the Cloud and Mist Shinobi villages, members of the Konoha League, the two villages had also selected their own teams of promising young ninjas.

For the Cloud Shinobi, it was Omoi, Karui, and Samui. The Mist Shinobi had chosen Suigetsu Hōzuki, Chojuro, and Haku.

Both teams were preparing to take the Chūnin exams that would be held in Konoha in just a few months.

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