Return to the Original Story?

This big-headed doodle looked just like Naruto Uzumaki himself!

At this point in time, only Naruto's companions and Konoha's higher-ups would go out of their way to care about him, but they had no reason to doodle in this hidden corner.

That left only one possibility.

"A new... transmigrator..."

Naruto murmured softly, and all the organs in his chest seemed to twist together at once.

The newcomer was most likely in the classroom!

Besides, nobody had said that only one person could transmigrate at a time. Strictly speaking, there was at least one!

In fact, Naruto feared no challenge. Even being ganged up on was fine. He didn't mind showing everyone just how much the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was worth.

The problem was that he didn't know who the transmigrator was. That unknown fear naturally undermined his sense of security.

Sakura leaned closer and whispered, "Next..."

"Next, I'm going to 'play' the somewhat dim-witted Naruto from the original story and try not to let the transmigrator notice anything unusual." Naruto felt his heart pounding violently.

"Do you still remember the plot?"

"...Anyway, I'm supposed to yell at everyone. You also need to act according to Sakura's original characterization."

"Mm."

Sasuke also moved closer. He vaguely overheard their conversation and felt that the whole thing was bizarre beyond words.

What jealousy? Who was jealous of whom?

The three of them pushed open the door and entered the classroom.

A huge crowd filled the classroom, all of them glaring hostilely at the three newcomers.

"Who could it be..." Taking advantage of the moment just after entering the classroom, Naruto began scanning his surroundings nonstop.

He found nothing unusual. If anything, there were simply too many people, making it hard to take everything in.

"What comes next?" Naruto was at a loss. He couldn't remember the details of this part of the plot.

"Pfft!" Suddenly, the sound of clothes colliding came from behind. Naruto whipped around, and his eyes instantly turned red.

"Sasuke-kun, it's been so long. I've been wanting to see you again~"

A girl with golden hair tied into a ponytail hugged Sasuke affectionately from behind. He looked disgusted.

Naruto instantly remembered the plot. He hurriedly returned to normal and whispered to Sakura, "The eternal rivalry, the eternal rivalry... Ah!"

Sakura secretly pinched Naruto's waist, then stepped forward and shouted at Ino, "You stinking Ino, take your claws off him!"

That form of address seemed engraved in her instincts.

"Oh, it's Sakura. Your forehead is still as big as ever, ugly!"

"Say that again?" Sakura calmly pulled on her gloves. Chakra fluctuations instantly radiated from her, frightening Ino into retreating two steps.

"Girl, tone it down! You're acting!" Naruto's voice rose anxiously, and only then did Sakura stop.

"Sorry, seeing her grovel like that just makes me angry."

Naruto held his forehead. This girl's temper was really too explosive...

"You're here for the exams too... What a drag..." Shikamaru's voice came from behind at just the right moment. After that, the rest of Konoha's rookies filed out one after another, joking around with the people nearby.

Naruto did his best to fit the original story, constantly declaring, "I definitely won't lose to you!" With his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes held a few more traces of clear, foolish innocence, making Sasuke glance at him repeatedly.

This guy had seemed fairly composed before. Why was he acting like he had been injected with adrenaline now?

Thinking carefully about Naruto's previous actions, he definitely wouldn't do anything meaningless... Wait, of course! Just like when he captured Gato, he was fishing... He was acting arrogant first, waiting for someone to get annoyed and make a move so he could test their strength while intimidating the entire room!

Sasuke felt that he had completely grasped the truth.

Elsewhere, Kabuto Yakushi was drawn over by the rookies' noise and came to remind them.

"You nine are the newcomers who just graduated from the Ninja Academy, right? You're all chattering so loudly that my head hurts..."

At the same time, Naruto began calculating whether, after Kabuto finished cueing the scene, it would be his turn to perform his lion's roar.

Everyone was drawn to Kabuto's Ninja Scrolls, but Sasuke kept stealing glances at Naruto.

Mm, just as I thought. He looks careless on the surface, but his eyes keep darting around. He's obviously assessing his opponents' strength.

"In short, these are all elite Genin from various countries..." Kabuto's voice carried over, but Sasuke paid no attention. He didn't even ask for information about Rock Lee and the others as he had in the original story.

What was he doing?

Why was his body trembling?

Sasuke stared intently at Naruto. He saw Naruto hunch slightly, his head lowered, looking as though he was gathering strength. Sakura, standing beside him, seemed about to comfort him.

But then Naruto drew in a deep breath, exhaled all the air in his chest, and his voice rang out like a great bell.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I will never lose to you!!"

In an instant, everyone in the examination hall was drawn to Naruto's booming voice, and they all turned to look at him in unison.

Just as expected! Sasuke was startled at first, then wore an expression of I knew it, before quickly furrowing his brows.

Someone would take the bait soon. Then Naruto would beat that person senseless, displaying his own strength.

But why did this feel so irritating?

In the original story, Sasuke was usually the one with the overwhelming presence. Whether during the Land of Waves incident or the Chunin Ninja Exams, he always managed to show off effortlessly in front of everyone. He had never cared whether he could enjoy showing off or not; that aura came completely naturally to him.

But for some reason, Sasuke now vaguely felt that Naruto had taken the initiative and done everything he had wanted to do.

In short, Naruto had finished all the showing off himself!

Elsewhere, Naruto had just finished what was, for him, an extremely embarrassing public declaration. While wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground, he also admired the strength of the original Naruto's thought process.

A few seconds later, Dosu, an Otogakure ninja wrapped up like a mummy and wearing fur, swiftly pushed through the crowd.

"Here he comes!" Naruto muttered under his breath, then retreated two or three steps.

According to the original story, Kabuto would be taught a lesson by this guy.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened!

Another figure in blue approached Dosu like a ghost. Dosu's eyelid twitched, and he immediately pulled back the sleeve on his arm, revealing a mechanism covered in holes.

It was Sasuke!

With a cold snort, he leaped into the air and stepped on Dosu's arm, disrupting his punch. Then he drew a kunai and knocked away all of the shuriken fired by Zaku, the Otogakure ninja with gray-black wolf-cut hair.

Afterward, he flipped backward several times. The instant he landed, Dosu closed in and viciously raked his right hand toward Sasuke!

Bang!!

A muffled impact rang out. Sasuke pulled on the transparent steel wire he had driven into the ground, instantly adjusting his position, then slammed another heavy punch into Dosu's left cheek. Dosu rolled several times before being caught by the two other Otogakure ninja.

Everyone's eyes widened. Everything had happened too quickly. Before they could react, the battle had already ended.

Sasuke had fought the Otogakure ninja alone without falling behind!

"Sasuke, are you all right?" Ino shouted, her heart pounding.

He was so cool!

Sasuke ignored her and merely turned toward Naruto with a cool expression. "Naruto, have you had enough fun?"

Everyone froze when they heard that.

"Naruto?"

"Why did he suddenly mention Naruto?"

"What?!"

"What happened... Naruto?"

"What happened to Naruto?"

Everyone turned toward Naruto in unison.

Naruto: "Huh?"