After finishing his meal, Naruto returned to his rental apartment and went to sleep. In the Murim world, he had gone days without food or rest. Cultivators often endured far worse, but with Naruto's current body, it's impossible.
Naruto closed his eyes and rested. As he lay on the bed, fragments of Naruto's memories surfaced in his mind.
From Naruto's memories, the strongest man is the Hokage... this is from Naruto's point of view. Memories of how Konoha treated Naruto, how Naruto pathetically did silly things to get their attention... etc.
Along with that, a memory of Naruto loving Sakura, but Sakura got attracted to Sasuke. And also, all of his classmates info surfaced. Even though Xuan Tian saw from inside... but, his vision is limited to observe.
But, to Xuan Tian... this info is useless. As there is no info about other villages.
Morning arrived. Naruto opened his eyes and rose from bed. The first thing he searched for was food.
He checked the cupboards.
He opened the refrigerator....There, a container of spoiled milk remained inside.
Naruto closed the door and drank water instead. After that, he stood in the middle of the room and examined his body. He stretched his arms & legs to test the strength in his muscles that could store demonic qi.
"Pathetic." His voice echoed softly through the room. "This body was far weaker than I had expected."
"If I wished to rule this world one day, I would need strength."
Naruto rubbed his chin. "But how?"
A moment later, he shook his head. "Information first. Strength later."
He thought. Without understanding the world, rushing forward would be foolish.
He walked toward the wardrobe and pulled out the familiar orange outfit. After looking at it for a few seconds, he frowned. "This outfit is as pathetic as his life."
The bright orange color irritated him.
He thought, A black outfit would suit me better.
Even though the color irritated him, Naruto dressed in the same orange suit, looking as usual. Naruto left the apartment and headed toward the academy.
The streets were quiet due to the early hour. A few villagers glanced at him with disgust but also observed the change in Naruto's demeanor. Naruto ignored them completely.
I needed knowledge about the world, about this body, and about ninja techniques.
.........
When he arrived at the academy, he stopped outside his classroom door and pushed the door open slightly. He wanted to see how this body owner's fellow classmates were doing inside the classroom.
Noise came rushing to his ears. Students were talking, running around, and a few were already asleep. Naruto remained near the doorway and looked around.
Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno were sitting in front of Sasuke Uchiha. Both of them were trying their hardest to gain Sasuke's attention.
Ino leaned closer with a smile towards Sasuke. Sakura did the same from the opposite side. Sasuke ignored them both, turning his head to his side.
Choji was busy eating chips. Several empty packets were already scattered nearby.
Beside him, Shikamaru rested his head on the desk, and his eyes were drooping to sleep.
Kiba was playing with Akamaru in the front bench. Shino sat quietly in his seat.
Near the window sat Hinata Hyuga. Unlike everyone else, she noticed Naruto almost immediately. Her gaze lingered on him for a few seconds. Then she lowered her head and nervously poked her fingers together.
Naruto noticed the direction of the gaze but ignored it.
........
Ino leaned closer to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, did you see my new hairpin? It's beautiful. Just like you."
Sasuke glanced at it once and turned his head.
Sakura immediately crossed her arms. "He isn't interested in your hairpin. He only has eyes for me."
At that moment, thinking he had watched enough. Naruto pushed the door completely open and stepped inside.
His steps were steady and not hurried as the owner of this body did. Not the walk of someone seeking attention. That is, like the walk of the most powerful person in the world.
The first person to notice Naruto was Akamaru.
The dog barked. "Bow" "Bow"
Kiba saw Naruto immediately and grinned. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to show up."
"The loser's here!"
Naruto stopped before Kiba and looked at him for a moment, standing there.
Kiba blinked at Naruto's behaviour.
The whole class expected a shout from Naruto, but it never came; all their attention went to Naruto.
Ino and Sakura also turned toward Naruto.
"Hey, Naruto!" Ino called out.
"Why are you standing there? You look weird."
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Just sit down already."
"You're acting strange."
Naruto looked at them for a few seconds.
To him, they seemed like children arguing over meaningless things.
Without replying, he walked from Kiba's sitting place and moved past Sakura and Ino's bench, not even looking at them, with a straight face. The room grew noticeably quieter.
Sasuke thought, 'Naruto is behaving weirdly'
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Huh."
"Naruto's usually louder than this."
Choji looked back while chewing. "Maybe he's sick."
Sakura stood up from her seat. Frustration was written all over her face as Naruto did not even glance at her, while in the past, every day he was head over heels for her.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?"
"You can't pretend to be Sasuke. And you can never be like him."
"He's the coolest one. And I only like Sasuke!"
Naruto looked at her. His expression remained unchanged. "I'm not here to entertain you."
Silence...For a moment, the classroom froze.
Sakura stared at him. "What did you say?"
Naruto turned toward the window, watching outside, completely ignoring her.
Sakura, with anger on her face. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"
"I said..."
Her dialogue was cut short as the classroom door opened.
Iruka walked inside. "Alright everyone, take your seats."
"Class is about to start."
Sakura reluctantly returned to her desk. Before sitting down, she raised her hand.
"Iruka-sensei!"
"What's going on with Naruto?"
"He's acting like a completely different person!"
Iruka glanced toward the back of the classroom. He watched Naruto, who was looking at the window.
Then he sighed. "Naruto recently suffered an accident."
The classroom immediately quieted.
"He lost many of his memories."
"That's why he's behaving differently."
Several students exchanged confused looks.
Iruka continued as others exchanged looks. "But he's still Naruto."
"So don't treat him differently."
Whispers spread through the classroom. Most of them had known Naruto for years. Seeing him like this felt strange.
Shikamaru glanced toward the back row, toward Naruto. "What a drag."
"Never thought the loudest guy in class would become this quiet."
"Enough," Iruka said.
The class became quiet.
"Let's begin today's lesson."
Class started; Naruto leaned back in his chair.
'My knowledge about this world is limited. After class, I should visit the library. I needed information about villages.'
'Only after understanding this world could I begin climbing above it.'
(To Be Continued...)