Time passed at an unhurried pace, but life at the academy was indeed as Shikamaru had said—rather dull.
It was not just Naruto who felt that way. Minato Namikaze and Kurama within the seal also found it incredibly tedious.
His father, Minato Namikaze, had graduated from here, and Kurama had left this academy alongside his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, the previous Jinchuriki.
Another month had passed since classes began. Over that month, Iruka had guided the students through the basics required of a genin, from teaching them how to refine Chakra at the start to today's Taijutsu lesson, where everyone was learning the basic Three Transformations.
At the academy's Training Ground, Naruto sat beneath a large tree in the corner, spreading out his senses to scan the village again and again. He had bought the scroll for collecting corpses last year, yet Shisui Uchiha still had not returned to the village.
"Now, let's review what we learned two days ago. Second Pillar, demonstrate the Clone Technique for everyone."
Iruka swept his gaze around the group. When he saw Naruto, his eyes flickered, and he immediately called Sasuke's name.
The Training Ground instantly grew lively, as many of the girls' eyes sparkled while they cheered for Sasuke.
"Hmph! The Clone Technique is nothing more than a trick for amusing children."
After glancing toward a certain corner, Sasuke spoke with an arrogant expression, yet he still walked out with an eager look on his face.
Iruka nodded and looked at Sasuke expectantly. "Then begin, Sasuke."
A flash of pride passed across Sasuke's face as he formed the Hand Seals with perfect precision.
Ram—Snake—Tiger!
"Clone Technique!"
Poof!
A cloud of smoke drifted away, revealing two identical Sasukes standing on the field.
"Hmm."
Iruka's eyes lit up. He picked up the roster in his hand and made a mark beneath Sasuke's name.
"So impressive! That was practically a perfect Clone Technique!"
"Yeah! You can't even tell which one is the real one!"
"..."
It had to be said that Sasuke was indeed extremely popular.
"Ahem!" Iruka cleared his throat, quieting everyone down before instructing, "Sasuke, you may release the Clone Technique now."
"Poof!" x2.
The two Sasukes on the field vanished at the same time.
"What?!"
"What happened? Were both of them clones?"
"That's amazing! Where is Sasuke-kun's real body?"
The group cried out in surprise as they searched everywhere for Sasuke.
However, Shikamaru, who was among them, immediately turned his gaze toward the tree Naruto was leaning against. His brows furrowed, but in the end, he shook his head and said nothing.
"You called it a trick for amusing children, but weren't you having quite a bit of fun with it?"
Naruto suddenly spoke beneath the tree without even raising his head.
"Hmph! So you noticed after all!"
Sasuke leaped down from the tree, his face filled with its usual pride.
"Ah! Sasuke-kun is amazing! His real body actually moved to the tree!"
"Yeah, none of us noticed!"
"So cool!"
After seeing Sasuke's flashy entrance, the girls around him all crowded over and began swooning.
Naruto stood up from the ground. After giving Sasuke an indifferent glance, he turned and walked away, intending to find somewhere quieter.
Sasuke's expression darkened. He realized that Naruto's attitude was exactly the same as when they had first met—he was treating Sasuke like air, still refusing to acknowledge him.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Hm?"
Iruka suddenly called out to Naruto, then strode over to stand before him.
"Sasuke just demonstrated the Clone Technique for everyone. Now you can show us as well."
Shikamaru's expression changed outside the crowd. He had a bad feeling about this.
Naruto could even use the Shadow Clone. Had Lord Hokage not told him about that?
A teasing look flashed across Naruto's face when he heard this. He lifted his head and met Iruka's eyes directly. After a moment, he calmly said, "Teacher Iruka, I am not skilled in the Clone Technique."
Iruka's expression turned cold. "How do you know you aren't skilled at it if you don't try?"
"My apologies, Teacher Iruka, but I have no desire to embarrass myself in front of everyone. I know I am not a genius like Second Pillar. How could I possibly perform such a perfect demonstration?"
Though he said that, Naruto's tone was extremely bland, carrying a strong note of mockery.
He knew exactly what Iruka meant. Over the past month, he, Shikamaru, and Choji had always seemed absentminded during class, making them bad students in Iruka's eyes.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was Iruka's most satisfactory student.
Shikamaru and Choji really were slacking off, but Naruto was different.
Every day, as he sat in the corner during class, he was either using his senses to search for traces of Shisui Uchiha or shifting all his focus into the Mirrored World.
But Iruka could not find any fault with them. The three of them had long mastered the knowledge in the textbooks and could answer every question fluently in class.
Today, he had finally found an opportunity. Calling Sasuke out first had been meant to embarrass Naruto afterward.
If Naruto had possessed the personality he had in the Original Work, he would not even have waited for Iruka to call his name. He would have impatiently stepped forward long ago to compete with Sasuke.
"Since you know you are not skilled at it, you should study even harder! With an attitude like yours, you will never graduate from the Ninja Academy."
Iruka spoke with a cold face. Ever since the school year began, he had noticed Naruto constantly losing focus in class. He had endured it for so long before finally confronting him, and he felt that he had already been very tolerant of Naruto.
"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Teacher Iruka."
Naruto gave him a solemn bow.
"Hmph! Stand to the side and watch carefully how your classmates do it!"
Iruka's eye twitched as he turned away in frustration.
He had thought Naruto would act far more rebellious. Who would have expected him to respond like this? It made Iruka feel as though he had punched cotton.
Soon, Iruka shifted his attention to the other students. He had no intention of paying Naruto any more attention, and the other students crowded around Sasuke as they headed over as well.
"Are you okay?"
"What could possibly be wrong with me?"
Shikamaru came over and asked quietly with a worried expression, but Naruto merely smiled.
"Sigh, it looks like Lord Hokage did not tell Teacher Iruka about your situation. Otherwise, he definitely would not have called on you just now."
"Shikamaru, you are a smart person. He is not like you. He is only a teacher. If he knows too much, he will not know how to interact with me. Lord Hokage understands that very clearly."
"What a hassle. It would be nice if I didn't have to go to school."
"If you do not want to go to school, then actually, you could..."
Naruto stopped there.
"Could what?"
Shikamaru froze, his mind rapidly spinning as he kept guessing what Naruto had left unsaid.
"Nothing. We should head over. Shuriken class is next, and Teacher Iruka is calling names again."
Naruto's eyes flickered. He had just sensed that Shisui Uchiha's Chakra had returned to Konoha. That meant he would be busy at night starting today.
By his calculations, it was currently May. In a few more months, it would be Konoha Year 55, and the Night of the Massacre belonging to the Uchiha would finally arrive.
Naruto was very much looking forward to it. He had planned to detonate the Explosive Tags on the night the massacre arrived.
Besides, he was very curious whether the Third Hokage would step down by then.
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