15 ❈—15:: Cute, Little Sannin

"Well," Kakashi says, "the higher-ups think that you three have the potential to be the next great thing. You know, like The Sannin were.

"So, uh…" He gives us a thumbs up. "No pressure."

"No pressure?" Sakura asks in disbelief. "You can't just tell us something like that and then say 'no pressure'. That's very pressureful."

"I don't think that's actually a word," Kakashi says.

"Not the point, sensei," the girl argues.

"Why us?" I ask. "Why not Ino-Shika-Cho? Or Team 8? They have a Hyūga, an Aburame, and an Inuzuka on that team."

"Because we're the best! Woo!" Naruto fist pumps. "All the other teams suck and we rock. Haha! Yeah!" He jumps in celebration, then yelps in pain.

The idiot had forgotten his legs are injured.

Calmed from his jubilating, a thought seems to occur to the blonde: "You know," he says, "if we're The Sannin now, then that means that I'm obviously Jiraiya." He grins. "Since he was the coolest."

"We're not The Sannin yet, Naruto," Sakura says. "And what do you mean you're obviously Jiraiya? So what, you're saying that my and Sasuke's options are the man who turned out to be a psychopath and a traitor, and the woman who abandoned her village to go drinking and gambling across the Land of Fire?

"And who keeps telling you that you're cool? Because I assure you that they're lying to you."

Naruto appropriately roasted, Sakura returns her attention to Kakashi.

"Speaking of, why would the village want another Sannin team?" Sakura asks. "The last one really didn't work out too well."

She's not completely wrong.

The Sannin were (and likely still are) amazing ninja, true, and they accomplished great things for The Leaf, but, in the end, that success came with a cost.

At their prime, The Sannin were arguably the most popular ninja in the continent. Rumours of their presence were a deterrent to The Leaf's enemies. However, that same popularity is exactly why, both times that a member of The Sannin has openly defected from the village, it has hit our reputation. Hard.

And after Itachi and what he did… The Hidden Leaf's image of strength must not be looking very solid right now.

Probably, the only reason that Cloud or Stone hasn't tried anything yet is because our alliances with Sand, Rain, Grass, and Waterfall are holding steady…

Not that I could reliably know if Cloud or Stone has tried something.

To Sakura's query, Kakashi shrugs.

"Some will argue that the last one worked out well enough," he says. "And who knows, maybe they want to try with a new group because of how much of a dumpster fire the last one ended as."

"Huh?" Sakura frowns.

"Why will they want to try again when the last one ended badly?" Naruto asks.

"Because if there's a shiny, new Sannin team then maybe people will forget how two of the previous three ended up," I say.

"Bingo," Kakashi says.

"You didn't answer my question though," I remind him. "Why us?"

Now, the news that the higher-ups believe me to be capable of getting to the level of The Sannin is good to know.

That kind of affirmation of one's potential from a (supposedly objective) third party is rather reassuring to have, especially when one plans to potentially face a rabbit moon goddess sometime in the near future, but even so, I have to know; why us?

Because I'm not delusional. While it's true that I'm not some mediocre ninja, I'm also not some great prodigy either. My talent at the ninja arts is not unheard of, and it sure is nothing unique.

The one true advantage I have is my sharingan, which lets me learn at a greatly accelerated pace, and even that is nothing special, since unlike Itachi I wasn't born with eyes that warrant an S-rank all on their own in my head.

Unlike Itachi I wasn't born with the mangekyō sharingan.

Not for the first time, I find myself wishing that my life was like the story, at least in that regard; that I could cash in my trauma for that much power. But alas, my life is not that story, and I am not Itachi.

Which is exactly why I'm asking now; why us?

My teammates seem interested in the answer too, and we all stare at Kakashi, waiting.

After a few seconds, the jōnin pouts.

"Fine, maybe there are three other teams being considered for it," he admits.

"Three other teams!?" Naruto screams, his ego shattering from the realization that he's apparently not as special as he thinks he is.

"Which teams?" Sakura asks, voicing the relevant question.

"Teams 8, 10, and 15," Kakashi says.

Teams 8 and 10 are from our class; Hinata-Kiba-Shino and Ino-Shika-Cho; the two other teams on the fast track with us.

I don't know Team 15.

Although, I think I can take a safe guess as to who their members are.

"Hey, Team 8's Kiba's team, right?" Naruto asks, though obviously not looking for a response. "And Team 10's the one that has that sleepy Nara guy in it. What team is 15?"

"I think that's Neji's team," Sakura says. "From the year before us; Neji Hyūga, Ten Ten, and that screaming boy, Rock Lee."

"Hey, Rock Lee," Naruto says fondly. "Man, that guy's always fun to train with."

"Of course you would think so," Sakura mutters, then to Kakashi; "So that's them?"

"Yep," Kakashi says. "That's your competition."

"Competition," Naruto scoffs. "Please, we'll blast them out of the water. They don't stand a chance. Heh, I'm gonna be both Hokage and a Sannin. This is so awes—"

I flick his ear.

"Ow!"

"Quit daydreaming," I say.

"And they're not our competition, Naruto," Sakura adds, "they're our comrades. This isn't a contest. It doesn't matter who the village decides to pick as its new symbols."

Well, I beg to differ on that.

I don't say anything to Sakura though, I turn to Kakashi instead.

"Why did you tell us this?" I ask suspiciously. "Doesn't something like this put unnecessary pressure on us and maybe even risk creating needless rivalry?"

"Yeah," Sakura says in realisation. "He's right. Why did you do it?"

"Well," Kakashi says solemnly, "it's because I want to see the look on your faces when I tell you that, I honestly cannot believe that you guys seriously thought that even if the village was looking for a new team to replace The Sannin, they would pick a bunch of snot-nosed genin with exactly zero missions under their belt."

The jōnin bursts into mocking, uproarious laughter.

Are you fucking kidding me?

"Wait," Naruto says, slow on the uptake. "What? So, we're not…?"

Sakura sighs.

"Kakashi-sensei," she says, "if I still had chakra I would try to kill you right now."

Kakashi is still laughing. Wheezing. It is the most aggravating thing I've ever heard.

"You thought… Sannin…" he doubles over.

"You bastard," Naruto screams, finally catching up. "You lied."

"And you made it so easy," the jōnin says.

Naruto charges at him, and Kakashi swats the boy aside.

"Ha! The great Sannin!" The jōnin's laughter begins anew.

For almost half a minute we stand and watch him laugh, and when it finally peters out, Kakashi wipes a nonexistent tear from his eye and says; "Okay, my cute, little sannin, let's meet at Sasuke's place tomorrow. Seven A.M. Ta ta."

He fades into mist.

For several seconds, none of us speak.

Finally, Sakura says; "Why do I feel like he just gave us a new nickname?"

Naruto screams in sheer, unadulterated rage.