Every time Shiki thought about it, he trained even harder. Since he had this opportunity, why not make the best of it?
To become stronger!
To keep striving to find his mother!
The night seemed to fly by unusually fast as Shiki immersed himself in training, unable to pull away.
It wasn't until he realized the sky had begun to brighten that he noticed Lee was back in a slump. Shiki remembered from Lee's flashbacks in the manga that before meeting Might Guy, Lee had always been an extremely insecure boy.
Just as he was about to walk over and comfort Lee, a sudden realization stopped Shiki. If he encouraged Lee like this now, would Lee still meet Might Guy? Or worse—would Might Guy never have the chance to encourage Lee and build their deep bond? If that happened, it would be a huge mistake.
A Rock Lee without Might Guy? The thought was terrifying.
After thinking for a while, Shiki finally asked Lee, "Are you doubting whether Taijutsu alone will ever allow you to become a great ninja?"
Lee lifted his head, puzzled at how this red-haired person could know exactly what he was thinking.
"Are you here just to laugh at me?" Lee shouted at Shiki.
But Shiki shook his head. "I'm not here to mock you. However, I can't answer your question either. Wait until you meet a Jonin who, like you, has thick eyebrows and loves wearing green spandex suits. He'll be the one to answer all your questions."
With those words, Shiki turned and walked away, thinking he had helped Lee as much as he could.
Still, he felt really tired! Although his body kept healing itself, the fatigue refused to fade completely.
Shiki didn't realize that after he left, Lee started pounding relentlessly on the wooden post again.
"If that man could give me answers to this question, then until that day comes, I won't give up—not for a second!"
"Five thousand six hundred seventy-two!"
"Five thousand six hundred seventy-three!"
The steady rhythm of punches and counting struck a chord with anyone who heard it.
Maybe this was just a weak boy refusing to accept the fate handed to him. With such a strong heart, why shouldn't he become powerful?
When Shiki returned to Naruto's house, he first took a shower. As soon as he washed off the sweat, exhaustion overwhelmed him again. He lay down on the tatami and drifted into a deep sleep.
Throughout it all, the oblivious Naruto hadn't noticed anything at all.
The next morning, crisp bird chirping heralded a new day full of unknowns—and full of hope.
Yet inside the small old house, two boys continued sleeping soundly.
Until—
"Hey!!! Shiki! We're going to be late!!!" Naruto shouted, staring at the alarm clock showing eight-fifty.
Shiki slowly opened his eyes from a drowsy sleep—actually having only slept three or four hours.
He wasn't particularly worried, though, because the Ninja Academy only taught basic stuff anyway—including written exams.
So Shiki decided then and there—if things kept going like this, he'd follow Shikamaru's example and nap his way through the Academy until graduation.
Shiki let out a yawn and asked, "Hey, why are you in such a hurry?"
Naruto was packing his things as he replied, "You lazy bum, Shiki! I thought you were going to wake me up!"
"Ah, what kind of logic is that? Why couldn't I be the one you woke up?"
This time Naruto ignored Shiki, instead scratching his head and exclaiming, "Oh no, oh no! Iruka-sensei definitely won't forgive me!"
Sigh. Naruto wasn't afraid of The Third, yet he feared Iruka most of all. It seemed teachers really were students' natural enemies, especially for underachievers like Naruto.
When Shiki finished changing clothes, Naruto immediately grabbed him and rushed toward the Ninja Academy.
At this moment, Shiki suddenly noticed Naruto's speed was unusually fast—so much so that even he couldn't keep up, practically being dragged along by Naruto.
Although this might also have been due to his intense training from last night, leaving his limbs still sore today.
Finally arriving at the Ninja Academy, they found Iruka already standing at the entrance.
"Hey, Naruto! Didn't we promise not to be late anymore this month?"
Naruto quickly apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei! It's all Shiki's fault—he overslept again!"
Without hesitation, Naruto betrayed Shiki, causing Shiki to develop a heavy black line across his forehead.
Iruka continued sternly, "Trying to blame others for your own mistakes? Then forget about that extra-large bowl of Ichiraku Ramen we'd agreed on!"
"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto begged tearfully.
Shiki finally understood why Naruto had been so frantic. It turned out that Iruka held Naruto's biggest weakness all along.
However, this time Iruka didn't look at Naruto but fixed his gaze on Shiki instead.
"You must be Shiki Uzumaki, the one The Third mentioned?"
Shiki nodded and said, "Yes, Iruka-sensei. I'm Shiki Uzumaki."
"What a lovely kid. My name is Iruka Umino, and I'll be your teacher from now on."
Ah, so he had really been assigned to Iruka's homeroom class—the same class destined to shine brightly in the future?
After all, nearly all of Konoha's Twelve Guardians came from this very class.
"I'll be in your care from now on, Iruka-sensei!" Shiki, naturally respectful toward the kind-hearted Iruka, adopted a polite demeanor.
Iruka nodded with satisfaction, thinking this child truly was far more mannered than Naruto.
Still, both shared the surname Uzumaki—what exactly was their relationship?
Despite these unspoken questions lingering in his mind, Iruka eventually led both Naruto and Shiki into the classroom. Naruto sulked gloomily to his seat and sat down.
Then Iruka walked in with Shiki. Instantly, every pair of eyes in the room locked onto Shiki's striking crimson hair.
Who is this person? Is he a new student transferring into our class?
"He looks just like Sasuke!"
"No, he's even handsomer than Sasuke!"
"Who says that? Sasuke-kun is the handsomest!"
...
When the girls in the classroom started shouting excitedly, Shiki realized only then that his physical appearance could indeed be considered quite attractive. Combined with his clothing, it naturally created this effect.
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