"Sasuke Uchiha, perfect score!"
As Iruka's approving voice rang out, the students crowded around the doorway and peered inside.
"No surprise coming from Sasuke!"
"That's the Uchiha kid? A perfect score!"
"He's amazing!"
Praise continued to pour in, and everyone's eyes gathered on the cool-faced boy. His sharp brows, high nose bridge, and clean-cut features gave him a cold, refined appearance.
His spiky hair fell behind the strands framing both sides of his face, and his eyes held the detached indifference of someone accustomed to such attention.
Naruto was watching Sasuke as well, leisurely assessing his future teammate.
"Next, Naruto Uzumaki!"
The moment that name was called, everyone began whispering among themselves. They discussed something under their breath, occasionally glancing at Naruto from the corners of their eyes.
"You bottom-ranker, are you going to use your Sexy Jutsu again?"
"Hahaha!"
"That's how Iruka-sensei kicked him out last time."
"How disgusting! Anyone who uses a jutsu like that is such a pervert!"
Even Sasuke Uchiha, who had been leaving, could not help turning back to look in that direction. Naruto happened to turn around after entering the classroom and noticed Sasuke's gaze.
The test was brief, usually taking less than a minute. Sasuke did not leave, simply remaining where he stood and waiting.
The classroom fell silent for a while before Iruka's voice emerged, carrying a trace of hesitation.
"Naruto Uzumaki, perfect score!"
A perfect score? He got a perfect score too?
The people gathered outside immediately looked surprised, and the area fell deathly quiet. Someone who had always been the bottom-ranker had actually received a perfect score on the test.
Although the Three Jutsu did not represent the final overall score, they were still a key ninjutsu examination subject. A perfect score in the Three Jutsu meant graduation was practically guaranteed.
The door opened then, and Naruto walked out of the classroom. His gaze swept across the crowd before settling on Sasuke Uchiha in the distance.
Sasuke's expression did not change. He met Naruto's eyes for a moment, then turned and left.
Naruto smiled and did not take it to heart. Uchiha Sasuke really was a tsundere.
After resolving his chakra disruption problem, it had not taken him much time to master the Three Jutsu completely. Perhaps it also had something to do with this body's exceptional talent. After all, he carried the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan.
Mastering the Three Jutsu also meant he no longer had to worry about the graduation exam.
After the mock exam, he could leave directly. Naruto did not linger and headed straight outside.
When he passed Hinata, Naruto remembered how she had helped him out yesterday. He stopped and thanked her.
"I left in too much of a hurry yesterday, so... I'm sorry I'm only thanking you now."
"Thank you for helping me out, Hinata-chan."
When Naruto called her Hinata-chan again, a visible blush immediately spread across Hinata's cheeks. She seemed embarrassed, but also a little happy.
"I didn't really help that much... Naruto doesn't need to go out of his way to thank me."
Hinata was especially adorable when she spoke like that. She wore a long-sleeved training outfit that covered her fair arms, with shoulder-length hair tucked behind her ears. Her skin was full and luminous, as though it had been infused with milk.
No matter how one described her, simply standing there made Hinata easy to associate with the dignified bearing of a great clan's eldest daughter.
Yet that very dignity, tinged with a hint of shyness, made her all the more stunning. She truly had the aura of a young lady from a distinguished family.
"That's not true. I have Hinata-chan to thank," Naruto said, while noticing that Hinata's expression was becoming increasingly embarrassed.
Only then did he realize that even more gazes seemed to be gathering around them. Naruto understood at once that he and Hinata were not particularly familiar with each other yet.
If he kept talking to her, it might bring Hinata rumors and gossip. He knew it was time to retreat.
"I'll be going now, Hinata-chan. Anyway, thank you."
Naruto waved as he looked back, slowly leaving the Ninja Academy corridor.
He thought about preparing a gift when he got home. The next time he saw Hinata, he would give it to her so it would not seem too abrupt.
Win over Hinata, Nine-Tails' Recognition 2.2%
The mechanical synthesized voice that suddenly sounded in his mind gave Naruto a fright.
The Nine-Tails had always been a source of worry for him. In the short term, obtaining the Nine-Tails' power was indeed useful. But the Nine-Tails was merely a somewhat stronger mass of chakra. Put simply, it was only a temporary source of power.
And power was easily coveted. Whether it was Konohagakure, which wanted to use him as a weapon, or the various factions that would want to capture the Nine-Tails in the future.
Naruto was meat on the chopping block. As long as powerful people appeared, they would set their sights on the Nine-Tails inside him.
To be honest, he would rather the Nine-Tails stay farther away from him. Ideally, it would find a new home and never have anything to do with him again.
Unfortunately, once the Nine-Tails left a Jinchuriki's body, the Jinchuriki could not survive either. Such an absurd setting gave Naruto a headache. Now that he had a system, though, even if the Nine-Tails was no longer inside his body, Naruto could still use its power.
Then... wouldn't the best outcome be for the Nine-Tails to stop clinging to him?
Naruto clearly realized that possessing the Nine-Tails was like Eren obtaining the Attack Titan. At the moment he gained that power, what bound him was no longer Wall Maria, nor was it the dozens-of-meters-tall Titans, but the future he had seen—the future that symbolized fate.
His fate had been decided from the moment he obtained the Attack Titan. He had been destined to never break free from the shackles that would force him to choose the destruction of the world.
Naruto was the same. From gaining the Nine-Tails to becoming the Child of Prophecy, to possessing the Sage Body. Step by step, it was not Naruto who chose to save the world, nor was it Naruto who chose to become Hokage.
It was fate. Everything was like an unbreakable chain, a destiny bought with Jiraiya's death and Neji's blood as sacrifices.
He wanted to lie flat. What he wanted to abandon was that destined, unchangeable future, so that he could live for himself.
Night fell.
By a forest river, a campfire burned slowly, several fish roasting over it at an unhurried pace.
A blond youth sat with his Fishing Rod lowered into the water. Moonlight in the forest lay clear and bright like pooled water, while fish scales occasionally flashed across the rippling surface.
The forest was silent, and a cold white crescent moon reflected on the water.
With a soft whoosh, a figure abruptly appeared beside Naruto, as if materializing from thin air.
Body Flicker Technique.
Naruto had already sensed someone standing beside him. He suddenly turned around and saw a ninja with long white hair standing before him.
"Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked with feigned surprise. "What are you doing here?"
The newcomer was Iruka's friend, Mizuki, Konohagakure's greatest schemer. At that moment, Mizuki had no idea he had already fallen under the Third Hokage's crystal ball surveillance, and he smiled gently at Naruto.
"Naruto, do you want to become stronger?"
Before you continue