Self-Introduction

Under his classmates' gaze, Naruto walked step by step onto the podium.

In the classroom, quite a few girls looked at Naruto expectantly, watching the handsome blond boy and waiting for his self-introduction.

Nearby, Iruka looked at the student who had stepped onto the podium with complicated emotions.

It was the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed inside this student's body that had killed Iruka's parents.

Although he knew very clearly that Naruto and the Demon Fox should not be equated, he still could not stop the hatred from rising within him.

This uncontrollable emotion left Iruka unsure of what attitude he should take toward Naruto.

Inside the Hokage Office, several people were also watching the classroom through a live broadcast from a crystal ball.

The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, the elder advisors Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō.

These four elderly people who held Konoha's highest authority were also watching the boy on the podium, awaiting his words.

As the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, Naruto was regarded by these higher-ups as a solitary yet precocious child. No one knew what lay beneath his calm expression.

This self-introduction at the entrance ceremony was a good opportunity to assess Naruto's state of mind.

Everyone hoped that Naruto could become a Konoha ninja with the Will of Fire. At the very least, they hoped he would not go down an extreme path.

From the moment the first student began introducing themself, Naruto had started seriously considering what he wanted to do in the future.

And now that it was his turn to introduce himself, Naruto already had an answer he was certain of.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like training and cooking, and I dislike the resentful looks the adults in the village give me."

"What I want to do most in the future is travel around the Shinobi World, experience the customs of different places, and truly come to know the world I live in. I also really enjoy making friends, so I hope we can all get along well from now on."

After saying that, Naruto gave a slight bow and stepped down from the podium.

"So handsome."

As he returned to his seat, Naruto could hear the girls' admiring sighs rising and falling around him.

He could also feel the resentful gazes from some of the boys. All Naruto could do in response to those emotions was smile helplessly.

After all, it was not his fault that he was handsome.

"Resentment, huh?"

Iruka rolled the word around in his mouth and sighed. Wasn't he resenting Naruto too?

It was just that, for the time being, he could not control himself.

He hoped the passage of time could change everything.

Back in the Hokage Office, the crystal ball no longer displayed an image. There was no need to keep watching.

The group remained silent for a long while. In the end, the white-haired old woman Utatane Koharu spoke first. "This child does not possess the Will of Fire. Instead, there is darkness in his heart, and he harbors considerable resentment toward the people of the village."

The bespectacled elder Mitokado Homura added, "But his temperament is not particularly bad. He merely wants to stay away from those unwilling to look at him properly, and he has no extreme thoughts."

"Hmph. I said long ago that the Jinchuriki should be handed over to our Root. Put a Cursed Seal on him, then give him brainwashing education. How could something as important as the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki be allowed to wander freely through the village?"

The gloomy elder Shimura Danzō, with one eye and one arm wrapped in bandages and a cane in his hand, snorted coldly.

"Enough. This is all because of your unnecessary meddling in exposing Naruto's identity as a Jinchuriki. Otherwise, how would things have come to this?" Sarutobi Hiruzen rebuked coldly. "Moreover, he is Minato's child."

"Naruto will graduate from the Ninja Academy normally. Even if he does not have the Will of Fire, he will still live in Konoha as an ordinary Konoha ninja."

"Hiruzen, you are too soft-hearted. One day, you will regret this. Hmph." Danzo snorted again, then turned and left angrily, clearly displeased that he had failed to achieve his goal.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance, both looking helpless.

However, they did not stay long. They bade Sarutobi Hiruzen farewell and departed.

They had come here today only because Danzo had strongly insisted on knowing what the Jinchuriki was thinking.

Now that their purpose had been achieved and the Jinchuriki's thoughts had not gone to an extreme, they agreed with Sarutobi Hiruzen's approach as Hokage.

Watching his old friends leave, Sarutobi Hiruzen silently lit a cigarette. His gaze drifted, and no one knew where his thoughts had wandered.

After Naruto's self-introduction, it was Sasuke's turn. He was seated beside Naruto.

This handsome Uchiha boy was, overall, even more popular than Naruto.

After all, Sasuke's fair skin made him more of a pretty boy than Naruto's healthy light-brown complexion, so he was naturally a little more popular with the girls.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha. I like training, especially training with my brother."

After a pause, Sasuke continued, "I also like Naruto's Grilled Fish. I dislike sweets. Right now, what I want most is to defeat Naruto, graduate, and become a ninja as powerful as my brother."

Sasuke's self-introduction on the podium revealed quite a bit of information.

"That guy is really close with Naruto. Did they know each other before?"

"Sasuke, from the Elite Uchiha Clan, has even made defeating Naruto his goal. Just how strong is he?"

"Maybe they are just two weaklings fighting each other. I am definitely stronger than both of them. I'll take first place and make all the girls see me in a new light."

Those were the boys' reactions.

"Wow, so handsome."

Besides admiring how handsome they were, the girls' gazes toward Naruto and Sasuke became even more fervent. In that instant, who knew how much strange material they had imagined.

At that moment, Sasuke finally understood a little of Naruto's earlier helplessness.

After Sasuke came down, the remaining few students introduced themselves, and the class had gotten to know one another for the first time.

After the introductions ended, Iruka took Naruto and the others to collect their textbooks.

Besides ninja-related lessons, there were also subjects such as literature, mathematics, and history.

During peacetime, the Ninja Academy not only trained qualified Genin, but also taught them essential knowledge for living independently.

After the books were handed out, classes officially began that afternoon.

Although quite a few students in the class were children of prominent Konoha clans, the Ninja Academy's first lesson still began with how to refine Chakra...

Before five in the afternoon, the day's lessons came to an end.

After looking over the curriculum for the first school year, Naruto realized that aside from topics such as infiltration, trap-making, and some basic ninja knowledge, he had already learned everything else.

As for the ninja knowledge Naruto had not learned, it was all academic study that could easily be handled by Shadow Clones.

After that day, Naruto never returned to school.