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

Iruka knew his foul temper all too well.

"Both sides, perform the Seal of Confrontation."

Sakura wore a complex expression, her heart filled with trepidation. Gazing at the face that had permeated her entire life—and even her dreams—she felt at a loss.

At that moment, the words Iruka had spoken suddenly surfaced in her mind.

To like someone, one should strive to become better, so as to be more worthy of standing by their side.

Iruka...

He was right.

She had to give it her all!

Precisely because it was Sasuke, she needed to earn his recognition even more!

With this thought, she immediately formed the Seal of Confrontation and said in a low voice, "Sasuke, please go easy on me!"

Sasuke let out a cold snort, offering no reply.

Iruka gave the command.

"Sparring, begin!"

Sakura Haruno let out a loud shout and charged straight at Sasuke, throwing a punch with all her might!

However...

Bang—

Sasuke didn't even move from his spot. He merely tilted his body slightly to dodge the punch, then followed up with an elbow strike that landed squarely on Sakura's back, knocking her to the ground.

The battle had ended before it had even truly begun.

"Sakura..."

Ino couldn't help but cry out.

Even though Sakura had treated her that way, their years of friendship couldn't just be discarded so easily.

Naruto was also taken aback.

"Sakura..."

However, his focus at this moment was less on Sakura herself, and more on Sasuke's strength.

That strike just now, while seemingly effortless, had actually pushed insight, timing, technique, form, and power to their absolute limit.

As much as he hated to admit it...

That bastard Sasuke really lived up to the name!

Naruto clenched his fists.

Iruka frowned and stepped forward to help Sakura Haruno up.

"Are you alright, Sakura?"

Sakura Haruno's face was filled with shame and sorrow. She shook her head and stood back up, though she no longer dared to look at Sasuke's face.

"I-I'm fine..."

"Iruka, I lost..."

Iruka sighed.

"Sasuke wins."

"Perform the Seal of Reconciliation!"

But Sakura had already run off, and Sasuke, having no interest in performing any Seal of Reconciliation, snorted and walked off the field as well.

Iruka could only shake his head helplessly.

"The next person to draw is..."

"Shikamaru..."

"Shikamaru! Wake up!"

"...Huh?!"

In this round of ninja sparring, the biggest spotlight still belonged to Naruto.

His match against Hinata could be called a true breakthrough, making everyone look at this dead-last student with new eyes.

Even as he walked down the street, the gazes of the crowd had changed significantly.

Naruto was brimming with pride, strutting forward with his head held high like a proud rooster.

Suddenly.

"Naruto."

"Hm? Iruka!"

Naruto was overjoyed. "Hey, hey, Iruka, my performance today was pretty amazing, right?!"

Iruka couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, it was pretty good."

Naruto burst into laughter.

"However..."

"You can't get too arrogant. The road ahead is still long."

Naruto didn't take it to heart. "Ah, I know, Iruka!"

"School's already out, why are you still being so long-winded..."

"Hm? What did you say, Naruto?!"

"Ah... nothing, nothing..."

Iruka rubbed his head as a form of punishment.

"Oh, right, Naruto..."

"To celebrate your progress, how about I treat you to Ichiraku Ramen?"

Naruto froze for a moment, then immediately cheered with excitement.

"Really?"

"That's awesome!"

"Long live Iruka!"

"But..."

He didn't even need to hear the system's warning to understand.

"I have to go there by doing weighted frog jumps."

Iruka: "..."

Behind them, Ino and Hinata were watching the two figures walk away.

"Iruka is really biased toward Naruto..."

Ino crossed her arms and huffed.

"He's never treated me to any ramen!"

Hinata offered a gentle smile, but a hint of sadness soon appeared on her face.

"Because..."

"Naruto is all alone. Besides Iruka, there's no one else who can treat him to noodles..."

Ino's heart trembled, and she sighed, nodding in agreement.

"That's true."

"But Hinata, Naruto stole the spotlight today, and you ended up being his stepping stone instead..."

"But in reality, you're also very strong..."

"And, you're strong in a way that's beyond imagination; it makes people feel like you've been hiding your true power."

Hinata shook her head indifferently.

"I already did my best."

"Naruto is indeed stronger than me..."

"I'm already very happy with this outcome."

Ino patted her little head.

"Sigh, you really are a little fool."

At that moment, the two saw Sakura Haruno walking by in silence.

She lacked her usual arrogance and temper, looking as dejected as a defeated rooster, as if she had lost all her fighting spirit and strength.

"Sakura..."

Ino reached out to call her, but Sakura Haruno didn't respond.

"She was crushed by Sasuke in a single move; it seems like she took a huge hit..."

Hinata shook her head.

"I, I don't think Sakura is depressed just because she lost..."

"Sasuke is so strong; it's normal for anyone to lose to him..."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right..."

Ino rubbed her chin, looking puzzled.

"Then why do you think Sakura is so upset, Hinata?"

Hinata whispered, "Sakura might be depressed because Sasuke didn't even glance at her once from start to finish..."

A thought stirred in Ino's mind.

So that was it...

"But, to be fair, Sasuke doesn't really have anyone in his eyes to begin with..."

Hinata, however, revealed a complicated smile.

"Not quite..."

"Sasuke is inexplicably attentive to only one person..."

Ino suddenly realized: "You, you mean..."

"Naruto?!"

Ino understood what Hinata meant.

She sighed, "So, the only person Sasuke cares about is Naruto?"

"Then we really are failures, aren't we..."

Hinata let out a soft, secret giggle.

"Actually, the person Naruto cares about most is also Sasuke..."