The Hokage had just gotten out of a meeting with the Academy Instructors and administrators about the possible team roster for this year's graduates. Rather than go to the tower to promptly write up a list based on the recommendations he'd received as well as what he thought would work like he usually did, he passed through the Academy grounds with a vague idea of going to see Naruto who had just gotten out of class As he silently made his way towards the knot of students that were heading out of the Academy building with the intention of heading home, he saw Naruto get pounded into the dirt by the girl who based on Academy test scores would be Naruto's future teammate if he managed to graduate this time. The boy who was also most likely to become Naruto's future teammate walked by without showing any concern for Naruto's plight.

That little scene reminded him of his own Genin team where such things had happened almost daily. He smiled fondly as he recalled his precious students before wincing as he remembered exactly what had happened to them later in life. Perhaps, teaming Naruto up with the Uchiha boy and the Haruno girl wouldn't be such a good idea...

When he got back to his office, he silently apologized to Inoichi who he knew would be disappointed, and made a small change to the tentative team roster for the graduating class. The teammates that he'd picked for Naruto were children he'd gotten on well enough with if the boy's disciplinary records were anything to judge by.

A month later, Umino Iruka stood in front of his twelve year-old students as their teacher for the last time, and called out the teams that said students would be on if they passed the second Graduation test.

"...And Team Seven will be Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Yamanaka Ino. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." Iruka said as he read off the list, wondering what the Hokage was thinking with that one. Perhaps, he was trying to get the Uchiha boy to restart his clan as soon as possible, since the boy was obsessed with getting his revenge on his brother Itachi.

He got a "Yes!", a "True love prevails!", and a "Can I go home so I can hang myself?" in response to this team announcement. Deciding to ignore the last, he continued down the list.

"Team Eight will be Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata. Your sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai. Team Nine is still in circulation, and Team Ten will be Akimichi Chouji, Uzumaki Naruto, and Nara Shikamaru. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." he said, finishing the list.

The Nara boy looked startled at the final team announcement for about a second before he said "Troublesome" and laid his head back down on his desk. He understood the boy's reaction, as he too had fully expected there to be a second Ino-Shika-Cho team forming today, and had thought that with his being dead last, Naruto would have ended up on Team 7. That apparently wasn't to be however.

The rest of the day wasn't all that notable. Chouji, Shikamaru, and Naruto sat together for lunch up until Naruto had to race off to the bathroom. Asuma picked the boys up on time and informed them of the second test they had to pass, and Kakashi nearly had a nosebleed when he finally picked up his team as Sakura and Ino were both practically mauling Sasuke in their attempt to get his attention.

That night was eventful, but not for Naruto. When Yamanaka Inoichi learned that his daughter had been placed on the same team as her crush whose stated goal included the restoration of his clan, he gathered his closest friends and teammates together and they went over to the Uchiha boy's place to give him a warning that he'd never forget.