Each with Their Own Hidden Agenda (1/2)

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

Like an overbearing mother, the Nine-Tails earnestly said to Naruto, "You became irritable under the influence of my Chakra. Naruto, you need to keep your emotions under control."

"If it were that easy to control, it would be great." Naruto spread her hands and slid down the Nine-Tails' face, landing steadily on the ground. "I can't refine Chakra. Right now, the only Chakra inside me is yours, which makes it even harder for me to control my emotions."

"I'll work hard to control my emotions. At worst, I'll tear off that stupid seal and let you out~!" Naruto said while stroking her chin, seeming as though she truly intended to do so rather than merely joking.

"Let me think. My current body can't withstand your power, Nine-Tails. That means I'll become a humanoid nuclear bomb! BOOM!"

Naruto raised both hands and happily declared, "If I did that, Konohagakure would be destroyed by me, right?"

"If you do that, you'll die too! Idiot!" The Nine-Tails looked at the inexplicably cheerful Naruto with a pained expression and could not help flicking her forehead. Naruto bounced around the prison like a rubber ball before finally collapsing onto the ground, her eyes spinning in circles.

"Naruto! Are you okay?"

The Nine-Tails extended a finger, its sharp claw lightly poking Naruto's abdomen through her clothes.

"Hahaha! That tickles!"

Naruto clutched her stomach and laughed, then shook her dizzy head and sat up, puffing out her cheeks as she glared sulkily at the Nine-Tails.

"The Nine-Tails is so mean! I'm not talking to you anymore!" With that, Naruto left without giving the Nine-Tails a chance to react, leaving behind a Nine-Tails with an agonized expression.

"Naruto! Naruto!" Kakashi, who had already left the Anbu, watched Naruto sleep like a dead pig and rubbed the mask over his face, restraining the urge to wake her by splashing water on her.

"Uwah~!" Naruto sat up groggily, opened her bleary eyes, and looked at the white-haired former Anbu, Kakashi.

"Is something wrong?"

"These are your enrollment papers. Starting tomorrow, you'll attend the Ninja Academy." As Kakashi spoke, he took out the completed paperwork and placed it on the table.

"Heh~!" Naruto showed a mocking smile. "Is it really okay to let a monster like me attend the Ninja Academy?"

"This is Lord Hokage's decision."

"Grandpa Third Hokage... I understand."

Naruto had met the Third Hokage before. If she had not seen the deeply hidden guilt in his eyes, she would have hated him intensely. Even if he had been a decent old man in the original work, that did not change the fact that he had failed to uphold his agreement with Minato Namikaze.

Naruto was no fool. Only by clinging to the Third Hokage's powerful thigh could she avoid being harassed by Danzo. At the very least, she would not be taken away, brainwashed, and turned into an obedient Jinchuriki.

The next day, Naruto arrived at the Ninja Academy. Since it was the Hokage's order, even the adults bringing their children to the academy could not openly display their hostility toward her.

As expected, Naruto was assigned to Iruka's class.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Please take care of me." After briefly introducing herself, Naruto looked at Iruka. "Teacher, where should I sit?"

"Ah... um, sit in the seat beside Sasuke!" Iruka had not expected Naruto's introduction to be so brief. After a momentary pause, he assigned her to the seat beside Sasuke Uchiha.

According to the boy-girl desk arrangement, there was nothing wrong with Iruka's assignment. It was simply a little different from what Naruto remembered.

Naruto nodded and walked over, muttering inwardly. In the original work, wasn't Naruto supposed to sit with some random extra? Why am I sharing a desk with Uchiha Sasuke?

Whatever. It was all the same no matter who shared a desk with her.

I need to quickly learn how to refine Chakra so I don't lose control of my emotions.

"Hello."

Naruto greeted Sasuke Uchiha, then sat down and said nothing more. She watched the other students introduce themselves and did not pay much attention to the young master of the Uchiha Clan.

Each With Their Own Schemes (1/2)

Naruto Uzumaki... Naruto...

Hinata Hyuga secretly observed Naruto, her childish little face faintly blushing. ΨΨ

After Iruka assigned the seats, he clapped his hands and interrupted the children's endless chatter.

"Alright! Students, quiet down! Since this is your first day of class, I'll teach you the most basic—and also the most important—thing about ninja..."

"That is Chakra!"

Iruka wrote several large characters on the blackboard with chalk, then tapped the board neither too hard nor too softly, drawing every child's attention to himself.

Chakra!

Naruto focused intently as she watched and listened to Iruka's lesson, memorizing everything about Chakra.

During the break, Naruto furrowed her brow as she studied how to refine Chakra.

"Hey!"

The little Uchiha fan, whom Naruto had ignored for a long time, unhappily slapped the desk, interrupting her train of thought.

"Is something wrong?"

Naruto narrowed her eyes and looked unfriendly at Uchiha Sasuke, who had yet to experience the clan massacre.

"At least we're desk mates. Can you stop ignoring me?" Sasuke Uchiha glared at Naruto with a face full of dissatisfaction. There was even a trace of grievance in his eyes, like a spoiled child.

"Sorry, I don't think you and I have anything to talk about. Besides, haven't your parents told you?"

"Told me what?"

"Don't get close to me."

"Ah!"

Before Sasuke Uchiha could react, Naruto shoved him onto the floor.

The nearby children turned at Sasuke's cry. His little face flushed red as he gritted his teeth in anger and tried his best to act as though nothing had happened. He returned to his seat, unable to vent his anger, and his face turned bright red from holding it in.

"Tch!"

This was enough!

Looking at the puffed-up Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto clicked her tongue and closed her eyes, refusing to look at him.

Naruto Uzumaki...

Iruka watched Naruto from the doorway, remembrance in his eyes. It seemed as though time had returned to the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, the night his parents had died trying to stop the Nine-Tails.

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

"Ah! Mizuki! Don't scare me like that!" Iruka's memories were interrupted by Mizuki, who had been passing by.

So that little girl was the Jinchuriki with the Nine-Tails sealed inside her...