“Hey, hey, look over there.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.
That’s impossible…”
“This is a dream.
It has to be a dream.”
“That new guy actually…”
“Damn it!
Which bastard secretly put me under a genjutsu?!”
If Iruka had to use one simple and straightforward phrase to describe how he was feeling right now, it would be—
I REGRET THIS SO MUCH!!!!
He didn’t even need to listen closely—or listen at all, really.
Iruka could feel the resentment-filled stares of his male colleagues all along the way, especially the unmarried ones.
What a disaster…
“Um…
Iruka-sensei, am I causing you trouble?”
A timid voice came from beside him.
Ayame, whose cheeks had remained faintly flushed ever since he began supporting her, asked the question with a somewhat dejected expression.
What’s the point of asking that now…
Iruka sighed.
Although he deeply regretted bringing Ayame here, now that he had brought her along, he couldn’t exactly throw her out.
“It’s fine.
Don’t mind those guys.
They’re always like that.
I’m used to it.”
Iruka forced a smile that looked more painful than crying and casually made up an excuse.
Heaven only knew what Iruka’s relationship with his colleagues had been like before this.
To put Ayame at ease, he could only say that much.
Feeling uncomfortable beneath the stares of the male teachers, Ayame didn’t stop to question whether Iruka was telling the truth.
She merely gave a timid “Mm.”
Supporting Ayame as they made their way through the hallway felt like an ordeal, but they finally reached the teachers’ office.
Classes were in session, and there happened to be no one else inside.
Seeing that, Iruka immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“Have a seat first.
I’ll get you some medicine.”
“Okay.
Thank you, Iruka-sensei.”
With no one else around, Iruka finally returned to his usual self.
Even alone in a room with a beautiful girl, he didn’t feel anything particularly unusual.
After handing Ayame some medicine for her injury, Iruka checked the time and realized that his class was about to begin.
After thinking for a moment, he said to her, “I need to go teach now.
Get some rest here for a while.
I’ll have Naruto come over to keep you company later.”
“Mm…”
Ayame obediently agreed.
There was something soft and gentle about her that made her seem worlds apart from her—the person from Iruka’s previous life, whose personality had been incredibly forceful.
It was only then that Iruka finally and completely separated Ayame from her in his mind.
After all, aside from their appearance, they were two entirely different people.
Treating Ayame as though she were someone else had been rude in the first place.
Thinking about it, Iruka felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Mm…”
Just how shy are you?!
We at least sort of got acquainted last night, didn’t we?
Iruka shook his head and said nothing more.
Carrying his lesson plans, he left the office directly.
By now, the image of Ayame as a shy girl who was uncomfortable around strangers had become firmly established in his mind.
She was probably feeling awkward around him, a near stranger, so it would be better to have Naruto look after her instead.
When Iruka arrived at the classroom, the teacher from the previous period was packing up his materials.
Seeing Iruka enter, the teacher merely nodded at him and left without saying a word.
Since class hadn’t started yet, the little brats in the classroom were still chatting loudly, making the room sound like a bustling marketplace.
Iruka casually swept his gaze across the room, but the next moment, his brow furrowed.
Everyone had their own social circle.
Even children were no exception.
People with similar interests naturally gathered together, forming small groups.
It was the same in any world.
However, perhaps because of Iruka’s test yesterday, the nine students who had passed were clustered together on one side of the classroom, while those who hadn’t were gathered on the other.
Several girls were still surrounding Sasuke, and just like yesterday, no one was willing to talk to Naruto, but Iruka could still sense an unusual atmosphere in the classroom.
“I see.
So they’re excluding each other…”
No one wanted to feel unimportant.
Children, especially, craved recognition from others.
Although Iruka’s words yesterday hadn’t explicitly dismissed the other students, there had been an undercurrent of disdain in them.
They didn’t dare take issue with Iruka, their teacher, but they could reject his judgment by ostracizing the nine students he had acknowledged.
The truth was, Iruka really didn’t think highly of their potential as shinobi.
But that was all—he had never completely denied their worth as people.
After all, a person’s value wasn’t determined by a single aspect of their life.
Still, even though Iruka knew a rift had formed within the class, he had no intention of doing anything about it.
It didn’t interfere with his teaching plans, and as for whatever little schemes the kids were cooking up among themselves, he couldn’t be bothered to care.
“Hey, Naruto!”
Iruka suddenly called out loudly to Naruto, who was sitting at the very back of the classroom.
The instant they heard Iruka’s voice, the entire classroom fell silent.
Apparently, the image of Iruka as a violent teacher had become deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds after yesterday.
In the whole class, Naruto was probably the only thick-skinned one who hadn’t taken Iruka’s punishment to heart.
Hearing his name, Naruto groggily lifted his head from the desk and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
But the moment he saw Iruka standing at the front of the classroom, his drowsiness mysteriously vanished.
Looking rather excited, he asked, “Iruka-sensei, were you calling me?”
What are you so excited about?!
I’m a grown man!
What’s there to get excited about?
Being looked at so enthusiastically by another guy feels seriously uncomfortable…
Iruka coughed and subtly avoided Naruto’s overly enthusiastic gaze before saying, “I need you to do something.
You don’t have to attend the next class.
Go to the teachers’ office and keep Ayame company for me.”
Naruto froze.
The next moment, he sprang to his feet and shouted, “Huh?!
Why is Ayame in the teachers’ office?
Don’t tell me, Iruka-sensei, you—”
A powerful force of attraction suddenly appeared beneath Naruto’s feet.
Before he could react, his entire body was suddenly enveloped by a cold and all-too-familiar sensation.
“Just go when I tell you to.
Why do you have so much nonsense to say?”
Iruka had no intention of letting Naruto’s big mouth cause him any trouble.
This was a public place, after all.
Who knew what nonsense might come out of Naruto’s scatterbrained head?
The best solution was simply to make him shut up once and for all.
With that thought, Iruka increased his chakra output and once again took control of the force field around Naruto, changing the direction of the forces acting upon him.
The next moment, Naruto’s helpless figure flew straight out the window.
Is this guy really a teacher?!
What kind of teacher treats his students like that?!
Nearly everyone shuddered at the sight of their sadistic teacher remaining completely unfazed after throwing Naruto out the window.
Only Sasuke stared thoughtfully out the window through which Naruto had disappeared, a contemplative look appearing on his handsome face.
Iruka couldn’t care less about what anyone else thought.
He walked over to the window and looked down at Naruto, who was rubbing the spot that had been hurt by the fall, with a perfectly friendly expression.
“Then I’ll leave Ayame in your care, Naruto.”
With that, Iruka smiled and shut the window.
Just as he had expected, even with it tightly closed, Naruto’s furious roar could still be heard clearly:
“Damn it!
Just you wait!
Once I become Hokage, I’ll make you get down on your knees and beg for mercy!!!”
Iruka merely shrugged, completely unconcerned by Naruto’s threat.
But when he turned around and saw the entire class staring at him with strange expressions, his face immediately hardened as he barked, “What are you staring at?
If you don’t want to end up like Naruto, get those little thoughts out of your heads.
Class starts now!”
Faced with that blatant threat, almost everyone’s expression froze.
Why the hell does the world have a teacher with such an awful personality?!