Naruto Uzumaki Is a Rogue Ninja

"Sorry, Nine-Tails... I lost control..."

The Nine-Tails spoke to Naruto with the earnestness of a nagging mother, "My Chakra has influenced you, making you irritable. Naruto, you need to control your emotions."

"If only it were that easy to control," Naruto spread his hands and slid off the Nine-Tails' face, landing steadily. "I can't refine Chakra. Right now, only your Chakra exists within me, which makes it even harder for me to control my emotions."

"I'll try my best to control my emotions. At worst, I'll just tear up that broken seal and let you out!" Naruto said, stroking his chin, seemingly with that intention rather than joking.

"Let me think, my current body can't withstand your Nine-Tails power. That means I'd turn into a human nuclear bomb! BOOM!"

Naruto raised his hands and said happily, "If I did that, Konoha would be destroyed by me!"

"If you did that, you'd die too! Idiot!" The Nine-Tails looked at the inexplicably happy Naruto with a headache, unable to resist flicking Naruto's forehead. The result was that Naruto bounced around the cell like a rubber ball, finally lying on the ground with his eyes spinning.

"Naruto! Are you okay?"

The Nine-Tails extended a finger and lightly poked Naruto's abdomen through his clothes with a sharp nail.

"Hahaha! That tickles!"

Naruto clutched his stomach, laughing, and sat up, shaking his dizzy head. He looked at the Nine-Tails with puffed-out cheeks, pouting.

"Nine-Tails, you're so mean! I'm not talking to you anymore!" Naruto said and left without giving the Nine-Tails a chance to react, leaving behind a Nine-Tails with a headache.

"Naruto! Naruto!" Kakashi, who had already retired from the Anbu, looked at Naruto sleeping like a log. He touched his mask and resisted the urge to splash water on him to wake him up.

"Ugh~!" Naruto sat up groggily, opening his sleepy eyes. He looked at the white-haired, former Anbu, Kakashi, in front of him.

"Is something wrong?"

"This is your enrollment paperwork. Starting tomorrow, you'll be studying at the Ninja Academy," Kakashi said, placing the completed paperwork on the table.

"Heh~!" Naruto let out a sarcastic smile. "Is it really okay to send a monster like me to the Ninja Academy?"

"That's the Hokage's decision."

"Third Grandpa... I understand."

Naruto had interacted with the Third Hokage. If he hadn't seen the deep apology hidden in the Third Hokage's eyes, Naruto would have resented him deeply. Even if the Third Hokage was a decent old man in the original story, it didn't change the fact that he hadn't kept his promise to Minato Namikaze.

Naruto wasn't an idiot. Only by latching onto the Third Hokage, a strong backer, could he avoid being bothered by Danzo, or at least not be captured and brainwashed into a well-behaved Jinchuriki.

The next day, he arrived at the Ninja Academy. Because it was the Hokage's order, even if they harbored ill will towards Naruto, the adults who brought their children to the Ninja Academy couldn't openly express their malice.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto was assigned to Iruka's class.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki. Please take care of me," Naruto introduced himself briefly and then looked at Iruka. "Teacher, where should I sit?"

"Ah... um, you can sit next to Sasuke!" Iruka was surprised by Naruto's brief introduction. After a moment of stunned silence, he assigned Naruto to the seat next to Sasuke Uchiha.

According to the boy-girl seating arrangement, Iruka's assignment was not wrong, but it was different from what Naruto remembered.

Naruto nodded and walked over, muttering to himself, In the original story, Naruto should have sat with some random extra, right? Why am I at the same desk as second-rate Sasuke?

It doesn't matter, it's all the same who I sit with.

I need to hurry and learn how to refine Chakra to avoid losing control of my emotions.

"Hello."

Naruto greeted Sasuke Uchiha and sat down, saying no more. He watched other classmates introduce themselves, not paying too much attention to the young master of the Uchiha clan.

Chapter Five: Each Harboring Their Own Intentions (1/2)

Naruto Uzumaki... Naruto...

Hinata Hyuga secretly observed Naruto, her young face slightly flushed.

After assigning seats, Iruka clapped his hands to interrupt the children's incessant chatter.

"Alright! Everyone, quiet down! Today, as your first day of class, I will teach you the most basic and most important thing for a ninja..."

"That is Chakra!"

Iruka wrote the words on the blackboard with chalk and tapped the board lightly, drawing all the children's attention to him.

Chakra!

Naruto listened intently to Iruka's lecture, memorizing all the knowledge about Chakra.

During the break, Naruto frowned, pondering how to refine Chakra.

"Hey!"

Sasuke Uchiha, whom Naruto had been ignoring for a long time, impatiently tapped the desk, interrupting Naruto's thoughts.

"Is something wrong?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked unhappily at the Sasuke who had not yet experienced the clan massacre.

"We're deskmates, aren't we? Can you stop ignoring me?" Sasuke Uchiha glared at Naruto with a face full of dissatisfaction, his eyes even carrying a hint of grievance, like a spoiled child.

"Sorry, I don't think there's anything for us to talk about. Besides, didn't your parents tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Don't come near me."

"Ah!"

Before Sasuke Uchiha could react, Naruto pushed him and he fell to the ground.

The surrounding children heard Sasuke's cry and all looked over. Sasuke's small face flushed red under their gaze. He angrily gritted his teeth, trying hard to act as if nothing had happened, and sat in his seat, unable to vent his anger, his face turning red from frustration.

"Tsk!"

That's enough!

Seeing the puffed-up Sasuke, Naruto clicked his tongue and closed his eyes, refusing to look at him.

Naruto Uzumaki...

Iruka watched Naruto from the doorway, his eyes filled with memories. Time seemed to rewind to the night of the Nine-Tails' attack. His parents had died that night while trying to stop the Nine-Tails.

"Hey! Iruka! What are you thinking about?"

"Ah! Mizuki! Don't startle me!" Iruka's memories were interrupted by Mizuki, who happened to be passing by.

Is that little girl the Jinchuriki who has the Nine-Tails sealed inside her...?