The next day.
As soon as class began, a ninja came to deliver a notice.
Since Teacher Oda was still in the hospital and a new homeroom teacher had yet to be assigned, they would have self-study today.
After the ninja left.
Wuhu~~~
The elementary school students in the class instantly erupted.
How was this self-study? This was basically being let loose!
Seeing that the mission had been completed and that 2,000 experience points had arrived, Naruto grinned happily as well.
With 2,000 experience points, he could upgrade his Two Tomoe Sharingan to Three Tomoe when he got back.
When it came to experience points, pranks he had never pulled before really gave more.
He looked forward to the next homeroom teacher.
"Teacher Oda should be okay, right?" Choji asked.
Naruto gave him a surprised look.
He really could not tell that beneath Choji's chubby appearance was such kindness. Look at the other students—they no longer cared about that at all. Their hearts had already flown elsewhere.
"It's nothing serious. He just needs to sleep well for a couple of days," Naruto explained as the person involved.
He traded seats with a classmate using a bag of chips and a bottle of cola.
The three of them were now desk mates.
"So, what are we going to do?"
Looking at Naruto, who had just become his friend, and his old friend Shikamaru, Choji could not figure out what the two of them liked to do.
In the end, he suggested, "How about we go eat some tricolor dango? It's really good."
"I want to go to the rooftop and watch the clouds," Shikamaru responded.
"My suggestion is to buy tricolor dango first, then go to the rooftop and watch the clouds," Naruto said, combining their opinions.
"Okay." ×2
Out of habit, Naruto glanced at Sasuke and said, "Wait for me."
He walked over.
"Sasu—"
Bang~
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the money slapped onto the desk.
Well then.
Naruto felt like this had become one of his daily missions.
Placing the two-liter cola on the desk, Naruto cursed Sasuke to silently gain weight after drinking it all.
Then he would get to see a chubby protagonist!
Just thinking about it was pretty amusing.
He looked forward to it intensely.
Though Sasuke might just throw the drink away when he got home.
Whatever, who cared?
Once the drink was sold, it was no longer Naruto's concern.
Just as he was about to head back, Naruto caught sight of three people cornering a little girl against the wall from the corner of his eye.
School bullying?
Naruto immediately became interested.
Faced with such evil, I, the righteous nemesis of evil, Uzumaki Naruto, will never stand by and do nothing!
Wait, something seemed off.
Forget it.
Charge!
"What evil eyes."
"Byakugan monster~"
"Let that girl go!" Naruto shouted as he stood in front of Hinata.
The moment he saw the three of them, Naruto suddenly had the feeling that enemies were destined to meet.
Weren't these the three guys he had chased away last year?
"You don't seem to be from this class?"
"Is that him?" the little brat in the lead asked the child beside him, trembling.
"Seems like it."
"Run, the demon is here."
"Run!"
This time, before Naruto could make a move, the three little brats seemed to recognize him and instantly ran away without a trace.
Seeing that, Naruto actually felt a hint of disappointment.
He had thought there would be an evenly matched battle, but this was it?
It seemed the dark forces of the Ninja Academy were in urgent need of cultivation.
Otherwise, where would he, the nemesis of evil, get to show off his skills?
If he could not show off, where would he get experience points to level up?
[Ding~]
Fortunately, the "Protector of Flowers" mission still gave him experience points and Chakra as rewards.
Naruto turned to look at the "flower" he had protected.
What a coincidence. Wasn't this Hinata?
Why was it you again.jpg
She always seemed to be the one getting bullied.
Come on, you were the legitimate daughter of the Hyuga Clan, one of Konoha's only two great clans.
It was one thing not to bully others, but you were getting bullied instead.
Hinata, you needed to toughen up.
Looking at Hinata again, Naruto felt that this girl seemed excessively gentle.
He could sense it in daily life. Naruto had originally thought it was cowardice, but it was not. This girl was simply gentle by nature.
That kind of personality did not seem very viable in this cruel ninja world.
"Are you okay?"
