Enrollment (2)

In the small plaza outside the Ninja Academy...

There was no one within four or five meters of where Naruto, Zeff, and Wolffy stood.

With Naruto there, not to mention the abnormally huge Zeff and a wolf walking on two legs, it would have been a miracle if anyone dared approach.

Just after Naruto watched Rock Lee leave, two ninja instructors came out of the academy.

Naruto knew both of them.

One was Umino Iruka, and the other was his friend Mizuki, who was also the first minor boss the original Naruto had faced.

The two carried a table over and set it beside the Ninja Academy's entrance. Then Umino Iruka called out to everyone in the plaza.

"Everyone enrolling, line up here to register!"

Hearing that, the people in the plaza sent their children to line up while the parents watched from behind.

As the children lined up one after another, Naruto didn't go over right away. He waited until everyone was in line before walking over alone.

Aside from Naruto at the very end, Hinata Hyuga was the last in line.

When Hinata saw that Naruto was right behind her, she blushed.

"Hinata, long time no see!"

Hinata nodded gently and whispered, "Naru...to, long time no see!"

"Hehe, we'll probably be in the same class, right?"

He spoke with a smile.

"Probably... yes..."

While Naruto went to line up, Zeff and Wolffy quietly left.

The two found a deserted spot, dispelled their shadow clones, and returned to the Sealing Space.

Meanwhile...

Inside the Hokage's office...

The Third Hokage took a deep drag on his pipe as he looked at the Crystal Ball before him. "His split personalities even have appearances of their own. Just as I thought... Naruto's schizophrenia is getting worse!"

With that, the Third Hokage turned to his computer and discovered that the affection score of the beautiful kunoichi he had been pursuing lately had actually dropped.

"Hey, hey, hey..."

"Don't go down..."

Seeing the affection score suddenly drop, the Third Hokage immediately put Naruto's situation out of his mind. After all... there was nothing he could do about it anyway. He could only rely on an expert in that field-Inoichi Yamanaka.

Back to Naruto.

After nearly an hour of waiting in line, it was finally Naruto and Hinata's turn.

Mizuki handled Naruto's registration, while Iruka handled Hinata's.

As Naruto approached Mizuki, he saw the contempt and disgust on his face.

Heh... Naruto sneered inwardly at Mizuki's expression. No wonder you got your ass kicked right at the start. With an attitude like that, who else would deserve it?

Since Mizuki wasn't being pleasant, Naruto naturally looked at him with open displeasure too.

"Hey... brat, what's with that look?"

Seeing Naruto look at him that way, Mizuki spoke with irritation.

"Oh? What look? Obviously, the look I give an idiot! Is that a problem?"

Naruto's words instantly enraged Mizuki.

Iruka, who was registering Hinata, frowned slightly too, while Hinata looked at Naruto with concern.

"Boy... do you believe I have the authority to refuse you admission to the Ninja Academy?"

Of course, Mizuki was only trying to scare Naruto. He believed those words would make Naruto obediently submit.

"Oh..." Naruto merely uttered that single word, then turned to leave.

Mizuki was dumbfounded at the sight.

Hey... this isn't how the script goes!

Seeing this, Iruka hurried forward to stop Naruto from leaving.

"Naruto... you can't leave!"

Naruto shrugged indifferently. "Didn't this instructor say he had the authority to keep me out of the Ninja Academy? Works for me. School isn't much fun anyway!"

With that, Naruto made to leave.

But... how could Mizuki and Iruka possibly let Naruto leave? The Third Hokage had given them special instructions concerning him.

Even which class Naruto would be assigned to and who his homeroom teacher would be had already been clearly arranged.

"Wait..."

Mizuki was starting to lose his composure too. This Demon Fox brat was far too difficult to deal with.

Just what I'd expect from the Demon Fox. So damn sneaky...

Though deeply annoyed, Mizuki still stepped forward to block Naruto's path.

"Well... Naruto Uzumaki, I was actually just joking with you..."

Seeing Mizuki's reluctance, Naruto felt nothing at all. He even felt like picking his nose.

"Ahem..." Suddenly, Naruto started coughing. Then he theatrically clutched his chest. "Sir... do you know how much psychological damage that joke caused me...?"

Mizuki: ...

Iruka: ...

Naruto's sudden theatrics left both men speechless. Even quite a few parents who had brought their children to school turned to look.

Mizuki's expression grew darker and darker, while Iruka could only try to reason gently with Naruto.

"Naruto... I'm Iruka, and I'll be your homeroom teacher. Do your teacher a favor. Let's fill out your information, and then I'll take you to your classroom, all right?"

Hearing Iruka's words, Naruto nodded.

Seeing Naruto nod, Iruka let out a long sigh of relief. But Naruto's next words left him stunned again.

Naruto pointed at Mizuki. "As long as this instructor apologizes to me, I'll go fill out the forms!"

At those words, Mizuki's already contorted expression tightened as he gritted his teeth.

Iruka also knew that they had to resolve this right now, and Naruto had to enroll.

He turned to Mizuki. "Mizuki... why don't you... apologize?"

Mizuki stared coldly at Naruto through gritted teeth, but soon... his expression became calm again.

"Naruto, I apologize for my earlier behavior!"

After apologizing, Mizuki turned and left.

Naruto shrugged and followed Iruka to fill out his information.

Although Mizuki had just apologized, Naruto knew today's incident wasn't over yet.

Mizuki's expression had calmed down, but Naruto had spotted murderous intent in his eyes.

Heh... want to kill me? Perfect. I've been wanting to test the results of my training!

After filling out their enrollment information, Naruto and Hinata followed Iruka to their classroom.

Upon entering, Naruto saw plenty of familiar faces.

Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Sasuke Uchiha, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Sakura Haruno.

Including Naruto himself and Hinata, all nine of their class's young standouts were present.