Self-Introductions

After lunch, everyone's bonds had grown even deeper.

At the children's table, after finishing the barbecue, everyone had become even closer.

Aside from Naruto and Choji, everyone else's appetites were at most normal.

By the end, the others were basically responsible for grilling meat for Naruto and Choji.

"Ding! System mission issued: Defeat Choji Akimichi in an eating contest!"

The system mission appeared at that moment, and Naruto understood that he had to win this match.

Ino and Sakura kept placing grilled meat into Naruto's bowl, and Naruto accepted everything without hesitation, clearing every last piece of meat in his bowl!

Over on Choji's side, even on his own, he ate incredibly quickly—putting meat on the grill, flipping it, picking it up, dipping it in seasoning, then swallowing it.

The whole sequence flowed smoothly!

But in the end, Naruto still came out ahead thanks to his powerful bloodline.

The fusion of several different bloodlines had greatly increased Naruto's body's need for food.

His body needed food to grow, food to replenish its energy, and extracting chakra consumed physical energy.

As a result, Naruto's appetite was far beyond that of ordinary people. If he wanted to, he could keep eating endlessly, continuously converting food into energy within his body.

As for whether that energy had a storage limit?

The Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan bloodlines inside Naruto were no joke. A limit? That simply didn't exist!

In the end, Choji Akimichi had reached his limit too. He couldn't eat another bite!

Seeing Choji raise the white flag in surrender.

Naruto stopped eating as well. The barbecue was pretty delicious, but eating so much of it nonstop would get tiresome!

"Naruto, you're amazing! Once I master my clan's secret techniques, we'll compete again!"

As heirs of major clans, they had all reached the age to attend the Ninja Academy.

The secret techniques of the major clans had also begun to be taught to them one after another.

Once Choji completely mastered the Akimichi Clan's secret techniques, his appetite would probably multiply several times over. At that point, even Naruto would need some time to defeat him.

"Then it's settled. We'll fight again next time!" Naruto wasn't afraid of Choji's challenge.

By the time Choji finished learning his secret techniques, Naruto might have acquired several more bloodlines himself. His body's consumption would increase then, and so would his appetite.

Would your secret techniques improve faster, or would I collect rewards faster?

Naruto found himself rather curious at the thought.

The children's side was more or less finished, while the adults had basically drunk themselves senseless.

They were usually busy with official duties and rarely had the chance to let loose like this, so it was understandable.

Only Kakashi-sensei had stopped after a few cups and hadn't drunk too much.

After all, he still had to protect Naruto from the shadows. That was the most important thing!

He notified the various clans to come and take their people home.

Kakashi led the children toward the Ninja Academy.

After lunch, sunlight spilled across the streets of Konoha Village, and the children's laughter and footsteps were full of energy.

They headed together toward the Ninja Academy, their hearts filled with anticipation.

When they saw the posted class lists, they were delighted to discover that they had all been assigned to the same class.

The group noisily made their way to their assigned classroom.

They entered the classroom, where there were not many people yet. Naruto immediately spotted that Hinata and Sasuke had already arrived.

He walked toward Sasuke and said, "Long time no see. Do you remember me? My name is Naruto Uzumaki. What's your name?"

Seeing Naruto greet him, Sasuke secretly felt pleased. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto replied familiarly, "Great, Sasuke. From now on, we're friends. Please take care of me!"

He held out his hand.

As expected, straightforwardness was the best way to handle a tsundere.

Sasuke was somewhat unable to cope with Naruto's enthusiasm.

He reached out and shook Naruto's hand, showing that he was willing to be friends with him.

Afterward, Naruto headed for the back of the classroom, because Hinata was there.

"Naruto-kun, he's walking toward me!" As Hinata watched Naruto approach step by step, her heart pounded wildly.

Her face instantly turned bright red.

"Hinata, is anyone sitting next to you? Would you mind if I sat beside you?" Naturally, Naruto had to seize this opportunity. My wife needs to be won over slowly!

