Naruto is Quiet Today

"Morning to you too, Naruto. You're still as energetic as ever this early in the morning."

Shikamaru replied with a yawn.

"It's you who's too lazy. Besides, it's not early anymore; if we don't go in now, Iruka-sensei is going to yell at us."

Naruto looked at him, speechless. He knew he was truly a dead weight, but this guy was definitely playing the pig to eat the tiger. What made Naruto most angry was that even though this guy slacked off every day just like him, his grades never slipped. Although Shikamaru was always near the bottom, Naruto and the others knew he did it on purpose—otherwise, tell him how one manages to score exactly a passing grade on every single exam.

While they were talking, the two of them sauntered into the classroom.

Fortunately, although class had already started, the teacher hadn't arrived yet.

They skillfully found their seats in the back row and sat down next to Choji.

"You're here. If you hadn't come, Iruka-sensei would have gone looking for you two in a minute."

Seeing his two friends arrive, Choji said with a grin.

"I'm going to catch up on some sleep. Wake me up when the teacher gets here."

Shikamaru rolled his dead-fish eyes and slumped directly onto the desk, leaving Naruto speechless.

"Naruto, the teacher isn't here yet. Want to eat something?"

At that moment, Choji held out the snacks he was eating.

Although he had known for a long time that as one of Naruto's few friends, Choji was genuinely sincere, seeing this still touched his heart. Naruto knew that for a glutton, being willing to share his favorite food with a friend meant he truly considered him a good friend.

How long had it been since he felt this kind of pure friendship?

"Sure, I'm actually a bit hungry."

Naruto flashed a wide, genuine smile and grabbed a handful of snacks.

Seeing Naruto's smile, Choji was stunned. Although they had been good friends before, Naruto had always been awkward and hesitant due to his own circumstances. But today, for some reason, Naruto's smile looked incredibly pleasant.

Watching that smile, Choji couldn't help but feel that today's snacks tasted especially good.

It wasn't just Choji who saw Naruto's smile; little Hinata, who had been quietly observing Naruto, was also infected by his heartfelt expression.

Naruto-kun seems so happy today. His smile is really beautiful. Could it be that Naruto-kun likes to eat?

Seeing the smile, Hinata felt her heart flutter. She wanted to bring some delicious food to share with him, but as the young lady of the Hyuga clan, there were too many eyes on her. Combined with her own personality, she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.

Her mood inevitably turned a bit gloomy.

I'm so useless. Naruto has helped me, and I want to help him, but I don't even have the courage for this.

Just as little Hinata was lost in her own thoughts, Naruto began observing his classmates.

The first thing he looked at was Sasuke in the front row and the group of girls surrounding him. Seeing this familiar scene, Naruto couldn't help but think that the plot hadn't changed at all.

On Sasuke's side, many young girls were chattering around him, while Sasuke himself looked cold and aloof, staring out the window. The more he acted this way, the more the girls liked him. Perhaps sensing Naruto's gaze, Sasuke turned his head and glanced over, his eyes filled with disdain.

This dead-last seems a bit different today.

Seeing that Naruto didn't come charging over and acting rowdy as usual, Sasuke felt a bit strange. In truth, Sasuke paid a lot of attention to Naruto—not just because Naruto often annoyed him, but because their situations were similar: both were orphans. This was also why Sasuke disliked Sakura; the current Sakura was boisterous and always brought up Naruto's situation. In Sakura's eyes, it was nothing, but in Sasuke's eyes, how was that any different from talking about him?

Naruto ignored Sasuke's gaze. With his current mindset, he didn't want to get involved with such a troublesome guy.

He then looked at the others. Everyone in this class was a future pillar of Konoha; most of the Konoha 11 were here. Finally, Naruto's gaze landed on a girl about his age: wearing black clothes, with short, ear-length black hair, big, adorable eyes, and pure white pupils—Hinata, his wife from the original story.

Seeing Naruto look over, little Hinata instantly lowered her head, her face turning bright red. Perhaps it was her quiet personality that made her presence seem so low; at the very least, there was basically no one in school who noticed this young lady of the Hyuga clan.

So this is little Hinata? She's really cute.

The most beautiful sight in the world is undoubtedly a shy beauty. Although Hinata was still a little girl, both her appearance and her demeanor could be called that of a little beauty—not to mention the passive skill of blushing whenever she saw Naruto.

Watching her blush, even though Naruto had expected it, his heart couldn't help but thump.

Whew, she's just so adorable.

Naruto hadn't expected to be truly charmed by a little girl.

"Morning, Hinata-chan."

Such a cute little girl was truly likable, so Naruto flashed a big smile and greeted her.

Hinata never imagined that Naruto would take the initiative to greet her today. She was so happy that she wanted to say something back, but she was too nervous and couldn't get the words out.

If it were the old Naruto, he would have definitely thought this girl was weird, but the current Naruto understood her personality, so he didn't mind. Instead, he found her even cuter and couldn't help but smile.

It must be said that even a stranger would find Hinata likable. Of course, the people here weren't from the ninja world; their values were different, and perhaps they preferred someone with a fiery temper like Sakura.

For a boy, if you had to choose between someone you like and someone who likes you, you'd naturally choose the one you like. Previously, Naruto liked Sakura, but he knew that the main reason was likely to attract Sasuke's attention. Regardless of the reason, the current Naruto preferred Hinata's type—and more importantly, little Hinata liked him back.

Just as little Hinata gathered the courage to say something to Naruto, the teacher walked in.

Seeing the teacher enter, the classroom instantly fell silent. Iruka just glanced at everyone and began his lecture, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing today.

It wasn't until the morning classes ended that Iruka realized Naruto had been so quiet today. In the past, Naruto was always boisterous and constantly making mistakes because he wanted to attract everyone's attention.

Children don't understand, so they might find such methods tireless, but the mature Naruto would naturally never do anything so childish.