Gaara, filled with killing intent, was taken aback when he saw Naruto smile at him.
What was that expression?
Why did he act as though they were familiar with each other?
There was neither fear nor provocation in those blue eyes. Instead, they held the natural ease of someone seeing an old friend.
This unfamiliar emotion left Gaara at a loss. He had never had a friend, yet today, for some inexplicable reason, he experienced a "friend-like" gaze?
Meanwhile, when Kiba saw Naruto arriving, he teased, "Naruto, our class got a scroll as soon as we entered the Forest of Death. We were the third team to reach the tower."
Ever since graduation, Kiba and the others had been diligently carrying out missions and training, so he believed the gap between himself and Naruto was not that large.
Akamaru also barked twice from atop Kiba's head, seemingly echoing his master's words.
"Oh," Naruto replied blandly.
As though the result did not surprise him in the slightest.
Kiba's smile froze on his face. He had not expected such a cold response. At least acknowledge me!
Just as he was about to say something else, Choji suddenly spoke up. "Kiba, Naruto and his team are really amazing. They eliminated eleven teams in one go. Naruto alone eliminated eight teams."
As he spoke, Choji opened another bag of chips. Though his voice was muffled and quiet, nearly every genin present heard him clearly.
"What?!"
Kiba's eyes widened as he stared at Naruto in disbelief.
I thought the gap between us had become very small. I didn't expect it to still be this huge?
Hinata, however, wore an expression as though this were only natural. She had seen Naruto and Sasuke training before; their strength had long surpassed the level of genin.
Neji, who