Training Ends, Iruka Treats Everyone

Seeing that the group had actually come to the training ground to work out, Iruka could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

At the Ninja Academy, he had never seen students stay behind to train after classes had ended for the day.

And there were so many of them, organized and improving together.

Naruto seemed to be the one leading them. It looked like he got along well with all his classmates.

Everyone was willing to listen to Naruto too.

"That's amazing, Naruto. Before I knew it, you've made so many friends. I knew you were a good kid!"

Hidden in the shadows and secretly observing everyone, Iruka was already in tears.

"Naruto... he's truly inspiring!"

As time passed, Choji Akimichi, Shino Aburame, and Shikamaru Nara formed the slacker trio and were the first to finish.

Choji could not keep going for long because of his weight. Every step he took was torture.

As for Shino, the insects living on his body had a hard time when he ran, and he himself felt uncomfortable as well. Besides, Aburame Clan ninja rarely excelled in taijutsu. The fact that Shino even wanted to train was already commendable.

And Shikamaru? To this day, no one knew whether he truly could not run anymore or whether he found it troublesome and was pretending to be exhausted so he could slack off.

Then came the two girls, Ino and Sakura.

Ino had always been strong-willed. Under Naruto's influence, she had become more cheerful and more persistent in whatever she did, so she was doing far better than those unmotivated boys.

The Yamanaka Clan also had special formulas, so Ino's progress was quite good.

Although Sakura was a civilian, once her parents learned that she had entered the elite class and become friends with some of the village's most formidable second-generation heirs,

they spent a great deal of the money they earned from missions to properly nurture her and prepare restorative medicinal herbs for her.

No matter how hard things got, they could not let their child suffer!

Then there was Kiba. His initial burst was fierce, but his explosive power soon dropped off, and he lacked endurance. By the end, he simply could not run anymore.

As a ninja hound, Akamaru had far greater stamina than Kiba and had been chasing Naruto the whole time.

But Naruto's physique was simply too powerful. Even a ninja hound could only stare at Naruto's retreating back. He was running faster than a dog!

Of course, that was also because Akamaru had not fully grown yet.

Hinata was someone Naruto paid special attention to. Even while running, he constantly kept an eye on her condition.

He knew that Hinata was a girl who seemed weak on the outside but was strong within. Though she appeared delicate and timid, her heart was incredibly resilient.

Naruto was genuinely worried that Hinata would push herself too hard and get hurt during training.

After noticing that Hinata's breathing was gradually becoming disordered and her steps were starting to falter,

Naruto went over to her and told her not to keep forcing herself. She could rest now.

He also patted Hinata's little head and encouraged her, "You've done great already, Hinata!"

After running for so long, Hinata's face had not even turned red.

But after Naruto patted her head, her entire face instantly flushed crimson. Her CPU overheated, and she fainted from embarrassment.

Naruto carried Hinata over to the grass so she could rest properly, then continued running.

Only three people remained on the field.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Rock Lee!

"Rock Lee, I know you've reached your limit. Hurry up and give up!"

"What are you talking about, Sasuke? I know you're the one at your limit. Stop forcing yourself. There's nothing wrong with giving up!"

Rock Lee and Sasuke were both close to their physical limits, but when they saw the other continuing, they gritted their teeth and persevered.

Sasuke did it for the Uchiha Clan's honor. Being unable to beat Naruto had already dealt him a heavy blow. If he could not even beat Rock Lee, he felt he would have disgraced the Uchiha Clan's illustrious name.

Rock Lee, meanwhile, felt that he had worked so hard, started training earlier than Sasuke and the others, and was even a year older. If Sasuke surpassed him, how could he show his face?

He had always believed that hard work could surpass genius. Neji Hyuga, the genius in their class, was a legendary prodigy.

He had no chance to compete with him, so he could only compare himself with Sasuke, another genius!

Seeing that the two were still persisting and had become fiercely competitive, Naruto felt rather helpless.

But this was a contest between the two of them, so Naruto did not interfere or say anything.

"You two must stop if you can't hold on anymore. Nothing is more important than your bodies! Be careful not to get injured!"

As Naruto passed by them, he spoke in an earnest, heartfelt tone.

In the end, Sasuke was the first to give up. He was at a disadvantage in terms of age, and Indra's chakra had not fully awakened. The Uchiha Clan's special ability, the Sharingan, had not awakened either.

It was perfectly normal that Sasuke could not keep going.

After seeing Sasuke give out, Rock Lee caught his breath for a few moments. Only after lasting a little longer than Sasuke did he finally stop to rest.

