After School

With the final sparring exercise over, Iruka announced that everyone was free to go.

The students relaxed and scattered into little groups, ready to face the graduation exam the next day.

Sakura and Ino hurried over to Sasuke, offering careful words of comfort.

"Sasuke-kun, don't let it get to you. Naruto was probably just lucky..."

"Yeah! You'll definitely beat him next time!"

At their words, Sasuke's expression darkened further.

Their attempts to comfort him were like a spark, setting ablaze the humiliation and anger he'd buried deep inside.

Sasuke knew perfectly well that Naruto hadn't won by luck. There was the Transformation Jutsu earlier, and the impossibly accurate shuriken just now.

He'd dodged Sasuke's attacks with effortless ease.

And that last, clean counterattack—all of it had been proof of genuine skill.

"Go away." Sasuke's voice was icy. He didn't even look at them. "Don't bother me."

Sakura and Ino froze.

As they watched Sasuke walk off without looking back, their faces filled with helplessness and hurt.

Nearby, Iruka watched Naruto, full of questions. He was just about to go over and talk to him when he saw Uchiha Sasuke step in front of Naruto first.

Iruka paused, then decided to leave it. He still had to take Naruto to clean the paint off Kage Rock that afternoon; he could ask him then.

Naruto wasn't in any hurry to leave.

He'd known Sasuke would come looking for him.

With Sasuke's prideful, sensitive nature, there was no way he could accept such a decisive defeat—especially at the hands of the "dead last" he'd always looked down on.

After all, everything Sasuke did now was for revenge. The moment Naruto defeated him, Sasuke's previous efforts had seemed to dissolve into foam.

So Sasuke had come, his mind a tangle of conflicting emotions, wanting to understand what had happened.

This was something that had happened in many of Naruto's previous loops.

Sasuke's voice was cold, but there was a hint of hesitation in it. He got straight to the point. "Hey, Naruto..."

Naruto stopped and looked at him calmly, as if he'd been waiting for this moment. "Oh, Sasuke. What is it?"

Naruto's knowing expression only made Sasuke angrier.

Of course Sasuke wanted to ask: Naruto, why are you so strong? Can you tell me your secret?

But with Sasuke's personality, he simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Quit pretending!" Sasuke demanded. "Those moves you used today... who taught you? Or have you been hiding your strength all along? What are you after?"

Naruto knew Sasuke was still consumed by his obsession with revenge and wouldn't be convinced easily.

No matter how much Naruto said now, Sasuke wouldn't listen.

It would take time and the right moment for Sasuke to truly acknowledge him.

For example, after graduation, when they were placed on the same team, and then the day of the survival exercise.

So Naruto simply replied, "I learned them myself. It took a lot out of me, too. If you want to get stronger, you have to pay the price."

Sasuke looked ready to press him further.

But Naruto didn't give him the chance.

He turned around casually, leaving him with a parting line: "If that's all, I'm going."

Then Naruto walked away, leaving Sasuke standing alone, his face dark.

About a minute later, Naruto stopped in a corner of the training ground and quietly considered what he should do about Sasuke.

There was one thing Naruto understood perfectly.

Everything he did could influence whether Sasuke joined Orochimaru, defected from Konoha, and rushed into things recklessly—

—or stayed in Konoha to study and train, waiting until he had truly mastered his strength, then joined his classmates and teachers from the village to take revenge on Itachi.

Of course, Naruto hadn't handled things well in his first loop.

After Naruto told Sasuke the truth about Itachi, Sasuke had been extremely agitated.

And when Teacher Kakashi found out, his expression had turned stern as he warned Naruto not to reveal the truth carelessly.

So in later loops, Naruto had tried all kinds of ways to make Sasuke stay in Konoha and seek revenge alongside his friends from the village.

To make that happen, Naruto needed to stand out now.

Then, during the graduation exercise, he needed to earn Sasuke's trust. This was the easiest time for the two of them to form a bond and grow closer.

Otherwise, things would get much more complicated during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Naruto turned and left the training ground. After only a few steps, he noticed Inuzuka Kiba, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi watching him from nearby.

But Naruto's gaze instinctively passed over them and went in another direction.

There, in the corner, Hinata Hyuga was watching him quietly, as she had in every one of his many loops.

This time, Naruto's feelings were completely different from before.

After so many loops, his stubborn affection for Sakura had long since worn away, replaced by a sense of acceptance toward the past.

Meanwhile, Hinata's quiet, unwavering gaze had gradually become clearer in his memories of those many loops.

Naruto saw Hinata lower her head slightly. It seemed she was gathering the courage to walk over to him. She took half a step forward, then hesitated and stopped.

In the past, Naruto might have been too anxious about finding a way to break the cycle to stop.

Or he might have treated it as a little moment that happened now and then, and simply smiled it away.

But this time, Orochimaru's words still echoed faintly in his ears.

Naruto sighed softly. This time, he didn't want to miss his chance again.

He walked over to her and stopped in front of her, offering a gentle smile. "Hello, Hinata."

Hinata froze.

Her fair face flushed red right before his eyes, even the tips of her ears turning pink.

When she saw Naruto had come over to speak to her, Hinata opened her mouth, but couldn't get a word out.

She only stared at him with wide, pale eyes, like a startled little rabbit.

Naruto almost laughed, though he couldn't help feeling a little helpless, too.

From his many loops, Naruto knew that if he stayed any longer, Hinata's face wouldn't be the only thing turning red.

She might start steaming and faint on the spot.

Naruto didn't want to embarrass her in front of everyone.

So he simply nodded to her, said no more, and turned to leave at a brisk pace.

Even after he'd walked a few steps, he could still feel her dazed gaze on his back.

A strange feeling he'd never experienced before stirred in his heart.

Just as Naruto was thinking it over—

"Hey, Naruto!"

Kiba's boisterous voice came from beside him.

Naruto came back to himself and saw Kiba standing in front of him, watching him with open curiosity.

Shikamaru and Choji had come over, too.

Choji munched on potato chips as he asked, his words muffled, "Naruto, what were you talking about with Hinata just now?"

Naruto smiled slightly and gave the practiced evasive reply, "It was nothing."

Kiba wasn't so easily brushed off. He slapped Naruto's left shoulder and demanded, "Don't try to dodge the question! What was with you today?"

"Your Transformation Jutsu was good, your shuriken skills were amazing, and you even beat the top student, Sasuke! Are you really the same Naruto I know?"

Kiba got more and more worked up as he spoke, grabbing Naruto by both shoulders and shaking him repeatedly.