Author: Machine Raccoon
Synopsis:
Naruto Uzumaki, are you content to be a simp, a dead-last, and the target of everyone's cold stares?
Want to know the true meaning of hard work? Want to achieve your dream of becoming Hokage and earning everyone's recognition as soon as possible?
[Roll Into Hokage System loading...]
[Taijutsu Training: You only need to work just a little harder than Rock Lee.]
[Ninjutsu Training: Clone Technique 1,000 times, Transformation Technique 1,000 times, Substitution Technique 1,000 times.]
[Chakra Training: Practice the Chakra Refinement Technique for no less than twelve hours every day.]
[Theoretical Knowledge Training: Immerse yourself in two hours each of mathematics, physics, chemistry, history, and other subjects.]
[If you fail to complete your training, you will undergo the system's Baptism of Lightning Release...]
Naruto Uzumaki: "...You want this baptism? Be my guest!"
System: "Naruto Uzumaki, if you don't work hard, what kind of Hokage will you be?!"
Chapter 1: Demon Fox? Simp? Dead-Last? Naruto Uzumaki Reporting for Duty!
"Naruto..."
At the Ninja Academy, in the classroom.
Naruto Uzumaki was fast asleep with his head on his desk when a soft, pleasant voice suddenly woke him. Still dazed, he lifted his head and saw the face of the girl he'd been dreaming about.
The morning sun shone warmly on the girl's lovely, delicate face. Her pink hair was lightly tied back with a clip, and her bangs fluttered gently, partly covering her rather broad forehead. Her bright green eyes were slightly narrowed as she gazed at him with a tender smile.
"Sa... Sakura-chan?!"
Naruto Uzumaki began to drool.
He couldn't tell if it was because he'd been sleeping or because he was looking at his goddess.
"Are you awake now?"
Sakura Haruno asked softly.
Naruto Uzumaki was overjoyed. Why was Sakura being so gentle with him today? Could it be...?
Had she finally noticed his charms and fallen for him?!
He immediately nodded like a bobblehead.
"I'm awake! I'm wide awake, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura Haruno giggled.
Then...
She suddenly punched him.
Thud—
With a loud crash, Naruto Uzumaki went flying, knocking over a whole row of desks and chairs before hitting the floor in a heap.
Everyone in the classroom looked over and burst into cheerful laughter.
"Ah—"
Still dazed from the blow, Naruto Uzumaki covered his swollen cheek and asked, hurt and confused,
"Sakura-chan, wh-why did you hit me?!"
Sakura Haruno put her hands on her hips and huffed. "I told you I was going over to Sasuke-kun!"
"But you were lying here like a dead pig, blocking my way, and you wouldn't wake up no matter how much I called you!"
"Don't you think you deserved that?!"
As she spoke, she stepped over the desks and chairs Naruto Uzumaki had knocked down and went over to Sasuke Uchiha. In an instant, her expression changed, brightening into a sunny smile.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"I brought you a special heart-shaped rice ball. Want to try it?"
"I made it myself!"
Sasuke Uchiha snorted and turned his face away to look out the window, showing no interest in acknowledging her.
Watching this, Naruto Uzumaki gritted his teeth, his fists clenching.
"Damn it!"
"That Sasuke just knows how to act cool and show off!"
"Why does Sakura have to like a guy like him?!"
He angrily got to his feet, brushed off his backside, and didn't blame Sakura for hitting him. Instead, he strode toward Sasuke Uchiha and rolled up his sleeves.
The girls in the classroom couldn't help shouting.
"Naruto! Don't go near Sasuke-kun!"
"You jerk, Naruto! What are you going to do to Sasuke-kun?!"
Naruto glared as he approached Sasuke, until their faces were inches apart.
Sasuke Uchiha shot him an irritated look.
"Dead-last, do you want to die?"
That nickname made Naruto fly into an even greater rage.
"What did you say, you jerk, Sasuke?!"
"If you've got the guts, fight me!"
But before he could do anything, Sakura Haruno had already lost her patience and punched him again.
