"Our team's instructor is so late. Did he get the time wrong? Could he end up not showing up at all today?"
Sakura Haruno, already nearing the limits of her patience, spoke with a hint of impatience, seemingly trying to use the topic to break the awkward silence. She had long since given up on the cheerful scene she'd imagined at first, where she would get attention from both Sasuke and Naruto. Now, she just wanted to have the bare minimum of communication with her two teammates. At least they could break this total lack of conversation, couldn't they?
We're teammates, aren't we?
We studied together for six years, didn't we?
Couldn't they stop being so cold?
Sakura desperately hoped Sasuke and Naruto would respond, if only to make the classroom feel less icy and oppressive.
She didn't think that was too much to ask, did she?
However, Sakura was destined to be disappointed.
Sasuke, sitting in the seat to her front left, didn't so much as move. His expression didn't change in the slightest, and he didn't even glance in Sakura's direction. With his hands clasped together beneath his chin, he continued to gaze coolly ahead, lost in his own thoughts.
Naruto might have been able to pique Sasuke's interest a little, because of his behavior at the Ninja Academy and the treatment he received in the village.
As for Sakura's existence?
Sorry!
From Sasuke's perspective,
she was nothing more than a buzzing, noisy fly.
Would you waste your energy on a fly?
The answer was obviously no.
And if the "fly" got too noisy, it might just get swatted to death.
Sasuke's cold, indifferent expression made Sakura's face stiffen even more.
Fortunately, Naruto showed a little reaction. He wasn't as cold as Sasuke, and at least he knew how to keep up appearances, just as he had at the Ninja Academy.
"Maybe something held him up. We don't have anything else to do, so let's wait a little longer."
Naruto gave a faint smile and spoke softly.
Of course, it was just a polite response, but it also gave Sakura a graceful way out.
At least things wouldn't become too awkward.
"Ahaha, you're right. We can wait a little longer, a little longer..."
An awkward but polite smile appeared on Sakura's face. She nodded stiffly in agreement, then bit her lower lip and turned away without saying another word. Her first attempt had ended in total failure. If Naruto hadn't responded a little, and both of them had simply let the silence drag on, Sakura would have wanted to dig a hole and crawl right into it. At least now, she hadn't completely lost face. Still, she would have to stay quiet from then on.
Sakura didn't have the courage to speak again.
It was probably better to keep up the image of a well-behaved girl.
That was how she looked on the outside.
Deep down,
Sakura's volatile nature had already flared up.
And the one she was directing it at
was naturally neither Sasuke nor Naruto.
The former was the person she liked, while the latter had at least helped her out of an awkward situation. More importantly, Naruto had left a good impression on her over the past six years, too.
At that moment, the person Sakura was grumbling about in her heart was the late Kakashi.
From Sakura's perspective,
if that damn instructor hadn't been late, she wouldn't have ended up in such an embarrassing situation.
"Tick, tick, tick..."
The clock in the classroom continued to swing steadily.
Time passed slowly.
Just as Naruto had predicted,
it really was three hours later.
"Creak..."
The classroom door was finally pushed open again.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it.
A tall, slender figure appeared in Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's line of sight.
He wore the standard Konoha Ninja uniform. His white hair was bright and smooth, and, most importantly, his familiar Forehead Protector was tilted to deliberately cover his left eye, concealing most of his face. Add to that his signature lazy expression.
The newcomer was none other than Hatake Kakashi, the elite Jonin of Konoha—the person Naruto knew best and had the most complicated feelings about from the original story of his previous life!
The moment they saw Kakashi,
the three in the classroom each showed a different expression.
Naruto looked calm and composed.
Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly as he watched Kakashi with a scrutinizing, doubtful gaze. That lazy look, as if he had no energy at all—
it was hard for Sasuke to trust him.
Of course, from Naruto's perspective, he could sense a hint of danger coming from Kakashi.
Especially that cold, sharp killing intent.
To Naruto, it was chilling.
Only a ninja who had experienced mountains of corpses and seas of blood could possess such an aura.
Of course, Kakashi had completely suppressed his killing intent. Naruto could sense a trace of it purely because of his life-or-death battle with Mizuki, and because Naruto had killed someone for the first time.
Sakura simply breathed a sigh of relief.
Because at last, she could escape the endless silence.
During those three hours,
Sakura had thought countless times about fleeing the classroom.
Fortunately, just as she was reaching the limits of her patience,
their instructor had finally arrived.
At last, this awkward, oppressive atmosphere could be broken.
For Sakura, that was the happiest thing that could happen right now.
Looking at the expressions of the three subordinates he was about to lead, Kakashi could guess how each of them felt almost at once. He swept his gaze over them as if casually, but lingered on Naruto for an extra half a second.
It was a brief pause, but Naruto still caught it.
It's probably because of my identity, right? Whether as the Hokage's orphan or the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki...
Naruto's expression didn't change as he thought to himself.
Only this time, Naruto had guessed Kakashi's thoughts wrong.
The reason Kakashi had lingered on Naruto for an extra half second was the battle between Naruto and Mizuki three days ago. Kakashi had thought he would have to step in, but he hadn't expected Naruto to turn the tables and kill Mizuki.
It wasn't just the result, but the process as well.
Kakashi had seen it all clearly: Naruto's inexperience in his first battle, the way he was overpowered, and even the slight trembling in his body at the beginning.
Even under those circumstances,
Naruto had managed to find the one opening that could turn defeat into victory.
Especially his decisive act of killing Mizuki at the end.
That was why Kakashi had paid extra attention to Naruto.