"Ah?"
"Go… go to Naruto-kun's house?"
"Of course. Where else would we go?"
Hinata's face turned scarlet as she nervously twiddled her fingers. In the end, she gave a tiny nod.
"Mhm…"
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Naruto, on the other hand, lit up with joy and shouted, "Then it's settled!"
"See you tomorrow!"
He clasped his hands behind his head, humming a cheerful tune as he strolled back to his seat.
Hinata's gaze lingered on his retreating figure. A gentle smile spread across her blushing face.
"Tomorrow… I get to study with Naruto-kun?"
"Th-that's wonderful…"
Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka exchanged glances after watching this scene.
"Hinata… she actually likes that Naruto…"
Ino smirked slyly.
"Heh, forehead, looks like Naruto might be changing his mind soon!"
"Hmph, what's that got to do with me? That troublesome guy—if he stopped pestering me, I'd be happy!"
Sakura crossed her arms and shut her eyes with a dismissive snort.
But after Ino walked away, Sakura couldn't help sneaking another glance in Hinata's direction.
She shook her head, quickly pushed aside those wild thoughts, and propped her chin on her palm, smiling dreamily at Sasuke instead.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi sat dumbfounded.
"Was that… was that Naruto?"
"He actually asked someone to tutor him?!"
Choji chomped down on his fries in shock.
"Aw-woo, aw-woo…"
Shikamaru rubbed his temples.
"There are only two possibilities. Either Naruto's lost his mind, or we're stuck in a genjutsu."
He leaned back with a sigh.
"Actually, there's a third. Maybe I'm still dreaming."
Yawning, he shuffled over to his desk, slumped onto it, and immediately closed his eyes like a sack of lazy mud.
"You're hopeless, Shikamaru."
Choji sat down beside him and went back to munching loudly. "Aw-woo, aw-woo."
At the back, Kiba Inuzuka frowned in disbelief.
Kiba's personality was actually a lot like Naruto's—both were reckless, cared too much about their image, bragged all the time, and most importantly… both wanted to become Hokage.
"That Naruto… could he be trying to shake off the title of 'Dead Last'?"
"Not necessarily."
A chilling voice suddenly answered beside him.
"After all, anyone can change."
Kiba yelped like a startled pup, nearly leaping out of his chair.
"Shino?! When did you get here?!"
Aburame Shino replied calmly, "I've been sitting here for half an hour."
"I didn't notice you at all!"
"…"
Just then, the noisy classroom suddenly fell silent.
Iruka Umino strode inside.
Even he noticed the strange atmosphere and frowned.
"What's wrong with all of you?"
"N-nothing…"
His gaze drifted toward Naruto.
He's still refining his chakra… My advice actually worked? I'm happy for him, but… isn't this a little too effective?!
Naruto, are you cramming for graduate exams?!
Iruka's jaw went slack as his mind ran wild, until a student's reminder snapped him back to reality.
He cleared his throat, cheeks faintly red.
He'd already been warned many times—by teachers, students, even the principal—not to give Naruto too much special attention.
But still…
"Alright, let's begin class!"
[Detected…]
Naruto quickly cut the system off with a grin. "Heh, I know. Full concentration!"
His eyes snapped open wide as he fixed on Iruka, ears perked like a fox, determined not to miss a single word.
Not only did Iruka feel a shiver run down his spine, but the rest of the class stared at Naruto like they were seeing a ghost.
"Naruto's actually paying attention again?!"
"This is as abnormal as Sasuke suddenly jumping on stage to do a striptease…"
"Exactly! It's scarier than Choji deciding to go on a diet!"
"I've got one too—it's like Sakura suddenly ditching Sasuke and falling for Naruto instead! Hahaha…"
Bang!
Bang bang bang!
Iruka's chalk whizzed through the air like shuriken, splitting mid-flight and smacking three students right on the forehead.
"No whispering!"
"Yes, Iruka-sensei…"
The three rubbed their foreheads, grimacing.
Iruka sighed. "Can't you just focus on the lesson? Look at Naruto—"
Then he froze.
When did Naruto become a role model?
That was the first time he'd ever said such a thing.
Everyone turned to look at Naruto.
He sat upright, serious and dignified, gaze sharp and resolute—like a man about to join the Party.
Iruka felt awkward, coughed lightly, and seized the moment.
"Ahem… Naruto, why don't you answer this question?"
The class immediately buzzed with anticipation.
Naruto blinked, then stood up, his brain working frantically.
"It's the same type of question as yesterday… Based on Iruka-sensei's explanations these past two days, and what Sakura said yesterday when she answered…"
Since sharpening his focus, his memory, observation, and reasoning had all improved dramatically.
"Uh… 5… 500 meters?"
He answered carefully, like handling an explosive tag.
Iruka stared in shock, frozen like he'd been hit by a cursed seal.
Naruto's grin slowly spread.
"Ano sa, ano sa… Iruka-sensei, did I get it right?!"
Iruka shook his head.
"No."
Naruto instantly deflated.
"Then why'd you make that face?!"
Iruka sighed. "I'm not surprised you got it wrong. I'm surprised you…"
"You were almost right."
"You just made a small, common mistake. The kind even Sakura might make if she wasn't careful…"
"This in itself is already a miracle."
Naruto ruffled his hair in frustration.
"But I still got it wrong, didn't I?!"
He hadn't noticed that the entire classroom had fallen silent.
Sasuke, Sakura, everyone—they were all shaken to their core.
Was this really… still Naruto?!