Naruto, What Hokage Without You!

"Protecting his eyesight?"

It must be said, as expected of someone from the Yamanaka Clan, Ino's insight was nothing short of terrifying.

She quickly discovered every move Naruto made, even analyzing the timing and rhythm of his pauses with absolute clarity and thoroughness.

And what's more...

"Hmm..."

"I have to admit, when this guy Naruto is being meticulous and listening with such undivided attention..."

"He's actually somewhat handsome..."

"I never noticed that before..."

But as she recalled the past, she immediately understood why.

Because the old Naruto never had a serious bone in his body.

He was either skipping class to pull pranks, or making wild faces and laughing boisterously...

There was never a time he looked this earnest.

"Focused, hardworking, and even a little bit handsome..."

"It seems that Hinata liking Naruto isn't so hard to understand after all..."

Ino nodded to herself, continuing to observe Naruto closely.

On the other side.

Sakura Haruno, having suffered consecutive critical hits, forced herself to calm down, yet she couldn't help but be distracted and absent-minded.

After being treated so roughly by Sasuke, even though she claimed she wouldn't give up, how could she not feel dejected and sorrowful in her heart...

Every now and then, her gaze couldn't help but drift toward a familiar direction.

Why was that handsome face always so cold...

Why couldn't he offer her even a sliver of warmth and light, allowing her to see a glimmer of hope...

She sighed softly and subconsciously glanced at Ino.

Although she had made up her mind to break ties with her, Sakura was, after all, not a creature without feelings.

However, this one glance made Sakura's face turn deathly pale in an instant.

"In, Ino..."

"Why is she staring at Naruto the whole time?!"

"Could it be that she..."

"Has had a change of heart?!"

Unlocked new trait ability! [Distraction-Dual-Use]! Seeking monthly votes!!!

The shock in Sakura's heart was no less than if Sasuke had suddenly confessed his love to her...

She knew Ino too well.

Of course, she knew that Ino, just like her, harbored affection and love for Sasuke...

They had even fought tooth and nail, becoming bitter rivals despite being former best friends.

How could someone like her suddenly forget Sasuke and turn her attention to Naruto?!

More importantly...

Why was everyone turning toward Naruto?!

Hinata was like this, Sasuke was like this, and now even Ino...

Did this world really revolve around Naruto?!

What kind of bizarre world was this!

She furrowed her brows, forcing herself to steady her nerves.

"Calm down, calm down..."

"That girl Ino is always gossiping; maybe she's just observing Naruto..."

"Come to think of it, I wonder what happened between Naruto and Hinata..."

"And between Naruto and Sasuke..."

"If that's the case, it wouldn't be hard to understand, but if that were true, Ino shouldn't just be observing Naruto; her eyes should be shifting back and forth between Hinata and Sasuke..."

"But they aren't!"

"She is staring exclusively at Naruto!"

The voice inside Sakura's heart suddenly erupted.

This was also one of her hidden attributes; occasionally, her angel and devil dual personalities would take turns appearing.

"What is going on, Ino!"

"Even if you've betrayed me, have your aesthetic standards dropped this low too?"

"That jerk Naruto, what could possibly be worth looking at..."

She followed Ino's gaze, landing right on Naruto's focused, earnest profile...

For a moment, Sakura Haruno couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

"Naruto, he..."

"Turns out he isn't actually ugly, is he?"

"And if you look closely, he's even a little..."

"Handsome?"

She suddenly realized she was staring at Naruto too, and immediately shook her head frantically like a rattle-drum.

"What am I doing!"

"My heart belongs only to Sasuke, I would never allow anyone else to occupy it!"

"I could even cast aside my friendship with Ino, let alone that jerk Naruto..."

She immediately turned her head to glance at Sasuke, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Mm, as expected, Sasuke-kun is still much more handsome..."

"But, could that girl Ino really..."

Sakura still found it hard to let go.

She looked at Ino, who was still staring fixedly at Naruto, even sketching and scribbling on her paper, though it was unclear what she was doing...

"Could it be... is she drawing a portrait of Naruto?!"

"Not only has she changed her affections, but she's even resorting to such infatuated behavior?!"

"Damn you, Ino! Not only have you betrayed our friendship, but you've even betrayed your love for Sasuke?!"

She couldn't help but take another look at Naruto.

"Naruto, what on earth are you up to lately? I will definitely get to the bottom of this!"

At this thought, she couldn't help but feel the urge to observe Naruto closely...

"Fine, let me be the one to crack this mystery!"

Sakura Haruno couldn't help but start staring at Naruto as well.

Iruka frowned deeply.

He felt gratified by Naruto's change.

However, the ripples that followed left him feeling quite puzzled.

Originally, only Hinata was looking at Naruto.

But now, why were Sasuke, Ino, and even Sakura all starting to stare at Naruto from time to time?!

These intricate interpersonal relationships and the crisscrossing lines of sight were practically turning into a spiderweb...

"Ahem..."

"Ino, Sakura, pay attention to the lecture and stop looking around!"

Iruka couldn't help but raise his voice to remind them.

Ino stuck out her tongue guiltily, her face flushing red as if her prank had been exposed.

"Ah... yes, Iruka-sensei."

Sakura also pursed her lips: "Yes."

Inside, however, she was shocked beyond measure.

"That girl Ino actually blushed?!"

"Could it be..."

"I really guessed it right?!"

Naruto, utilizing Dual-Tasking, naturally couldn't perceive all these messy affairs.

Immersed in both study and training, he was completely single-minded.

Of course, having already achieved Dual-Tasking, he couldn't be distracted even if he wanted to.

This feeling was one of painful pleasure.

Although he enjoyed it, the energy it consumed was terrifying.

Especially since one class followed another, with absolutely no break time in between.

For Naruto, this kind of training was even more grueling than the taijutsu training he did with Rock Lee.

But he still persisted.

For an entire day, he practiced Dual-Tasking from start to finish without a moment of slack.

Finally, school was over.

Naruto was pleasantly surprised to hear a long-awaited notification sound.

[Host's Dual-Tasking proficiency has increased to 70 points, unlocking a new trait ability... Distraction-Dual-Use! When performing two tasks simultaneously, you can increase the efficiency of both, or treat one as a subconscious action, minimizing mental load to achieve the effect of Distraction-Dual-Use.]

"A new trait ability has been unlocked!"

"[Distraction-Dual-Use]!"

"Great, with this, I've taken a huge step closer to my final goal!"

Naruto was overjoyed and didn't even budge when he heard the dismissal bell.

He actually stayed in his seat and continued his training.

He wanted to test the effect of the new trait.

"Chakra Refinement Technique!"

"At the same time..."

"Study academic subjects!"

Naruto first tried his usual state.

Although he could do it, they interfered with and distracted each other, making it impossible to achieve perfection.

And so...

"Activate trait ability..."