Iruka: My Son Has Grown Up and Made Something of Himself...

"Are you kidding me? I was clearly the first one to step through the school gate!"

Rock Lee didn't seem to mind. He laughed and said, "We've got to give it our all again today!"

"Naruto!"

"Oh, you too, Lee!"

The two went their separate ways, paying no attention to the strange looks from the others as they headed to their respective classrooms.

[Host, while class hasn't started yet, continue practicing the Chakra Refinement Technique. Don't slack off for even a moment!]

Naruto had gradually gotten used to being worked to the bone.

"Okay, right away!"

He immediately dashed toward his seat.

He brushed past Sakura Haruno.

"Nar..."

Sakura had just started to say something when she realized Naruto was completely ignoring her. It was as if she didn't exist in his eyes.

Her raised hand froze in midair.

When she turned around, she saw that Naruto had already taken his seat. He immediately began practicing.

Although Sakura still didn't like Naruto, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

"Naruto..."

"What's gotten into him?"

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

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!"

He'd definitely be grinning from ear to ear, waving both hands wildly to greet her, then shamelessly rushing over...

Still, this was for the best.

Sakura shook her head. At least she wouldn't have that guy pestering her anymore.

After all, Sasuke was the only one in her heart.

Just then, she heard a chorus of girls cheering. She turned around instinctively and, sure enough, spotted the face she thought about day and night amid a crowd of admirers.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura's heart stirred. Her expression changed in an instant as she rushed over to pepper him with questions.

"He's as handsome as ever..."

"But why does he look so tired? Did you not sleep well last night?"

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Move!"

Sakura jumped in fright and hurriedly stepped back to clear the way.

"Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke strode coldly through the crowd, treating the girls' concern and flattery as if they were nothing but background noise.

He glanced at Naruto seemingly by chance. His expression shifted slightly, and his brow furrowed again.

"Damn it..."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, remembering what he'd seen yesterday...

"Dead last, you really think you can surpass me?"

"Dream on!"

He quickly took his seat too, his eyes full of resolve as he forced himself to start practicing.

The girls immediately began chattering among themselves.

Ino Yamanaka came over to Sakura's side.

"What's wrong with Sasuke-kun?"

"He says he doesn't care, but to me, it really seems like Naruto got under his skin..."

"He's always worked hard, but he's never been this impatient..."

Sakura looked at Sasuke practicing with worry and doubt, then glanced back at Naruto, who was working even harder.

For a moment, she had no idea what was happening to the world.

Deep down, she knew Ino was probably right.

Could it be...

Did Sasuke care about Naruto even more than he cared about her?

How could that be...

How could that annoying dead last possibly measure up to her, a pretty top student?

And yet...

Sakura's heart pounded, and a stifling, restless feeling welled up inside her.

Ino continued, "It's not just Sasuke-kun. Hinata, too..."

She was perceptive and sensitive, far more than her carefree exterior suggested.

Sakura looked over at Hinata and, sure enough, saw that she was watching Naruto too. She was working even harder, already practicing, as if following in Naruto's footsteps...

What was going on...?

Why had the whole world suddenly started revolving around Naruto?

It was absurd!

How could a mere dead last—someone who used to follow her around like a puppy, wagging his tail and begging for attention—suddenly...

A thought struck her.

Used to...?

Had that really become a thing of the past?

What kind of magic did Naruto have hidden inside him?

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

Chapter 20: Iruka: My Son Has Grown Up and Made Something of Himself...

"Hmm... He still looks so ordinary..."

"Compared to Sasuke-kun, he's miles behind in both looks and presence..."

This was the first time Sakura had taken a close, careful look at Naruto.

Then...

Why did Hinata and Sasuke-kun value him so much?

Hard work? Concentration?

But he'd only started showing those things in the past couple of days...

Before that, he'd seemed completely useless.

Sakura shook her head, doing her best to figure it out, but in the end she came up empty.

"Forget it. There's no reason to fret over Naruto."

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

Ino's thoughts were far more subtle than Sakura's.

She also had an insight that went beyond her years.

Though she didn't fully understand the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, she had a vague sense of what was going on.

It was a kind of unspoken understanding born of shared experience.

As the daughter of the Yamanaka Clan's head, she had some idea of what had happened to Sasuke.

The two of them were both orphans. Though they seemed to dislike each other, deep down, perhaps they found comfort in having someone else to rely on...

That was how Ino understood it.

As for Hinata...

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

Something must have happened between them.

But that was beyond Ino's ability to guess.

When it came down to it, Ino's liking Sasuke, Hinata's liking Naruto, Naruto's liking Sakura, and Sakura's liking Sasuke were essentially no different.

But ever since Naruto had suddenly become a different person, his attitude toward Sakura seemed to have changed in subtle ways too.

It had abruptly thrown the whole chain of affections into disarray.

And now that Hinata and Sasuke were both paying so much attention to Naruto, Sakura would probably have a hard time understanding and accepting it all at once...

Ino sighed and shook her head.

The hearts of young boys and girls were so complicated...

Naruto was still working at an absurdly intense pace throughout the day's classes.

But his classmates' teasing had eased considerably.

When Naruto first began to change, most people had thought it was just a passing phase and that he wouldn't stick with it for long. They'd even mocked his goal of placing in the top ten at the assessment a month later.

But now he was still just as persistent as ever, and the laughter gradually died down.

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

From Sasuke Uchiha to Hinata Hyuga, then Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, everyone seemed different from before.

Even Kiba Inuzuka couldn't help pushing himself to work harder when he saw Naruto's efforts.

Shino Aburame was doing the same, of course, but nobody noticed him.

Only Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi were still exactly the same.

As Naruto's only two friends back then, they were the least affected. One ate, the other slept, stubbornly sticking to their usual routines.

During class, Iruka-sensei asked Naruto another question.

This time, in a first...

Naruto actually got it completely right!

Not just Iruka-sensei—even the entire classroom let out disbelieving gasps.

Hinata's cheeks flushed. She lowered her head and brought her fingertips together, unable to keep the delighted smile from tugging at her lips.

"Naruto-kun... That's wonderful..."

Her little secret, the one she kept to herself, was...

She'd played a part in this, too.

That made Hinata feel even happier.

Sakura was stunned too.

"He really got it right..."

"Was that Naruto?"

She immediately turned to see how Sasuke was reacting.

Sure enough, he was gritting his teeth, his brow furrowed, looking extremely irritated.