The First Day of School Life

Just as Iruka was about to fly into a rage, he heard several students whispering, "Isn't that the monster? Why is he at school too?"

"Yeah. My dad said we absolutely mustn't have anything to do with that monster, or we'll have bad luck."

"My dad says he's a monster too. Why hasn't the Third Hokage driven him out of the village? Keeping that monster around will get us all killed." A few children from civilian families spoke loudly, without the slightest consideration for who might hear them.

Naruto paid no attention to their comments. If he'd taken them to heart, he would have been furious long ago. He simply watched the students who called him a monster with a cold gaze. They were all children from civilian families, while the children from the great clans looked at Naruto with curiosity.

Naruto thought, As expected, it's the same in every world. The civilians are always the ones being fooled. The truth is always in the hands of a select few. That's the tragedy of this world.

Naruto could put up with it, but Sasuke, standing beside him, couldn't. Sasuke was about to lose his temper, but Naruto put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, stopping him.

Sasuke looked at Naruto in confusion. Naruto lowered his voice. "Don't bother arguing with these idiots."

Sasuke didn't do anything rash, but he kept glaring at the students still talking about Naruto as if he wanted to kill them.

Then a voice rang out loudly. "Naruto-kun isn't a monster! He's the kindest person in the world. I won't let you talk about Naruto-kun like that!"

The whole class stared in surprise at the white-eyed girl standing beside Naruto. Naruto shook his head helplessly. He'd stopped Sasuke, but he hadn't expected Hinata to speak up.

Neither Sasuke nor Hinata knew that speaking up for Naruto would make those fools turn on them too. That was why Naruto had stopped Sasuke.

But he hadn't expected Hinata—usually so timid—to get angry because someone had called him a monster. Naruto felt warm inside. Is this what friendship and love feel like? I really am lucky.

Sure enough, after a brief moment of shock, those fools started talking about Hinata too.

"So it's the Hyuga Clan's young lady. She's actually standing up for that monster. Hmph, does she think she's special just because she's a young lady?"

"Look at her eyes. I heard my dad say they're called the White Eye. They're different from ours. They're both monsters, no wonder she's sticking up for that monster."

When Naruto heard them talking about Hinata, he slowly stood up. This time, he had no intention of holding back. He could tolerate being called a monster, but he wasn't going to tolerate those idiots calling Hinata one.

Just as Naruto was about to lose his temper, Iruka finally snapped out of his surprise and shouted, "Quiet!" The students fell silent as soon as they saw their teacher getting angry, then pretended to be good students.

Iruka cleared his throat and said, "Let's continue with the introductions. Since you're already standing, you can go first." He pointed at Naruto.

Naruto paused, then walked up to the front of the classroom and calmly said, "Me? My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Most people in this village call me a monster. I don't like that name very much, because I'm a person, not a monster. There are no monsters in this world, either. Only foolish people believe in monsters. There are lots of things I like, such as Ichiraku Ramen, grilled meat, and movies."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and Hinata before continuing. "I like being friends with Sasuke, like we're real brothers. I'm an orphan, so I'm really happy to have a brother. And I love Hinata. She's always so gentle, kind, and beautiful. My dream is to protect the people I cherish. That's all, teacher."

Sasuke smiled faintly when he heard Naruto call him a brother. The girls were surprised by Naruto and Sasuke's relationship, and when Hinata heard Naruto say he loved her, her whole face turned red.

Everyone in class except Sasuke was beyond surprised—they were stunned. Iruka cleared his throat and said, "Well, Naruto, that was a very good introduction, but I should tell you that young love isn't a good idea."

Naruto asked in confusion, "Does the school forbid dating?" Iruka thought for a moment and said, "No, not really." "Well, then you're not against dating. So why won't you let me date? Is it because you're single and jealous of me?" Naruto replied.

Iruka felt awful after hearing Naruto's reply. Single-dog Iruka had taken a crushing blow.

"All right, Naruto, you can go back to your seat," Iruka said helplessly.

Naruto returned to his seat, but just as he was about to step down from the platform, he spoke again. "Oh, and to the people who just called Hinata a monster: listen up. I'll let you off this time, but if you do it again, I'll kill you."

A bone-chilling murderous aura burst from Naruto. It lasted only an instant, but the whole class felt it. Iruka and the children from the great clans were shocked by the killing intent Naruto had released, and their backs were drenched in cold sweat. The civilian children who didn't even have chakra stared at Naruto in terror.

As the whole class watched him in shock and fear, Naruto returned to his seat and continued chatting with Sasuke and Hinata. Once Iruka had recovered, he continued with the lesson.

Sasuke and Hinata also went up and introduced themselves. By the time the whole class had finished, the first day of school was over.

After school, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata continued the training they'd started the day before. Naruto and Sasuke learned how to climb trees, and Hinata finally managed to shape her chakra into a Senbon. In the evening, the three of them each went home.

