New shoots

"Yep, my teeth are nice and clean, my face is washed, and my clothes are still old..." At home, Naruto inspected his outfit with a hint of distaste, but soon broke into a smile.

"But I washed them until they were spotless. Great, time to go!"

He opened the door and walked out into the street, feeling as though even the sun was warmer than usual.

He was in a wonderful mood.

Today was his first day of school.

When Third Hokage Grandpa had told him the news, Naruto had been overjoyed.

He was still a child, after all. No matter how strong he was, he naturally looked forward to the Ninja Academy, where the village's children gathered. He imagined making new friends, meeting his classmates and teachers, and even learning new Ninjutsu!

And his path as a ninja would begin here! He took a deep breath and screamed inwardly—

Ninja Academy, here I come!

Yet the next moment, when Naruto arrived at the school gates with a beaming smile, the joy on his face slowly faded.

"Mom, you don't have to walk me here. I'm a grown-up now!"

"I don't want to go to school, Dad. Let's go home."

"Now, be good. Remember to get along with the older boys and girls..."

At the bustling gates, parents and children gathered, chatting and laughing. The sight brought the loneliness Naruto had kept so well hidden back to the surface, eclipsing his earlier joy.

It was as though a bottomless chasm lay between him and the crowd. He couldn't cross it, didn't dare approach. Not even an assassination attempt by an unfamiliar ninja or his first battle had frightened Naruto this much.

I don't have any family...

Suddenly, a warm Chakra welled up from deep within Naruto, easing his dark feelings a little.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Naruto froze. Before he could figure out where that Chakra had come from, two familiar voices rang out behind him.

"Good... morning, Naruto-kun."

"Hey, Naruto!"

He turned to find Hinata Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha standing behind him, greeting him.

Hinata was as shy as ever, while Sasuke still wore that slightly cocky expression.

"You two?" Naruto stared blankly at them. "Didn't you say you weren't starting school until next year?"

"Hmph. How could I let you get ahead of me? You're already so much stronger than me, and now you want to start school before me too?" Sasuke snorted, his words at odds with his actions. "Just you wait. I'll surpass you at school and show you the power of the Uchiha Clan!"

"Um, Naruto-kun... Sasuke-kun probably did the same thing I did and a-asked his family to let him start school early too." Hinata glanced at them both and timidly explained, "Um, we won't be any trouble for you, will we?"

"...Of course not!"

Naruto was so touched he nearly cried. Then, as though something had occurred to him, he peered behind them. "Where are the family members who brought you here?"

"Hmph. It's just school. We're not little kids anymore. Why would we need our families to bring us? Do you think we're here to play house?" Sasuke took Naruto's question as a slight and gave another derisive snort.

He wasn't exactly quiet. Some children nearby, who were being escorted to school by their parents, heard him and immediately looked around to see who had dared insult them all, ready to glare him to death.

But once their parents spotted the crest on Sasuke's clothes, their expressions changed, and they hurriedly pulled their children away.

In most people's eyes, the Uchiha Clan wasn't something to provoke lightly.

"My family..." Hinata looked troubled, but before she could finish, another voice reached them—one Naruto had heard before but didn't know very well.

"Young Lady Hinata, please don't wander off and approach these outsiders. You'll make trouble for me as your Guard." Neji Hyuga approached with a cold expression.

He was starting school this year too, but he hadn't expected to remain unable to escape the Branch Family's duty to protect the Main Family.

He couldn't understand it. As a member of the Branch Family, he had only won permission to attend the Ninja Academy after arguing his case at length. He had thought that, at least for this year, he could set aside his Branch Family duties while at school. So how had the Main Family's young lady, who was supposed to start next year, suddenly ended up enrolling too?

And the clan head had personally assigned him to Guard Hinata. Was his life truly inescapably under the Main Family's control?

"Outsiders?" At those words, both Naruto and Sasuke turned unfriendly gazes on Neji.

Neji Hyuga refused to back down, glaring right back with his Byakugan. To him, Naruto and the others were merely playing at being ninjas, even if Naruto had caused a scene at the Main Family's residence a couple of years ago.

As far as Neji was concerned, the Family had simply chosen not to hold a little child accountable.

"Looks like you want a fight." Sasuke stared at those Byakugan eyes. As the Uchiha clan head's second son, he saw no reason to back down before the Hyuga Clan.

"Ah... um... please don't..." Faced with the three boys' tense standoff, Hinata grew nervous and started stammering again, hurriedly waving her little hands to try to stop them.

Just then, a boy with a bowl cut and thick eyebrows happened to pass by. Unlike the laughing children around him, he was drenched in sweat, as though he had run for two hours before coming here. Drawn by the commotion around Naruto, he watched with envy and fire in his eyes. "They're having so much fun over there. They've already become friends! But this is my chance to work hard and surpass everyone else. I'll do another five thousand push-ups after school!"

Meanwhile, a little girl with her hair in buns, who was urging her parents to return to their ninja tool shop instead of walking her any farther, also noticed the group. She tilted her cute little head as she looked them over. "What a bunch of weirdos. I hope I don't get mixed up with them."

"Oh, Lord Hokage, this year's students are going to be quite a handful." Inside the school, Iruka, who was in charge of welcoming the new students, had also witnessed the scene. Remembering how the Third Hokage had told him that children from the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan would be specially enrolled alongside Naruto, he felt a headache coming on.

Still, Iruka was a responsible teacher. He hurried over and shouted, "Hey, you lot! Stop arguing at the school gates and come register!"

Meanwhile, atop a distant utility pole, Uchiha Itachi, who had followed his younger brother all the way from home, watched Sasuke's expression without any expression of his own.

Beside the pole, Hyuga Hiashi stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves. His pure white eyes watched his daughter's flustered face as though through a telescope, and he gave a barely perceptible smile.

In the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage watched his crystal ball with a gratified smile.

"Naruto's starting school today, isn't he? I wonder if he'll settle in. Will he..."

"See for yourself!"

The Nine-Tails irritably opened his Chakra perception to Minato again. The man had been going on all morning, endlessly repenting for being such an inadequate father. Did he think the Nine-Tails was some church confessional?

New shoots sprouted on towering trees, while dead branches fell and became nourishment. Sooner or later, lush green leaves would flourish once more, thick enough to blot out the sky.