Hinata raised her head and thanked him gently. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."
"It was nothing."
They stood very close, their gazes meeting.
This was Naruto's first time seeing a pair of Byakugan from such close range.
Just like how it would be rude to keep staring at a cripple's lame leg, it was impolite.
Naruto had never truly observed the Byakugan before, either.
Perhaps because he had seen too many eyes of other colors, seeing the Byakugan now—with only white in the iris and shining especially brightly—Naruto suddenly felt that these eyes were actually quite beautiful.
"Don't listen to their nonsense. Your eyes are very beautiful," Naruto comforted her.
His words were unusually sincere.
Then Naruto noticed that Hinata's face had turned abnormally red, and steam had even begun to rise from her head.
Then Hinata gloriously fainted.
Naruto was utterly baffled. He did not even have time to catch her. At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind.
It's over. She's latched onto me.
She had been bullied by three little brats just now without anything happening.
The moment he came over, she fainted outright.
She did it on purpose. She absolutely did it on purpose.
The scene shifted.
Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji walked out of Konoha Hospital one after another.
This time, they were not visiting their teacher. There was nothing worth seeing about that teacher. They had come to bring Hinata here.
Fortunately, after an examination, there was nothing seriously wrong.
At first, Naruto had worried that the Hyuga Clan would use this to put pressure on the old Hokage, but after thinking about it, that really would not happen.
The Ninja Academy's classes were even more terrifying than he had expected.
In combat class, it was common for two elementary school students to fight fiercely enough to get nosebleeds or faint.
Over the past few days, Naruto had seen several cases among upperclassmen where blood had spurted because of fights.
Something like Hinata's case was completely trivial.
"Come on, let's buy dango first."
"Let's go!" ×2
The three of them left without noticing that, from a window upstairs, the awakened Hinata was silently watching their receding figures.
That night, in the Training Space.
Naruto pressed his hands together and strained his face, looking like he was holding in a huge piss.
In reality, he was fusing the Earth Release and Water Release Chakra Attributes, trying to create Wood Release.
Naruto could possess other single-attribute Chakra right from the start, and they would directly rise to proficient mastery.
So when it came to gaining a brand-new Chakra Attribute through training, there was absolutely nothing he could use as a reference.
Not to mention such a high-difficulty operation as fusing two types of Chakra Attributes.
Fortunately, after two years of training, his seven Chakra Attributes had long since reached perfect, max-level standards.
Otherwise, Naruto would not even know where to begin when trying to fuse two types of Chakra.
Of course, the SSSSSS-Rank Talent also provided an enormous bonus when it came to creating new Chakra.
"It worked!"
Naruto shouted as he opened his eyes, which were filled with delight!
[Through training, you have fused Earth Attribute and Water Attribute Chakra, creating Wood Attribute Chakra] [Wood Release detected. You need to complete the Wood Release synthesis mission] [SSSSSS-Rank Talent detected. You have automatically obtained Wood Release Chakra. Your Wood Release Chakra Attribute proficiency has increased by 1500] [Wood Release: 1500/2000 (Proficient)]
"Congratulations, Naruto."
"Come on, Kurama. Let's spar."
Naruto was eager to try out this brand-new Wood Release.
Although he had not yet learned any Wood Release ninjutsu, his nearly three million Chakra—comparable to that of a Tailed Beast—was practically inexhaustible.
His Chakra control, which exceeded three hundred, also allowed him to wield any Chakra as easily as his own limbs.
His jutsu comprehension, likewise exceeding three hundred, let him use any ninjutsu with effortless ease, and creating ninjutsu was even simpler.
The Nine-Tails was also itching to fight.
I can't bully the First Hokage, but can't I bully a little brat who just learned Wood Release?
The Nine-Tails shouted, "The day I avenge myself on the First Hokage is coming!"
A moment later,
"Kurama, you're so weak!"
The Nine-Tails, completely suppressed by nine wooden dragons: Why, Hashirama! Why, Hashirama?!
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