At this point, Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno were still inseparable best friends.
The "falling-out" caused by their shared crush on Sasuke Uchiha had yet to happen.
The two walked into the somewhat noisy classroom together, close as ever.
Once inside, Ino's gaze drifted almost instinctively toward the window seat at the back of the classroom.
Ever since their brief but memorable encounter at the flower shop over New Year's, she had found herself keeping an eye on that blond boy without even realizing it.
Even the master-and-student pair's morning runs through the village, which had originally been so annoying, had become something Ino rather looked forward to.
Seeing that Naruto's hair had grown a little longer but still didn't cover the whisker marks on his face, Ino felt a little disappointed.
She had to admit that Naruto was pretty handsome with those whisker marks covered.
Right now, rather than sleeping with his head on his desk or staring out the window alone as usual, Naruto was laughing and chatting with Kiba Inuzuka of the Inuzuka Clan and another boy wearing sunglasses and a high collar.
They seemed to be getting along quite well.
Ino tilted her head slightly, taking a closer look at the boy in sunglasses, whose presence was remarkably easy to overlook.
That guy... wasn't he from the Aburame Clan? Shino Aburame, right?
It took her quite a while to remember her classmate's name. He was usually so quiet that he hardly made a sound, barely registering in the classroom at all.
She hadn't expected Naruto to find so much to talk about with him.
Watching those three very different boys gathered together, Ino couldn't help feeling a little curious.
"Hey, Naruto, Kiba, and Shino!"
With that lazy but familiar greeting, Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara strolled in through the classroom's back door and headed straight for the area around Naruto's seat.
Clearly, they were part of this little circle too.
Naruto gave them a beaming smile when he saw them, apparently having prepared for their arrival.
He bent down, rummaged inside his desk, and pulled out a bag of barbecue-flavored chips that he had clearly brought especially for Choji, handing it to him with easy familiarity.
"Wow! Thanks, Naruto!"
The moment Choji saw his favorite flavor, he was overjoyed.
His eyes, which usually looked tiny in his chubby face, widened as far as they could, shining with surprise and delight. He happily took the precious bag of chips from Naruto and eagerly tore it open.
"Hey, hey, where's mine, Naruto? I want snacks too!"
Kiba Inuzuka immediately crowded closer, making a fuss as though to say, "You can't play favorites!" He reached out to sling an arm around Naruto's shoulders.
Naruto laughed and dodged him, then took another bag of plain chips from his desk and handed it over.
"Here, but these are plain."
"Hehe, that's more like it. I'll treat you to ramen sometime!"
Kiba took the chips and unceremoniously opened them, then casually hooked an arm around Shino Aburame's shoulders beside him and offered him the bag. "Shino, don't just watch. Have some!"
Although Shino's high collar hid his expression, he didn't refuse, silently taking a few chips from the bag.
Watching from nearby, Shikamaru yawned and mumbled, "Sorry for the trouble, Naruto," though there was also a barely perceptible warmth in his eyes.
Shikamaru pulled Choji along and settled into the empty seats in the row in front of Naruto with practiced familiarity.
He had barely leaned back in his chair when he caught sight of Ino and Sakura standing in the classroom doorway out of the corner of his eye.
He raised a hand listlessly and called toward the door, "Hey, Ino, don't just stand there. Come over!"
His voice still had that same lazy drawl.
"Class is about to start."
The classroom's seating arrangement was very orderly.
On the left, right, and in the middle, each pair of adjoining desks seated four students.
Shikamaru and Choji had already taken seats in the second-to-last row, while Naruto, Kiba, and Shino occupied the back row, leaving one seat empty.
At Shikamaru's call, Ino immediately pulled Sakura along and walked briskly over, taking the empty seats beside Shikamaru and Choji.
Ino sat in the empty seat beside Shikamaru, directly in front of Naruto. Turning sideways, she greeted Shikamaru. "It's been ages, Shikamaru."
"Has it really?"
Shikamaru yawned, feeling too lazy to bother with pleasantries.
"Didn't we just see each other at your place for Uncle Inoichi's birthday a couple of days ago?"
The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans had been close for generations.
As Inoichi Yamanaka was the head of the Yamanaka Clan, the elders of the Nara and Akimichi families naturally brought Shikamaru and Choji along to congratulate him at a family celebration such as his birthday.
"Oh? Uncle Inoichi's birthday was a couple of days ago?"
Their conversation caught Naruto's attention.
Seeing that Shikamaru and Ino weren't going to say anything more, he acted.
He rummaged in his pocket for a moment, then took out some flower seeds in a small paper bag that looked as though it had been carefully looked after.
"Not long ago, I bought some pretty unusual flower seeds from an out-of-town merchant passing through Konoha."
Naruto explained.
"I was planning to find Uncle Inoichi at the flower shop and give him the seeds as a thank-you gift. But I went a few times, and someone else was looking after the shop every time."
He handed the bag of seeds to Ino with a friendly smile. "Ino, could you do me a favor and pass these on to Uncle Inoichi? They're my way of thanking him."
"You don't really..."
Ino instinctively started to make a polite refusal, but immediately changed course and reached out to accept the bag of seeds.
"...Since it's a gift from you, Naruto, I'll accept it on my father's behalf. Thank you."
Her movements seemed calm, but as soon as she accepted the seeds, she turned back to face the blackboard, quietly trying to settle her fluttering excitement.
No!
She told herself.
I still have to find a way to trick Naruto into covering those whisker marks!
That resolve was unusually firm.
If a few whisker marks meant the world had one less sunny, cheerful, handsome boy, that would be a tremendous loss!
The regret and determination born of her instinctive weakness for good looks made her temporarily forget her other, more complicated emotions.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Sakura, sitting beside her, both looked rather surprised.
They exchanged a glance, each seeing the same confusion in the other's eyes:
Naruto... actually knew Uncle Inoichi-Ino's father?
And from the sound of it, they were even on pretty good terms?
This went completely beyond their understanding of Naruto's social circle.
As far as they knew, Naruto had always been shunned by the villagers, let alone had any dealings with the head of the Yamanaka Clan.