"Protecting his eyesight?"
She really was from the Yamanaka Clan. Ino's powers of observation were downright terrifying.
She quickly noticed Naruto's every move. She even analyzed his pauses and their pattern with crystal clarity and remarkable thoroughness.
And...
"Hmm..."
"I have to admit, when Naruto actually listens to the lesson with such complete focus..."
"He's kind of handsome..."
"I never noticed that before..."
But after thinking about it for a moment, she knew why.
The old Naruto had never been serious.
He was either skipping class to play pranks or making ridiculous faces and laughing obnoxiously...
He'd never been this focused.
"Focused, hardworking, and even a little handsome..."
"I guess I can understand why Hinata likes Naruto..."
Ino nodded to herself and continued watching Naruto closely.
Meanwhile.
Although Sakura Haruno forced herself to calm down after taking one emotional blow after another, she still couldn't help getting distracted.
Sasuke had treated her so harshly. Even if she said she wouldn't give up, how could she not feel discouraged and sad?
Every now and then, her gaze couldn't help drifting in a familiar direction.
Why was that handsome face always so cold?
Why couldn't he give her even the slightest warmth or hope, just enough to let her see a glimmer of possibility?
She sighed softly, then glanced at Ino without thinking.
Although Sakura had resolved to end their friendship, she wasn't completely heartless.
But the moment she looked over, Sakura's face turned deathly pale.
"I-Ino..."
"Why is she staring at Naruto?!"
"Could it be that she..."
"Has fallen for someone else?!"
Sakura was as shocked as she would have been if Sasuke had suddenly confessed his feelings to her...
She knew Ino too well.
Of course she knew that, just like her, Ino liked Sasuke and had feelings for him...
They had even turned against each other and fought bitterly because of him.
How could someone like that suddenly forget Sasuke and turn to Naruto?!
More importantly...
Why was everyone turning to Naruto?!
Hinata had, Sasuke had, and now even Ino...
Was this world really built around Naruto?!
What kind of bizarre world was this?!
She furrowed her brow and forced herself to calm down.
"Calm down, calm down..."
"Ino's always been a gossip. Maybe she's just observing Naruto..."
"Come to think of it, I wonder what happened between Naruto and Hinata..."
"And between Naruto and Sasuke-kun..."
"If that's the case, it wouldn't be hard to understand. But if so, Ino wouldn't be watching only Naruto. Her gaze should be moving between Hinata and Sasuke, too..."
"Not at all!"
"She's staring at Naruto and only Naruto!"
Sakura's inner voice suddenly erupted.
This was one of her hidden traits, too. From time to time, an angel and a devil took turns appearing in her mind.
"What's going on, Ino?!"
"Even if you betrayed me, did your taste have to get worse, too?"
"What's so great about a jerk like Naruto..."
Following Ino's gaze, she looked over and caught sight of Naruto's focused, serious profile...
For a moment, Sakura couldn't help staring.
"Naruto..."
"So he's not ugly after all?"
"And when you look closely, he's even a little..."
"Handsome?"
Suddenly realizing she was staring at Naruto, she immediately shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum.
"What am I doing?!"
"My heart belongs to Sasuke, and I won't let anyone else take his place!"
"If I can give up my friendship with Ino, then there's no way I'd care about that jerk Naruto..."
She immediately glanced back at Sasuke and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mm, Sasuke-kun really is much more handsome..."
"But could Ino really be..."
Sakura still couldn't let it go.
She watched Ino, who was still staring intently at Naruto and even scribbling on a piece of paper. Who knew what she was doing...
"Could she be... drawing Naruto's portrait?!"
"Not only has she fallen for someone else, she's even acting like a lovesick fool?!"
"Damn you, Ino! You betrayed our friendship, and now you're betraying your love for Sasuke, too?!"
She couldn't help glancing at Naruto again.
"Naruto, what exactly have you been up to lately? I'll get to the bottom of it!"
As she said this, she couldn't help wanting to observe Naruto more closely...
"Fine. I'll solve this mystery!"
Sakura Haruno also found herself staring at Naruto.
Iruka-sensei furrowed his brow.
Naruto's changes filled him with relief.
But the ripples that followed left him deeply puzzled.
At first, Hinata had been the only one looking at Naruto.
But now Sasuke, Ino, and even Sakura had started glancing at Naruto from time to time!
These complicated relationships and crisscrossing lines of sight were practically turning into a spiderweb...
"Ahem..."
"Ino, Sakura, pay attention to the lesson. Stop looking around!"
Iruka-sensei couldn't help raising his voice to remind them.
Ino stuck out her tongue guiltily, as if she'd been caught playing a prank, and couldn't help blushing.
"Ah... yes, Iruka-sensei."
Sakura also pouted. "Yes."
But inside, she was shocked.
"Ino actually blushed?!"
"Could it be..."
"Was I really right?!"
Naruto, who was using Dual-Tasking, naturally couldn't sense all this chaos.
Immersed in his studies and training, he was completely focused.
Of course, now that he was already doing two things at once, there was no room for distractions anyway.
The feeling was both painful and exhilarating.
Although he enjoyed it, it took an enormous amount of energy.
Especially since one class followed another, and he didn't get a moment's rest even during the breaks.
For Naruto, this training was even more grueling than practicing Taijutsu with Rock Lee.
But he stuck with it.
For the entire day, he kept using Dual-Tasking from start to finish without slacking off.
At last, it was time to go home.
Naruto was delighted to hear a notification he hadn't heard in a long time.
[The host's Dual-Tasking proficiency has increased to 70 points. New ability unlocked... Multi-Tasking! When doing two things at once, you can improve the efficiency of both simultaneously, or treat one as an unconscious action to minimize the mental load and achieve multi-tasking.]
"A new ability has been unlocked!"
"[Multi-Tasking]!"
"Great! That brings me one huge step closer to my ultimate goal!"
Naruto was overjoyed. Even when he heard the dismissal bell, he didn't move.
Instead, he continued training at his desk.
He wanted to test out the new ability.
"Chakra Refinement Technique!"
"At the same time..."
"Study the academic subjects!"
Naruto first tried doing both things the usual way.
He could manage it, but they interfered with and distracted from each other, so it still wasn't perfect.
So...
"Activate ability..."
Before you continue