Friends

"I... lost."

Neji said dejectedly.

He had never imagined that, as the Hyuga clan's genius, he would lose to a child two years younger than himself.

Even if his opponent was from the Uchiha clan.

The indescribable sense of defeat left Neji unable to lift his spirits.

Sasuke paid no attention to the dejected Neji.

He needed this sense of defeat. Sasuke turned to Hinata and said, "Hinata, let's go handle our enrollment procedures together."

Suddenly, Sasuke sensed a gaze watching him from the shadows.

He looked over and spotted someone in a corner of the crowd.

A blond-haired boy wearing somewhat tattered clothes, his face filthy.

It was Naruto.

When Naruto saw Sasuke looking at him, he immediately lowered his head in inferiority.

He was a fox demon, a fox demon whom the people of the village had despised since childhood. Everyone in the village had told Naruto that a monster like him deserved to die.

It was only through the kindness of the villagers and the Third Hokage that Naruto had been taken in.

Naruto had no parents, and there was no Uzumaki surname in the village.

Naruto had no home either. He lived on a run-down old street.

Naruto had no money. The most delicious thing he had ever eaten was bread that had not expired.

Originally, Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raido, and the others had once served as the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato's guards, so they had taken good care of Minato's son.

But Danzo had warned them against such behavior.

"There is a fox demon inside Naruto. The villagers hate fox demons, so we must give them somewhere to vent their anger. That place is Naruto."

"But Lord Danzo, Naruto is the Fourth's child. The Fourth died protecting the village."

"Hmph, blame Kushina for failing to guard the Nine-Tails inside her. If they died because of the Nine-Tails, it was caused by their own mistake. They are not heroes; they merely carried out their duties!

"And don't tell Naruto about his identity. Otherwise, he will become dissatisfied with his current life."

After Danzo's warning, the guards who had once served the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato no longer dared to help Naruto openly.

While handling the enrollment procedures.

Itachi helped Sasuke and Hinata complete theirs.

All the children who had come were accompanied by their parents, but Naruto was alone.

The enrollment examiner said, "Name."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The examiner adjusted his glasses and asked in surprise, "You're the fox demon?"

Hearing the examiner's words, Naruto lowered his head guiltily.

Sasuke tugged on Itachi's sleeve. Itachi immediately understood and said, "I'll vouch for Naruto. If Naruto causes any losses at school, I'll compensate for them."

The examiner said, "According to the rules, you and Naruto are unrelated. You cannot act as his guarantor."

Itachi said coldly, "Have you forgotten Naruto's father's identity?"

The moment Itachi finished speaking, fine beads of sweat appeared on the examiner's forehead. He coughed and said, "Ahem, but since you're an Uchiha, we can make an exception."

Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata were assigned to the same first-year class at the Ninja Academy.

Sasuke swept his gaze around and saw many familiar faces.

Tenten, Sakura, Rock Lee, Inuzuka Kiba...

They were all children from Sasuke's generation.

After entering the classroom, Sasuke took a seat in the last row.

Hinata hesitated for a moment before sitting beside Sasuke.

Naruto also sat beside Sasuke.

Naruto asked softly, "Why did you help me?"

In the original story, Naruto and Sasuke were both protagonists, and Naruto was the relatively righteous one.

Naruto possessed potential second only to his own. Naturally, Sasuke wanted to build a good relationship with Naruto, because Naruto would be a future powerhouse.

Sasuke said, "Hello, I'm Uchiha Sasuke. From now on, we're friends..."

Naruto froze for a moment, only to feel a sting in his nose.

Ever since he was little, whenever strangers learned that he was a "fox demon," they would only throw vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at him.

This was the first time anyone had wanted to be friends with him!

Naruto's face was filthy, with dust covering the three whisker marks on his cheeks. He smiled and said, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! From now on, we're friends!"

Naruto was very happy and cherished this new friend deeply.

A ninja wearing a Konoha green flak jacket walked into the classroom.

"Hello, everyone. I am your teacher, Iruka, a Chunin of Konoha."

"Barring any accidents, I will be your teacher for the next three years."

"Until you become real ninja!"

"Before that, I'll tell you about the origins of the Ninja Academy."

"Our Konoha Ninja Academy was founded by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, with the goal of ensuring stable education and efficient cultivation of talent."

"The Ninja Academy system was eagerly imitated by other ninja villages, but Konoha's Ninja Academy was the first."

"These three years of study will cover theoretical knowledge, physical training, personal insights, Konoha history, and ninjutsu practice, until you graduate and become Genin."

"Then you may advance to Chunin, Jonin, and even Special Jonin. All of that is possible."

"..."

Iruka tirelessly explained the material, but listening to it made Sasuke somewhat sleepy.

As the child of a great clan, Sasuke had already learned the ninjutsu passed down by his clan and acquired knowledge of the ninja world before enrolling.

For Sasuke, joining the Ninja Academy was merely going through the motions and enjoying his youth.

If Sasuke wanted to, he could even surpass his brother, finish the three-year curriculum within half a year, and graduate early.

But Sasuke did not intend to do that.

He wanted to graduate normally, then be assigned to the same team as Hinata~

That evening, after school.

Itachi had arrived early to pick Sasuke up.

Naruto had no family.

Hinata looked around and saw no one had come to pick her up, which left her a little disappointed.

Sasuke said to Itachi, "Big Brother, go home first. Hinata, Naruto, and I are going to play for a while."

"Be careful."

Itachi left after saying that. As long as Sasuke did not encounter danger, he would not interfere with Sasuke's decisions.

Sasuke bought a box of three-color dango, a kind of sweet dessert.

There were three skewers in one box.

Sasuke handed one skewer each to Naruto and Hinata.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Is this for me? Then I won't hold back!"

Hinata wanted some too, but her father did not allow her to eat too many sweets.

Still, seeing Sasuke's expectant gaze, Hinata took a bite.

"Delicious!!"