“My name is Shino Aburame. My dream is to cultivate extremely powerful kikaichū. I like vegetable salad and winter melon, and I dislike strongly flavored foods. My hobby is collecting insects,” Shino said coolly.
“Whoa, he actually likes collecting bugs. That’s scary.”
“And he wants to raise powerful bugs too. So scary!”
The girls in the class immediately cried out one after another, staring at Shino in alarm.
Behind his sunglasses, the cool-looking Shino wore a helpless expression.
“Shino is a member of the Aburame Clan. His clan’s inherited secret technique revolves around controlling insects. The stronger his insects are, the stronger he becomes, and the stronger he becomes, the better he can protect the village. Clearly, Shino is a very dependable classmate,” Iruka commented with a smile.
“You flatter me, Iruka-sensei,” Shino replied gratefully.
Though with his flat tone, there was no trace of gratitude to be heard.
“All right, next.”
“My name is Ryōhei Aida. My dream is to become Hokage and protect the village. I like sweets, dislike bitter things, and my hobby is playing ninja games where I get to be the righteous ninja,” an utterly ordinary little brat said.
“My name is Keiko Morina. My dream is to become the most beautiful kunoichi and amaze everyone with my beauty. I like three-color dango, hate bugs, and my hobby is making myself look pretty with makeup,” said a little girl with an ordinary face and an equally ordinary figure.
“My name is Sakura Haruno. My dream is…”
Naruto did not particularly care what these classmates were called.
By this point, he was already bored enough to turn his head and look out the window.
The cherry blossoms drifting outside were quite beautiful.
“Hey, Naruto. It’s your turn.”
Naruto had no idea how much time had passed before Shikamaru nudged him.
“Oh.”
Naruto stood up.
“My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you.”
After that brief introduction, he sat straight back down.
“It’s him! The kid Mom and Dad told us not to play with. He’s actually in our class?”
“Even if he’s in our class, we still can’t play with him. Mom and Dad would get angry.”
“Do you know why our parents told us not to play with him?”
“I know, I know! I heard he’s a monster called the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.”
“The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?”
The entire classroom immediately erupted into discussion.
“Quiet. We’re continuing the introductions. Next.”
Iruka looked at Naruto with a complicated expression before speaking.
Naruto did not care in the slightest.
He simply turned back toward the window. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Shikamaru Nara. I don’t really have any dreams. Nothing I especially like, and nothing I especially hate,” Shikamaru said lazily, offering an introduction devoid of substance.
“My name is Ino Yamanaka. I’m the one who’s going to become the strongest and most beautiful kunoichi. I like winning and hate losing. I refuse to lose!”
Ino stared straight at Sakura as she aggressively declared war.
“I-I’m Hinata Hyūga. P-Please take care of me, everyone.”
Hinata stood up with a red face, then sat down again just as quickly, still blushing.
Before long, the introductions came to an end.
“Very good. Now that everyone has introduced themselves, you should all have a basic understanding of your classmates,” Iruka summarized.
“From now on, make sure you get along, help each other, and improve together. Only then can you become outstanding ninja.”
Iruka then clapped his hands.
“All right, everyone, focus. We’re going to begin our first lesson.”
He turned toward the blackboard and wrote several large words.
Chakra Refinement
“This is an indispensable ability for anyone who wants to become a ninja: refining chakra.”
When it came to the ninja-related subjects at the Ninja Academy, there were no textbooks for students to study from.
Most knowledge was passed down orally.
Only the academic subjects had textbooks.
And even those merely required a basic understanding.
The Ninja Academy primarily evaluated the three abilities that reflected a person’s talent as a ninja: ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
As far as the Chakra Refinement Technique was concerned, Naruto had mastered it thoroughly long ago.
Even if he ignored the lesson entirely, it would make no difference to him.
Still, there was always something to be learned from others.
So Naruto listened carefully to see whether Iruka’s method of teaching chakra refinement contained anything worth learning.
The facts soon proved that Naruto had been overthinking things.
The Chakra Refinement Technique Iruka taught was considerably inferior to the one Naruto had learned from the Third Hokage, both in refinement efficiency and in the quality of the chakra produced.
Naruto therefore quickly lost interest.
“That is the Chakra Refinement Technique. All right, everyone, begin refining chakra. Those of you who have already succeeded in refining chakra may sleep, but don’t make any noise and disturb the students who haven’t succeeded yet,” Iruka said.
Immediately, half the classroom collapsed onto their desks.
“Tch. They’re already six years old and still haven’t refined chakra. How pathetic,” someone whispered proudly and disdainfully. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
Naruto noticed that Sakura was not attempting to refine chakra either.
Clearly, she had already learned how before enrolling.
After all, both her parents were still alive.
Sasuke was not refining chakra either, but he sat there meditating.
There was even a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, since he had yet to experience the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, perhaps he was currently imagining training with his beloved older brother once school ended.
Refining chakra was not easy, especially for children without much talent who had never attempted it before.
Not a single one of them managed to refine chakra before the bell rang.
Ring, ring, ring!
“All right, class is over. Those of you who haven’t refined chakra yet don’t need to be nervous,” Iruka reassured them.
“Even the most talented people usually need four to six hours on their first attempt. Managing to refine chakra within two or three months is still completely normal.”
“Damn it! I don’t want to take three months to refine chakra!”
“Me neither! I’m not that useless. I’m going to refine chakra this afternoon!”
“I’m skipping lunch! No matter what, I’m refining chakra today!”
The little brats complained one after another, clearly unwilling to accept it.
“Quiet!”
Iruka knocked on the desk.
“Anyone saying they’re going to skip lunch clearly wasn’t listening properly. Chakra is formed from a combination of mental energy and cellular energy. If you don’t eat lunch, where are you supposed to get enough cellular energy to refine chakra?”
“Every one of you is going to eat lunch and get some proper rest. You can continue refining chakra this afternoon.”
“Dismissed!”
Only then did the reluctant children take out their lunch boxes and go eat.
“Naruto, want to eat lunch together?” Shikamaru invited him.
“No. I don’t have a habit of bringing a lunch box, and I live pretty close to the Academy anyway. I’d rather go home and eat,” Naruto replied, shaking his head.
“I see,” Shikamaru said.
“Shikamaru, let’s go eat,” Chōji called as he walked over.
“Mm, let’s go.”
After answering Chōji, Shikamaru turned back toward Naruto.
“See you this afternoon, Naruto.”
“See you this afternoon.”
Naruto smiled in response, stood up, and left the classroom to head home for lunch.