"Iruka is a good teacher..."
Kushina nodded in agreement. "Naruto, make sure you listen to Iruka-sensei."
"Mm, I know."
As the three of them chatted, Minato suddenly said, "Naruto, that little girl from the Hyuga family beside you is sneaking glances at you. She looks like she wants to say something."
"That look... I know it when I see it. That's the look of someone in love, Naruto. As someone who's been there, your mom guarantees she absolutely likes you!"
Kushina looked excited.
"Oh, so she's our daughter-in-law?"
Minato was a little slow on the uptake. He began studying Hinata carefully.
"No, it's way too early to say that."
After giving his parents a brief reply, Naruto turned to Hinata. "Is something wrong?"
Hinata blushed and encouraged him softly. "I... believe in Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun, do your best!"
Naruto was taken aback, then smiled. "Thanks for your support. I feel a lot better."
In truth, Naruto didn't care what other people thought, but clearly, they didn't see it that way...
So be it.
He accepted their kindness and ignored their malice.
In the Sealing Space, Minato watched Naruto chatting with Hinata and remarked, "That girl... She's a little shy."
Kushina said regretfully, "I'd been hoping Naruto would find a woman like me..."
Minato smiled and comforted her. "There's no need to force it. It's enough if the child likes her."
"I know. I'm just a little disappointed."
Listening to his parents' conversation, Naruto couldn't help glancing at Sakura in the distance.
If anyone was like Kushina, it was Sakura.
But Sakura didn't like Naruto. She was completely in love with Sasuke.
At that moment, Sakura was busy with her daily routine—fighting with Ino over a man right in front of Sasuke.
"Is that... Sasuke? He's grown up too. He looks so much like Mikoto."
Following Naruto's gaze, Kushina saw Sasuke's impatient expression. She froze for a moment, then quickly recognized him.
Her best friend's son. She'd even held him when he was little, but in the blink of an eye...
Everything had changed.
Remembering what Naruto had told her, Kushina looked at Sasuke with pity.
That poor child.
At the same time, Kushina felt deeply fortunate.
There was always someone worse off. Compared to Mikoto, she'd had a pretty happy life. At least her son listened to her and didn't want to kill her.
"Uchiha..."
Minato's expression darkened.
The Uchiha problem had always existed. After becoming the Fourth Hokage, he had devoted himself to resolving it, and they had already made considerable progress.
But the Nine-Tails Incident had shattered all his plans.
Only after opening his eyes again had he learned from his son that the Uchiha had been wiped out!
It was hard to describe how Minato felt. All he could say was... he was deeply disappointed in the Third Hokage.
Had he really done nothing at all?
"I told you not to look at me like—"
Sasuke felt the sympathetic gaze from behind and angrily turned around. His warning died on his lips.
The blond kid was chatting with the little Hyuga girl. Hearing Sasuke, the blond tilted his head and stared back at him in confusion.
"What did you say?"
"You... Weren't you looking at me?"
Sasuke had clearly sensed a gaze coming from that direction.
Naruto glanced at his stomach and asked coolly, "Do you think you're good-looking?"
Sasuke took after his mother, so he was good-looking. But Naruto clearly hadn't meant it as a compliment.
Sasuke snorted and turned away without saying anything.
Seeing this, Sakura spoke without thinking. "Sasuke, don't bother with that freak—"
"Get lost!"
Sasuke's expression was cold. He couldn't stand people who talked badly about others behind their backs.
"Sasuke..."
Sakura looked as though she were about to cry. Sasuke's expression grew even colder, and he looked ready to say something even crueler.
Ino hurriedly pulled Sakura away and admonished her. "Sakura, you don't have to like him, but don't talk about people behind their backs. It'll make others dislike you..."
"That girl's from the Yamanaka Clan, right? Looks like Inoichi taught her well..."
Minato looked rather wistful.
He'd been close friends with Inoichi. If the Nine-Tails Incident hadn't happened, there was no doubt their friendship would have carried over to the next generation.
But now...
Kushina asked Naruto, "Other than Hinata, do you have any friends in class?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
No!
Naruto had once had four friends in name only, and as time went on, they might have become real friends.
But after the Nine-Tails Chakra leaked out once, all four of those so-called friends disappeared.
"That won't do. You don't need lots of friends, but you can't have none... Naruto, get moving and make a good friend you can trust."
Kushina was full of energy as she cheered her son on.
"Okay~"
Naruto lay face-down on his desk, with no motivation at all.
"Don't give your mother the brush-off!!!"
The Bloody Habanero was back. She clenched her fists, and her long red hair fluttered behind her.
"Uh..."
So all that gentleness at the start had been fake?
Naruto fell silent, deep in thought.
Minato was afraid of hurting the bond between mother and son, so he tried to calm them both down. "Kushina, calm down first. Naruto, try to understand your mother. She's just worried about you..."
"I know. I'm thinking about who to make friends with."
"Make friends with Sasuke!"
Kushina's anger vanished at once, and she said happily, "Let me tell you, back when Mikoto and I were pregnant, we agreed that if our children were of opposite sexes, they'd get married..."
Naruto finished for her. "And if they were the same sex, they'd become brothers."
Kushina paused, then shook her head. "We didn't say that, but it'd be great if you two could become brothers. Even if you don't, you should at least be friends."
Parents always hoped their friendships would carry over to their children.
Aside from that, Kushina also thought that Naruto and Sasuke, two children in similar circumstances, would make good friends.
At lunchtime, Naruto habitually prepared to skip class, but Kushina and Minato stopped him.
"Classes are useless..."
Naruto explained his reasons to his parents. He wasn't skipping class to slack off, but to train more effectively.
"There's no need to rush your training..."
With the Rinnegan and the potential to become a Perfect Jinchuriki, Naruto had already achieved astonishing things for a child his age. It was a foregone conclusion that he'd become a powerful ninja in the future.
So there was no need to rush his training. He could just take things one step at a time.
By comparison, Kushina and Minato thought it was more important for Naruto to have a normal childhood.
"And skipping class like this shows a lot of disrespect to Iruka-sensei..."
"I respect Iruka-sensei. In my heart..."
After some back and forth, Naruto won the privilege of skipping class twice a week.
During the afternoon lesson, Iruka was surprised to see Naruto there. This child...
Had he finally understood how much thought Iruka had put into teaching him?
A sense of accomplishment as a teacher filled Iruka's heart.
He felt both proud and pleased, with energy coursing through him. He felt like he could keep going for another five hundred years.
"Let's go! Practical training this afternoon!"
Iruka waved his hand and led the students out to the training ground.
Before you continue