Lately, Fujimoto Tōma felt a pressure he hadn't expected.Naruto's growth was absurd.Give the kid a little guidance and he trained like someone who'd been blessed with a second life: pushing past his limits every single session, relying on that monstrous recovery to bounce back stronger.
Tōma stared at him sometimes and genuinely wondered if he'd accidentally unleashed a future calamity on Konoha.
Thankfully, after a few explosive jumps in progress, Naruto's rate of improvement began to stabilize. Even so, his physical growth still outpaced any normal academy student. His build, his stamina, his raw force… all of it climbed frighteningly fast.
This guy's going to rival Lee just through brute enthusiasm, Tōma thought with a twitch of his brow.
He glanced at the empty seat beside him. Naruto was, of course, late again. At this point the entire class considered it routine.
Then—in a flurry of footsteps—Yamanaka Ino burst into the classroom, breathless and pale.
"Ino? What happened?" Tōma asked, startled. She was usually the picture of composed "proper girl," not… this.
"Tō… Tōma—something's wrong! I went behind the school to the courtyard woods and saw older students ganging up on Naruto!"
Tōma's expression snapped cold.
His current body in class was a shadow clone—meaning he couldn't meaningfully intervene—but his real self was nearby.
"Where?" he asked sharply.
"The woods behind the practice field!"
That area?Tōma grimaced. Naruto must've overslept again and tried to take a shortcut. And then he just had to run into the worst kind of upperclass slackers.
"Should I get a teacher?" Ino added, suddenly remembering the existence of adults.
"Go find Iruka-sensei," Tōma said without hesitation, then bolted from the classroom.
Ino took off toward the faculty building, and the room fell into uneasy murmurs.
Nara Shikamaru, who had been pretending to nap, sat up with a quiet sigh. Of course he heard everything. Of course it was troublesome. And of course he was going anyway.
"Chōji. Kiba. One of our classmates is being bullied," he said.
Akimichi Chōji kept eating his snack; that was his usual way of saying "I'll follow your lead."
Inuzuka Kiba, on the other hand, slammed his desk and stood so fast his chair toppled.
"WHAT?! Who's the idiot messing with one of ours?!"His temper was practically a ninjutsu by itself.
"Naruto, apparently," Shikamaru added.
Kiba froze for half a second—his family had warned him to avoid Naruto—but Shikamaru's next line hit its mark.
"Oh. Right. You don't like him, do you?"
Kiba's pride detonated instantly."LIKE THAT MATTERS! He's still a classmate! Let's go!"
Shikamaru smirked faintly. The plan didn't work perfectly—no wave of volunteers—but at least he secured one loud ally.
He tugged Chōji along.What he didn't notice was Uchiha Sasuke quietly rising and slipping out after them.
Or Aburame Shino following as silent as mist.
Or Hyūga Hinata, face red and fingers nervously twisting, hurrying out after whispering Naruto's name under her breath.
Meanwhile, Tōma's clone dispelled the moment he left the classroom—sending the information to his real body.
Good. I'm close. Still fresh from warm-up. Perfect timing.
His eyes sharpened.
Dare to lay a hand on my… good friend, and you're done.
He sprinted toward the academy with real killing intent simmering beneath the surface.
Earlier That Morning
Naruto had trained late into the night again. He overslept, panicked, grabbed a slice of bread and a bottle of milk, and bolted out the door.
But even sprinting couldn't save him from being late.
He tried to cut through the wooded area behind the school—a shortcut—and nearly collided with a group of older boys.
He skidded to a stop.They flinched too.
"Sorry!" Naruto blurted, already rushing past.
But then one of them recognized him. Recognition twisted instantly into hostility.
"Tch. Figures. Only a freak like you would come charging through here and scare people."
Naruto froze.
"I'm not a freak," he said quietly, fists trembling.
"Oh please. Everyone in the village calls you a monster. Isn't that right, guys?"
The others snickered—loud enough to echo.
Monster. Freak.Words he'd heard whispered for as long as he could remember.
Naruto gritted his teeth.Maybe he shouldn't start a fight.Maybe he should just go.Maybe—
No.Not today.
Even if he'd be late.Even if he'd get punished.Even if they hit him.
He couldn't swallow this insult again.
He charged.
But he was alone. And they were bigger. And anger didn't change the fact he was still just an undersized kid with a few days of training under his belt.
They knocked him down easily, surrounding him as he struggled to rise.
"So this is the 'monster' everyone's scared of?" one boy jeered. "Pretty weak to me!"
"Hey everyone! Come look! The scary beast of Konoha got floored by us!"
Their laughter echoed through the trees.
And Naruto, bruised and breathless, pushed himself up again.
He wasn't done.Not yet.