"N-No, no one. Naruto-kun, y-you can sit there!" Hinata hadn't expected Naruto to have come specifically to sit beside her.

"Okay, then I'll sit here. Hinata, are you all right? Your face is so red." Naruto sat down beside Hinata as he spoke.

"I-I'm fine, Naruto-kun. Thank you for your concern!" Hinata said shyly.

"All right, then take good care of yourself." Naruto had originally intended to take advantage of the moment and pretend to check Hinata's temperature.

He wanted a little physical contact with her.

But seeing how shy Hinata was, he felt that if he touched her now, Hinata's CPU might overload and burn out on the spot.

He still needed to take things step by step and let Hinata slowly get used to him!

Seeing Naruto walk to the back and sit beside Hinata, Sasuke secretly felt unhappy too. He didn't know why, but seeing Naruto sit with someone else made him uncomfortable.

He silently stood up and moved to the seat in front of Naruto.

"Mm, this feels much better." Sasuke nodded to himself. This way, Naruto would be able to see him.

"Sakura, look! Naruto went straight to Hinata. I never expected Hinata to be our greatest enemy!" When Ino saw Naruto enter the classroom and first head toward Sasuke Uchiha, she thought Naruto had merely gone to greet Sasuke.

She had assumed he would come back afterward.

Who would have thought Sasuke was only incidental? Naruto's real target was Hinata in the back row!

"Ino, it looks like we'll have to join forces against Hinata. We can't let her steal Naruto away!" Sakura replied.

"Come on, come on! Let's hurry and claim the seats beside Naruto!"

Ino dragged Sakura as she rushed toward Naruto, though naturally, she herself was faster.

She successfully claimed the empty seat beside Naruto.

Sakura could only sit beside Ino.

"Akamaru, let's sit over there too!" Kiba Inuzuka, holding Akamaru, also started heading toward Naruto.

"Shikamaru, let's go too!" Choji Akimichi pulled Shikamaru along and prepared to head over.

"What a drag." Though Shikamaru Nara said that, he didn't refuse Choji.

Before long, Naruto was surrounded by people.

More and more students gradually entered the classroom.

Most people who saw Naruto's seat would first glance over curiously. Those who didn't particularly like Naruto sat elsewhere, away from him.

Those willing to get close to Naruto moved toward him instead.

Then a familiar yet unfamiliar face entered Naruto's field of vision.

A person in a high-collared outfit and sunglasses came up to Naruto and said, "Hello, Naruto. My name is Shino Aburame. Can we be friends? My insects seem to like you very much!"

That was right. It was Shino Aburame, who had not appeared for quite some time. Shino's presence really was rather low; if he hadn't come to Naruto himself, Naruto might not even have noticed him.

"No problem, Shino. From now on, we're friends!" Naruto naturally wouldn't refuse a friend, especially since Shino was one of the Konoha Twelve. His strength was certainly guaranteed.

Seeing that all the seats around Naruto were occupied, Shino could only find a seat nearby.

Everyone chatted excitedly.

Not long afterward, a teacher entered. It was Iruka-sensei, with a gentle smile on his face and a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

"Iruka-sensei! Long time no see!" Naruto immediately stood up and greeted Iruka-sensei.

"Long time no see, Naruto!" Seeing Naruto's enthusiasm, Iruka-sensei smiled happily as well.

"Hello, everyone. I'm your homeroom teacher, Iruka Umino." His voice was calm and firm.

"Today's lesson is very simple. We'll get to know each other a little better. I have a list here. When I call your name, come up to the podium and introduce yourself. Your hobbies, things you dislike, dreams—anything is fine!"

"First, XXX."

"Hello, everyone. My name is XXX. My hobbies are XXX, I dislike XXX, and my dream is XXX. Please take care of me!"

"Very good, student XXX. Next, XXX."

(Scene break)

"Next, Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sasuke stood and walked up to the podium.

A wave of whispers arose from below.

