"My wallet..."
His mature values meant he wouldn't spend a girl's money. They were both little foodies, and all their money went toward snacks.
Whoosh.
Jiraiya appeared in the room.
"Kid, you're out of money, aren't you?" Jiraiya asked curiously, looking at Naruto's empty Frog Wallet.
"What do you think?" Naruto replied listlessly.
"Here. Try to make it last." Jiraiya suddenly took out something like a passbook and handed it to Naruto.
"What's this for?"
"Just consider it a loan. You'll graduate in two months, and once you become a ninja, you'll have money. You can pay me back then." Jiraiya was unconcerned. Over the years, he'd made plenty of money writing spicy novels and had no worries about making ends meet.
He'd been keeping an eye on Naruto during this time and had learned about his living situation. Now that they'd met, Jiraiya naturally wanted to lend a hand.
"All right. If you insist, I won't turn you down." After giving it some thought, Naruto accepted.
"Since you're all right now, I should get going." After observing Naruto for a while, Jiraiya had realized how mature he was. Naruto didn't need his help.
Jiraiya was a restless man, and a confused one, too. His whole life, he'd been searching for the answer to peace.
The Great Toad Sage's prophecy had told him that the Child of Prophecy would change the world. But only by searching for himself could he discover who that child was. So he traveled all over the Ninja World, hoping to find out who the Child of Prophecy might be.
Having read the original story, Naruto naturally knew about Jiraiya's situation. To avoid causing trouble for himself, he wasn't going to tell Jiraiya that he was the Child of Prophecy.
Strictly speaking, Nagato Uzumaki was the Child of Prophecy, too. He brought disaster to the Ninja World, while Naruto Uzumaki brought it the hope of peace.
"All right, then. Take care on the road, and try to drink less." Naruto had been seeing Jiraiya often lately, and the two had grown much closer. Jiraiya treated him well.
"Don't worry. I'm the Toad Sage, after all." Jiraiya struck what he thought was a very cool pose, looking terribly pleased with himself.
"I'll walk you out." Naruto felt awkward just looking at him.
"I'm leaving tomorrow. You should treat me to a proper meal before I go, shouldn't you?" Jiraiya flashed him a huge grin.
"All right. Sit tight while I get things ready." Naruto knew exactly what Jiraiya meant. "Treating him" meant cooking for him. Ever since he'd tried Naruto's cooking, Jiraiya had grown fond of it.
After thinking for a moment, Naruto went out to buy ingredients. He glanced at the sky; it was still early, so he could invite Hinata over and have dinner a little sooner.
Naruto cooked in the kitchen while Hinata helped. Jiraiya sat in the living room, watching the warm scene in the kitchen. His gaze wavered for a moment, and he seemed to see that young man with the sunny smile and the girl with fiery red hair cooking and chatting together again.
"Teacher Jiraiya, dinner's ready." In his daze, he seemed to hear Minato Namikaze calling him to eat.
"You really are just like him, Minato." Watching the scene in the kitchen, he couldn't help feeling a little comforted.
The next day
Jiraiya left, once more setting out to travel the Ninja World.
Naruto's life returned to normal. Before long, the story officially began. Over the past six months, Konoha had been peaceful and quiet, and everything seemed just like the original story, with nothing changed.
In the Hokage's office, the Third sat behind his desk, looking over the student records from the Ninja Academy. His brows furrowed deeply.
There was no need to worry about the other students; their teams had been decided long ago. Only Team 7 was complicated.
"Someone, go and summon the head of the Hyuga Clan." After thinking it over, the Third decided he should first see what the Hyuga Clan thought.
If the Hyuga Clan agreed, he wanted to place Hinata and Naruto Uzumaki on the same team.
"Yes." A shadow flashed past, and the room fell silent once more.
Not long afterward, Hyuga Hiashi arrived at the Hokage's office in a kimono.
As the head of Konoha's largest surviving clan, Hyuga Hiashi rarely met with the Third alone.
"Lord Hokage." Hyuga Hiashi gave a slight nod.
"Have a seat, Hiashi." The Third nodded and gestured with a smile toward the sofa beside him.
"I called you here because there's something I'd like to ask you." As soon as Hyuga Hiashi had sat down, the Third got straight to the point.
"Please, Lord Hokage." Hyuga Hiashi looked puzzled.
While the Hokage's office discussed Naruto's team assignment, all the students at the Academy were talking about theirs as well.
The girls were especially excited, chattering away as they imagined being placed on the same team as Sasuke.
Naruto Uzumaki already knew what the teams would be, so he looked completely listless. Just thinking about being teamed up with Sakura and Sasuke made him feel drained.
"Naruto, you look really sleepy today. But the graduation exam starts today. Are you sure you're okay?"
From the back row, Hinata watched Naruto yawn over and over, looking as if he might doze off at any moment. She asked him quietly, concerned.
"Don't worry. I'm fine!"
Naruto smiled at Hinata as he answered.
The girl's personality was already very different from the one in the original story. She was still shy and introverted, but compared to how she'd been back then, she'd improved beyond measure.
"That's good!"
Hinata smiled, too.
"Naruto, aren't you curious about who you'll be teamed up with?" Hinata asked quietly just then.
Seeing everyone so excitedly imagining who they'd be on a team with, Hinata naturally wanted to be on the same team as Naruto, too.
"Ah, Hinata, I'd like to be on the same team as you, too. But I don't think that's likely. Teams are assigned according to the circumstances. You and I are different types of ninja. The Byakugan is mostly used for reconnaissance, while the Ino-Shika-Cho clans are always grouped together. And as for you..."
As he spoke, Naruto glanced at Kiba, who was making a racket, and Shino, who sat quietly. The implication was obvious.
"Naruto, is that really true?" Hinata's mood visibly sank.
Naruto scratched his head.
"If nothing unexpected happens, then probably." Naruto felt helpless, too.
Even the slightest flutter of a butterfly's wings could change who knew how much. Naruto believed he hadn't changed anything, but in truth, he'd changed a great deal without realizing it.
Hinata was feeling very down and had no mood to keep chatting with Naruto.
Naruto scratched his head, then boredly rested his head on his desk and watched the excited students in class.