Naruto's Little Group

After witnessing Rasa being killed by Pakura, Kazashiro returned to Konoha.

Rasa is dead, Pakura will likely be taken back to Sunagakure by now. The rest will require careful consideration.

As soon as he returned to the Hokage's Office, Kazashiro immediately kicked out Itachi, Hikaru, Shisui, and the other Uchiha, and then sat in his room studying the map.

"What are you researching?"

After watching for an unknown amount of time, Kazashiro heard a familiar voice.

Looking up, he saw that Obito and Kakashi had appeared in the room at some point, their eyes fixed on him.

"I'm thinking about what methods I can use to further weaken Sunagakure."

Kazashiro had no intention of hiding anything from them, especially since he had invited the two of them himself.

Obito wasn't that important; he was just the one who carried the sword. But Kakashi was different. Although he had created the current situation himself, what to do next was a real dilemma for Kazashiro.

Although he could also ask Shikaku, Kakashi was still more trusted by Kazashiro in terms of closeness.

"Come and sit down."

Just as Kazashiro was about to start sketching on the map, he noticed the two people still standing opposite him. He patted the sofa, indicating that there was still plenty of space.

"No--"

Kakashi was about to refuse because of their different statuses, but Obito overheard him, walked over casually, and sat down right next to Kazashiro.

That idiot! Kazashiro is now a real Hokage.

Kakashi mentally berated Obito, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the window.

Next to Hatake Sakumo's Kage Rock, construction has already begun on the plot belonging to Kazashiro.

"Sit down, Kakashi."

Seeing that Kakashi hadn't moved, Kazashiro assumed that Kakashi was complaining about the small space, so he squeezed Obito to the side, saying, "Move over there a bit more, Obito."

"Okay, okay, I understand."

Kakashi rubbed his head helplessly, sighed, and sat down to Kazashiro's left.

"Look, the Sunagakure has almost wiped out all the nobles in these areas..."

After understanding the current situation from Kazashiro, Kakashi's external brain did indeed play a role.

"Many students think that since they've become ninjas, there's no need to study academic subjects anymore. I want to tell you that this perception is wrong..."

On the podium, Iruka kept waving the report card in his hand.

The records above show the academic scores of the students in their class.

Aside from a few S and A grades, the majority of the remaining grades were disastrous C and D.

"Hey, Shikamaru, that was the village wall, wasn't it? Wasn't it supposed to protect the village? Why was it torn down?"

Naruto, sitting next to Shikamaru, didn't bother listening to Iruka's speech on the podium. He poked Shikamaru with his finger, gesturing for him to look out the window.

"Ah, that? I heard it was demolished because the Fifth Hokage wanted to expand the village."

Shikamaru, who was lying on the table yawning out of boredom, heard Naruto ask him a question. He thought for a moment and actually remembered a casual remark his father had once made.

"Hey, are we going to expand?"

Naruto blinked. Konoha was already so big, did Kazashiro Bai really want to expand it even further?

"Well, they say this can boost this or that, and attract refugees and stuff."

Shikamaru felt that these things were meaningless to a ninja.

No, the profession of ninja is meaningless.

"Hmph, you idiot Naruto, if you could understand what Brother Kazashiro is thinking, you'd be Hokage."

Sasuke had somehow joined them, and after overhearing their conversation, he gave a smug snort.

"So handsome~"

Sakura, who was quietly observing Sasuke from the corner, immediately started swooning, which annoyed Ino.

"You idiot with the wide forehead, Sasuke is mine!"

Ino whispered to Sakura, asserting her claim to Sasuke, but Sakura completely ignored her.

"If we're bored, how about we skip class?"

Hearing Sasuke and Naruto bickering, Kiba, who was sitting in the front row, turned around and joined the conversation.

The hushed whispers gradually drowned out Iruka's speech, and no one noticed that the teacher's skin was gradually turning red.

"Shikamaru! Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura! Ino! Kiba!"

As Iruka called out each name, the smiles on the faces of the group instantly vanished.

"You lot, all of you, get out!"

After sending the troublemakers out to stand as punishment, Iruka looked at the report card in his hand, preparing to praise the students who had done well in this exam.

"First up are the S-rank characters: Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, Hinata Hyuga..."

The more Iruka read it, the more something felt off.

Good grief, of the four top students, three have already been kicked out by me.

What kind of students have I taken on?!

Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to go home from school.

"Brother, you didn't see the expression on Iruka-sensei when he called your name..."

On the way home from school, Karin enthusiastically imitated Iruka's expression to the others, making Naruto burst into laughter again.

"You Sasuke, you only got a B! Uncle Fugaku will kill you if he finds out!"

"I just had a bad day. These kinds of questions are a piece of cake for me!"

Seeing Sasuke bickering with Naruto again, Sakura wanted to chime in, but found herself speechless.

She wasn't familiar with Naruto's group at first.

Her family background was not prominent; her parents were not even Jonin. The only person she had any contact with Ino, whom she had met when she was young.

On the other hand, Naruto's group's parents were either heads of the Anbu during the Fourth Generation's time or captains of the Military Police Force.

Even Kiba Inuzuka, from the poorest family, had a mother who was a Special Jonin.

Looking at it this way, Sakura really didn't have much room to interject.

I just have slightly better grades.

What are you thinking about?

Just as Sakura was feeling inferior because of her family background, Naruto noticed her dejection without her noticing.

Sakura looked up and saw Naruto staring at her with his deep blue eyes and a friendly smile on his lips.

"Uh, me?"

Sakura pointed to herself, somewhat uncertainly.

"Yes, it's you, Sakura Haruno, right? We've both been punished together by standing in the corner. According to what Kazashiro said, we're good friends now."

Naruto, spouting nonsense he'd heard from who-knows-where, reached out to Sakura and introduced her to the members of their small group.

Besides the others who were being punished by standing together, there was also Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame...

Looking at Naruto's bright smile, Sakura suddenly felt that Sasuke wasn't so handsome after all.

"Ah, let me go! I'm from the Anbu, I have a top-secret mission!"

As the children walked through the bathhouse chatting and laughing, they saw a white-haired man being held down by members of the Military Police Force and dragged towards headquarters.