What the hell??!
When had Naruto gotten so popular?
Iruka stared at Naruto in astonishment.
Was this what you'd expect from the Fourth Hokage's son?
Gold always shone through!
Iruka coughed awkwardly twice.
"These teams were arranged according to everyone's abilities."
"It was the higher-ups' decision. There's nothing I can do to change it, either."
Iruka immediately passed the blame to the ninjas above him.
He hadn't expected such a huge change himself.
He knew nothing.
He understood nothing.
If there was a problem, ask the higher-ups!
Iruka silently gave himself a thumbs-up for his quick thinking.
"Huh?? They can do that?!"
"I still wanted to team up with Naruto-kun."
"Me too."
"..."
Iruka said, "All right, everyone, stop arguing. I'm going to announce the team assignments now."
"Listen carefully so you don't end up on the wrong team..."
While Iruka read out the names,
Naruto scanned the girls in the class.
He quickly found the figure of one of his future wives... Hinata.
Sitting beside him, Sakura Haruno opened her mouth.
She wanted to say something.
But when she saw that Naruto didn't seem interested in talking to her,
she ultimately decided to keep quiet.
She was filled with curiosity about the Naruto of today.
She wondered what he was looking for.
Following Naruto's gaze,
she spotted Ino Yamanaka.
Then Naruto flashed a handsome smile.
To be precise,
he was smiling at Little Hinata, who was sitting behind Ino Yamanaka.
From Sakura Haruno's awkward angle,
it looked like Naruto was smiling at Ino Yamanaka.
Girls' intuition was often much sharper than boys'.
That was an undeniable fact.
Not long after Naruto's gaze landed on her,
Ino Yamanaka sensed it.
She instinctively glanced over at Naruto.
And saw him smiling at her.
Thump, thump...
Ino Yamanaka's heart fluttered.
She didn't know what to do with her hands.
Resting them on the desk felt wrong, but putting them under it was uncomfortable, too.
"Naruto... He... could he like me?"
"I remember he used to chase after that violent girl all the time. But has he finally realized how charming I am?"
"Mm... If he asks me out, should I play hard to get before saying yes~"
Bang—
Hinata had always been shy.
How could she handle Naruto, the boy she liked, staring so directly at her?
Her face turned red in an instant.
Wisps of white steam rose clearly from her little head.
Sakura Haruno felt as if something had pierced her heart.
It hurt terribly.
That boy who used to follow you everywhere,
begging you to be his girlfriend,
had suddenly started pursuing another girl.
The feeling of losing something
was a little sad.
"It's just my imagination... It's only my imagination..."
"Think about it... I... I don't even like Naruto that much anymore."
Sakura Haruno tried to reassure herself.
With Naruto's powerful perception, he could easily sense Sakura Haruno's movements beside him.
Sakura Haruno was pretty, too.
But compared with Tsunade,
she didn't even come close.
Her development had been steady as a rock in the early years,
but the ending she got later was utter trash.
Maybe Sarada was just too impressive.
Kids needed to get the right nutrition from an early age!
And Naruto wasn't desperate to have Sakura Haruno, either!
What a joke.
Did she think I'd keep being a simp for her?
Keep dreaming!
Honestly, if you had any self-awareness, you'd be the one simping for me.
The teams were assigned that morning.
Just as Naruto had expected,
Iruka had prepared the roster a long time ago.
The teams of three were the same as the ones in the story from his previous life.
Quite a few girls who hadn't been assigned to Naruto's team protested loudly, demanding that Iruka rearrange the teams!
Iruka looked helpless.
He kept passing the blame to his superiors,
saying he was just a wage earner
and everything was up to them.
He placated this year's students with a few perfunctory words,
then made a quick escape!
After all, the class he'd taught had graduated.
Other Jonin instructors would be taking over from here.
It had nothing to do with him anymore.
That afternoon... outdoors.
"I have to say, my first impression of you isn't great."
"Oh, right. You have a mission tomorrow."
"Meet at the stream on the southern side of the village."
"There's only one requirement: don't eat anything in the morning."
Kakashi, wearing a black face mask, said.
He wasn't interested in teaching Genin.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't insisted,
he could still be lounging wherever he pleased in the village,
reading Jiraiya's bestselling novels.
Damn it.
Reading novels was way more fun than teaching you brats.
That was what he thought, at least.
But in truth, he felt a little pressure, too.
One reason was Sasuke, the last surviving Uchiha.
Back when Kakashi had served in Anbu,
he'd had some dealings with Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha.
Speaking of the Uchiha,
his other eye had been given to him by his friend Obito, who'd been on the verge of death.
His ties to the Uchiha Clan
ran deep.
Then there was Naruto.
The son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Minato had once been his teacher.
For a moment,
Kakashi was filled with emotion.
Things had changed.
The wheel had turned.
When I was a kid, your dad taught me.
Now it's my turn to teach you.
"Could I ask why we're not allowed to eat anything, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura Haruno asked, raising her hand curiously.
Sasuke didn't say anything,
but a hint of curiosity could be seen in his eyes, too.
Naruto knew exactly what Kakashi was up to
and laughed to himself.
He was going to make them go hungry, then have them try to take the bells from him.
Kakashi was an elite Jonin, after all,
and Konoha's renowned Copy Ninja!
Making three rookie ninjas who'd just graduated try to take his bells
was a tall order.
It was clear Kakashi set a very high bar for his students.
But Naruto wasn't some rookie now.
Taking a bell would be a piece of cake!
"Don't ask. You'll understand tomorrow. All right, remember what I said."
"I have something to do, so I'll be off."
Kakashi waved a hand.
He'd heard Jiraiya had a new book out,
and it was selling like crazy in bookstores everywhere.
If he didn't hurry,
they might sell out again.
In an era with so few forms of entertainment,
finding something fun to do was hard!!!
Kakashi left.
There was no reason for Naruto to stay any longer.
Just as he was about to leave...
"Ding-dong..."
"Choice one: In an era with precious little entertainment, how could life go without a bit of fun?
Go to the bookstore and buy a copy of Make-Out Paradise, written by Jiraiya, then share it with ten friends."
"Reward: Ninjutsu: Chidori"
"Choice two: Take a casual stroll around the village."
"Reward: One Idler's Stone (just an ordinary stone engraved with the words 'idler')."
P.S. That's all for today's updates. If everyone could be a little more generous with the free ads, I'll add another chapter tonight!
The results are pretty good. Oh, and don't forget to hit the urge-to-update button~
If the urges break 600 before eight tonight, I'll add another chapter right away. I promise~
Before you continue