Chouza was bemused. It was all Skika and Ino's fault really. Shika had wound up Jounin Commander for some convoluted reason deemed too troublesome to repeat. Ino was currently destroying T&I, to remake it in his own image. That left Ino-Shika-Cho down to just Cho. Chouza could have been deployed with another squad, but his uncle had just passed and Chouji had abdicated so fast, Chouza wondered if his aniki had learned Mina-kun's signature technique. Now he was clan head and, therefore, 'too politically entrenched for the front lines'. Thus, he was on the list of jounin available to play jounin-sensei. Which leaves the newly-minted Akimichi clan head looking, bemusedly, at the profiles of three pre-genin.

Not that the gentle-giant was bothered by the idea of being a teacher. In fact, he was rather excited. Chouza had always loved kids, but he and his darling Momo-chan had determined that children would be far in the post-war future. More selfishly, teaching would also keep him away from the dreaded war-time, in-village jobs he would otherwise be restricted to: logistics. So, it was not teaching that gave him pause, but the kids themselves.

On paper, his potential students were not quite what he expected, from the vague daydreams he occasionally allowed himself. In the first place, none of them were clan. Not that there was anything wrong with non-clan kids! He'd gone to the academy with Mina-kun for kami's sake! Chouza just, wasn't sure what to do with kids that did not have the backing and support system he, himself, had grown up with.

At least none of them were from entirely civilian families. Dealing with civilian-mindset misconceptions, teaching the shinobi arts, and running a clan would have been a nightmare. He would almost rather be logistical support.

His eldest student, Ebisu-kun, seemed rather straight forward. He came from a prominent shinobi family. They had been some of the first non-clan shinobi in Konoha, and were very proud of it. They dealt with the logistics Chouza so wanted to avoid. The kid's profile described him as fiercely studious, and definitely a paper-ninja. He was about average, on the physical aspects, but his instructors noted a firm grounding in all the basics. Psych-eval implied there was a lot of family pressure. Ebisu-kun would need firm support emotionally, but should be fine in his studies with a little guiding.

Genma-kun's family was quietly notorious, if that was possible. His mother, and her mother before her, had been some of Konoha's best assassins. They used everything at their disposal to get to their target, kill them, and get away without anyone the wiser. Anyone who knew them (and Chouza had known Shiranui-san, if only in passing) would call them level-headed and dependable. Genma-kun's older sister, a recently promoted chunin of 15, was much the same. According to the academy profile, Genma-kun would be as well. There was an interesting note that he had been tagged for medic-nin, but his accuracy was so high he wound up in the specialist classes. The Akimichi clan head determined that Genma-kun would focus on precision and speed, but made note to ensure his middle student received as much medical training as the boy would tolerate.

Chouza decided that he would have to be careful with Genma-kun. The psych profile showed he was remarkably well-adjusted, but his kaa-san's death was very recent. Pushing too hard, too fast with new people might slide him further into grief than he was already. The sensei-to-be noticed there was no mention of the father anywhere in the file. There was no mention of a father in the sister's file either. Chouza let himself be amused by a boy named for the aurora borealis and will-o'-wisps being so completely grounded and down-to-earth.

His youngest-student-to-be was also a bit concerning, but in a different way. The boy was not unintelligent, but definitely a kinesthetic learner with an odd flair for creativity. Gai-kun had expressed a desire to specialize in genjutsu, to honor his long-deceased mother. He, apparently, had a peculiar knack for distorting reality around himself in a way that would confuse and distress his opponents. Chouza was wary of the instructors' refusal to elaborate further. The taijutsu instructor had left rave reviews about the boy's perfect muscle-memory and body awareness. This was not unexpected, as Gai-kun's father, Maito Dai, was a Genin Corps taijutsu specialist. The psych-eval noted that Gai-kun was as eccentric as his father, but suggested he may be too honor-bound to utilize the darker aspects of genjutsu.

The new teacher decided his youngest would have to be assessed in person. At least the boy had taijutsu as a fallback, if he was not comfortable with breaking his opponents mentally.

The makeup of the team was also rather odd. At first glance, the fact that they were all boys would be put down to war-time necessity. One who can see underneath the underneath, however, would realize that Genma-kun was playing the traditionally 'female' role: precision and control. Genma-kun would likely wind up playing peacemaker to two boys who were dynamically opposed to one another. Chouza allowed himself a moment, to reflect on the irony of the boy who grew up with primarily female role-models and influences, being the 'girl' of the team.

Team Chouza also initially seemed to be a general purpose formation. These formations were the most common; they ran messages and deliveries but were also available for any escort or scouting missions that may be necessary. Nothing usually combat heavy, with a focus on speed and evasion. In reality, Chouza realized he had received a budding intelligence team. Ebisu-kun would be logistical support and general backup. Genma-kun would be the spy and assassin (and medic, if Chouza can get him the training). Gai-kun would be their stealth and combat backup. Reading between the lines, they had great potential.

The only problem was, as Shika once said, "no plan survives first contact with the enemy." Or, in this case, three very different pre-genin.