This time, I finally defeated a genius through my own ability. I still need to keep going! Rock Lee felt immensely satisfied.

Goals gave people motivation!

Seeing that everyone else had stopped, Naruto symbolically ran a few more laps before stopping as well.

This run had really satisfied him. He had not gone all out, but at least he had gotten somewhat serious.

He had sweated quite a bit too. It felt great.

"Then that's it for today. Be careful on your way home, everyone!" Naruto said to the others resting on the grass.

With that, today's training came to an end. After saying goodbye to one another, everyone went their separate ways and headed home.

"Naruto!" Having witnessed Naruto's terrifying stamina firsthand, Iruka sprang out from the small grove.

"Hello, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto's powerful senses had naturally told him that Iruka had been watching from the bushes for quite a while. From the moment Iruka followed Naruto out of the classroom, Naruto had sensed every one of his movements clearly.

"Just finished training? Want to go eat some ramen?" Knowing that Naruto loved Ichiraku Ramen the most, Iruka asked him.

"Sure, Iruka-sensei. Let's go!" Naruto naturally would not refuse Iruka's kindness. At worst, he could just make Hiruzen Sarutobi pay later.

Naruto's eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded excitedly.

The two left the academy together and headed toward Ichiraku Ramen.

"Teuchi, two bowls of your signature ramen!" Naruto was a regular at Ichiraku Ramen and one of Teuchi's favorite customers.

"Coming right up, Naruto. Isn't this Iruka-sensei? Naruto, you've started at the Ninja Academy already?"

"That's right! Iruka-sensei is my homeroom teacher!"

"Hahaha, time really flies. To celebrate you entering the Ninja Academy, I'll give you some extra toppings!"

"Thank you, Teuchi!"

Inside the ramen shop, steaming bowls of ramen gave off an enticing aroma.

Naruto and Iruka sat at a table in the corner, with two steaming bowls of ramen placed before them.

Naruto's ramen had been specially prepared by Teuchi, piled high with all kinds of ingredients. There was practically more meat than noodles!

Naruto eagerly picked up his chopsticks and began wolfing it down.

Iruka could not help laughing at the sight of Naruto devouring his ramen.

While eating, Naruto and Iruka talked about many things.

"Naruto, your dream is to become Hokage, right?" Iruka asked as he ate his ramen.

"Yes, Iruka-sensei. What is it? Do you believe I can do it?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Nothing, I was just asking. If someone else said that, I might not take it seriously. But since you're the one saying it, I think... maybe you really can do it!"

"Hahahaha, Iruka-sensei, you're wrong. I definitely will do it!"

"You really are confident, kid. Then I'll look forward to the day you become Hokage!" Iruka said encouragingly as he looked at Naruto's confident expression.

"Naruto, if you become Hokage, I'll prepare a gift to celebrate too!" Teuchi said, having overheard their conversation.

"Then thank you in advance for the gift, Teuchi! Just wait and see, Iruka-sensei! I will definitely become Hokage! I'll become an outstanding ninja!"

He said it firmly.

Iruka looked into Naruto's determined eyes, and warmth welled up in his heart.

He knew this child had the talent. If Naruto kept working hard, Iruka believed that he would definitely achieve his dream.

Meanwhile, Sasuke walked home, his heart full of curiosity about the matter Naruto had mentioned—Madara Uchiha leaving the village.

He decided to ask his father when he got home, hoping to learn more about that period of history.

"Oh, Sasuke's back? Hurry and sit down. The food is ready too. Go call your brother and father for dinner!"

Mikoto Uchiha said happily when she saw Sasuke return.

"Got it, Mother!" Sasuke quickly ran to his father's and brother's rooms to call them out for dinner.

While the family was peacefully eating together, Sasuke finally could not help asking.

"Father, I want to know about the history of our Uchiha Clan!"

"Oh? Sasuke, why are you suddenly interested in these things? You never cared much about them before."

Fugaku Uchiha asked curiously.

"Today, we had a history lesson about Hidden Leaf. It mentioned that Hidden Leaf was founded by Hashirama Senju of the Senju Clan and Madara Uchiha of our Uchiha Clan. So I suddenly became interested in that history."

Hearing that Sasuke had attended a history lesson today was why he had become so interested.

"Father, I'm actually curious about this period of history too. Would it be convenient for you to tell us about it?" Itachi Uchiha chimed in from the side.

It was not only for Sasuke's sake. He himself had been curious about that history for a long time.