P.S. This new book's early days are very important, so please bookmark it and recommend it. I humbly ask you all.
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!"
As Iruka's words fell,
everyone in the classroom answered in unison, their young voices raised loud and clear. After all, it was only their first day at the Ninja Academy, and making a good impression on their instructor was probably pretty important.
"Mm, good. Next, why don't you all introduce yourselves? You'll be studying together for six years, and after graduation, you might even be assigned to the same squad to carry out missions. It's important to get to know each other."
Iruka smiled faintly, then pointed to the first child in the first row on the right and spoke gently.
"Why don't you start, Gakuto? Just tell us a little about your dream and the things you like..."
"Yes!"
"My name is Gakuto Iguchi. My dream is to become a great ninja. As for the things I like..."
It was a very personable way to begin.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say—
After all the changes over the years (or should that be transformations?),
Konoha's Ninja Academy was no longer what it had been when the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, first founded it. In fact, one could even say that if this same batch of students had been around when the Second Hokage had just established the academy, some of them might not even have been allowed through its gates. Of course, this wasn't about comparing which era was better; it was simply a matter of acknowledging the limitations of the times.
As the students introduced themselves one after another,
Naruto quietly observed the children who would be his companions in name for the next six years.
It should be said that most of the people here
would grow up to be nothing more than cannon-fodder Genin for Konoha. Only a handful would become Chunin (never underestimate a Chunin. They were already the backbone of a ninja village, and the fact that they could lead a squad proved their worth and standing.)
And Jonin were even rarer.
To put it as plainly as possible,
no world placed more importance on bloodlines than the Naruto world.
After all, this world was nothing more than a "drama" caused by conflicts within a family. There was no need to even mention everyone else.
Could a ninja born to commoners have the qualifications and potential to become a great ninja?
Yes!
It was certainly possible!
One couldn't deny the potential of all ninja from common backgrounds.
But they were ultimately in the minority.
The age of relying on one's ancestors
was no empty phrase in the Naruto world.
Put another way:
Were you a ninja born into a ninja clan?
It wasn't an absolute rule,
but it was certainly the norm. Most ninja from ninja clans could become Chunin or even rise higher. Compared to commoners, if all other conditions were equal, they needed only half as much time—or even less—to reach the same goal.
Besides, this wasn't a race between the tortoise and the hare.
The others weren't going to stop and wait for you.
People more talented than you, people with access to more resources than you—
Even if you didn't consider how much harder they worked,
even if they worked just as hard as you did,
what right or chance did you have to surpass them?
No!
You didn't even have what it took to keep pace!
That was the reality of the Naruto world.
Hard work certainly didn't lie. If you put in the effort, you would grow stronger. But that only applied to you personally. Comparing yourself to your past self was fine, but if you wanted to compare yourself to others—
Sorry.
The only thing waiting for you was the cruelest reality.
Naturally, looking at the classroom before him,
Naruto paid no attention at all to the classmates from common backgrounds who had barely appeared in the original story, if at all. His attention remained fixed on the few children from ninja clans.
The so-called Konoha Twelve from the original story
were naturally the first people Naruto paid attention to.
Even as children,
the Konoha Twelve were easy to recognize.
Especially the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
The lazy Shikamaru Nara.
The rather dim-witted-looking Choji Akimichi.
And Ino Yamanaka, who was already gazing dreamily in Sasuke Uchiha's direction at the age of six.
Naruto had no doubt that if not for the Ino-Shika-Cho tradition,
Ino would probably have glued herself to that cool little kid already.
Honestly,
in this classroom,
nearly eighty percent of the little girls—
Yes, little girls.
They were only six.
Calling them young ladies would be going too far.
And yet this group of precocious little girls
were all gazing at Sasuke with admiration.
Although this was the Naruto world,
Naruto still couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
These kids are way too precocious...
Aside from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio,
Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka were easy enough to recognize too.
There was no need to mention Hinata or Sasuke.
The latter, in particular.
When it was his turn to introduce himself,
he said just one simple sentence.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha."
That cool-looking, yet incredibly pretentious expression
set the entire classroom off.
The girls' shrieks were loud enough to pierce through the whole room.
But he's only got less than a year left to act cool, doesn't he?
Watching Sasuke's profile,
memories of the original story from his previous life flashed through Naruto's mind. His expression showed no change, but inwardly, he shook his head and thought to himself.
If he remembered correctly,
the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out in about a year.
By then,
Sasuke, who now looked so cool but was still just an ordinary little boy inside, would truly begin to sink into darkness.
The meaning of his life
would come down to just one thing—revenge!
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Naruto right now. Or rather, he had neither the ability nor the standing to interfere. There had been more to the clan's destruction? Of course. Even without memories of his previous life, a little logical thought would make it clear that there was much more behind it.
But what did any of it have to do with Naruto right now?
Getting through these six years safely
and improving his strength as much as possible were what mattered most.
As for the rest, he could think about it later.
Among all those familiar faces, the last of the Konoha Twelve to catch Naruto's eye was Sakura Haruno, the heroine from the original story whose reception had been sharply divided (judging by how much screen time she got, she really did count as the female lead).
He couldn't say he disliked her.
But he couldn't say he liked her either.
Because the Naruto of today wasn't the Naruto from the original story.
Whatever choices Sakura Haruno made or whatever opinions she held
had nothing to do with the Naruto of today.
As long as she didn't affect him,
he had even less reason to get involved.
When it was finally Naruto's turn to introduce himself,
just as he had expected,
the moment he stood up, more than eighty percent of the class looked at him with strange expressions.
Of course, these children didn't look at him with the same hatred and rejection as the adults did.
They had only been warned by their families,
so their gazes held a measure of curiosity and confusion.
Naruto naturally ignored them, smiled, gave his introduction properly, and then sat back down obediently.
He wouldn't make a point of keeping a low profile, but he wouldn't draw attention to himself either.
Following the usual pace,
he would spend the next six years at the Ninja Academy,
constantly growing stronger while waiting for the right opportunities.
That was Naruto's most important—and only—core plan for now!!