As a new day dawned, sunlight streamed through the curtains onto Sora’s face.
He was reluctantly roused to sit up and glanced at the clock on the bedside table—6:40 AM.
This time was still early, but today was a very special day.
Naruto and Sasuke were enrolling in the Ninja Academy; as for him, he still had two more years to wait.
Sora walked to the washroom and turned on the cold water tap.
The icy stream brushed against his cheeks, instantly waking him up.
The youth reflected in the mirror possessed the Uzumaki Clan’s signature red hair, though his strands were softer than Naruto’s.
His amber eyes were clear yet held a calmness unbefitting his age.
He quickly finished washing up.
As he wiped his face and stepped out of the washroom, the sound of water boiling could already be heard from the kitchen.
Naruto loved ramen, so he decided to boil a bowl of noodles, fry an egg, and slice some chashu pork to go with it.
A perfect breakfast would be ready.
One year ago, the Sandaime brought him to the apartment where Naruto lived.
Because of Naruto, only he resided in this building, so Sora directly chose the room next to Naruto’s.
Later, Naruto spent so much time in his room that they simply moved into a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment.
Life became much more convenient this way.
“Brother Naruto, hurry up and get up to wash!
Breakfast is almost ready.” After calling out to Naruto’s room, Sora picked up the kitchen knife and began slicing the meat.
Both of them were growing, so they needed to eat well, especially since they both carried the Uzumaki Clan constitution.
“Mmm…
What a delicious smell~ Did Little Sora just call me…?
It’s breakfast!” Naruto’s muffled voice came from the room, followed immediately by the sound of hurried footsteps.
When Sora turned around, he saw Naruto, whose messy blond hair stood on end, rush into the washroom, after which the sound of running water started up.
He shook his head helplessly, scooped out the fried egg, added chopped scallions and chashu pork to the boiled noodles, and soon two steaming bowls of scallion noodles were placed on the dining table.
A short while later, Naruto, finished washing up, hurried to the dining table.
When he saw the ramen on the table, his eyes instantly lit up: “Wow~ What a lavish breakfast!
Ramen cooked by Little Sora!
I’m digging in!” He grabbed his chopsticks and slurped a large mouthful of noodles without patience, squinting contentedly.
“Delicious!
Almost as good as what Uncle Teuchi makes!” Naruto ate with great joy.
Although the style was a bit different from Ichiraku Ramen, this ramen was also very tasty, and since Little Sora cooked it, it was even better.
Sora sat opposite him, slowly eating his noodles.
Watching Naruto gobble down his food, he said softly, “Eat slowly, don’t choke.
There’s still some time before the Ninja Academy starts, no need to rush.” He recalled the schedule for the Ninja Academy he had learned about earlier; it was quite similar to schools in Japan in his previous life.
School started around 8 AM, and they could be dismissed as early as 2:30 PM.
There was also a lunch break of over an hour, which could indeed be considered leisurely for children about to become Ninjas.
However, students in the higher grades would have extra training—physical conditioning, combat, and Ninja tool usage.
But even the latest dismissal time wouldn’t be past 6 PM, which was much easier than he had imagined.
Naruto heard this, slowed down his eating speed, and glanced up at the clock on the wall—7:10 AM.
“Got it!” He nodded with a smile, then picked up another piece of chashu pork and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out like a little hamster.
After finishing breakfast, Naruto skillfully gathered the bowls and chopsticks and went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.
This was a habit they had developed over the past year: Sora was responsible for cooking, and Naruto was responsible for cleaning up afterward.
Sora leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching Naruto clumsily but diligently scrub the bowls, feeling a surge of emotion.
Over this past year, the changes in Naruto were significant.
Perhaps it was because he had him as a younger brother, but Naruto had become somewhat more mature.
His formerly messy blond hair was now neatly groomed.
The red and black jacket worn over a white undershirt and black pants were all carefully chosen by Sora, making him look much more spirited.
Moreover, Naruto usually wore a gentle smile on his face, looking just like a little sun.
Sora chose all these clothes for him.
It was also because of this look that some of the girls his age didn’t seem to dislike Naruto very much.
This change made Naruto very happy.
He was so excited that he couldn’t sleep for several nights, often running to Sora’s room to chat for a long time.
Sora was pleased with his current transformation.
He had become much more cheerful and no longer enjoyed playing pranks, although he was still a bit clumsy.
His life skills remained terrible.
Fortunately, Sora didn’t want to eat instant noodles every day like him, so he took over the kitchen.
Later, the financial management of the household also fell into his hands.
Naruto’s clothes, food, and daily necessities were all purchased by him.
The reason for this was that Naruto often bought useless trinkets or purchased too much food, causing it to pile up at home.
When Naruto finished washing the dishes, Sora checked the clock—7:35 AM.
“We still have over half an hour.
Brother Naruto, let’s head out first.
It wouldn’t be bad to get to the school early to take a look around,” he suggested.
Naruto immediately nodded, turned, and rushed into his room to change.
He was full of anticipation for the Ninja Academy.
Grandpa Sandaime had told him he could make many friends there and learn powerful Ninjutsu, so he could protect Little Sora.
Not long after, Naruto walked out of his room, turned around in front of Sora, and asked proudly, “Little Sora, take a look, do I look good?
Am I handsome, big brother?” Sora carefully examined him, suppressing a laugh as he replied, “Hmm…
Quite commendable, you look very nice.
As long as Brother Naruto doesn’t act too exaggerated, you’ll definitely make many friends.
Perhaps many older girls will approach you~” An interesting thought suddenly popped into his mind: the sun-like Naruto versus the perpetually cold Uchiha Sasuke—who would be more popular among girls their age?
“Hehe~ As long as I look good, that’s all that matters!” Naruto scratched his head, his face full of pride.
“I must surpass that guy Sasuke in appearance!” Thinking of Sasuke’s smug face, who always gave him a cold shoulder, yet often wore a cheerful smile when facing Little Sora.
Sora was long used to such declarations.
Over the past year, Naruto was always competing with Sasuke in this and that, from running speed to Ninja tool throwing, though Sasuke usually won at the start.
There was no helping that; after all, Sasuke was an Uchiha, and he also had guidance from his father and older brother, making him much stronger than Naruto in combat.
Although Naruto often lost, he never got discouraged by failure.
Instead, after so many defeats, he became more resilient.
At least in terms of Taijutsu, he no longer lost to Sasuke.
With the Uzumaki bloodline, he was inherently stronger than ordinary people.
Coupled with the healthy diet Sora arranged for him, his Taijutsu had improved rapidly during this period, often leaving Sasuke with a throbbing scalp.
Sora looked at Naruto’s spirited appearance and gently patted his shoulder.
“Then let’s go.
I’m quite curious what Brother Naruto’s future teammates will be like.” Naruto nodded, his eyes sparkling brightly.
He was equally excited about meeting the classmates at the Ninja Academy.