Cherry Blossoms Need Time to Bloom (2/3)

When Naruto returned to the Ninja Academy, it was already noon. Iruka flew into a rage over it, dragged Naruto to his office, and gave him a fierce scolding.

But to Naruto, this was child's play. Through his daily verbal sparring with the system, he had long since mastered a divine technique to perfection.

That was letting it go in one ear and out the other.

So Iruka's damage was zero.

While Iruka was busy scolding him, Naruto also took the chance to appraise every teacher in the office.

Unfortunately, none of the teachers met the requirements. After thinking for a while, Naruto decided it might be time to change his approach.

Before he found any other suitable moms, he could first improve the moms he already had.

For example, upgrading B-rank Moms to A-rank Moms, and A-rank Moms to S-rank Moms.

That said...

What exactly did it take to become an S-rank Mom? Naruto was still completely confused.

The system's current evaluations lagged a full twelve years behind reality. Hinata and Ino would both possess Jonin-level strength twelve years later, yet they were only rated A-rank.

Then there was Mikoto Uchiha. She was also a Jonin, and even the wife of the Uchiha Clan's patriarch. With both status and strength on her side, she was still only A-rank.

What requirement was she failing to meet?

Did someone need Kage-level strength?

[The lewd Naruto Uzumaki couldn't figure it out, but he came up with another terrible idea. Mikoto Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha would both be dead twelve years later, and their ages were marked as their age at death. Could he go to Konoha Cemetery and recognize deceased people such as Mito Uzumaki and Rin Nohara as his moms?]

[The system would answer in advance.]

[No. Relationship recognition required a response from the other party.]

Shameless system, it was actually eavesdropping on my thoughts!

No, that should be—shameless system, it was spreading rumors and slandering me!

"Naruto, you brat, have you even been listening to me?!" Iruka's roar pulled Naruto's thoughts back to reality.

Naruto grinned and answered honestly, "Nope!"

"..." Iruka was instantly furious, but he did not continue. Instead, he sighed. "At least you're honest. Forget it, go back to class!"

"Thank you, Sensei!" Naruto said goodbye to Iruka.

Although Iruka was not as kind to him as he had been in the original story, Naruto still respected him quite a bit.

He was a good teacher.

After leaving the teachers' office, Naruto headed straight for his classroom. The moment he entered, several pairs of eyes immediately locked onto him.

Among them, three gazes were especially intense. One belonged to Hinata Hyuga, and another to Ino Yamanaka.

Naruto could understand those two, since they were "moms," but what was Sakura Haruno doing?

And she was the most impatient one. The second she saw Naruto, she stood up from her seat, strode over, and reproached him in an accusatory tone:

"Naruto, you skipped class again, didn't you?"

Sakura Haruno stood before Naruto with her hands on her hips. "Why are you so irresponsible—"

Before she could finish, Naruto's leg arrived first.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Sakura...

I understand you. You are the true inheritor of the Will of Domination, so I will give you the respect you deserve!

Naruto swiftly kicked Sakura Haruno aside, then walked toward his seat.

Without even looking back.

Kiba Inuzuka watched Sakura Haruno get kicked into a corner, his body trembling. "Naruto's getting more and more brutal. I really can't provoke him in the future. I need to remind my friends and family not to provoke him either, especially my sister."

Shino Aburame raised a hand and adjusted his sunglasses. "I hope Naruto doesn't use Leaf Hurricane on my insects."

Choji Akimichi kept eating potato chips and said with a chuckle, "Sakura Haruno was annoying to begin with. I used to see her hit and curse Naruto all the time. Isn't it normal for Naruto to dislike her now? How is that brutal?"

"Sakura Haruno doesn't matter!" Shikamaru Nara gritted his teeth. "I think the most important thing is not to duel Naruto. I don't want to lose my mom to him."

Naruto had not kicked particularly hard, but it was enough to hurt Sakura Haruno. She struggled a little as she got back up.

In the end, she silently lowered her head and returned to her seat one step at a time. She buried her head in her arms, her body twitching as though she were crying.

Seeing this, Ino Yamanaka, who had originally intended to check on Naruto, could not help saying, "Dad, can you be gentler with Sakura next time?"

"Why?" Naruto walked around Ino and sat between her and Hinata.

Ino said, "Sakura may be a little annoying right now, but she's still just a little girl. I believe she'll get better in the future. Cherry blossoms need time to bloom..."

"But, Mom..." Naruto's expression suddenly turned serious.

