By the time Minato Namikaze arrived at the Ninja Academy,
a burst of chaotic cheering rang out.
He stood behind a large tree some distance away and looked toward the arena.
On the platform,
Sasuke Uchiha, a handsome little boy in a dark blue shirt and white shorts, kicked a classmate off the stage with a cool expression on his face.
Minato rubbed his chin. "Looks like this little guy is popular at school!"
Below the platform,
Uchiha Momoko, dressed as a teacher, frowned slightly. "Sasuke Uchiha wins!"
"Oh?"
Minato hadn't noticed her at first. So the Ninja Academy even had teachers from the Uchiha Clan now?
It seemed...
far more had changed in the village than he could see on the surface.
"Next match! Naruto Uzumaki versus Akabane Kenta!"
"Naruto's up?" Minato's eyes lit up. He fixed his gaze on the blond boy bouncing onto the platform.
A gentle smile spread across his face.
Then Minato looked at Naruto's opponent. "Akabane Kenta? A civilian-born ninja. I wonder how strong Naruto is."
In the arena,
Ino rallied the crowd, and everyone began cheering for Naruto. He scratched his head with a grin, looking embarrassed.
He was different from the boy he had once been.
In the original timeline, his childhood had been filled with malice. It had made him a troublemaker desperate to stand out, win attention, and prove he existed.
But now...
Shinji had helped him when he was little, and he had found a group of good friends much earlier.
His Ninjutsu studies hadn't gone perfectly, but they had gone smoothly enough. Now people even called him a "genius."
All that praise had made him humble instead.
He was much more easily embarrassed, too.
"Hmph!"
In the crowd, Akabane Kenta glared at Naruto Uzumaki on the platform. He