"Could the Third Hokage have found out?"
Danzo could only think of that explanation. After all, the Third Hokage was the only person in Konoha who dared to move against Root.
If that was the case, he could only wait for another opportunity. He wasn't in any particular hurry anyway.
As for Naruto, when he got up that morning, he sensed that someone was still watching him. But lately, there seemed to be fewer people keeping an eye on him. There used to be three or four; now there was only one.
That put Naruto more at ease. He could ignore it if he couldn't sense them, but feeling someone following him every day was a real pain.
Going to school and slacking off—those were some of the few things Naruto enjoyed.
In the morning, he chatted with Shikamaru and Choji during theory class, then slept. In the afternoon, they had practical training, though it wasn't sparring practice.
On the playground, Iruka stood at the front, speaking earnestly to the students gathered below.
"Chakra refinement and circulation are important combat skills. In battle, we may find ourselves without chakra at any moment. Knowing how to quickly refine more chakra in that situation is crucial..."
Many of the students looked eager to give it a try. They liked lessons packed with useful information, though a few had their heads down and weren't paying attention at all.
The children from the clans had their own little tricks for refining chakra. These were methods passed down by their ancestors, naturally best suited to their respective clans.
Iruka knew that, too, so he paid no mind to those who weren't listening and focused on teaching the attentive students.
Standing at the back, Hinata noticed Naruto's expression and asked in a quiet voice,
"Naruto, why don't you seem interested?" Hinata thought this lesson should be helpful to him.
Naruto was speechless. Did chakra really need to be refined? Of course, he couldn't say that out loud.
"Well, Hinata, you know I'm from the Uzumaki Clan. I'm not short on chakra, and I don't want to stand out over something like this."
Naruto spoke.
Hinata blinked her big eyes, then immediately understood. She remembered seeing Naruto's ridiculous amount of chakra last time. He really didn't need to listen to this lesson.
Nara Shikamaru, standing not far in front of Naruto, had naturally heard him. The corner of his mouth twitched. He knew a little about the Uzumaki Clan, so he understood Naruto wasn't exaggerating.
While Naruto and Hinata chatted quietly, Iruka began teaching the children how to refine chakra. He paid no attention to the clan children at the back.
"Now that everyone has learned the technique, come up and demonstrate it. I hope you'll show your best during the demonstration so everyone can learn from one another and exchange ideas."
Having taught for many years, Iruka knew what children liked. At that age, they didn't understand the point of studying. Being able to show off what they'd learned in front of their classmates or parents was their greatest motivation.
Sure enough, when they heard they could demonstrate in front of everyone, their eyes lit up. They were so excited that their faces flushed.
Demonstrating chakra was simple. As long as they could refine chakra and release it in a burst, everyone would be able to see it. Unlike the qi in some other stories, ordinary people here could see chakra.
Sakura, one of the best students among the civilians—perhaps even the best—was the first to step forward. She wore a smug, proud expression. As soon as she reached Iruka, she eagerly formed Hand Seals, refined her chakra, and released it. Sky-blue chakra appeared around her body. It was chakra with no particular nature.
She didn't have much chakra, but it was still a standard success, and compared to the others, she was quite good.
Seeing the envy on everyone's faces, Sakura couldn't help smiling. She quickly turned to Sasuke, eager to see his reaction.
But Sakura was bound to be disappointed.
The Uchiha Clan might not be particularly skilled with chakra, but they were still far better than ordinary people. So when Sasuke looked at a civilian ninja like Sakura, his eyes held nothing but pride and disdain.
Sakura's good mood vanished. She walked back, dejected, but then she spotted Naruto standing at the very back.
Naruto's face was expressionless as he calmly watched the other students.
There would have been nothing wrong with that expression under normal circumstances. But after being slighted by Sasuke, Sakura suddenly felt that even a dead-last student like Naruto was mocking her. Everyone around her was smiling, while Naruto's blank expression made him seem even more contemptuous.
Naruto would have been speechless if he'd known what Sakura was thinking.
"Hey, Naruto, are you laughing at me?" Sakura, annoyed, walked up to him and demanded.
In Sakura's mind, Naruto was still the foolish boy who talked big all the time and liked to hover around her like an annoying fly. He was a dead-last student.
Ino, who had just turned around, frowned. The clan children were all standing at the back, so the rookies were gathered there. They understood that this was an opportunity for the civilian students to show what they could do, so none of the clan children had gone over to join in.
Even Ino thought Sakura was being unreasonable. She could only imagine how the others felt. Hinata, especially, was standing beside Naruto, her face red with anger.
"Did you see me laughing?" If someone you liked acted bossy toward you, you might find it sweet and endearing. But when a stranger did it, it was just annoying. At that moment, Sakura only annoyed Naruto. He didn't think much of her.
"You were obviously laughing." Sakura clearly hadn't noticed his tone. As far as she was concerned, Naruto was an orphan whom everyone bullied. She'd only said a few words to him.
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly, too lazy to say anything, and walked forward.
"Hey..." Sakura had just started to speak when Ino stopped her. Sakura turned to her, confused. Ino nudged her, and only then did Sakura look around.
Shikamaru and the others hadn't openly shown their annoyance, but their displeasure was clear in their eyes.
The others felt the same. They didn't say anything, but the members of the other clans knew, more or less, that Naruto was from the Uzumaki Clan. He no longer had a clan, but his heritage hadn't changed. As fellow clan members, even if they weren't his friends, they wouldn't mock him. Besides, each clan member wore their clan crest on their clothes. Civilians might not notice, but the other clan members had spotted the Uzumaki symbol on Naruto's clothes long ago and knew what it meant.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Sakura felt wronged. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong. Why were they all looking at her like that?