"Uchiha Sasuke, full marks!"
Iruka's approving voice echoed, and the students crowded around the door to peek inside.
"As expected of Sasuke!""That's the Uchiha kid—full score!""He's amazing!"
Admiration flowed endlessly, all eyes drawn to the cold-faced boy. His sharp features, high nose bridge, and clean-cut lines gave him a striking, distant beauty. His bangs framed his face, spiky hair bristling at the back, eyes carrying that familiar indifference.
Naruto, too, was watching Sasuke, leisurely examining the boy who would one day be his teammate.
"Next, Uzumaki Naruto!"
The moment his name was called, whispers broke out. Students muttered and cast sidelong glances at him.
"The dead-last again. Is he going to pull that pervy Sexy Jutsu stunt?""Hahaha!""Last time he used that, Iruka-sensei threw him out.""So disgusting! Who'd use a jutsu like that?"
Even Sasuke, on his way out, paused and glanced back at Naruto when he heard the chatter. Naruto happened to turn, and their eyes met at the classroom door.
The test was short—barely a minute. Sasuke lingered, staying to watch.
After a long silence, Iruka's voice came again, tinged with hesitation."Uzumaki Naruto… full marks!"
Full marks? Him too?!
The crowd outside froze, faces filled with shock. The so-called dead-last, scoring perfectly?
Though the Three Basic Jutsu weren't the whole of the final grade, they were the core of the exam. A perfect score meant… graduation was practically guaranteed.
The door opened, and Naruto stepped out. His eyes swept the crowd, finally landing on Sasuke.
Sasuke's expression didn't change. He met Naruto's gaze for a brief moment, then turned and walked away.
Naruto chuckled inwardly. As expected, the second pillar is really tsundere.
With his chakra disorder resolved, Naruto had quickly mastered the Three Basic Jutsu. Maybe it was natural talent—after all, he carried Uzumaki blood.
Now, with that secured, he no longer had to worry about the exam.
He left without delay. Passing by Hinata, he stopped, remembering how she had stood up for him the day before.
"I left too quickly yesterday, so… sorry I didn't thank you then." He smiled. "Thank you for helping me out, Hinata-chan."
Hearing him call her "Hinata-chan" again, her cheeks instantly flushed. Embarrassed, yet secretly pleased, she stammered:
"I… didn't really do much. Naruto-kun, you don't have to thank me."
In her training clothes, long sleeves hiding her pale arms, with short shoulder-length hair tucked behind her ears, her fair skin seemed to glow. Just standing there, she had the quiet grace of a noble family's eldest daughter.
That dignified yet bashful charm only made her more stunning—a perfect ojou-sama.
"Not at all. It was thanks to you, Hinata-chan," Naruto replied, noticing how flustered she was becoming.
But he also realized the gathering stares around them. Their relationship wasn't close enough yet—if he lingered, rumors might swirl around Hinata.
So he waved lightly. "I'll head out first. Thanks again, Hinata-chan."
As he left, he thought: I should prepare a gift. Next time we meet, I'll give it to her. It won't seem so sudden that way.
[Strategy Progress: Hinata — Nine-Tails' Approval +2.2%]
The mechanical voice in his mind startled him.
The Nine-Tails had always been a thorn in his heart. For now, having its power was useful. But in truth, the Nine-Tails was just a mass of chakra—a temporary source of strength.
And power always draws greedy eyes. Whether it was Konoha, hoping to use him as a weapon, or the forces that would one day seek to capture the Nine-Tails—Naruto was just meat on a chopping block.
If he were honest, he wished the Nine-Tails would leave him alone, find a new host, and never cross paths with him again.
But a jinchūriki dies if the beast is removed. That cruel rule was a shackle.
Yet now, with his system, even if the Nine-Tails left, he could still use its power.
Wouldn't it be better if the Nine-Tails had nothing to do with him at all?
He understood clearly: bearing the Nine-Tails was like Eren inheriting the Attack Titan. The moment he gained that power, he was bound—not by walls or towering titans, but by the vision of a fixed fate.
From that instant, destiny shackled him. Eren had no choice but to follow the path that led to destroying the world.
Naruto's case was the same. From the Nine-Tails, to the prophecy of the Child of Destiny, to the Sage's legacy—step by step, it wasn't that Naruto chose to be savior, or chose to be Hokage.
It was all fate's doing. An unbreakable chain forged by Jiraiya's death, Neji's sacrifice, the blood spilled along the way.
Naruto wanted to lie flat—lie down on the path of destiny itself. Live for himself.
Night fell.
By the forest river, a campfire burned softly, fish roasting above the flames. A blond boy sat fishing, moonlight pouring silver into the water, ripples sparkling as fish flashed beneath.
The silent forest, the pale crescent reflected on the river's surface—
Suddenly, with a swish, a figure appeared beside Naruto, as if from nowhere.
Body Flicker.
Naruto sensed the presence, whipping around to find a white-haired shinobi standing before him.
"Sh… Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked, feigning surprise. "What are you doing here?"
It was none other than Mizuki, Iruka's colleague, Konoha's number-one schemer. Smiling warmly, unaware that the Third was watching through his crystal ball, Mizuki asked:
"Naruto, do you want to become stronger?"