The third-floor hallway of the Ninja Academy.
Hatake stood outside the classroom door, feeling a bit conflicted.
It had been a full month since he transmigrated into this world.
It took him an entire week to go from sheer panic to gradually accepting the reality that he had become Kakashi Hatake.
Over the remaining three weeks, he worked nonstop to adapt to this body and to sort through Kakashi's memories and abilities.
Sharingan. Chidori. Earth Release. Water Release…
Techniques that once existed only in anime were now firmly under his control.
But Hatake was very aware of one thing—this Kakashi was still far from his peak.
He couldn't awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, and his chakra reserves were still a fatal weakness. Though his strength was respectable, it would be nowhere near enough for the chaos that lay ahead.
"Team 7… Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura."
Hatake muttered under his breath.
"The three people who'll change the entire shinobi world… right now, they're just freshly graduated kids."
He lifted his gaze toward the classroom door.
Through the narrow crack, voices drifted out.
"Why is it that our class is the only one whose teacher hasn't shown up? All the other teams already left!"
Naruto's voice—loud and impatient.
"Maybe something came up…"
Sakura sounded worried.
"Tch."
Sasuke scoffed.
Hatake glanced at his watch.
It had been almost an hour since Iruka finished announcing the team assignments.
"According to the original story, I'm supposed to be late on purpose… test their patience."
Hatake thought.
"But now…"
His eyes shifted upward, toward the top of the doorframe. The corner of his mouth twitched.
An eraser was firmly wedged there.
"Definitely Naruto's style."
Hatake reached out and pushed the door open.
Creak.
The wooden door swung inward.
The eraser dropped straight down.
Smack!
It landed squarely on his silver hair, sending a cloud of chalk dust into the air.
The classroom fell dead silent.
Naruto's eyes went wide, his mouth forming a perfect "O." He couldn't believe his trap had actually worked.
Sakura's face drained of color. She covered her mouth with both hands, frozen in place—while Inner Sakura cheered wildly.
Yes! Right on the head!
Sasuke shot a sideways glance, disbelief flickering through his eyes.
A jōnin… actually fell for it?
Hatake looked down at the eraser on the floor, then back at the three students.
Naruto's grin stiffened as cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
I'm dead. I offended the team leader on the very first day…
Sakura felt her heart sink. It's over…
Sasuke appeared calm, but a trace of caution surfaced in his gaze.
Hatake slowly brushed the chalk dust from his hair and spoke lazily.
"Yo."
All
All three of them stiffened.
"First impressions, huh…"
Hatake smiled. "How should I put this… I kind of like you guys."
"Eh?!"
All three froze at the same time.
"Having the guts to set a trap for a jōnin. That's interesting."
Hatake walked into the classroom casually and leaned against the podium.
"Alright, Team 7. Follow me. Rooftop."
With that, he turned and left.
Naruto stood there dumbfounded for several seconds before shouting, "Wait! Aren't you angry?!"
"Why would I be?" Hatake replied without turning around.
Naruto scratched his head, utterly confused. "This teacher… is really weird."
"Naruto, you idiot!"
Sakura snapped.
"What if the teacher holds a grudge against you?!"
"Tch. Such a childish trick."
Sasuke stood up and followed first.
Soon, the three of them arrived on the rooftop.
Sunlight bathed Konoha, and the outline of the Hokage Rock was visible in the distance.
A gentle breeze stirred Kakashi's silver hair, still faintly dusted with chalk.
Hatake turned around, hands in his pockets, calmly sizing up the three genin before him.
Naruto wore his orange outfit, whisker-like marks on his cheeks, now looking at him with obvious guilt.
Sakura, dressed in red, kept sneaking glances at Sasuke.
Sasuke wore dark clothing, his high collar covering half his face, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"Before we officially begin," Hatake said,
"let's introduce ourselves."
"Tell me your names, what you like, what you hate, and your dreams for the future."
"Teacher, you go first!" Naruto shouted.
"My name is Kakashi Hatake," Hatake replied flatly.
"I don't feel like telling you what I like or hate. As for my dream… I haven't really thought about it."
He pointed at Naruto.
"Blondie, you're up."
"That doesn't count as an introduction at all!"
Naruto complained, but still planted his hands on his hips and grinned.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like Ichiraku Ramen—especially when Iruka treats me!"
"I hate waiting the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook!"
Then he took a deep breath, eyes shining.
"My dream is to become Hokage and have everyone acknowledge me!"
His voice rang out across the rooftop, full of energy.
Sakura muttered quietly,
"You're the dead last, and you still want to be Hokage…"
Sasuke watched coldly, saying nothing.
Hatake stayed silent for two seconds.
Over the past month, he'd thought carefully about how to teach Team 7.
Kakashi in the original story was an outstanding jōnin—but as a teacher, he'd failed in many ways.
He neglected Naruto and Sakura, poured nearly all his attention into Sasuke… and Sasuke still defected in the end.
Since he was here now, he wouldn't repeat those mistakes.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Hatake suddenly spoke.
"Huh? What is it, sensei?" Naruto asked, confused.
"You have no energy in your voice. I can't hear you at all."
Hatake's expression didn't change.
"Huh?!"
Naruto's eyes widened. "I was super loud just now!"
"You want to be Hokage with a voice like that?" Hatake said calmly, as if stating a fact.
"How was I quiet?!"
Naruto shouted back, even louder than before.
Sakura couldn't help speaking up.
"Kakashi-sensei… even I think Naruto is noisy, but he was loud just now."
Sasuke frowned slightly, not understanding what this teacher was trying to do.
Hatake walked up to Naruto, crouched down, and met his eyes.
"Do you know why I said you have no energy?"
Naruto froze, biting his lip.
"Because you're not firm enough in your heart," Hatake said evenly.
"You say you want to be Hokage, but deep down, you still care too much about how others look at you—their cold stares, their mockery."
"That's why your words have no weight. You're just shouting a slogan."
Naruto's eyes widened.
How does he know…?
"A dream isn't something you shout for others to hear," Hatake continued.
"It's something you shout for yourself. Only when you truly believe in it do those words gain meaning."
He turned and walked to the edge of the rooftop, his back to them.
"Now stand here. With your loudest voice—toward all of Konoha, toward everyone who looks down on you, toward yourself—say it again."
From childhood until now, aside from Iruka, no one had ever taken his dream so seriously.
No one had ever told him how to face it.
Something ignited in Naruto's chest.
He walked to the edge of the rooftop and stood beside Kakashi.
He took a deep breath.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!!!"
His voice exploded from the rooftop, echoing across the entire Ninja Academy, spilling into the streets below, spreading throughout Konoha.
"My dream is to become Hokage!!!"
"The strongest Hokage, surpassing every Hokage before me!!!"
"To make everyone acknowledge my existence!!!"
---
Inside the Hokage's Office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, paused mid-document and looked out the window toward the Ninja Academy.
"That voice… Naruto?"
He set down his pipe, a gentle smile forming.
"It seems Kakashi is quite a good teacher after all."
On the streets below, pedestrians looked up one after another.
"That demon fox again…"
"So loud."
"Hokage? Him?"
Inside Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi lifted his head, glanced toward the academy, and chuckled.
"That kid Naruto… he's as lively as ever."