Facing Naruto who admitted his mistake, inside the office, the coldness on Iruka's face did not abate at all.
Now you know it was a mistake? What were you doing earlier!
How on earth did you provoke a genius like Hyuga Neji, a ninja from such a major clan?
What exactly did you do to cause such trouble?
Couldn't you just stay quiet in the class, do nothing, and not attract attention?
Isn't it enough that people hate you?
Uzumaki Naruto, aren't you clear about your own identity?*
"You may leave!"
Naruto walked out of the office, out of that room filled with oppressive gazes.
He felt a stifling sensation in his heart, as if an invisible mountain was weighing heavily on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
In the hearts of others, he, Uzumaki Naruto, had long been defined as the Demon Fox, defined as the root of disaster, defined as a calamity.
Regardless of who he conflicted with, he, Uzumaki Naruto, was always seen as the source of the problem in everyone's eyes.
Walking out of the office somewhat dejectedly, Uzumaki Naruto stood in the hallway and saw Hyuga Neji waiting there, as well as Sasuke, whose eyes were full of interest in Hyuga Neji.
At this moment, Hyuga Neji no longer had the burning rage he had just felt when provoked by Uzumaki Naruto.
That heavy sorrow and the sense of lack of freedom bound by fate suppressed his youthful spirit once again.
"Uzumaki Naruto, the weight of fate is something you cannot imagine, you..."
Hyuga Neji originally wanted to say something. But when Naruto turned his head and looked at him again, that aura of loneliness on Naruto, the pain and sorrow in those eyes, deeply shook Hyuga Neji.
That was something Hyuga Neji couldn't understand; that was something Hyuga Neji felt was much thicker and heavier than what he was currently enduring.
Could it be that this guy, at such a young age, carried more pain and repressed bondage than I, Hyuga Neji?
"Do you have something to say?"
"No... nothing."
Hyuga Neji was speechless for a moment.
He looked at Naruto, his gaze constantly changing.
Thinking about it carefully now, why was he so easily angered by this guy just now?
He, Hyuga Neji, clearly wouldn't usually lose control like that.
Was it because Naruto also had pain, also carried a heaviness difficult for others to understand?
That was why he could so easily peel back the shell and fiercely sting the heart.
So, he and I are of the same kind.
"Thank you."
Bypassing Hyuga Neji, Naruto sincerely thanked Sasuke behind him before walking towards the classroom.
Sasuke blushed. Among his classmates, among the boys, this was the first time someone had thanked him so sincerely, unlike those girls who just revolved around him constantly.
"Hmph, I just didn't want to see someone from our class being bullied by an outsider."
Sasuke was so tsundere. After answering Naruto, he looked at Neji again.
He wanted to continue fighting Hyuga Neji, defeat him, and then continue moving forward toward his brother, Uchiha Itachi!
Hyuga Neji left. Before leaving, he took a deep look at Uzumaki Naruto's back.
He remembered the appearance of this lonely person and felt a wisp of his pain.
Back in the classroom, Naruto sat in his seat in a daze.
His power was too weak. Facing Hyuga Neji, who was a year above him and had trained for an extra year in the Hyuga Clan, if they really fought, he wouldn't gain any advantage.
Aside from having thick skin and being able to take a beating for a bit longer, right now, facing Neji and his Gentle Fist (Jūken), he was just a live target.
Just like before, he relied on a flash of wit to escape Neji's punching range and even counterattacked, almost kicking Hyuga Neji in the lower body to incapacitate him.
Who knew that guy would clamp his legs directly around the foot and then simply prepare to strike down on the leg.
"Gentle Fist... how should I deal with it?"
Class started again in the room, but Naruto had no intention of listening.
The Gentle Fist was known as the strongest Taijutsu in the Ninja World.
In combat, it could seal the opponent's chakra points (tenketsu) and chakra, and inflict terrible damage on the enemy's internal meridian system and fragile internal organs.
Other ninjas wouldn't want to face such a secret technique at close range.
But Naruto currently only knew a little bit of Taijutsu and how to throw shuriken.
Should he use Ninjutsu?
But in the Ninja Academy, one could ultimately only learn the Three Basic Techniques (Sanshin no Jutsu).
Facing Hyuga Neji, who possessed the Byakugan, Naruto's chakra flow and small hand seal movements couldn't deceive him.
Thinking about it this way, was the only option really to wait for the Nine-Tails to send chakra and use that massive amount of chakra to forcibly break through the Gentle Fist's seal on the body's chakra points?
No, no, no, not like that.
Naruto, hurry up and use your brain, think hard.
His chakra nature was only Wind. But inside Konoha, there were few Wind Release ninjas.
Counting the powerful Wind Release ninjas, there were only those two.
Sarutobi Asuma and Shimura Danzo.
But regardless of who they were, he didn't 'know' them.
"Wind... what is it essentially?"
The original Naruto, in the future, would integrate the change in chakra nature—Wind cutting—into the Rasengan, developing the terrifyingly powerful Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Because the power of this jutsu was too immense and difficult to control, it would inevitably cause damage to Naruto as well, making him unable to unleash its full power for a time.
Only after Naruto learned Sage Mode could he maximize the power of this jutsu.
At that time, under the tutelage of Yamato and Kakashi, Naruto completed the training for Wind Release nature transformation.
But now, Naruto felt he didn't necessarily have to spend so long doing such complex things.
The essence of wind is air circulation. Under differences in temperature and pressure, air flows from one place to another.
When air flows, the greater the difference in temperature and pressure between the two sides, the stronger the wind.
If the aperture through which the air flows is smaller while the pressure is greater, the wind speed and wind force at that place will be greater and more terrifying.
Just like when Shimura Danzo used Wind Release Ninjutsu, he used his mouth to create immense pressure, giving the Wind Release greater power when exhaled from a narrow opening.