Naruto, What's the point of being Hokage without you!

"Are you kidding me! My foot clearly stepped into the school gate first!"

Rock Lee didn't mind at all, laughing heartily, "Must keep up twelve percent of my spirit and work hard today too!"

"Naruto!"

"Oh, you too, Lee!"

The two parted ways, completely ignoring the strange looks from others as they headed toward their respective classrooms.

[Host, please take advantage of the time before class starts to continue practicing the Chakra Refinement Technique; do not slack off even a single bit!]

Naruto had already grown accustomed to being squeezed.

"Alright, right away!"

He immediately sprinted toward his seat.

His figure brushed past Sakura Haruno.

"Naru..."

Sakura Haruno had just wanted to say something, but she realized Naruto had completely ignored her; she didn't exist in his eyes at all.

Her raised hand froze in mid-air, stunned.

Turning her head back, she saw that Naruto had already sat down quickly and immediately began his training.

Although Sakura Haruno still didn't like Naruto, she couldn't help but feel a sense of loss in her heart.

"Naruto..."

"What on earth is wrong with that guy?"

If it were the old Naruto, what would he be doing right now...

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!"

He would definitely be grinning from ear to ear, waving his hands frantically to greet her, and then shamelessly rushing over...

However, this is fine too.

Sakura Haruno shook her head; it was just as well not to be pestered by that guy anymore.

Anyway, I only have Sasuke in my heart.

Speaking of which, she heard a chorus of cheers from the girls and, as if by reflex, turned to look back. Sure enough, amidst the crowd of admirers, she saw that face she had been longing for.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura Haruno's heart skipped a beat; her expression changed instantly as she rushed forward to ask him this and that.

"As expected, he's still so handsome..."

"But, why does he look so exhausted? Did he not sleep well last night?"

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Move!"

Sakura Haruno was startled and hurriedly stepped back to clear the way.

"Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke walked coldly through the crowd, treating the concern and flattery of these girls as nothing more than wind passing by his ears.

He glanced at Naruto seemingly by accident, his expression shifted slightly, and his brows furrowed once more.

"Damn it..."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, thinking of the scene he had witnessed yesterday...

"Loser, do you really want to surpass me?"

"Don't even dream about it!"

He also quickly sat down, his eyes filled with determination, and immediately forced himself into a state of training.

The girls began to chatter and discuss the situation.

Ino Yamanaka also sidled up to Sakura Haruno's side.

"What's wrong with Sasuke-kun?"

"Although he says he doesn't care, it seems to me that he really was provoked by that guy Naruto..."

"The old him, while also very hardworking, didn't seem this impatient..."

Sakura Haruno was doubtful and worried, looking at the hard-training Sasuke, then turning back to glance at the even harder-training Naruto.

For a moment, she didn't know what had happened to this world.

She also knew deep down that what Ino said was likely the truth.

Could it be...

Does Sasuke care about Naruto even more than he cares about me?

How could that be...

How could that annoying dead-last possibly compare to her, a beautiful top student?

However...

Sakura Haruno's heart hammered against her ribs, a stifling, restless emotion rising within her.

Ino Yamanaka continued, "It's not just Sasuke, there's also Hinata..."

She was delicate and sensitive, far more so than her boisterous exterior suggested.

Sakura Haruno looked toward Hinata and, sure enough, found her watching Naruto as well. Just like him, she was working twice as hard, already deep into her training, as if she were following in Naruto's footsteps...

What is going on...

Why has this world suddenly started revolving around Naruto?

This is just too ridiculous!

A mere dead-last, and a guy who used to be like a lapdog wagging his tail and begging for her attention—how could he suddenly...

Her heart skipped a beat.

Used to be...

So that's already in the past?

What kind of magic is that guy Naruto hiding?

For the first time, Sakura Haruno couldn't help but truly focus her attention on Naruto...

"Hmm... he still looks just as plain as ever..."

"Compared to Sasuke, he's far behind in both looks and temperament..."

This was the first time Sakura Haruno had carefully observed and sized up Naruto.

Then...

Why do Hinata and Sasuke value him so much?

Hard work? Focus?

But those are things that have only happened in the last two days...

Before that, he seemed completely useless.

Sakura Haruno shook her head, trying her absolute best to figure it out, but ultimately failing.

"Forget it, there's no need for me to worry about someone like Naruto."

Even so, Naruto's transformation felt like a thorn stuck in Sakura's heart.

Ino Yamanaka's mind was far more delicate than Sakura Haruno's.

Likewise, she possessed an insight that surpassed her years.

Although she didn't fully understand the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, she had a vague inkling.

It was a tacit understanding born of shared experience.

As the daughter of the head of the Yamanaka Clan, she naturally knew something of what had happened to Sasuke.

Both were orphans; though they appeared to dislike each other on the surface, deep down, there was a sense of two people huddling together for warmth...

That was Ino Yamanaka's interpretation.

As for Hinata...

She seemed to have been watching Naruto for a very long time.

Something must have happened between them.

But that was beyond what Ino could guess.

When it came down to it, her own affection for Sasuke, Hinata's affection for Naruto, Naruto's affection for Sakura, and Sakura's affection for Sasuke were essentially no different from one another.

It was just that as Naruto suddenly became a different person, his attitude toward Sakura seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

It abruptly caused this chain to fall apart.

Especially with Hinata and Sasuke both paying such close attention to Naruto now, Sakura likely couldn't understand or accept any of this for the time being...

Ino Yamanaka sighed and shook her head.

The hearts of boys and girls are truly complicated...

During the day's lessons, Naruto remained ridiculously driven.

However, the mockery from his classmates had diminished significantly.

When Naruto first started to change, the vast majority of people thought it was just a passing phase that wouldn't last, and they even mocked him relentlessly for his small goal of reaching the top ten in the exam a month later.

But now that he remained as steadfast as ever, those jeers slowly died down.

Even those who didn't care about Naruto at all could feel that because of his transformation, the atmosphere in the entire classroom was changing.

From Sasuke Uchiha to Hinata, and then to Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, it seemed as though everyone had changed from how they used to be.

Even Kiba Inuzuka, upon seeing Naruto's efforts, couldn't help but force himself to buckle down.

Of course, Shino Aburame was the same, though no one noticed him.

Only Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi remained their usual selves.

As the only two companions Naruto once had, these two were the least affected; one ate and the other slept, stubbornly maintaining their established personas.

During class, Iruka asked Naruto another question.

This time, for the first time ever...

Naruto actually answered it perfectly!

It wasn't just Iruka; the entire classroom erupted in gasps of disbelief.

Hinata's face flushed red, and as she lowered her head with her fingertips pressed together, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up in joy.

Naruto-kun... that's wonderful...

Her little, secret, sweet realization was...

That she had played a part in this.

This made Hinata feel even more blissful.

Sakura Haruno was also stunned.

He actually got it right...

Is that really Naruto?

She immediately turned her head by instinct to observe Sasuke's reaction.

Sure enough, she saw him gritting his teeth with his brows tightly locked, looking incredibly agitated.