Sakura: What Did I Do Wrong

"Could the Third have discovered me?"

Danzo could only think of this reason, for in Konoha, only the Third Hokage would dare to make a move against Root.

Since that was the case, he would have to find another opportunity; in any event, he was in no particular rush.

As for Naruto, he woke up in the morning and sensed his surroundings. Although there were still people monitoring him, the number of watchers had decreased recently; where there used to be three or four, now there was only one.

This made Naruto feel much more at ease. After all, it was one thing to be unable to sense them, but to feel someone following him every single day was a truly unpleasant sensation.

Going to school and slacking off—these were among the few happy times in Naruto's life.

In the morning, there were theory classes where he would chat with Nara Shikamaru and Choji or take a nap, and the afternoon was for practical training, though not sparring.

On the training ground, Iruka stood at the front, looking at the students below and speaking earnestly.

"Chakra refinement and circulation is a vital combat skill. In battle, we may face situations where we run out of chakra at any moment, so knowing how to refine chakra quickly in those times is a very important matter..."

Many students in the field looked eager to try; they loved such practical knowledge, though a few others kept their heads down, not listening at all.

As for the children of the clans, they all possessed little tricks for refining chakra—experience passed down from their ancestors that was naturally best suited to their respective families.

Iruka knew this, so he didn't mind those who weren't paying attention, focusing instead on teaching those who were.

Standing at the very back, little Hinata saw Naruto's expression and couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Naruto, why do you seem so indifferent?" In Hinata's view, this should have been helpful to Naruto.

Naruto was speechless inside. Chakra was something that required refinement, of course, but he couldn't say that out loud.

"Well, Hinata, you know I'm from the Uzumaki Clan; I don't lack chakra, and besides, I don't want to show off with this kind of thing."

Naruto said.

Hinata blinked her large eyes and reacted instantly, recalling the exaggerated amount of chakra she had seen Naruto possess last time; he truly didn't need to listen to this.

Nara Shikamaru, standing not far in front of Naruto, naturally heard his words, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch. He knew a little bit about the Uzumaki Clan, so he understood that Naruto wasn't exaggerating at all.

Just as Naruto and Hinata were whispering to each other, Iruka at the front began to teach the children how to refine chakra, ignoring the clan children in the back.

"Since everyone has learned it, come forward and demonstrate. I hope that during the demonstration, you can all show your strongest side, which will also make it easier for everyone to learn and exchange ideas."

Having taught for many years, Iruka naturally knew what children liked. Children of this age didn't understand the meaning of study, and being able to show off their achievements in front of classmates or parents was their greatest motivation.

Sure enough, hearing that they could demonstrate on stage, everyone's eyes lit up, their faces flushed with excitement.

A chakra demonstration was very simple: as long as one could refine chakra and release it, it could be seen. Unlike the qi in some people, the chakra here could be seen by ordinary people.

As the best student among the commoners, and arguably their representative, Sakura was the first to walk out. At this moment, Sakura was full of pride and complacency. Just as she reached Iruka's side, she couldn't wait to form hand seals and begin refining chakra. With a burst, sky-blue chakra appeared around her body; this was attribute-less chakra.

Although the amount of chakra wasn't large, it was considered a standard success and could be considered excellent by comparison.

Seeing the envious looks of the crowd, Sakura couldn't help but smile, and she quickly turned her head to look at Sasuke, wanting to see his expression.

But Sakura was destined to be disappointed.

Although the Uchiha Clan wasn't particularly specialized in chakra, they were still much stronger than ordinary people, so when Sasuke looked at commoner ninjas like Sakura, his eyes held only arrogance and disdain.

This made Sakura, who had been quite happy, lose her mood instantly. She walked back looking a bit wilted, but then she saw Naruto standing at the very back.

At this moment, Naruto was expressionless, calmly watching his classmates.

Normally, such an expression wouldn't mean anything, but having just been snubbed by Sasuke, Sakura suddenly felt that even a dead-last like Naruto was mocking her. Because everyone else around was laughing, Naruto's lack of expression made it seem as if he held her in contempt.

If Naruto knew what Sakura was thinking right now, he would definitely be speechless.

"Hey, Naruto, are you mocking me?" A somewhat angry Sakura walked up to Naruto and asked with annoyance.

In Sakura's impression, Naruto was still the dead-last who spent his days acting foolish, bragging, and hovering around her like an annoying fly.

Ino, who had just turned around, couldn't help but frown. Those standing in the back were all clan children, so the "Konoha 11" were basically all back there, and they understood that this was an opportunity for the commoners to show themselves, so none of the clan children went to join in the fun.

Even Ino felt that Sakura was being unreasonable, and one could imagine how the others felt—especially Hinata, who was standing next to Naruto, her face flushed with anger.

"Did you see me laugh?" If the person you like is willful toward you, you only feel it is warm and cute, but if it is a stranger, you only feel annoyance. Right now, Sakura gave Naruto a feeling of annoyance; Naruto had no good feelings toward her.

"You were clearly laughing." Apparently, Sakura didn't sense the tone in Naruto's voice. In her eyes, Naruto was just an orphan whom many people bullied, and she was only saying a few words.

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly; he couldn't be bothered to say anything and started to walk forward.

"Hey..." Just as Sakura wanted to say something, she was stopped by Ino. Sakura turned her head, looking puzzled. Ino poked her, and Sakura belatedly looked around.

Although Shikamaru and the others didn't show signs of annoyance, the dislike in their eyes was already apparent.

The others were the same. Although they didn't say anything, the other clan members knew more or less that Naruto was from the Uzumaki Clan. Even though Naruto no longer had a clan, his identity as an Uzumaki would not change. As fellow clan members, even if they weren't friends, they wouldn't mock Naruto. Furthermore, the most obvious point was that every clan member had their family crest on their clothing. Commoners might not notice, but the other clan members had long since noticed the Uzumaki symbol on Naruto's clothes and knew exactly what it represented.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Sakura felt a bit aggrieved. She didn't feel she had done anything wrong, so why were they all looking at her with those kinds of eyes?