The Pressure Is Quite High

Ichiraku Ramen.

The fragrant bowl of ramen was finished in no time.

Naruto Uzumaki wiped his mouth with a napkin, tossed it into the trash can, then stood up and waved. "I've got things to do, so I'll be heading off. See you tomorrow, sensei."

"Tomorrow... wait, what do you mean see you tomorrow? Aren't you supposed to head back to the academy for class this afternoon?"

Iruka reacted quickly, hurriedly standing up to block Naruto's path. He asked suspiciously, "Have you still not forgiven me, sensei?"

Naruto didn't understand. "Sensei, why would you say that? Everyone knows I'm broad-minded. How could I possibly not forgive you?"

"Then why aren't you going to class this afternoon?"

"Those are two completely unrelated things. I don't go to class simply because it's useless. I've already learned everything I need to; I just don't want to waste any more time sitting in a classroom. I want to use that free time to train on my own."

"Useless? A waste of time?"

As a teacher, Iruka was naturally furious to hear this. He pulled a long face and lectured him.

"Naruto, you are far too arrogant. Being a ninja isn't as simple as you imagine. If you don't take it seriously, you'll suffer a great loss in the future. Besides, you aren't the best in the class. In actual combat, you aren't as good as Sasuke, and in theory, you aren't as good as Sakura..."

"But I passed, didn't I?"

Naruto smiled. "I kept up with the curriculum and didn't drag the class down, right?"

At the pinnacle of ninjutsu, I stand above the world; with me, Naruto, there is heaven!

Even if I skip class every day and only spend half my focus on the lessons, I, Naruto, still pass my exams.

Seeing Iruka preparing to persuade him further, Naruto added, "Third Hokage promised me this. Does sensei intend to defy the Hokage's orders?"

Iruka choked on his words. Of course, he didn't dare defy the Hokage, but he couldn't help but complain inwardly—you get to play the good guy, and I have to play the bad guy. Lord Hokage, you can't just set me up like this!

After a moment of thought, Iruka tried to persuade him earnestly. "Naruto, you still have a lot of room for improvement."

Naruto immediately replied, "But I'm a student with a specialty."

At the shop entrance, Iruka watched Naruto's retreating back and couldn't help but let out a troubled sigh.

Why can't I get through to him?

"Are you Naruto's teacher?"

"You are..." Iruka turned around and saw the shop assistant from earlier.

"I'm Ayame, and I'm a friend of Naruto's."

Ayame introduced herself, then asked the same question as before. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, she smiled and requested, "Could you tell me what Naruto is like at school?"

This wasn't exactly a secret.

The two returned to the shop and sat down. Iruka laid out Naruto's performance at school, then asked for help. "Miss Ayame, do you have any way to get Naruto to go back to class?"

Ayame shook her head. "It's difficult. Although Naruto is young, he is unexpectedly stubborn. Once he makes up his mind, he won't change it easily."

Seeing Iruka looking distressed, Ayame advised, "Teacher Iruka, why force it? It would be better to respect Naruto's wishes, especially since Lord Hokage already agreed to it."

"That may be true, but as a teacher, it is my duty..."

"Is a teacher's duty more important, or is Naruto's will more important?"

The two were hard to compare, but Iruka was determined to become an excellent teacher, and he naturally put his students above all else.

"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Miss Ayame."

Iruka thanked Ayame sincerely. Ayame said it was no trouble, provided he did her a favor.

"What favor?"

"That child was alone when he was little, and he's still alone now. It's just too worrying... I hope Teacher Iruka can help look after Naruto at school. It would be best if you could help him make a friend so he isn't always by himself."

"That is a teacher's responsibility to begin with."

After leaving, Naruto went to his usual training spot as he always did. It was an open field that very few people visited, making it a fairly good place to train.

A small stream came into view, clear to the bottom. The pebbles were clearly visible, and he could even see some fish poking their heads out.

There were several tall trees nearby, dozens of meters high with lush foliage. Beside the stream was a high, rocky cliff that looked quite dangerous. A height of several dozen meters was nothing to a ninja, and Naruto usually used this cliff to practice rock climbing, scaling it to reach the high ridge above.

Naruto walked up to a large tree and began his usual training, starting to throw shuriken at the tree repeatedly.

After finishing his shuriken practice, Naruto began to rest.

Once rested, Naruto didn't push his body further. Instead, he took out a fishing rod he had hidden away and ran to a spot a hundred meters upstream to fish.

According to Naruto's observations, the fish were most abundant here, and he soon had a full catch.

Looking at the few fish he had caught in the bucket, Naruto revealed a faint smile. He carried the bucket to the base of a cliff a few dozen meters from the riverbank, where there was a small cave. It wasn't large, but it was enough to keep the rain out.

He skillfully scraped the scales off the fish; thanks to the culinary skills he had honed over the years, he could handle them with ease.

Soon, the food was completely devoured.

"Mmm! My cooking skills have improved again!"

Licking his lips, Naruto Uzumaki patted his stomach, stood up in satisfaction, and began to run toward home. The sun was no longer in sight, and faintly, the Moon had already emerged. Naruto sprinted quickly through the streets where only a few people remained, feeling several gazes filled with disgust.

He didn't pay them any mind; over the years, he had long since grown accustomed to such looks.

After returning, Naruto washed off the sweat from today's training and quickly drifted off into dreamland.

--The Next Day--

"Want to play Shogi?"

During the break, Shikamaru walked up to Naruto carrying a chessboard.

Naruto's consciousness was currently in the Sealing Space chatting with the Nine-Tails, with only a small portion of his attention on the outside world.

Seeing Shikamaru arrive, he didn't snap back to reality immediately and stared blankly for a moment before asking, "What did you just say?"

I didn't say anything at all...

That was, of course, impossible.

Thinking of his father's instructions and his teacher's exhortations, Shikamaru couldn't help but complain inwardly.

What a drag, it's clearly a problem caused by the adults, so why must they push it onto him, a mere child, to solve!

Shikamaru repeated, "Want to play Shogi?"

Naruto looked at Shikamaru strangely for a moment; this didn't fit his character of fearing trouble.

Seeming to notice Naruto's confusion, Shikamaru made a bitter face, as if to say he didn't want to do this either.

Fine, I understand... Naruto realized, his eyes glancing upward in a hidden manner.

Third Hokage, you old man are watching me, aren't you?!

Naruto spread his hands: "But I don't know how to play Shogi."

The troublesome work had increased again, and Shikamaru sighed: "It's fine, I can teach you."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru in surprise for two seconds; looking at it this way, the pressure you're under is actually quite significant.