>>5224716Your sensei is a young woman with longish hair and almost featureless eyes of a pale lavender, wearing a yukata and hakama in reds, yellows, and oranges – not typical shinobi attire like most of the other instructors you’ve seen previously. So she must be someone whose standing in Konoha is more recognized as political than their rank as a jōnin, and you can only think of one person who fits that description.
“… Hanabi-san?” you ask tentatively.
“Oh, so you recognize me?” she smiles broadly. “But please try to remember, Shiki-kun, it’s Hanabi-<span class="mu-i">sensei</span> now?”
“Right, sorry,” you bow politely. “Uzumaki Shiki.”
“Nagao Sumire,” Sumirin matches your bow.
“Izuno Wasabi,” Wasabi-kun adds.
“As you’ve probably gathered, I’ll be your sensei for the time being,” Hanabi-sensei tells you. “Hyūga Hanabi, a pleasure to be working with you all.”
“Hanabi-sensei,” you ask curiously, “I heard Anko-sensei talking before – what did she mean that I was a ‘hard’ genin to match with a team?”
“Well,” she muses thoughtfully, “I’ve seen your full file and all your exam results, so I can tell you right now you’re not an average genin – even the ‘weakest’ teams formed this year are honestly above average, but under other circumstances you’d have been poached by ANBU.”
“Each team is formed after careful consideration,” she continues. “Team 5’s members were chosen because each has a strength that covers for the others’ weaknesses, both in terms of jutsu compatibility and personality. Team 10 was formed because the clans their respective members belong to have legendary jutsu compatibility. Team 25, while individually unimpressive, all have talents suitable for intelligence work – and their combat abilities are all at about comparable levels, so no one will be holding the others back. Team 40 are all decent enough for genin, but Onikuma Enko’s hiden makes her prone to… <span class="mu-i">outbursts</span>. Her teammates Goetsu and Itoi were chosen because their talents could be helpful in restraining Onikuma-chan.”
“That leaves just five of us,” Sumire-kun mutters. “Not even six.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Wasabi-kun asks.
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