At exactly eight in the morning, not long after the gates of the Ninja Academy had opened, Naruto and Sora had already arrived, becoming some of the first to reach the school.
As soon as the two appeared, they attracted many gazes—Naruto with his dazzling short golden hair and clear blue eyes, and Sora with his striking red hair set against amber eyes; such a vivid appearance made them look particularly eye-catching in the crowd.
Not to mention that their attire also carried a touch of uniqueness, causing some little girls’ eyes to light up, unable to resist wanting to step forward to strike up a conversation, only to be quietly pulled back by their parents behind them.
“Stay away from those two kids, especially the one with yellow hair; he’s a ‘monster’,” the parents lowered their voices, repeatedly admonishing them amidst their daughters’ confused gazes.
The little girls had no choice but to retreat to the side in disappointment, planning to go up and strike up a conversation once their parents had left.
As for their parents’ warnings?
They were already at the Ninja Academy, so how could they possibly remain obedient little girls forever?
If you’re a girl, you have to do your best to snatch up the man you’re interested in!
Not far away, Hyuga Hiashi was holding Hyuga Hanabi with Hyuga Hinata following by his side; just as they reached the school gate, his gaze fell upon those small yellow and red figures.
Hyuga Hinata looked in the direction of her father’s gaze and was pleasantly surprised to discover that one of them was the boy who had once helped her.
Although some time had passed and Naruto’s appearance had changed a bit, she recognized him at a glance.
“Hyuga Hinata, at the Ninja Academy, don’t lose face for the Hyuga Clan.” Hiashi’s voice rang out at the right moment, though his gaze turned in another direction, his brows slightly furrowed.
The figures with the Uchiha Clan crest printed on them were particularly conspicuous over there; he hadn’t expected Uchiha Fugaku to personally come to drop off his children just like him, and he even brought his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi.
Hiashi recalled the intelligence he had received yesterday: Uchiha Itachi had withdrawn from the Anbu and was going to be an ordinary Konoha Ninja; he had heard that he was also preparing to participate in next year’s Jonin selection.
This series of actions made Hiashi feel strange; this didn’t seem like something the Uchiha would do, especially that guy Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi, being watched by Hiashi, quickly noticed the gaze, and seeing it was the head of the Hyuga Clan, the two nodded slightly in greeting.
Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi whispered a few words to each other, then walked toward Hiashi, while Uchiha Itachi took Sasuke and turned toward Naruto and Sora.
Hiashi:?
Hiashi was full of doubts in his heart, watching with confusion as Uchiha Fugaku walked straight toward him.
“Clan Head Hiashi, long time no see, are you also here to drop off your child for enrollment?” Uchiha Fugaku smiled as he looked at Hyuga Hinata beside Hiashi, his tone very natural.
“Hmm, I didn’t expect Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku to personally come to drop off your child as well; what a surprise.” Hiashi said with a forced smile, his tone carrying a touch of aloofness.
But Uchiha Fugaku seemed not to have heard his coldness and continued to keep the conversation going, talking about the children.
Hiashi began to regret it; had he known it would be like this, he would have let Natsumi bring Hyuga Hinata over, and he wouldn’t have to suffer here.
On the other side, Uchiha Itachi had already brought Sasuke to Naruto and Sora’s side.
As soon as Sasuke saw Sora, he immediately broke free from Uchiha Itachi’s hand, pulled an exquisitely packaged high-grade chocolate ball from his pocket, and handed it over: “Little Sora!
This is for you!” “Thank you, I really like eating this.” Sora took the chocolate, peeled off the candy wrapper in a few quick movements, popped the candy ball into his mouth, and his face was full of happy smiles.
Watching Sora’s happy appearance, Sasuke also started to smile.
Over the past year, he had long discovered that Sora liked various sweets; every time he ate sweets, Sora would always show such a satisfied expression.
Ever since discovering this, Sasuke would always specially buy various sweets to bring to Sora; even Uchiha Itachi, who also liked sweets, couldn’t help but feel a little envious when he saw it.
“Tch, what’s chocolate anyway!” Seeing this, Naruto looked at Sasuke unconvinced, “After school, I’ll take Little Sora to eat cake, I’ll buy an extra-large one!” When it came to Little Sora, he also wanted to compete with Sasuke.
Although most of the money at home was managed by Sora, Sora wasn’t too harsh, giving Naruto 1,500 Ryo every week—which was enough to buy over twenty bowls of Ichiraku Ramen.
If it wasn’t enough to spend, Sora would also give more; after all, he was just afraid that Naruto would spend money recklessly, such as buying that erotic literature that he shouldn’t be looking at.
Before, a bookstore had actually dared to sell that kind of book to Naruto, and Sora had specifically gone to find Uchiha Itachi later to talk about this matter.
As a result, the very next morning, that bookstore had the Police Force come over to shut it down for rectification, and afterward, all the bookstores in Konoha were strictly inspected; the Police Force also sternly warned all shop owners not to sell inappropriate books to children.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto with disdain, but when he turned his head to look at Sora, his tone instantly softened: “If Little Sora wants to eat cake, I can also buy it for you, and the size will exceed your imagination.” Sora listened to the two’s argument and gently shook his head: “No need to buy too big, small cakes are fine; too big will be a waste.” Sora looked at Uchiha Itachi, who had been silent on the side, and asked softly: “But we could also buy a big one to eat together; Brother Itachi, will you eat with us?” Sora always felt that Uchiha Itachi was a bit different today, but he couldn’t put his finger on exactly where it was different; he just felt that the change was a good one.
Uchiha Itachi reached out his hand, gently touched Sora’s forehead, and a rare, relaxed smile appeared on his face: “Alright, then we’ll buy a big cake, and we’ll eat it together.” Yesterday, he had already requested to Sandaime to withdraw from the Anbu, and also proposed to participate in next year’s Jonin selection.
The reason was simple: the environment of the Anbu was no longer suitable for him, and he wanted to try the feeling of being a Konoha Jonin.
Sandaime hesitated for a moment before agreeing—this was not only not a bad thing but rather of great significance.
The Uchiha Clan Head’s eldest son withdrawing from the Anbu, not entering the Police Force, and instead choosing to be a Konoha Jonin was in itself an attitude, a signal of goodwill toward Konoha.
The scene of the four of them standing together was taken in by everyone else, and some Ninjas from clan backgrounds looked at their interaction with strange expressions.
When they saw Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke with smiles on their faces, it was like seeing a ghost.
As for those from ordinary backgrounds, they didn’t think so much about it; they just thought that these four people were all very good-looking and wanted to go up and strike up a conversation.
Time passed little by little like this; children easily chatted together, and the parents behind them saw this and began to exchange pleasantries with each other.
Until the Third Hokage appeared with some teachers, everyone’s conversation stopped simultaneously, and they all looked toward the podium in unison.