That made Ino's voice weaken too. Had what she said made Naruto unhappy?

"Hmm?"

"Food also needs time to digest. The next time you go to the bathroom, can you be gentler too?"

"..."

Ino's mouth twitched.

"Hey, I'm seriously talking to you. Why did you suddenly say something so disgusting?"

"Isn't that philosophical?" Naruto retorted.

"Pah, twisted logic!" Unable to argue with Naruto, Ino muttered under her breath, "Bad Dad~!"

Just as Ino was about to properly tell Naruto about her past with Sakura Haruno and why she had spoken up for Sakura—

Hinata Hyuga, who had been silently sitting beside them for a long time, suddenly passed a small note across the desk.

(Dad, what happened to you today? I waited for you at the school gate this morning, but you never came. I couldn't find you after I got to the classroom either. QwQ)

Damn it, she beat me to it.

That hateful Hinata, those were obviously supposed to be my lines.

Naruto wrote a reply on the note:

(Sigh, don't even mention it. I ran into two awful women. They pestered me, hit me, and scolded me. In the end, they forced me to recognize them as my moms before they would let me go!)

Huh?

Something like that happened?

Hinata instinctively felt that this was not true, but Ino beside her was already panicking.

She hurriedly asked, "Who was it?"

Naruto spread his hands. "What good would telling you do? Those two are sixth-year students. Mom, you're so weak. Do you want to go with me and get bullied too?"

Damn it!

Sixth-years, was it?

Ino clenched her teeth. "I... I... I can find my dad... I mean the dad named Inoichi Yamanaka. I'll ask Dad to stand up for Dad. Dad spoils me the most. He'll definitely help Dad for my sake."

"Is that all? That's not very sincere, is it?"

Naruto deliberately put on a disappointed expression and murmured:

"Sigh, Mom won't even work hard at training for me?"

"I... I... I'm willing to!"

Hinata Hyuga cautiously tugged on Naruto's sleeve, speaking before Ino Yamanaka could.

"I can... work hard at training for Naruto-kun..."

Since she was his mom, protecting her child was only natural, right?

Hinata thought with a flushed little face. Although Naruto-kun's tone did not sound like he was telling the truth—

What if it was true?

Oh, right, there was one more thing.

"I also don't know whether Naruto-kun has enough money. I've never used money myself, so you can have all of this."

Hinata Hyuga took out a cute blue cat wallet and pushed it in front of Naruto.

"There are fifty thousand ryo inside. It's half of my allowance for this month. I gave the other half to my little sister."

[Ding!]

[An unexpected event has occurred!]

[A-rank Mom "Hinata Hyuga" has had her original life trajectory changed. She will no longer spend her allowance on herself, and the point at which she begins training diligently has been moved forward because of Naruto Uzumaki.]

[Obtained 30 additional Mom Coins!]

"Hinata... you hateful girl, that was too sneaky."

Ino Yamanaka immediately followed with her own declaration:

"Dad, I'm willing to train hard too."

Then she took out her own wallet and handed it to Naruto.

"Here, take my wallet and spend it however you like."

[Ding!]

[An unexpected event has occurred!]

[A-rank Mom "Ino Yamanaka" has had her original life trajectory changed. She will share her allowance with Naruto Uzumaki, and the point at which she begins training diligently has been moved forward because of Naruto Uzumaki.]

[Obtained 30 additional Mom Coins!]

Looking at the two little wallets in front of him and listening to the pleasant system notifications in his ears—

Naruto could not help laughing.

Little girls were so easy to fool.

Watching Naruto, Ino, and Hinata bicker, Sakura Haruno froze slightly, a dissatisfied feeling rising in her heart.

No one knew that she had not actually been crying just now.

Even she did not know why. Although Naruto had kicked her again, she was not angry at all. Instead, she had felt something strange...

Now that she saw Hinata and Ino chatting happily with Naruto, she finally understood. Her emotions had simply been delayed.

Naruto must have kicked her so hard that her head had gone fuzzy, which was why she was only getting angry now.

After school, Naruto, Ino, and Hinata did not head home immediately. Naruto took the two girls to the training ground, intending to personally teach them how to train.

The first step was helping them build a solid foundation, starting with chakra training.

The knowledge and proficiency Naruto had obtained from the system were already more than enough for him to teach them.

PS: The third chapter will be a little late. Something came up.

Dear handsome, suave, and dashing readers, this little author humbly begs for your votes~!

→Recommendation Votes← →Monthly Votes←