Naruto, what would you be if not Hokage!

Naruto curled his lip, rotating his arm in an attempt to bring it back to life.

At this moment.

Surrounded by a crowd like stars around the moon, Sasuke Uchiha walked past coldly with his hands in his pockets and his eyes closed.

"Hmph, dead last. Do you really think you can turn things around with such pathetic effort?"

Naruto froze for a moment, then flew into a rage.

"You bastard, Sasuke! What did you say?!"

Sasuke Uchiha let out a soft huff and walked away without looking back.

"Damn it! That cursed Sasuke! If my right arm wasn't busted right now, I'd challenge you to a duel for sure!"

"Sss-ha..."

Just as he was fuming, a sound like an earthquake suddenly erupted from behind him.

Naruto turned around to see Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka running toward him, shoulder to shoulder and elbow to elbow, squeezed together like conjoined twins, neither willing to give an inch.

"Sakura-chan..."

Seeing Sakura, Naruto's eyes lit up instantly, as if all his exhaustion and pain had vanished.

However...

"Move aside, Naruto!"

Sakura Haruno shoved Naruto to the ground, then continued to wrestle with Ino Yamanaka as they chased after Sasuke.

Naruto stood back up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and snorted at Sasuke's retreating back.

"Everyone only ever cares about Sasuke."

"Once I become Hokage, I'll definitely make all of you look at me with new eyes. Hmph, just you wait!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."

Naruto rubbed his shoulder and arm as he walked toward the ninja academy classroom.

It wasn't class time yet, and small groups of students were laughing and playing in the classroom.

[Host detected...]

"Alright, alright! I know!"

"It's just Chakra Refinement, right?"

"I'll start training right now!"

[...]

Naruto had gradually figured out the system's routine; this time, without waiting for it to say more, he took the initiative to answer and quickly entered a state of training.

Since no one was paying attention to him anyway, he might as well use this opportunity to improve.

Chakra Refinement was the ability Naruto was currently most proficient in.

With Kurama no longer causing trouble, Naruto's efficiency in refining chakra was getting higher and higher.

His chakra reserves were already far beyond those of his peers, and now, they were rising even further.

Even...

The current Naruto could allow his mind to wander while practicing Chakra Refinement.

This was the result of training until it was ingrained in his bones, allowing him to perform it subconsciously.

"A month's time to reach the top ten in the class..."

"How is that even possible!"

Naruto was deeply distressed; even with the system's help, this was simply impossible to achieve...

He had a very profound understanding of his current level.

This was what they called self-awareness.

"Ah, right!"

"I can ask someone to help me tutor!"

"Aha, I forgot about that trick..."

"But, who should I ask?"

The first person to pop into his mind was, of course, Sakura Haruno.

Although Sasuke was undoubtedly the best in the class, that was based on overall assessment; when it came to academics alone, Sakura Haruno was number one.

Not to mention...

A lecherous grin couldn't help but creep onto the corner of Naruto's mouth...

He liked Sakura the most anyway...

It was like killing two birds with one stone!

Before class started, Naruto practiced his chakra refinement technique for a long time.

Naruto stopped cautiously, and seeing that he hadn't received any warnings from the system, he breathed a sigh of relief and happily went to find Sakura Haruno.

"Ano sa, ano sa..."

"Sakura, could I ask a favor of you?"

Naruto pressed his palms together in a plea.

Sakura Haruno had just been treated coldly by Sasuke, so she snapped, "What is it?!"

Naruto grinned and said, "It's just, um..."

"Could you help me with some tutoring?"

As soon as Naruto spoke, not to mention Sakura Haruno, everyone around them looked over in utter astonishment.

The classroom fell into an instant silence.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto scratched his head.

Sakura Haruno was also stunned, but she immediately concluded that Naruto was just using this as an excuse to get close to her.

She said impatiently, "Naruto, stop playing games with me!"

"I will never like you!"

With that, she turned on her heel and strode away.

Naruto stood frozen in place.

A cold wind blew past.

A sheet of white paper fluttered off a desk and landed on the floor.

His plan had been so perfect, yet it had hit a tiny little snag.

That snag was that Sakura Haruno wasn't willing.

Desperate, Naruto hung his head like a defeated rooster and walked back, completely dejected.

Just then.

"Na... Naruto-kun..."

This voice, as faint as a mosquito's hum, was...

"Hm? What is it, Hinata?"

The short-haired girl with white eyes didn't dare look up at Naruto; she kept her head down, blushing, her index fingers pressed together as she tried to say something but couldn't get a word out.

"Strange person..."

Naruto pursed his lips and turned to leave.

Hinata finally mustered up her courage: "Th-that..."

"Naruto-kun, i-if you really want tutoring..."

"I... I can help you..."

Naruto's footsteps came to an abrupt halt. His eyes lit up, he spun around, and he broke into a wide grin.

"Re-really, Hinata?!"

Hinata hurriedly lowered her head again, blushing so hard she couldn't look at Naruto's face; she just gave a shy, gentle nod.

"That's great!"

Naruto knew that although Hinata's grades weren't quite as good as Sakura Haruno's, they were still among the best in the class.

With her tutoring him, his hopes of avoiding the system's "little punishment" were huge!

"Thank you, Hinata!"

Naruto couldn't help but step forward in excitement and grab Hinata's small hands.

"Ah—"

Hinata let out a startled cry, her face turning bright red as if she had a fever, and steam even began to rise from her little head...

"Hm? What's wrong, Hinata?"

"Hinata?!"

Young Naruto would never know that although he failed every subject, he always scored a perfect grade in one area.

That was Hinata's love for him.

No matter the world, even if the heavens and earth were turned upside down and the characters were completely reversed...

This one thing would never change.

Suddenly having her small hand grasped by Naruto, such intimate contact was more than Hinata's little heart could bear.

Her face flushed crimson, her head felt feverish, and she nearly fainted on the spot.

Fortunately, Naruto's call brought her back to her senses.

But seeing Naruto's face so close, Hinata's face turned red again, and her heart began to race like a trapped deer.

"Na, Naruto-kun, let go of my hand..."

Only then did Naruto look down and realize he had been gripping Hinata's hand tightly the whole time.

"Ahaha, I was too excited, I didn't notice..."

"Hinata, what's wrong?"

Hinata looked at her hands, feeling a moment of relief, yet an inexplicable sense of loss welled up in her heart.

She lowered her head, blushing: "No, it's nothing..."

"Naruto-kun, tomorrow is the weekend, we can pick a time and place for the tutoring..."

Naruto thought for a moment.

"Hmm..."

"Let's do the tutoring in the morning, as for the location..."

"How about your place?"

Hinata shook her head: "I'm afraid that won't work..."

Naruto said: "That's true, after all, you're the one helping me study..."

"Then come to my place!"

Hinata's little heart began to pound wildly.