Thud—
The punch landed squarely on Naruto's forehead, sending him flying once more.
"What are you doing, Naruto?!"
"Stay away from Sasuke-kun!"
Naruto Uzumaki fell to the ground again, rubbing his aching forehead as he gazed at Sakura Haruno with tearful eyes.
"Sakura, you... you..."
The students in the classroom burst into laughter again. They mocked Naruto on the floor, pointing and whispering, but no one came over—not to mention helping him up.
Naruto Uzumaki got angrily to his feet and once again felt that loneliness and pain.
But he seemed used to it.
Or maybe he'd forced himself to act like he was.
"Hmph, what's so great about that!"
"One day, I'll become Hokage, and every one of you will acknowledge me!"
If there was one thing he was good at, it was probably finding ways to console himself...
Otherwise, he might not have made it through a single day.
He really wasn't very smart, but he wasn't a fool, either.
He could sense the village's strange, cold attitude toward him.
It wasn't even dislike...
It was hatred.
But what had he done?
He couldn't figure it out.
Even though Sakura Haruno, the girl he liked most, treated him roughly, she was at least willing to pay attention to him and talk to him. For Naruto, who'd endured years of being ignored and met with cold stares, that was already a luxury—a kindness...
The others didn't even want to come near him.
By then, it wasn't just Sakura Haruno. Ino Yamanaka and the others had gathered around Sasuke, chatting and laughing as they desperately showed off their charms and affection, trying to get him to look their way.
The boys in the class had split into groups of three or five, laughing and horsing around.
Only Naruto Uzumaki was left by himself.
He lowered his head, a trace of dejection appearing in his eyes.
But he quickly pushed the pain aside again, put his hands behind his head, and strode through the noisy crowd. He kicked open the classroom door and walked out of the school.
The lively crowd seemed to belong to a world that had nothing to do with him.
Why did nobody care about him...?
Naruto Uzumaki clenched his fists and angrily kicked a small stone on the playground.
Thud—
The stone struck a wooden barrel in the distance. Some painting supplies were scattered nearby.
Naruto Uzumaki looked at the brushes and paint buckets, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He slapped his right hand against his left palm.
"Got it!"
"The Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to protect the village. He was a hero..."
"Heh heh, how about you try this!"
On Hokage Rock in Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki was enthusiastically wielding a paintbrush, splashing paint and color across the statues of the Hokage who had come before.
He added a pair of little mustaches to the Fourth Hokage, then stepped back to admire his work. He was quite pleased with it.
Just then...
A chill ran down Naruto's back. He sensed something terrifying behind him.
He slowly started to turn around.
"NARUTO UZUMAKI!"
A voice suddenly boomed out, startling him into jumping. Once he'd managed to steady himself and look back, he saw that it was Iruka-sensei.
"Iruka-sensei, you scared me to death!"
Umino Iruka snorted angrily. "It's class time! What are you doing here?!"
Naruto Uzumaki froze, then scratched his head and grinned.
"I'm creating art! What do you think, Iruka-sensei? It's got a real artistic touch, right?"
"Especially the graffiti on the Fourth Hokage. That's my masterpiece!"
Iruka flew into a rage. "Clean it off right now! Then come back to class with me, and behave yourself!"
Naruto Uzumaki: "...Okay."
He pouted in protest, but in the end, he obediently cleaned off the paint.
On the way back to the Ninja Academy,
Iruka couldn't help asking, "Naruto, why did you do something like that?"
Naruto Uzumaki grinned. "Because I can! Nobody else would dare to do something like this, right?"
"Only I, Naruto Uzumaki, have the guts!"
Iruka understood what Naruto was thinking, and he understood the loneliness and pain in his heart.
He sighed. "Naruto, I know you want other people's attention and recognition, but you won't get it by pulling pranks like this. Shouldn't you be working harder at your studies and training?"
Naruto Uzumaki hurriedly replied, "I'm already working hard, Iruka-sensei!"
"B-but... there's so much I just can't learn. I can't compare to that jerk Sasuke, and I'm worse than all the other students, too..."
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