Natsume noticed Yamanaka Ino's gaze.
Ever since he mastered Sage Mode, his everyday perception had improved a lot.
How to put it?
Right now, Yamanaka Ino could only be called cute—she wasn't exactly stunning.
Once she grew up, especially after marriage, though, her looks and figure would skyrocket explosively.
As for her best friend, Haruno Sakura, she was like a flat tablet—plain as a board.
Natsume flashed her a brilliant smile.
Yamanaka Ino trembled slightly, her face flushing as she looked away, shy.
"You okay?"
Sakura turned and, seeing her expression, looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"I'm fine."
Ino had wanted to glare at her, but with that handsome guy in the distance, she instantly switched to a ladylike whisper.
"Fine, my foot."
Sakura's eyes went wide—she was a breath away from asking if Ino had fallen under a genjutsu.
"Big brother."
Sasuke ran over.
Only then did Sakura notice Natsume.
She blinked. So handsome.
She'd thought Sasuke-kun was already unrivaled in looks, but this guy was even more handsome. Who is he?
"Big brother!"
Naruto trotted up. "Long time no see."
"There's an entrance assessment today. Do your best."
Natsume patted his shoulder. "First place has your name on it."
"First place is mine!"
Sasuke suddenly turned, serious. "I'll definitely beat him today!"
He'd trained hard all vacation and grown stronger, so he brimmed with confidence.
Naruto didn't get mad; instead he grinned brightly. "Sasuke, I'm looking forward to it."
Sasuke snorted and ignored him.
"Naruto, that's your brother? How come you never mentioned him?"
Ino bounced over with a sweet girlish smile, full of energy.
Her eyes looked at Naruto, but the corner of her gaze kept sneaking peeks at Natsume.
From far away earlier, and now up close—his looks felt like heaven's handiwork.
No way he and Naruto were blood-related.
That thought flashed through Ino's mind.
In truth, given Minato's looks, Naruto wasn't bad—he just never tidied himself up.
"I'm Natsume."
Natsume took the initiative. "When Naruto was little and bullied by brats, I helped him out."
"Wait!"
Naruto was a step too late—his black history got exposed.
"Wow, didn't expect that."
Ino was surprised.
Naruto's performance at school was too dazzling.
Even the chūnin instructors said they weren't his match—he was clearly the top of the entire school.
And someone like that used to get bullied by brats and needed rescuing?
Quite the contrast.
Sasuke, who had been chatting with Itachi, perked up his ears.
Interesting.
He noted to remember this.
To him, Naruto was too perfect.
Kind, cheerful, monstrously talented—everything.
No weaknesses to be found.
"Alright, everyone, get to school or you'll be late."
Natsume clapped to remind them.
Naruto bolted.
If he stuck around, who knew how much more black history would get aired.
Sasuke also hurried after him.
He was excited to finally test his training results.
Sakura instinctively followed Sasuke.
After a few steps she looked back and called, "Ino, let's go!"
Only then did Ino reluctantly leave.
"And you?"
Natsume turned and asked, "Want to go watch?"
"Sorry, I don't have time."
Itachi, after watching Sasuke disappear, said, "Things are busy in the Anbu lately."
"Oh? What happened?"
Natsume asked casually.
Itachi paused; this was classified.
But thinking of Natsume as Tsunade's student, he didn't hide it.
"The Hokage's son, Sarutobi Seinosuke, has gone missing."
"Missing? Who would dare pull that off?"
Natsume feigned surprise and asked.
"Don't know."
Itachi frowned lightly. "We've been investigating for days with no trace."
"Then go handle it."
Natsume waved, ending the chat.
He said goodbye to Itachi and headed for the academy field.
He arrived just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was rambling on.
"Good morning, students. Next, I'll talk about six points…"
Even with his son missing, it didn't stop him from preaching the Will of Fire.
After all, that was the most important thing.
Tradition couldn't be dropped.
Natsume remembered he came every year at opening to give a speech.
The content was more or less the same.
An hour later, the speech ended, and they got to the main event.
The entrance assessment.
Naruto and Sasuke had advanced to the fourth year.
Hinata, Ino, and Sakura were in the second year.
Oh, and Neji and his group were in the third year.
In theory, the assessment was by grade.
But the school encouraged cross-grade challenges.
Thanks to Naruto's existence, it had now become downward challenges.
Spectator stands were set up along the edge of the field.
Natsume sat there with the other parents.
He had a few matches he wanted to watch.
Fortunately, they weren't all happening at once.
Under Natsume's vacation training, Hinata had improved noticeably, shocking her teacher and classmates.
Because of her personality, she hadn't even cracked the top five in class.
Mainly because Class 2-A included most of the Konoha 12 standouts.
Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, and so on.
Hinata hadn't been ranking before.
But today she stunned everyone, beating them all to take first in class.
As for Class 4-A, no surprise—the final match was between Naruto and Sasuke.
Their fight was arguably the highest level the academy currently had, drawing a lot of attention.
"Wonder if Sasuke can shake off the eternal runner-up shame?"
Shikamaru yawned lazily. "Just thinking about fighting a monster like Naruto makes it such a drag. If it were me, I'd just forfeit."
"Hmph, Sasuke-kun isn't like you!"
Sakura clenched her fists and yelled, "Go, Sasuke-kun!"
Her shout set off a chain reaction.
"Sasuke's definitely popular with the girls."
Chōji said around a mouthful of chips.
"Tch, arrogant punk!"
IKiba grumbled. "He won't beat Naruto anyway."
Ino, meanwhile, was scanning the stands for Natsume.
But there were too many people, and her view was blocked.
Hinata, with her Byakugan advantage, did spot Natsume.
Sasuke kept a cold face but secretly clicked his tongue.
So noisy. You're messing up my performance!
He took a deep breath. "Naruto, prepare to taste defeat."
The rain had stopped, the sky had cleared, and Sasuke felt like he had it in him again.