As Naruto spoke these words.
It was time for the Conquest Squad led by Ino and Sakura to be left speechless.
Before the match started, they might have been able to scrape together three or five hundred silver taels, but after losing five games in a row, there was no way they could pull out nineteen hundred silver taels.
Seeing the ugly expressions and unwilling eyes of the boys in Ino and Sakura's group, Naruto let out a punchable, exaggerated sigh.
What a pity. In such a huge school, not a single one can fight. Truly... it is lonely at the top.
Dammit... he showed off again!
"Naruto, don't get too arrogant. Don't leave after school today. I'm going to invite Shikamaru to battle you, and then you'll lose back the exact way you won!"
"That's right, Shogi has always been Shikamaru's specialty! Since you look down on us so much, Shikamaru will definitely step in!"
Naruto lowered his head, leisurely packing up his stall, completely unfazed by the resentful provocations coming from all around.
"Hmph, I'll wait. I'm just afraid Shikamaru lacks confidence in her own chess skills and won't dare."
Winning five games in a row, starting with a 100-tael loan from Sasuke and his own 100 taels-a total capital of 200 taels.
In just over ten minutes, he multiplied it more than a dozen times to rake in nineteen hundred silver taels. Wasn't arrogance perfectly reasonable?
"You... just wait, Naruto. I'll pass these exact words on to Shikamaru."
"Go wait to die and get cried to death by Shikamaru!"
Ino dropped her harsh words, turned around angrily, and stormed off.
Sakura and the rest of the boys also left in a huff.
Heh heh... I feel like the big fish is about to bite.
Naruto packed all his gambling paraphernalia into his canvas bag, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he walked toward the classroom.
Yet right at that moment, a woman's voice stopped him.
"Naruto."
Naruto frowned and turned back. When he saw Iruka-sensei, whose attitude had changed overnight, a spike of vigilance rose in his heart.
Yesterday, this person's attitude toward her had shown obvious alienation. Although she hadn't given him cold looks as blatantly as the Konoha villagers, that subconscious indifference was something he could still sense.
How could Iruka's attitude toward him do a complete 180 after just one night?
"Good morning, Iruka-sensei."
Though puzzled, Naruto still greeted her politely.
Iruka wore a professional teacher's smile, walked over to Naruto in two or three strides, and reached out to pat Naruto's head, only to pat empty air.
Seeing Naruto instinctively dodge and back away, the smile on Iruka's face stiffened slightly, but she quickly recovered and started bringing up Naruto's grades.
The two walked along the path, while Naruto remained silent and simply listened quietly.
"Naruto, you see, the teacher has been rather busy these days and hasn't helped you make up for your poor grades. To show my apology, how about the teacher treats you to ramen after school?"
As Iruka said this, a gentle smile hung on her face. Though she tried her best to conceal it, the long-standing prejudice in her heart would never be wiped out overnight simply because of a mission from the Third.
Though extremely subtle, a trace of imperceptible disgust deep within Iruka's eyes was still clearly captured by Naruto.
Hearing this, Naruto was stunned at first.
Of course, from Iruka's perspective, this expression should have been a sign of shock and pleasant surprise at suddenly being recognized by someone.
"Actually... in the teacher's eyes, you are quite exceptional too, Naruto."
Loving ramen, feeling an inner emptiness, and craving recognition-these were things the original story's Naruto had desperately wished for in his childhood.
Yet at this very moment, Naruto's daze was not caused by any pleasant surprise, but rather by a slight chill in his heart.
Ever since the Third Hokage sought her out yesterday and provided funding, she hadn't sensed a single surveillance gaze from the ANBU and Root all the way until today. She had assumed it was a blind spot in the surveillance, but conversing and meeting with Iruka right now made her realize what was happening.
Because I constantly have becoming Hokage on my lips, the Third thinks I've cleared the observation period, and is thus launching the next step of the heart-winning bond: getting Iruka to acknowledge me. To heighten the authenticity of the event, she even told Iruka that I like eating ramen, touching my inner heart so that I develop a strong sense of belonging to Konoha?
This wasn't Naruto holding some prejudice against Iruka.
It was a conclusion drawn by combining her transmigration with the plot of the original story.
