Naruto Uzumaki's Day

Sasuke had followed Itachi to visit Shisui while Hui was still practicing flying.

Sasuke was amazed to discover that his brother also had a Shisui-nii.

Just like in the original timeline, when Sasuke faced Orochimaru, he was so overwhelmed by the other man's killing intent that he couldn't move and gave up fighting.

After injecting the Secret Medicine, Sasuke regretted it. He regretted it terribly.

At first, he felt an itch spreading from the injection site.

Gradually, the itching spread throughout his body, eventually turning into pain.

Now, Sasuke felt as though he were enduring agony that gnawed at his very bones.

He slowly forgot why he had come here, and at one point felt as if the world had abandoned him.

That was when Itachi stepped in. With his encouragement, Sasuke managed to hold on.

A new day.

That morning, Naruto climbed out of bed with a yawn, and two scrolls slipped off him.

Naruto snatched them up quickly and put them away.

Looking at the two buckets of paint in the corner of his room, Naruto sighed.

He'd originally planned to use them to get everyone to notice him, but it seemed he didn't need to anymore.

The events of the past week still felt a little unreal.

Ever since he'd learned the Shadow Clone Technique the day before yesterday, Naruto felt that he'd become a ninja.

The neighbors, along with the old men and women who used to hate him, seemed to have started accepting him.

Though Naruto could still read the loathing in their eyes,

at least they no longer called him "Demon Fox" to his face.

Things were getting better, weren't they?

"Right, Naruto Uzumaki! I've got to keep my spirits up and work twice as hard today!"

Naruto gave himself a spirited pep talk.

After getting ready, he hurried off to school with a piece of bread between his teeth.

When he arrived, Naruto greeted Hui with practiced ease.

Then he spotted a flash of pink hair. It was Sakura Haruno.

"Morning, Sakura!"

"Morning, Naruto. Why are you so energetic today?"

In the original timeline, Naruto's feelings for Sakura were a complicated matter.

Sakura was one of the few people who hadn't disliked Naruto from the very beginning.

She also looked out for him in everyday life, sometimes sharing her lunch or helping tend his injuries.

All of that made Naruto, who had grown up desperately starved for affection, develop a special dependence on her.

Perhaps, when he was young, he mistook that feeling for love.

Besides, Sakura had always been infatuated with Sasuke.

When it came to Sasuke, his lifelong rival, Naruto's feelings for Sakura might have had a competitive edge to them.

In his worldview at the time, if Sakura liked him, perhaps that meant he'd beaten Sasuke, too.

If Naruto had also possessed Uchiha blood, he might have become the next Obito.

But although Naruto still lived a lonely life, a ray of hope had begun to shine in his heart.

To him, Sakura was now simply a good friend.

"Hehe, Sakura, listen! I've become a ninja!"

Naruto leaned close to Sakura and said it in a rather mysterious tone.

Sakura looked at him, bewildered.

"Haha, watch this, Sakura! I'll prove it to you!"

Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

He pressed the index and middle fingers of both hands together and crossed them to form a sign.

"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!" Countless Narutos flooded the classroom.

"Naruto, you idiot!"

Buried beneath the swarm of Narutos, Sakura roared.

In some unknown corner, a short-haired girl with Byakugan was also "scared" unconscious by the bizarre spectacle.

"Naruto! You're not allowed to use jutsu inside the school without permission. I explained that on the first day of class."

"Looks like you need a reminder. Go stand outside the classroom!"

Iruka stood at the lectern, scolding Naruto.

At that moment, Iruka had very complicated feelings about Naruto.

He wasn't the same man who would come to terms with everything six years later.

He still harbored reservations about Naruto.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, Iruka-sensei. I'll remember."

Naruto, who hadn't received much discipline, didn't understand what that meant.

Iruka looked at Naruto's carefree grin, a vein bulging on his forehead. He went and fetched two buckets of water.

"Naruto, it looks like you need to reflect on what you've done. Hold these two buckets while you stand outside, and pay attention to the lesson. After class, I'm going to put you to the test!"

Iruka emphasized each word.

Naruto's face fell.

He obediently stood outside the classroom like a gatekeeper.

As the lesson dragged on, Naruto's thoughts wandered.

"Why hasn't Sasuke come yet?"

The question popped into Naruto's mind.

Sasuke was a model student. Naruto had never seen him arrive late in these past two weeks.

It wasn't until the first lesson was nearly over that Sasuke finally came strolling over.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, are you okay?"

Naruto dropped the buckets and ran over to Sasuke, looking him up and down with concern.

He was trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

"N-Naruto, I'm fine. Why are you standing outside?"

Even Sasuke's voice sounded weak.

"Forget that. I'm taking you to the hospital right now."

Naruto could think of only one thing.

"Is Sasuke sick?"

Without a second thought, he hoisted Sasuke onto his shoulder and rushed straight to Konoha Hospital.

"Y-You idiot, put me down!"

Only after the doctors assured him again and again did Naruto finally believe that Sasuke was perfectly healthy and merely a little low on energy.

Then he suddenly realized there was a small problem.

He'd apparently skipped class with Sasuke.

During the second lesson, another bucket was added to Naruto's head outside the classroom.

At noon, Iruka took Naruto aside for some one-on-one tutoring.

For the first time in a while, only Hui and Sasuke were left on the rooftop.

Sasuke grabbed Hui by the shirt, gritting his teeth.

"You bastard! I want to fight you! I said, I want a fight!"

"Right here. Let's settle this once and for all!"

"Sorry, sorry, Sasuke. Calm down, calm down. Good things always come at a price," Hui said with a laugh.

"Hmph, I forgive you. You're coming with me to the Training Ground this weekend. You owe me again."

"Absolutely. We'll go see Chiyuki too. I made her worry last time."

Meanwhile, with Naruto...

"...That's everything in the ninja code. So, Naruto, have you memorized it?"

After spending an hour going over the day's lesson again, Iruka looked at Naruto with mixed feelings.

Before he became the homeroom teacher of this class, he'd been strongly against taking the job.

It was only after the Third Hokage persuaded him that he finally agreed to teach here.

The Nine-Tails Rebellion. He could never forget that night.

His father had died protecting him.

The cause of his death was the Nine-Tails inside the boy standing before him.

Looking at Naruto, who was unusually excited today,

Iruka felt conflicted. As a teacher, he was supposed to guide his students.

But throughout these past two weeks since the start of the school year, he felt he hadn't fulfilled his duty as a teacher.

Just then, an ill-timed growl came from Naruto's stomach.

Naruto awkwardly looked at Iruka-sensei and scratched his head.

Perhaps he'd come to a decision, because he said, "Come on, Naruto! I'll treat you to a meal. Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen."

Iruka patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"Just don't act up like that again. You'll have a hard time making friends."

Naruto stared at Iruka in a daze. Apart from his peers and Grandpa Third, this was the first adult who had accepted him.

Naruto nodded firmly.

"Yeah! Iruka-sensei, I promise I won't act up again!"

"Haha, come on, Naruto. If we don't eat now, afternoon class will start."

"Great! Let's get miso ramen! Iruka-sensei, this ramen tastes amazing!"

Together, they headed to Ichiraku Ramen.

A perfect day went on.