Naruto had just finished bathing when an Anbu delivered a message ordering him to go to the Hokage's office. The Third Hokage wanted to see him. Naruto changed clothes and followed the Anbu to see the Third Hokage.

When he arrived at the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage asked, "Naruto, were the things you said to Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuga true?"

Naruto answered calmly, "They were true, and things are even worse than I told them."

The Third Hokage looked at Naruto's calm expression. "It seems you knew I was watching you. You said those things for me, Fugaku, and Hiashi to hear, didn't you?"

Naruto replied, "Yes. I sensed that you, Uncle Fugaku, and Uncle Hiashi were watching us, so I took the opportunity to tell you."

The Third Hokage asked in confusion, "You sensed that I was watching you?"

"Yes," Naruto replied.

The Third Hokage thought it over, then suddenly understood. He exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that you awakened not only the Adamantine Sealing Chains, but also the Uzumaki Clan's sensory abilities?"

Naruto looked at the Third Hokage and replied, "I think I awakened all of the Uzumaki Clan's abilities. I awakened their sealing power, vitality, chakra reserves, and sensory ability."

The Third Hokage stared at Naruto in amazement. "You really are a genius. At such a young age, you've awakened all of the Uzumaki Clan's Kekkei Genkai. Do you know what this bloodline is called?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "It should be the same as the First Hokage's Sage Body. Actually, a lot of people have it wrong. The First Hokage's strongest Kekkei Genkai wasn't Wood Release, but the Sage Body.

"He just happened to use Wood Release, so people assumed it was the strongest. But no one ever looked into why Wood Release was so powerful, when it was created by combining the same two chakra natures as other Kekkei Genkai like Ice Release and Boil Release, which were much weaker."

The Third Hokage asked in confusion, "You're right. The First Hokage's Wood Release was incredibly powerful, even though it was a fusion of two chakra natures, just like the others. Are you saying that was because of his Sage Body?"

"Yes. The Sage Body means that someone's cells have powerful vitality and sealing power that other people don't possess. Chakra is extracted from the body's cells, so the First Hokage's chakra had powerful vitality and sealing power.

"That's why Wood Release was so powerful. The First Hokage's Wood Release and my Adamantine Sealing Chains are actually the same kind of thing. One is made of trees, the other of chains."

The Third Hokage was stunned by Naruto's explanation. Then he thought about Tenzo. No wonder Tenzo's Wood Release was so weak. It wasn't that Wood Release itself was powerful; it was the Sage Body that made it so. Tenzo didn't have the Sage Body.

Once he understood, the Third Hokage looked at Naruto with delight. This child had the potential to become like the First Hokage.

The Third Hokage asked casually, "Naruto, I heard that you got into a conflict with your classmates at school today and released a terrifying killing intent. Is that true?"

"Yeah, it is. But it was because they called Hinata a monster. They can call me a monster; I don't care.

"But Hinata is someone I love. She's my future wife, so I had to give them a warning. Besides, I only scared them. I wasn't going to actually do anything to them. Why would I bother with a bunch of little kids?"

The Third Hokage looked at the five-year-old child talking about his future wife and calling others little kids as if he were all grown up. For a moment, he felt as though he'd let Minato and Kushina down. Iruka really isn't doing his job. The kid's only five, and he's already dating. Why isn't anyone keeping an eye on him?

The Third Hokage felt speechless inside, but he kept a composed expression. "Oh, so you were only scaring your classmates to protect the people you cherish. That wasn't quite right, but your heart was in the right place. So, can you tell me why your killing intent was so strong?"

The Third Hokage asked Naruto in confusion. Naruto replied, "Of course. It wasn't my killing intent. It was the big fox inside me."

The Third Hokage couldn't stay calm this time. He exclaimed in surprise, "You mean the Nine-Tails inside you? You can communicate with it?"

"Yeah. What's so strange about that? I'm a Jinchuriki," Naruto replied as if it were obvious. The Third Hokage was completely astonished and looked at Naruto with a complicated expression.

Naruto saw the strange look on the Third Hokage's face and asked, "Grandpa Third, what's wrong? Is it because of the Nine-Tails inside me? There's nothing to worry about. It can't get out.

"Besides, it's actually pretty pitiful. The other Tailed Beasts are too. They're all trapped inside Jinchuriki and have no freedom. I've always hoped that one day I could become friends with them."

The Third Hokage was stunned to hear Naruto say he wanted to be friends with the Tailed Beasts. But when he saw Naruto's sincere expression, he smiled. "Then you'll have to work hard, Naruto. The Tailed Beasts and humans have been enemies for nearly a hundred years. That hatred won't be easy to resolve."

Naruto looked at the Third Hokage with determination. "I'll do my best, no matter how difficult it is."

The Third Hokage smiled at Naruto's determined expression and patted him on the head. "What a good boy."