Naruto rose to his feet. Looking at her small silhouette in the morning sunlight, he couldn't help calling out.
"Hinata..."
"Hm?"
Hinata stopped and turned back, looking at Naruto uneasily.
"W-what is it, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto gave her a bright, sunny smile.
"Thank you."
Hinata shivered slightly at his words, her face turning even redder. Not daring to say anything, she gave the faintest nod and immediately ran off.
Naruto wanted to say something else...
[Host, begin practicing the Chakra Refinement Technique immediately!] [Warning...] [Warning!]
Naruto: "..."
He shoved all the jumbled thoughts out of his mind. This thing was still the most important!
He immediately ran toward the classroom, ready to begin practicing.
Sasuke snorted. Although he'd called the whole thing boring, he'd watched the entire scene.
He left with his hands in his pockets, but Naruto's expression from just moments ago lingered in his mind...
That look, full of determination—even murderous intent...
In that instant, the thought that had crossed his own mind was...
To run away.
That was right, to run away...
How could a mere dead-last make me feel afraid?!
No, that was absolutely impossible...
But deep down, Sasuke knew those had been his true thoughts.
That man's voice constantly reminded him of the past. It even appeared in his most terrifying nightmares...
"Foolish little brother..."
"If you want to kill me and avenge our parents and clan, then hate me. Despise me!"
"Then..."
"Live an ugly life. Do your best to run away, and do your best to cling to life..."
That was the demonic voice of Itachi Uchiha, the butcher who had slaughtered the entire clan and murdered their parents!
Although he hated that man most of all, Sasuke had still been deeply influenced by his words, little by little. They had affected his mind, affected everything...
That was why, when faced with fear and despair, Sasuke had wanted to run away.
But... even so, what had that just now been?!
It wasn't some powerful enemy, nor was he in a desperate situation. It was only...
A mere Naruto!
"Damn it—"
Sasuke clenched his teeth, his fists tightening until his knuckles creaked.
He was still too weak. Not just in strength, but in his state of mind, too.
He had to find a way to force himself to grow stronger quickly!
Otherwise, even Naruto would surpass him—let alone his goal of killing Itachi Uchiha!
The crowd gradually dispersed.
Choji, still munching on potato chips, had watched the whole show.
"Shikamaru, what do you think?"
Shikamaru pursed his lips. "Women... really are the most troublesome and terrifying creatures..."
"My mom's like that, Ino's like that, Sakura's like that..."
"Even the most introverted and shy Hinata has a side that's just as terrifying..."
"That's why I'll never find myself a woman in this lifetime..."
He yawned as he headed toward the classroom.
Choji stuffed another mouthful of chips into his mouth, a hint of a grin spreading across his face.
"Don't be so sure, Shikamaru..."
When Iruka-sensei entered the classroom, he immediately sensed something unusual.
And...
"Hm?"
"Why aren't Sakura and Ino in class?"
Hinata lowered her head guiltily, unconsciously interlacing her fingers.
But the "culprit," Naruto Uzumaki, had his eyes wide as bells and was making the most of every moment to practice so diligently that he hadn't even heard Iruka-sensei.
A girl spoke timidly. "Iruka-sensei, Sakura and Ino... had a fight..."
Iruka-sensei furrowed his brow.
"Just because of that?"
"Honestly, I understand you're all at that age, but you can't all be so willful..."
"And it's not just Naruto—even Sakura's acting like this..."
A boy snickered. "Iruka-sensei, Sakura's acting like this because of Naruto..."
Iruka-sensei froze.
"What?"
Following everyone's gaze, he quickly spotted the people at the center of attention...
Hinata?
Naruto?
And Sakura and Ino...
C-could it be that three girls were fighting over Naruto in some kind of...
Battle of love?!
The confused Iruka-sensei looked completely baffled.
Naruto's popularity had certainly changed quite a bit, but was it really to this extent?
There was Hinata, for one thing.
He could tell the girl had always treated Naruto differently.
Iruka had always paid attention to Naruto. He knew perfectly well who treated him well and who didn't.
He glanced at Hinata, who hurriedly lowered her head in embarrassment.
But...
Hadn't Sakura and Ino always been chasing after Sasuke?
How strange...
Although Iruka-sensei was getting on in years, he was still very much a bachelor and had no clue how romance worked.
He shook his head.
"Ahem. Never mind. I'll talk to them when they get back."
"Let's begin class."
[It's time for class, Host. However, please maintain your Chakra Refinement Technique practice while entering the Knowledge Absorption state. Dual-task and listen carefully.]
Only then did Naruto react, realizing that Iruka-sensei had entered the classroom at some point.
What had just happened had left him a little confused, but since he'd been "absorbed" in practicing, he hadn't really thought much about it.
But...
Expecting him to refine chakra and listen to class at the same time was going too far!
Even carrying a load while walking on his hands to school and reciting lessons was at least a matter of dividing the work between his hands and brain without them interfering with each other...
But now he was supposed to listen to class while refining chakra?!
Was that even possible?!
Dual-tasking and listening carefully?
Did that even sound human?!
[Host, begin practicing immediately, or you will receive the Baptism of Lightning Release.] [Warning countdown: 5...]
"All right, all right, you win!"
Naruto cursed under his breath, but didn't dare disobey. He immediately gave it a try.
He was already practicing the Chakra Refinement Technique.
After practicing for so long, his Chakra Refinement Technique proficiency had reached 80 points!
It was definitely the technique he was best at right now.
"Hmm..."
"If I want to practice the Chakra Refinement Technique while listening to class, and enter the Knowledge Absorption state too, there's only one way..."
"I have to stop using my brain completely and let my body refine chakra on its own!"
Naruto was much clearer-headed when analyzing things now.
For the [Knowledge Absorption] trait to work, he had to give it his all—which meant using every brain cell.
So if he wanted to dual-task, he'd have to get his body to do the work by itself.
In other words...
It had to happen unconsciously.
Or, put another way, it had to become muscle memory.
Actually, that wasn't impossible. Whether it was sports or work, once you practiced something enough, you really could do it without thinking.
For example, anyone could walk and talk at the same time.
Thinking while talking wouldn't make them trip as they walked.
There was no secret to it—just practice.
A Jonin like Kakashi Hatake could take on a Genin team like Team 7 and beat them soundly while reading Icha Icha Paradise for the same reason.
Even so, Naruto could only test it one step at a time.
Fortunately, his Dual-Tasking proficiency had increased a little earlier, giving him at least some experience...
Before you continue