Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki

"Hello, can I sit beside you?" Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist of the Naruto world, came over to Ayato and asked somewhat nervously.

"Sure. I just got here too, so no one should be sitting here." Ayato looked at Naruto without much reaction and answered calmly.

"Great!" Having received Ayato's permission, Naruto happily sat down beside him.

Ayato and Naruto could be considered acquaintances already. After all, once Ayato learned that this was the world of Naruto, he had been quite curious about its protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, and had deliberately sought him out while wandering around before.

However, Ayato had only intended to watch from afar. He had never considered becoming Naruto Uzumaki's friend. After all, Naruto was a Jinchuriki, so there were surely plenty of Anbu guards watching him. There was no benefit in a mere ordinary person like Ayato rashly approaching him.

There could even be drawbacks. The Third Hokage might not care after investigating Ayato's approach to Naruto, but Danzo was likely watching the Jinchuriki too. He might remember it, even if he did not think much of it. Yet with his status, a casual move on his part would spell disaster for Ayato.

Then there was the possibility of being ostracized by the villagers. Anyone who approached the "monster" in their eyes would probably be considered beyond saving as well.

So when Ayato had deliberately gone to see Naruto for the first time, he had merely watched from afar. Hearing the people around him constantly call Naruto a monster and seeing those ever-present cold stares, Ayato had felt suffocated even standing nearby.

If their circumstances were switched, even though Ayato was living his Second Life, his mental state would surely have broken under such an environment, just like the early Gaara...

No, Gaara had been weak and too young to understand anything, so he could not do much. If it had been Ayato, he might have gone even further. He would certainly have plotted to use the Nine-Tails to take revenge on those people.

You call me a monster? Then I'll work hard to become a real monster. Once I'm strong enough, I'll show you what a monster truly looks like!

What truly led Naruto and Ayato to know each other happened later. Naruto had tried to buy food with extra money, only to be thrown out directly. His coins were tossed onto the ground and viciously stomped on several times.

Seeing that scene and hearing the laughter all around, Ayato could not take it anymore. Although he did not step forward, he later used his own money to buy the food Naruto had wanted, then followed Naruto to a deserted place.

"You wanted to buy these, right?" Ayato had asked at the time.

"Y-yes." Ayato still remembered Naruto's hesitant answer.

Ayato handed the food to Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened, and after an unknown amount of time, he suddenly seemed to think of something. He hurriedly wiped the slightly dirty coins against the cleanest part of his clothes, then offered them to Ayato expectantly.

In the end, Ayato counted out an amount far exceeding the price and left with the expression of someone who had made a profit. To be honest, he had no interest in that little bit of money. He merely needed an excuse to make money. If it was only this one time and he did not show any closeness toward Naruto, it would be fine. Going any further would go against Ayato's plans. Even doing this much had been somewhat impulsive.

But seeing that scene in the anime had already been painful enough. Now that he had witnessed it in reality, the oppression of it all made Ayato feel as though he were suffocating. He felt that he ought to do something, but in the end, he realized that he could do nothing. Even if he wanted to help, he had to find a way to do it by appearing to exploit Naruto financially. Ayato had only thought of that method on the spot because Naruto's money was probably impossible to spend. He had exploited Naruto, but not entirely. Still, as long as others thought he merely wanted Naruto's money, that was enough.

As for taking their friendship further, Ayato avoided it because he had to consider his own safety. If he had been alone, perhaps he could have thrown caution to the wind, but he was not.

Of course, Naruto knew none of this. He did not care about the money at all. It was the first time he had felt that someone had not looked at him coldly, and his whole person seemed to shine with new light.

Then, after quite some time, they encountered each other in the village again. Naruto's gaze instantly locked onto Ayato, sparkling with delight. He wanted to go over to Ayato despite the latter's helpless look, but in the end, he stopped.

Before Naruto could even get close to Ayato, he felt the gazes of the people around them. At that moment, Naruto understood that if he really went to Ayato, he would probably cause trouble for him, just as those people had never allowed anyone to play with him before...

In the end, Naruto merely passed Ayato by in disappointment. Ayato, meanwhile, let out a breath of relief and was not implicated by the matter. After that, however, Naruto never took the initiative to seek him out again.

Ayato felt a complicated mix of emotions. What a wonderful child. Even after being treated like that, he still thought of others...

Coming back to himself, Ayato looked at Naruto beside him. Naruto had probably come to him now because there were no adults around. Children were actually simple. They only avoided Naruto because the adults told them not to play with him. Even if they parroted that Naruto was a monster, they did not know what a monster truly meant.

Thus, in Naruto's eyes, the malice of adults ran far deeper than that of children. At the Ninja Academy, perhaps he could get a little closer to someone who bore him no ill will.

Ayato thought about Naruto's personality in the future and sighed. Why had he developed such a personality? With the Nine-Tails' influence inside him and endless malice outside, would it not have been stranger if he had turned out that way?

Ayato sighed again. Perhaps the answer in his heart was Asura. Otherwise, he simply could not explain it.

Yet that answer sent a chill down Ayato's spine. How could a personality forcibly predetermined for someone not be The Fear?

Hopefully, it was not as he imagined. Otherwise, it would be far too tragic.

After some time, a young man with tied-up hair and a scar across the bridge of his nose finally arrived late. He walked up to the podium and cleared his throat a few times.

However, the classroom remained full of noise, and it had no effect at all. After all, this was no longer the era of war, and the Ninja Academy students were rather undisciplined.

Ayato also looked at the teacher on the stage. He was quite familiar with this man as well. He had been Naruto's first teacher, after all. His name was Iruka, and he was a Chunin.

Ayato remembered that Iruka's parents had also died in the Nine Tails' Riot. At first, Iruka had not known how to face Naruto, but later, he had gradually been moved by Naruto and accepted him.

In short, Iruka was a very good and qualified teacher. Since Ayato roughly knew his character, he would have to make good use of their teacher-student relationship later and ask him for guidance often.

"I'm Umino Iruka. From now on, I'll be your teacher. You can call me Iruka Sensei. Next, I'll call the roll. When your name is called, please stand up and introduce yourself. Hmm, I'll demonstrate first."

"Umino Iruka. My favorite food is Ichiraku Ramen. I like positive, motivated people. I don't have anyone I dislike for now. The food I dislike is Zaru Soba. In the future, I want to become an outstanding teacher and teach wave after wave of outstanding students."

After Iruka finished introducing himself, he picked up the list he had prepared long ago and began calling names.

Nara Shikamaru...

Akimichi Choji...

Yamanaka Ino...

Haruno Sakura...

Ayato heard some unfamiliar names and some familiar ones. When Haruno Sakura's name was called, his expression became somewhat complicated.

According to his plan, he could only apologize to Haruno Sakura.