Chapter 2: The Unwelcome Ghost
The air in the Academy classroom crackled with a unique blend of nervous excitement and adolescent anxiety. It was the day. After years of hard work, drudgery, and a final, grueling exam, they were no longer students. They were Genin of the Leaf, and Iruka-sensei stood before them, a thick stack of papers in his hand, ready to announce the teams that would define the rest of their lives.
Sakura Haruno fidgeted, her mind a frantic prayer. Please let me be with Sasuke-kun. Please, please, please don't let me be with Ino-pig.
Sasuke Uchiha sat in stoic silence, his hands steepled before him, radiating an aura of cool indifference. His only concern was that his teammates not hold him back on his singular, grim path.
Kiba was loudly boasting to a weary-looking Shino about how he and Akamaru would be the stars of any team. Shikamaru was already half-asleep, muttering about how troublesome the whole affair was.
Suddenly, the classroom door slammed open with a force that rattled the windowpanes.
"YO! AM I LATE? DID I MISS ANYTHING IMPORTANT?"
Every head whipped toward the entrance. Standing there, framed in the doorway with one hand on his hip and the other giving a jaunty wave, was Naruto Uzumaki. His grin was a blinding, impossibly wide crescent.
A wave of collective shock washed over the room. It was him. The dead-last, the pariah, the idiot who had vanished without a word years ago. A ghost from their childhood had just burst back into their lives.
Iruka's face went pale, then flushed with a complex mix of emotions. He had been briefed by the Hokage, but seeing the boy in the flesh… it was different. "Naruto…" he breathed out, the name catching in his throat. The scar on his nose seemed to throb with old memories.
The class erupted into a low murmur of whispers.
"No way… it's really him."
"Where has he been all this time?"
"What's he doing here? He didn't even graduate!"
Kiba was the first to find his voice, pointing a finger accusatorily. "Naruto! What the hell are you doing here, loser? This is for graduates only!" Akamaru, perched on his head, let out a soft whine, tilting his head as if sensing something deeply unfamiliar about the boy in orange.
Naruto laughed, a loud, grating sound that filled the room. "Don't worry about it! The old man Hokage sorted it all out! I'm a full-fledged ninja now, believe it!" He tapped the brand-new, gleaming forehead protector tied around his head.
Sakura groaned, sinking in her seat. Oh no. Not him. Just when I thought my life was finally starting, the biggest idiot in the village comes back. Her gaze flickered to Sasuke, who hadn't moved a muscle.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but not with annoyance. It was with a cold, analytical curiosity. He remembered Naruto as a loud, talentless nuisance. The boy standing before them was still loud, still a nuisance, but something was… different. He carried himself with an unnatural stillness beneath the boisterous facade. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, which held a depth that hadn't been there before. Sasuke dismissed it. The dobe was still the dobe. An irrelevance.
Shikamaru cracked one eye open. "What a drag. He disappears for years and shows up on the most troublesome day possible."
From the back, Shino Aburame adjusted his glasses, his expression unreadable. His internal colony of kikaichū insects, hyper-sensitive to chakra, stirred restlessly within him. They sensed the familiar, chaotic energy of the Nine-Tails, but it was intertwined with something else. Something alien, cold, and utterly dominant. He stated, in his typical monotone, "Your chakra signature has changed. It is… irregular."
Naruto's grin didn't falter. He just gave Shino a thumbs up. "I got super strong!"
Only Hinata Hyuga remained silent, her face a deep crimson. Naruto-kun was back. The boy she had admired from afar had returned. A wave of joy and relief washed over her, but it was followed by a confusing tremor of unease. Her Byakugan wasn't active, but even to her naked eye, the bright, warm, chaotic sun she remembered now seemed to have a black hole at its center.
Iruka cleared his throat, clapping his hands to regain control of the room. The Hokage's orders were clear. "Alright, settle down, everyone! Yes, Naruto has returned. By order of the Hokage, he has been granted the rank of Genin and will be assigned to a team today."
A collective groan went through the room, punctuated by Sakura's horrified gasp.
"Now," Iruka said, picking up his list and trying to sound cheerful. "Let's announce the teams. We'll start with Team 7."
The room went quiet. Sakura held her breath.
"Team 7 will consist of… Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto pumped a fist in the air. "ALRIGHT!"
Sakura's soul visibly left her body. Her personal hell was being realized. No… no, no, no! Anyone but him!
"Sakura Haruno!"
Her head snapped up. A flicker of hope ignited. At least… at least if I'm on his team, maybe…
"And Sasuke Uchiha."
The world tilted on its axis for Sakura. She was on a team with Sasuke-kun! It was a dream come true! She was also on a team with Naruto. It was a living nightmare. Her emotions short-circuited, leaving her in a state of stunned, ecstatic horror.
Sasuke's eye twitched. The one and only sign of his profound displeasure. He was now shackled to the loudest idiot in the village and his most obnoxious fangirl. His path to power had just been paved with incompetence.
Naruto, for his part, played his role to perfection. He spun around and pointed dramatically at Sasuke. "Awesome! I'm on a team with Sasuke! Now everyone's gonna get to see me prove I'm way better than him! Believe it!"
As Iruka continued to list off the other teams, Naruto's mind was a silent, whirring machine. The mask was holding perfectly. He felt their disdain, their shock, their annoyance. It was all fuel.
He analyzed his new 'teammates.' The girl, Sakura, is weak. Civilian-born, obsessed, no notable skills. Useless.
His gaze shifted to the Uchiha. Arrogant. Thinks his bloodline makes him superior. But there is power there. The Sharingan. He could be… an interesting pawn.
Outwardly, he was laughing, already arguing with Kiba who was jeering at him from across the room. But inside, in the cold, quiet space where Isshiki's will resided, the mission had begun. The pieces were on the board.
And he was ready to play.