Chapter 45: Team Members Assembled!

Monday—two days after Seimei's battle with Tobirama…

The competition between the second-year S-class students was slowly approaching.

And the school had finally decided to announce the names of the participants from the four second-year S-classes, who would be clashing against each other in less than two weeks.

Kamishiro Kirito was standing at the podium holding a few documents. 

He was scanning the whole second-year 1-S class with a little amusement.

No.

To be more accurate, his gaze shifted between seven particular students.

Then he put the papers down on the table and began speaking.

"Today…"

"I will announce the names of the students who will be participating in the inter-class competition."

"All four second-year S-classes, including our class, will participate in this competition."

He paused for a while. Then he began speaking again.

"Each class will select 7 students."

"And these seven students will form a team to compete against the teams of the other three S-classes."

"It means your opponents will be the teams from the second-year class 2-S, 3-S, and 4-S."

The more the students heard, the more excited they became.

Finally, they were going to do or witness something other than the gruelling torture-like training and hours of theory classes.

The students had had enough.

Anything that could break this cycle, even for a few days, was welcome.

After all, during this competition, the S-class students wouldn't have to attend any classes.

And for those who are participating in this competition, it was even better.

They wouldn't have to go through any class exercises, except for the theory classes, before the competition begins.

The school decided to do this to give the participating students more free time to make plans, create team synergy, and hone their skills.

Plus, they would get to beat the shit out of the participating students from the other classes.

Wasn't that a good deal?

It definitely was.

What? You asked why they were confident that they could beat their opponents black and blue.

Of course, they would be confident.

Each S-class student was a genius who never lost a fight against their peers, except for a few occasions. 

Confidence was literally engraved into their bones.

Kamishiro Kirito once again opened his mouth and said, "Now, without any further ado, let me announce the name of the students who will form the class 1-S team."

"Uchiha Reina."

"Senju Seimei"

"Nara Shikamo"

"Uchiha Touma"

"Ishimori Haneda"

"Uzumaki Keiko"

"And finally, Sarutobi Yuto"

"You seven will form the second-year 1-S class team to participate in this tournament."

"Talk to each other and decide who will be the captain."

Then Kirito-sensei pulled out seven forms from who knows where and handed them to the seven students he had selected using masterful manipulation of Wind Release chakra.

"Make sure to fill this form, select a team captain, and submit it by tomorrow."

Once he was done instructing the seven, he glanced toward the rest of the students.

"The selection was made by evaluating your overall performance in this academic term so far."

"However, if any of you are still dissatisfied, you are welcome to challenge them."

"It will be an official match under my watch. And if you win, you will become a part of the team, while the losing student will be removed from the team."

"But please be aware that you can only issue a challenge once. And if you lose, you will receive a penalty for being overconfident."

"As for the details of the penalty…"

Kirito's serene face gradually turned sinister as he sported a smirk.

"You will learn about it when you receive the penalty."

His voice dropped even lower as he made one last remark, "But believe me."

"You wouldn't want to know!"

Ninjas follow a strict hierarchy.

If your superior gives you an order to do something, you are expected to follow it without raising any questions.

If you do raise a question or want to express your protest against the order, you must have a reasonable explanation.

Otherwise, if you disrupt the command chain at will, you may face charges of insubordination.

And the punishment for insubordination is anything but light.

Kamishiro Kirito wanted to engrave this lesson into his students' minds.

He had already selected the team, so the students were expected to follow his arrangements.

And if the other students thought his judgment was wrong, they would be given a chance to prove him wrong by winning against one member of his selected team.

If they couldn't do that and wasted Kirito's time with baseless boasting, he would not hesitate to impose a penalty on the defeated challengers.

"Well, that's all I had to say."

"The class ends here. I hope you have a good day."

With this, Kamishiro Kirito smiled mysteriously, came down from the podium, and walked out of the class.

Once he was out, the class was abuzz with loud chatter.

Many were discussing the upcoming interclass competition, while others were simply focusing on doing their own things.

Meanwhile, the seven students, who were supposed to form a team, gathered together.

Uzumaki Keiko, the lively red-haired girl, asked, "So, who would be the leader?"

She asked and looked around to see the expression of the other six teammates.

Nara Shikamo plopped on the nearby chair and yawned lazily. His whole demeanor screamed that he was too tired for this shit.

Senju Seimei sat beside Nara Shikamo. His hand now had a bag of popcorn, which he extended to Shikamo and said, "You want some?"

He was more interested in seeing how things would unfold than claiming the captain's position.

These two…!!

They are usually very reliable, but they have these weird quirks.

Never mind.

Keiko thought as he shifted his focus to her other classmates.

