["Dad, I'm going over too."]
["Mm."]
["Shikamaru, you go too."]
["What a pain… got it."]
[Soon, everyone gathered together again.]
[Except for one person.]
["Onii-chan~!"]
[Just as they were about to complain, the person arrived.]
[Ino and Sakura exchanged a glance.]
[Then Ino rolled her eyes and dragged young Naruto into the school.]
["What a waste of time waiting for that guy."]
["After the opening ceremony, let's go pick ninja tools together~!" Sakura changed the subject.]
[Clearly, as she understood Sasuke more and more, in her eyes he was basically nothing but a handsome face now.]
Uzumaki Naruto: "See, see?! I told you! That stuck-up Sasuke isn't all that—pfft! Like hell he has any girl appeal!"
Uchiha Sasuke: "Idiot."
Uzumaki Naruto: "What did you say?!"
Uchiha Sasuke: "Idiot."
Nara Shikamaru: "Even though they're both Naruto, Black-Frame Naruto gives me a better feeling."
Ino Yamanaka: "Mm, agreed. If it were Black-Frame Naruto… there'd be no problem at all~"
Sakura Haruno: "Yes. Even if there were no Sasuke, I still would never like Gold-Frame Naruto~!"
Hyūga Hinata: "Um… um… I…"
Tenten: "You like him too, right?"
Hyūga Hinata: "I… like Black-Frame Naruto a little more… he feeds me until I'm full…"
Uzumaki Kushina: "It's okay, Hinata—both of them are you!"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Waaah…"
He broke down. Uzumaki Naruto broke down again—again and again.
["Why is that brat here?"]
["Why is he coming here too?"]
["What is the Hokage thinking? Why let that kind of person attend the Ninja Academy?"]
["Yeah! If that kind of person becomes a ninja, who knows what will happen!"]
["Shh!"]
["Stop talking—don't forget the gag order."]
["Damn it! I'm just worried that disgusting thing will hurt my kid!"]
Young Naruto had long since gotten used to this.
But Ino and the others couldn't.
Ino clenched her fist, turning her head, about to curse back—
But every time, young Naruto would press a hand down on her shoulder.
"No need. Besides, I'm the man who's going to become Hokage. I'll definitely earn everyone's recognition."
Young Naruto smiled lightly, soothing everyone.
However, every single time young Naruto said this—
Even Hinata couldn't help getting goosebumps.
It was a feeling impossible to describe in words.
["It's pretty lively down there."]
["Eww~!"]
["That kid… isn't that an Uchiha?!"]
["So handsome~!"]
["Tenten, aren't you coming to look?"]
["Handsome? What's the use of handsome? I'm going back to watch the shop. These underclassmen will definitely come buy ninja tools. Tomorrow, my treat—dinner for you."]
[In a second-year classroom on the second-to-last floor of the school building, a girl with her hair in two buns waved as she said goodbye to her friends.]
Rock Lee: "Tenten!"
Tenten: "Hahaha~ Didn't expect my debut to still be this sloppy~"
Sakura Haruno: "Come to think of it, we all did go buy our first ninja tool… Right! Back then we bought it at your shop, Tenten!"
Ino Yamanaka: "Mm… I think I bought mine at another shop. Sorry, Tenten."
Tenten: "It's fine. All the ninja tool shops on that street belong to my family—same difference."
???
Temari: "Hmph. No wonder you have so many tools to throw around."
Tenten: "Damn it! You only beat me because of matchup advantage! If you're so good, you try throwing tools and killing me too! Only winning by countering—what kind of skill is that?!"
["Yo~"]
["Not bad. Quietly letting the little one get close."]
["What surprised me most was you, Hiashi."]
[At some point, the clan heads had already gathered together.]
[That blond boy, surrounded by the future heirs of these ninja clans, was impossible to miss.]
["He really resembles him~!" Inuzuka Tsume grinned crookedly.]
["Right, Shibi?"]
["Mm." Aburame Shibi nodded.]
[If Tsume hadn't called him, then even the heads of the Four Great Clans would've had difficulty noticing him.]
["On the surface, we still have to keep it confidential." Inoichi said helplessly.]
[Tsume stared at him in disbelief.]
[Inoichi touched his face. "What?"]
["Are you blind?"]
["That face, that hair color, that hairstyle… and at the very least, the name Uzumaki Naruto—what's left to keep confidential?!"]
["Still, some people really are stupid. A few words and they forget everything."]
["Enough." Nara Shikaku waved his hand, changing the topic.]
["Be careful lately. I feel like something big is coming, though I don't know what yet."]
The Uchiha clan head didn't appear today. Otherwise, he would've been among this small group.
So who brought Sasuke was obvious.
["Onii-chan~!"]
[Sasuke happily held Uchiha Itachi's hand.]
["An Uchiha? Oh my god~!"]
["Look, isn't that an Uchiha?!"]
["Incredible… to be in the same class as an Uchiha… Wonderful! Shinichi, remember this—study hard from that child in the future!"]
[Outside, when facing the Konoha Military Police, one and all wore disgusted expressions, daring to be angry but not daring to speak. Yet at the Academy gate, they instantly turned into groveling flatterers.]
[When young Naruto noticed this, he increasingly felt that the villagers of this village were very likely suffering from split personalities—he could never guess what 'persona' they'd show him in the next second.]
It was one of those moments again.
Which meant Uchiha Izuna's comment was inevitable.
Uchiha Izuna: Hahahaha~
Senju Tobirama: Yeah, yeah, you're right about everything. I can't even argue anymore!
Izuna didn't even need to say another word. Just laughing three times was enough.
Tobirama could already guess what he was about to say.
["Sasuke, you're really popular~" Itachi said warmly, smiling.]
["Hmph~!"]
["It's not good at all. It's annoying!"]
[Sasuke turned his head, acting tsundere—if you didn't know better, you'd think he was a girl.]
["Alright, onii-chan, I'm going in. Otherwise they'll be waiting for me too long."]
["Really—without me, those kids can't do anything at all."]
[Sasuke spread his hands and smiled helplessly at Itachi.]
[Itachi maintained a gentle smile at the corner of his lips.]
[He watched Sasuke enter the school gates.]
[Then his gaze slid past Sasuke to the conspicuous figure beyond.]
[He couldn't help frowning.]
['Since when did Sasuke start interacting with the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?']
['And his hair is too long. Anyone with ulterior motives can identify him at a glance.']
[Itachi withdrew his gaze and smiled again, waving to Sasuke.]
['It's far too dangerous to let a jinchūriki attend the Ninja Academy.']
[Clearly, Itachi recognized young Naruto at a glance: the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, the hero's child—the Fourth Hokage's son.]
[His attitude, in truth, wasn't much different from the villagers around him.]
[In fact, if he could, Itachi would've liked to warn Sasuke to stay farther away from the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.]
[However, Itachi left quickly.]
[When he silently observed young Naruto, several gazes landed on him almost simultaneously.]
[Likewise, they carried no emotion—one could even call them unfriendly.]
[After Itachi left—]
[Inuzuka Tsume rubbed her nose. "That kid… Fugaku's eldest son, right?"]
["Just smelling him makes me dislike him."]
["I remember the last time you said that…"]
[Before Inoichi could finish, Tsume cut him off.]
["Yeah. Only a dog that bites its master can stink that unpleasant."]
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