"Naruto, are you leaving too?"
Sakura Haruno asked.
She felt a little confused.
She had thought that after being assigned to the same team as Naruto,
he would be really happy.
But the truth was exactly the opposite of what she had imagined.
Naruto couldn't even be bothered to say a word to her.
It left Sakura Haruno, who had always considered herself a beauty, feeling awful.
To be precise, it wasn't that she felt awful.
She just couldn't get used to life without Naruto fawning over her.
Naruto didn't respond to her.
He walked straight away.
Sakura Haruno stood there awkwardly, stunned.
Had she just... been ignored?
Ignored by the boy who had once liked her so much, even though she hadn't liked him back.
Uchiha Sasuke had left too.
In the village...
"Naruto, you look great today! I made some popsicles at home. Want to try one?"
"Huh? Uncle Sada, you never used to treat Naruto like this. What changed?"
"Ah, didn't your son tell you? Oh, right, your son isn't a ninja."
"What on earth happened? Hurry up and tell us!"
"Well, it's like this. The truth is, what happened back then wasn't Naruto's fault. It was the Nine-Tails..."
The man's companion hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth.
He wouldn't let him continue.
The man glanced around nervously.
Only after seeing no suspicious people nearby did his companion relax. Still tense, he whispered angrily, "Do you have a death wish?!"
"Didn't the Third Hokage warn us never to bring this up in front of Naruto?"
The man spat several times, as if trying to get rid of every germ on his companion's unwashed fingers, which had just been picking at his teeth.
"Don't worry. The Third Hokage was there yesterday too. This is what happened at the scene. Listen, I'll tell you all about it..."
Half an hour later.
The crowd of onlookers, who had been unaware of the truth, finally understood.
People had hearts.
They had lost family members and friends in that disaster.
But...
They were still alive, weren't they?
What about Naruto?
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki.
What about Naruto's parents?
They had sacrificed their lives to stop the Nine-Tails from harming the village any further and save it.
Their only child had not only been denied the treatment due to the son of a hero,
but had also been shunned by the villagers.
Could any of them honestly say they had a clear conscience?
When Minato Namikaze had been in office, he had taken excellent care of the village and its people.
He had given his all, working tirelessly until his death.
The more they thought about it,
the more ashamed and troubled they felt.
"Looks like I'll have to change how I treat Naruto from now on."
"What does the Third Hokage think? Can the younger generation finally learn about the Fourth Hokage's heroic deeds?"
"My son teaches at the Ninja Academy. He told me the Third Hokage really does intend to make that happen. The urgent thing now is to choose a good day to announce it. The village's Will of Fire must be passed down!"
"Thank goodness this outcome hasn't disappointed us all! If the hero's son still got treated like that, I'd tell my son to quit being a ninja. It's a dangerous job with no reward, and after you die, your own village's people insult you. What kind of bullshit is that?!"
"..."
Naruto arrived at the biggest bookstore in the village.
He pushed open the door.
Naruto stepped inside.
"Welcome... Oh? It's little Naruto! What can I get for you? By the way, have you had lunch? If not, you can eat with me~"
The shopkeeper was a beautiful woman in her thirties, still in the prime of her life.
She greeted him warmly.
Naruto was a little confused.
Thinking back to how things used to be,
these people had always been afraid of him when they saw him.
They acted as if they were looking at the worst bad-luck charm imaginable,
and wished he would just die.
But... now that he looked again,
she didn't seem to feel that way at all.
The warmth and concern on the woman's face were genuine.
Naruto could tell.
"Hello, pretty big-sister shopkeeper. I'm here to buy a book for my teacher."
Naruto wore an innocent smile.
A child's smile was a powerful weapon.
Although he was thirteen now,
compared with all these adults who were much older than him,
he was still just a kid.
Everyone loved beauty.
That was especially true of women!
The shopkeeper's body trembled at being called "pretty big sister."
Her gaze toward Naruto grew warmer.
"Little Naruto, what book do you need? Tell me."
The shopkeeper smiled brightly.
Her beauty was one thing.
At first, she had called herself "Auntie."
Then Naruto had called her "Big Sister,"
which had brought her age and status down a notch.
Women liked being called "Big Sister," not "Auntie"!
"Auntie" made them sound so old!!
"Well, my teacher told me to buy ten copies of [Icha Icha Paradise]."
Naruto blinked innocently as he counted them off.
He might as well pin the blame on Kakashi.
When necessary, a teacher was there to be thrown under the bus.
Better a friend die than you.
Kakashi, forgive me.
The black-pot gets passed around, and this year it's your turn.
The shopkeeper heard him.
Thump.
Her pretty face turned red.
As the shopkeeper and the person in charge of ordering books,
she knew exactly what was in that book.
A good little kid like him!
He absolutely couldn't start learning bad things so young.
The shopkeeper put on a stern face and said,
"Little Naruto, tell me honestly. Is this book actually for you?"
"This book isn't suitable for students your age."
The corners of Naruto's mouth lifted slightly. He tilted his head, looking utterly puzzled.
"Big Sister, why isn't it suitable for us?"
"Can't anyone buy books?"
"Why can you buy it, but I can't?"
He fired off three questions in a row.
The shopkeeper's face turned even redder. She gritted her teeth and insisted,
"You just can't!!!"
"Besides, the book you mentioned sold out last week~"
What the heck???
Jiraiya's novels were that popular?
Naruto was a little stunned.
His soul came from the Blue Star.
He was extremely familiar with all kinds of modern entertainment.
It wasn't as if he couldn't express himself through writing, either.
He thought that if he wrote a book,
he could definitely write it better than Jiraiya!
The student would surpass the teacher.
Ahem, ahem...
He hadn't become Jiraiya's student yet.
They weren't master and student.
But in the anime, Jiraiya had treated him and looked after him
with nothing but kindness.
One word: great.
Naruto looked troubled, his voice filled with disappointment.
"I see... I guess Kakashi-sensei is going to be disappointed again. I've already been to several stores, but none of them had it."
"Whatever. I'll just go back and accept his punishment. He can kill me or cut me up, whatever he wants!"
It wasn't true that he had visited several stores.
Naruto had said it on purpose,
hoping to trick her into revealing
whether the bookstore had any copies left.
Naruto wasn't expecting much.
Just as he was about to leave,
a pleasant voice called out to him.
"Wait, little Naruto! So it's Kakashi Hatake who wants to buy it. You should've said so earlier~"
"Right, today's your graduation and team assignments. Time really does fly~"
"Being assigned to Kakashi Hatake's team is pretty lucky, little Naruto."
P.S. I saw how hard everyone was trying, so I went straight ahead and added a bonus chapter without a word.
We didn't reach the expected goal, but everyone supported me, so I'll work myself to the bone and get another chapter out.
All I ask is that you watch a little ad. It'll take less than a minute. Please, and I'll keep adding bonus chapters.
You're also welcome to leave a comment in the book. Bonus chapter's out! That's all for tonight.
Before you continue