Ishimori Haneda, a rare civilian prodigy, immediately said, "I won't be the captain. I'm just not cut out for this thing."

No way! I'm just a simple civilian Shinobi in training. My dad always told me not to do anything that could attract bad kinds of attention from the Noble Shinobi clans.

What if I choose to become captain and draw ire from your clans?

I still want to live in peace.

Haneda thought as he shook his head.

Meanwhile, Sarutobi Yuto, who was a little interested in the captain position, was about to express his thoughts when he suddenly felt a chilling gaze on him.

He turned his neck, only to see Uchiha Touma glaring at him while activating his One-tomoe Sharingan.

Uchiha Touma, another emerging genius from the Uchiha clan and a supporter of Reina, scoffed slightly before stating, "The captain should naturally be the strongest among us."

"It should be none other than Uchiha Reina."

"You don't think you can win against her, do you?"

He said before glaring at everyone, except for Reina.

Seimei raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He was too lazy to become a captain and handle unnecessary burdens.

His schedule was already packed with numerous training plans. He didn't want to waste time managing a bunch of brats.

He was an adult soul, after all.

On the other hand, Sarutobi Yuto's face paled when he thought about challenging Uchiha Reina.

No way! Who could win against this monster girl?

I don't have a death wish.

Let her be the captain for now. I will have other chances later!

Yuto thought and decisively said to Touma, "You misunderstood. I just wanted to say that I may not be the best fit to handle the role of a captain."

Uchiha Reina, the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, had an amused expression when she heard this.

However, she also didn't want to become captain. Too much hassle.

She said with a calm smile, "I won't be the captain. Let others handle it."

Uzumaki Keiko immediately said, "No way. If none of you becomes captain, what are we going to do?"

"I don't want to be captain either."

She really didn't want to become the captain. 

When Reina heard this, she went silent for a while before speaking up.

"Since no one wants to be the captain, let's select our captain through votes."

Uzumaki Keiko's eyes instantly brightened. "Nice idea."

"Let's do it."

Haneda also nodded, "Yes, I agree."

Yuto and Seimei also expressed their willingness to select a captain through the voting process.

Nara Shikamo sighed and said, "What a drag! Let's get this over with so I can go home and relax."

"I'm voting first. My vote goes to Seimei."

Seimei instantly snapped his head toward Shikamo with a hint of irritation in his eyes.

Ah, my friend! You didn't even hesitate to throw me under the bus?

You clearly know that I don't like these roles. Yet you do this!

Traitor. Where did our friendship go?

Since that's the case, don't blame me, my friend.

Seimei's eyes flashed with mischief as he said, "Our captain should be a highly intelligent individual, capable of deducing our opponent's moves."

"Their tactical knowledge and IQ should also be exceptional."

"And which clan do you think excelled in these things, especially during the Warring States Era?"

"A clan that could anticipate the enemy's move, make them lose their guard, and lead their allies to victory?"

The more Seimei spoke, the more uneasy Nara Shikamo became.

He was clearly hinting toward the Nara clan.

Metaphorical beads of cold sweat started to form on his forehead.

Stop. Please stop.

Don't talk anymore, Seimei.

Such eloquence, and you still claim that being in a leading position doesn't suit you?

Do you have no shame?

Nara Shikamo screamed in his mind.

But Seimei couldn't hear his internal pleading, so he continued, "Of course, it's the Nara clan."

"And I have full trust in the exceptional intelligence and tactical prowess of my friend, Shikamo."

"So, my vote goes to none other than Nara Shikamo."

Hehe!!

When in doubt, just grab a Nara.

Are you losing a battle?

Just throw a Nara as the frontline commander.

There is at least a 70% chance of turning the tide on the battlefield through their sheer tactical intelligence.

Seimei smiled as these thoughts raced through his mind.

Sarutobi Yuto, as if suddenly gaining enlightenment, nodded repeatedly.

He said, "Yes! How can I forget this?"

"Sarutobi and Nara clans were allies during the Warring States Era. We got out of many troubled waters by relying on the exceptional capabilities of the Nara clan ninjas."

"You're right, Seimei."

"Nobody is more suitable to become captain than Shikamo."

"My vote goes to him, too."

Haneda didn't have anything against this, so he also gave his vote to Shikamo.

Reina said, "I vote for Nara Shikamo, too."

"Now that he has 4 votes, he naturally becomes the captain."

After the voting ended, Nara Shikamo became the captain of the second-year class 1-S team.

Everyone was happy with this situation except for a certain individual.

Shikamo was staring at the ceiling with his blank, lifeless eyes.

Why is my life so difficult?

Is it too much to ask for a little sleep?

Sigh~

But he couldn't avoid it.

And so, the second-year class 1-S team was officially formed!

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