For most students, the start of school was hardly a happy occasion, but on closer inspection, their feelings were rather complicated-a mix of annoyance and anticipation.
The annoyance came from the end of a carefree, unrestricted vacation and the return to a regimented life of studying.
The anticipation came from finally being able to reunite with good friends at school, play together, and share amusing stories from their vacation.
Naruto, however, seemed fairly indifferent.
He had no particularly close friends he was eager to see, and little interest in the classes taught at school.
He had more important plans for his time.
To make the most of it, he left four shadow clones at home to focus on studying, understanding, and attempting to practice the knowledge contained in that Sealing Jutsu scroll.
His real body attended school on schedule, mainly to prevent any mishaps, since the school held practical lessons.
Without learning the more advanced Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, even Naruto's enormous chakra reserves could not allow him to reliably create more shadow clones.
He had tested his limits. Once he created more than five shadow clones, the chakra distribution became extremely unstable, producing defective clones. Not only did they last for less time, but their thinking and abilities were also severely diminished, making them of little use.
Thus, four shadow clones studying at home while his real body handled school was currently the optimal arrangement.
Besides, after the ANBU surveillance was withdrawn, his home had become the safest, least disturbed place to study.
As for the three basic techniques currently taught at school-the Substitution Technique, Transformation Technique, and Clone Technique-they were rather unimpressive to Naruto, who had long since moved beyond that stage.
An important distinction needed to be made here: the Clone Technique and the Shadow Clone Technique were entirely different techniques.
The Clone Technique created intangible illusions that could only confuse enemies, while the Shadow Clone Technique produced physical clones capable of attacking and relaying information. They could even return their memories and perceptions to the original after dispersing.
Naturally, Naruto had not learned the Shadow Clone Technique, a B-rank ninjutsu, from his schoolteachers.
He had learned it from Kiba Inuzuka after winning a bet against him.
Because the Inuzuka Clan fought alongside ninja dogs, they often used shadow clones to sow confusion or assist in attacks, so most of the clan's ninja learned this technique.
Interestingly, although Kiba had taught Naruto, Naruto's mastery and proficiency with the Shadow Clone Technique had surpassed those of his teacher, Kiba Inuzuka.
Few people at school currently knew that he was using the Shadow Clone Technique, though.
After all, Naruto had no habit of shouting out his techniques.
Walking into the somewhat noisy classroom with a backpack slung over his shoulders, Naruto headed out of habit toward the seat by the window in the back row.
Sunlight spilled through the glass onto the desktop. The spot offered an open view and let him take in the entire classroom at a glance.
More importantly, it was practically his personal seat. Few classmates were willing to sit near someone they privately called the "demon fox," which instead gave him a quiet space where no one disturbed him.
Not long after sitting down and taking two bags of chips from his backpack to put in his desk drawer, he was about to stare out at the schoolyard and zone out when a familiar voice came from beside him, as cheerful and boisterous as ever:
"Yo! You're here pretty early, Naruto!"
Naruto turned toward the voice and saw a distinctive head of spiky black hair and an energetic smile.
It was Kiba Inuzuka.
He was one of the few classmates who did not deliberately distance himself from Naruto because of the rumors, and he sometimes even struck up conversations with him.
At this point, Kiba Inuzuka had yet to receive Akamaru, who would become his important partner in the future.
To avoid falling behind in training his clan's secret techniques, he had learned the Shadow Clone Technique early, using it to practice and simulate those clan techniques that required close coordination with ninja dogs.
Having a clone play the ninja dog's role and work with his real body in tactical drills had become one of his main training methods at this stage.
That was precisely why he knew the Shadow Clone Technique and, during his earlier interactions with Naruto, had unexpectedly become Naruto's "guide" to the technique.
"You're here pretty early yourself, Kiba."
Naruto replied with a smile, casually patting the seat beside him to invite Kiba Inuzuka to sit down.
Today, Naruto had not deliberately used makeup to conceal the six whisker-like markings on his face.
Kiba was already used to them. His gaze merely lingered on Naruto's hair for a moment, a little surprised that Naruto had started growing it out.
As he remembered it, Naruto had always worn his blond hair short.
"Why are you growing your hair out?"
Kiba voiced his question directly.
Hearing this, Naruto instinctively touched his hair.
In truth, it was only short to medium length at the moment, nowhere near reaching his shoulders and just a little longer than the usual boy's hairstyle.
"Because neither the First nor the Fourth Hokage has short hair on Kage Rock."
Without batting an eye, Naruto casually made up a reason and even offered more examples to make it convincing.
"And look at the Second and Third. Their hair looks short, but it actually just sticks up so much that it 'hides' the length. I'm following the style of the past Hokage."
Of course, this was merely an excuse to brush off Kiba Inuzuka.
The real reason was simple: he had been too busy lately. Between practicing Taijutsu, developing Wood Release, and studying Sealing Jutsu, he had completely forgotten about getting a haircut.
Hearing this "lofty" reason, Kiba first froze, then seemed to think of something. His brows furrowed, and a note of irritation crept into his voice. "What? Is the barber refusing to cut your hair?"
He curled his lip with an "I get it" expression, even grinding his teeth indignantly. "Tch! Looks like that owner needs another bite! Turning away business that comes right to his door? Guess I'll have to get the village strays to give his shop some more 'special attention'!"
Kiba's words carried his characteristic bluntness and a touch of overbearing swagger, but this seemingly rough show of support warmed Naruto's heart a little.
"So that thing last time, when the barber was chased all over the streets by dogs trying to bite him-that really was your doing?"
Naruto looked at Kiba, unsure whether to laugh or cry. He had only heard vague rumors about the incident before, never imagining that the culprit was right in front of him.
"Well?"
Far from denying it, Kiba proudly nudged Naruto with his elbow and flashed a roguish grin that practically said, "Go on, praise me." Lowering his voice, he said, "I'm a pretty good pal, huh? That's what he gets for picking on you! Had to teach him a lesson!"
He was clearly very pleased with his "masterpiece" and even began sharing his experience. "I know the rules. I can't have the clan's trained ninja dogs bite people in the village. That'd be way too obvious and get my mom in trouble."
He drew out his words, a sly look on his face. "But stray dogs are fair game! Those ownerless dogs wandering around the village-if they 'don't like the look of someone' and want to chase him down for a few bites, who can do anything about it? It's not like anyone can trace it back to me!"