Genin Briefing

The next morning, as sunlight streamed through the window and onto the bed, Naruto Uzumaki was already out.

Of course, before leaving, he also prepared some tea for the two guests who would arrive later.

Naruto only discovered this during his third Reincarnation, when he was anxiously seeking a way to break free.

It turned out that at this time, the Third Hokage and Teacher Kakashi would actually visit his home.

So, with each Reincarnation, Naruto would leave something different at home, more or less.

Afterward, Naruto walked unhurriedly towards the Ninja Academy. When he pushed open the classroom door, many of his classmates were already seated inside.

Upon seeing Naruto appear, many people wore expressions of surprise.

Today was the Genin briefing, not a formal class.

Everyone had personally witnessed Naruto failing the graduation exam the day before yesterday, so how could he possibly be here?

Shikamaru Nara, who had been lazily slumped over his desk, glanced at Naruto as he walked in. His gaze lingered on Naruto's forehead for a moment, noticing the Konoha forehead protector.

Shikamaru was surprised for a second and thought to himself, Something must have happened to this guy.

Kiba Inuzuka was whispering to Choji Akimichi next to him. When he looked up and saw Naruto, he couldn't help but mutter, "Strange, why is Naruto in class today? Didn't he fail to graduate?"

Uchiha Sasuke, sitting not far away, heard this and simply glanced indifferently at Kiba, thinking to himself, That idiot, didn't he see the forehead protector on Naruto's head?

Naruto ignored the various gazes cast his way and scanned the classroom aimlessly. He noticed Hinata Hyuga, sitting in the corner, quietly watching him.

Their eyes met briefly. Naruto was slightly taken aback, then offered her a gentle smile and a slight nod.

Hinata's face instantly flushed, and she softly replied, "Good morning."

Her voice was so quiet it was like a whisper, dissipating before it could travel far. Naruto heard nothing, but he didn't mind.

Then, Naruto continued towards his seat. As he passed Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, and the others, he offered them a simple smile.

Naruto sat down in the seat next to Sasuke and said directly, "I probably won't have much time to train today. There will be plenty of time once we start taking missions later."

Sasuke didn't say much, just nodded lightly in agreement.

It was no joke; a day of Naruto's guidance was worth more than ten days to half a month of solo training.

Although Sasuke was proud, he could still distinguish whether his strength had truly improved.

Therefore, he was quite obedient to Naruto's arrangements.

Before long, a commotion could be heard from outside the classroom.

Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka rushed into the classroom one after another, both eager to sit in the seat next to Sasuke.

Sakura first saw Sasuke's figure, then noticed Naruto had already taken the seat beside him. She froze for a moment and was about to retort, "Hey, you who didn't graduate, what are you doing here? Hurry up and move!"

Unexpectedly, as if he had anticipated Sakura's reaction, Naruto spoke first, "Didn't you see the forehead protector on my forehead? I've already graduated. Also, I'm not moving. Haven't you noticed that Sasuke doesn't want to sit with you at all?"

"Huh?!"

"Huh?!"

Naruto's words stunned both Sakura and Ino.

Sakura was particularly bewildered. She blinked and pointed at herself, as if confirming with Naruto, or perhaps asking Ino next to her, "Naruto... is he talking to me? He must be, right?"

Ino watched the scene unfold and couldn't help but recall how Naruto had preemptively responded to Kiba's unvoiced words a couple of days ago.

It was like a scene of foresight.

Sensing that the atmosphere was off, she wisely chose to remain silent and quickly moved away.

She obediently took a seat behind Sasuke, thinking to herself, Naruto is not someone to be trifled with now.

But Sakura clearly hadn't caught on yet. She still saw Naruto as the same guy who used to pester her, so she stubbornly continued, "Naruto! Hurry up and move, I want to sit with Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto merely smiled faintly and didn't reply.

He had expected Sakura wouldn't give up easily, but he also knew that someone would naturally respond for him next.

As expected, the next second, Sasuke spoke coldly, "Sakura, you're really annoying."

With just those words, Sakura seemed to be struck by a heavy blow, her spirit completely crushed. She silently found an empty seat and sat down.

Ino snickered from behind, thinking, Sakura is such an idiot. Doesn't she realize Naruto is different now? And Naruto sitting so close to Sasuke all of a sudden, something must have happened between them.

Just then, Iruka walked into the classroom.

He scanned the room, confirming everyone was present, before beginning to explain the upcoming arrangements. "Students who have just graduated from the Ninja Academy will be assigned a Jonin instructor and form a four-person squad. Therefore, three of you will be randomly assigned to a squad."

Then, Iruka began to announce the team assignments.

When he read out, "Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura Haruno," the atmosphere in the classroom instantly became complex.

Some were happy, some were sad, and some were both happy and sad.

Ino and Hinata clearly showed expressions of disappointment; neither of them had been assigned to the same team as the person they cared about.

Sakura, on the other hand, was the one who was both happy and sad.

She was happy to be in the same class as Sasuke, but troubled that Naruto was also in this class.

Not to mention that Naruto had always been hovering around her before.

Just a moment ago, Naruto had already embarrassed Sakura in front of everyone, and the thought of that scene made her feel incredibly ashamed.

Sakura even felt that Naruto would interfere with the future personal space between Sasuke and herself.

Meanwhile, Kakashi and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, were conducting a secret home visit.

They had already visited Sasuke's and Sakura's homes, and now they had arrived at Naruto's residence.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked around the familiar room and said to Kakashi, "Naruto is in your care. He's been through a lot these past few days, and I'm a bit worried about him... whether he'll stray from the Will of Fire."

Kakashi nodded somewhat casually and began to survey the condition of the entire room.

This was his first time at Naruto's home. The room was a bit messy, with instant noodle containers piled up to the side, but it wasn't to the point of being unbearable. This situation wasn't unexpected.

However, when Kakashi's gaze fell upon the small table in the center of the living room, he suddenly froze.

Three glasses were placed on the empty tabletop.

One of the glasses was likely Naruto's usual one, with leftover milk stains inside.

It looked like it had been used this morning and hadn't been washed yet.

The other two glasses, however, were clean, as if rarely used, or even taken out for the first time.

Even more surprising was that faint steam was rising from these two glasses.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also noticed this situation, paused slightly, and looking at the glasses, said subconsciously, "Hmm? Has someone else been here?"

His first thought was that someone had notified Naruto in advance, or that a visitor had just left.

But how was that possible?

Who would come to visit Naruto's home?

Kakashi's half-open dead fish eye narrowed slightly. He carefully examined the surroundings, then calmly said, "No, Lord Hokage, it doesn't look like anyone has been here."