"Wow, he's so handsome. I like him so much."

"He really is handsome, but he's from the Uchiha Clan. I heard the Uchiha Clan isn't easy to get along with?"

"Really? That can't be true. He looks all right."

"I am Sasuke Uchiha. The person I like is my older brother, Itachi Uchiha. The things I like doing are the things my brother does with me."

"What I hate are things that hurt my brother."

"My dream is to restore the Uchiha Clan's glory and make the Uchiha Clan the number one clan in Hidden Leaf!"

Naruto could only feel helpless after listening. As expected of young Sasuke—his mind was filled with his brother, Itachi Uchiha. He was a top-tier brother fanatic!

"Next, Sakura Haruno!"

Sakura walked to the podium with a hint of shyness.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Sakura Haruno. I like flowers and taking care of patients," she said gently.

"What I dislike are bugs and... and rude people." Her voice grew softer.

"My dream is to become an outstanding medical ninja, and... I hope to earn Naruto's recognition." A faint blush appeared on her face.

"Next, Ino Yamanaka!"

Ino confidently walked up to the podium, her eyes shining with vitality.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka. I like flowers and fashion, and what I hate most is lazy people."

Her voice was loud and clear. "My dream is to become a top medical ninja and open my own flower shop."

Her smile was full of anticipation for the future.

"Next, Kiba Inuzuka!"

Kiba enthusiastically jumped onto the podium, with his puppy Akamaru at his side.

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka. I like training with Akamaru, and what I hate most is waiting."

He spoke energetically. "My dream is to become the strongest ninja and the best pet trainer."

He and Akamaru struck an encouraging pose together.

"Next, Shino Aburame!"

Shino quietly walked up to the podium, his voice calm and low.

"I'm Shino Aburame. I like observing and researching insects, and what I hate most is... messiness."

His gaze revealed his love for insects. "My dream is to become a ninja who can use insects to carry out all kinds of missions."

His words conveyed confidence in insect-based ninjutsu.

"Next, Choji Akimichi!"

Choji walked onto the podium while eating potato chips. "I'm Choji Akimichi. I like eating, especially potato chips and barbecue. What I hate is exercising."

He smiled honestly. "My dream is to eat all the delicious food in the world and become a powerful ninja who protects my friends."

His eyes revealed his love for food and his cherishing of friendship.

"Next, Hinata Hyuga!"

Hinata shyly walked to the podium, her voice so quiet it was nearly impossible to hear.

"I'm Hinata Hyuga. I like reading and practicing Gentle Fist, and what I hate is... failure." Her face was as red as an apple.

"My dream is to become stronger and not disappoint my family's expectations." Though her voice was quiet, it was full of determination.

"Next, Shikamaru Nara!"

Shikamaru lazily walked up to the podium, looking somewhat reluctant.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara. I like playing shogi and taking naps, and what I hate most is troublesome things." He sighed.

"My dream is to live peacefully, but since I'm at the Ninja Academy, I'll work hard to become a ninja capable of handling trouble." He smiled helplessly.

"Next!" Iruka-sensei paused before continuing.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto stood from his seat and walked toward the podium.

The entire class instantly focused their eyes on Naruto.

Naruto walked confidently to the podium.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. What I like most is ramen, especially Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto said with a smile.

"Ichiraku Ramen really is delicious!"

"Yeah, yeah! My dad took me there before. It was so good!"

"Really? I'm going to try it after school today too!"

"What I hate is being looked down on!" His voice became firmer.

"As for my dream, I'm sure everyone already knows it. I want everyone to acknowledge me! Then I'll become the future Hokage!"

He waved his little fist, determination shining in his eyes.

Naruto's friends gave him plenty of support and began applauding one after another.

"Thank you, everyone!" Naruto looked at them gratefully.

"All right, everyone has gained a preliminary understanding of one another. I hope you will all get along well during your time at the Ninja Academy. That's all for today. Class dismissed!"

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