In the original story, the moment Naruto obtained an ANBU mask, he went to the Konoha cemetery that very night to pull pranks and scare his classmates. At the time, when Iruka discovered the prank was Naruto's, the look of disgust she gave him was something he still remembered vividly.
Yet in this life, even though she had also obtained an ANBU mask, she wouldn't do something as boring as the original Naruto.
She never expected that Iruka would still suddenly turn nice to her the very next day.
Pondering the critical factors, Naruto wore a calm smile on his face.
"Iruka-sensei, I think you must have misunderstood something. I only eat instant noodles often because I have no money. Compared to instant noodles, ramen tastes better and isn't too expensive, but that doesn't mean I don't like eating high-end dishes like grilled meat."
After Naruto finished speaking, Iruka looked somewhat flustered, but she quickly masked it with a smile. "Alright, if Naruto wants to, then tonight I'll treat you to grilled meat?"
"Heh heh, Iruka-sensei, I've already found a way to earn my meals. There's a competition at Ichiraku Ramen this afternoon, and I've already made an appointment with Aunt Ichiraku to go help out. Aunt Ichiraku will give me a ramen exchange voucher as a reward."
Hearing Naruto's polite refusal, Iruka smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"Goodbye, Iruka-sensei." Naruto waved with a smile and bolted toward the classroom.
The moment Naruto turned around, the smile vanished from his face, and his eyes clouded over with gloom.
Iruka was the same. She had thought secretly accepting the Third's S-Rank mission would be a breeze, but she hadn't expected Naruto to be nowhere near as easy to handle as she had imagined.
Did I rush things too much?
Iruka watched the direction where Naruto had disappeared and muttered under her breath, "I must not let down the Third's trust. Yeah..."
Meanwhile.
Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, and the rest of the Conquest Squad walked into the classroom crestfallen, looking like defeated fighting cocks.
They had thought they could rely on their own chess skills to easily steamroll the dropout Naruto, but the reality was that a whole group of them had been steamrolled by Naruto.
And they were thrashed so humiliatingly-a whole crowd losing five matches in a row to a single person. Didn't that mean the lot of them were even worse off than a dropout?
The girls in the class watched the entering group with curious eyes.
Though Sasuke already knew the outcome, she still felt a bit skeptical.
Naruto's combat aptitude was so well-rounded that she didn't believe Naruto even had the time to study Shogi skills.
Lifting her gaze slightly, she felt a secret shock when she saw the boys returning one by one with slumped shoulders.
In the past, these boys would look at her the moment they entered the classroom, reading her expression to gauge her mood so they could suck up and strike up a conversation.
Yet right now, the group acted as if they had no face to look at her, all keeping their heads down as they returned to their seats.
Of course, Sasuke wasn't the only one inwardly shocked; Kiba Inuzuka, Shino, Choji, and Shikamaru were all the same.
Just as everyone returned to their seats, the warning bell rang.
Naruto walked into the classroom almost at the exact instant the warning bell sounded.
Compared to the low spirits of Ino, Sakura, and the others, Naruto was far more spirited.
He gave off a glowing, triumphant aura-a man walking with wind in his steps, a man like the wind.
The defeat of Ino and her group had already been confirmed, and Naruto, having just walked into the classroom, undoubtedly became the focal point of everyone's attention.
Naruto looked straight ahead, not glancing at anyone.
He simply walked up to Sasuke's desk and stopped, a move that undoubtedly triggered the nerves of Ino, Sakura, and the other boys, whose glares practically wanted to devour Naruto alive.
Seeing Naruto walk up to her and halt, Sasuke's little heart jumped into her throat.
According to their agreement, even though she would be Naruto's temporary school girlfriend for the next three months, announcing or admitting it in public still carried pressure.
Of course, Sasuke had thought of this scene long ago; she had simply compromised for the sake of obtaining power.
Sasuke looked at Naruto with resignation and a sense of release in her eyes, just about to take the initiative to admit and announce the matter. Unexpectedly, before she could speak, she saw Naruto pull his right hand out from his trouser pocket and slam it down onto the desk.
"200 silver taels! Take it and buy snacks!"
Before you continue