Naruto looked at his classmates while walking toward his seat.
“Everyone is acting strangely today.
I might have changed a little, but it shouldn’t be anything dramatic, right?”
The mouths of nearly every student in the classroom began twitching.
They were acting strangely?
What kind of joke was that?
Naruto was clearly the strangest person here!
How had he become so handsome after only two days?
Kiba was too impatient to remain silent.
He slammed his hand against his desk, jumped to his feet, and shouted:
“You’re the strange one!”
“What exactly did you do?
How did you suddenly become so handsome?”
Naruto stopped and looked at Kiba in confusion.
“What are you talking about?
I don’t understand.”
Kiba gritted his teeth, his voice overflowing with envy and jealousy.
“I’m asking how you became so handsome!”
Naruto tilted his head and examined his reflection in the window.
“I don’t look that different.
I changed into some new clothes, grew slightly taller, and gained a little muscle.
How is that as dramatic as everyone is making it sound?”
The boys in the classroom ground their teeth in frustration.
Damn it!
It was bad enough that Naruto got to eat meat while everyone else survived on grass.
Did he truly need to smack his lips so loudly while doing it?
There were limits to what a man could tolerate!
Every boy in the classroom glared furiously at Naruto.
Naruto could only smile helplessly.
He hadn’t said anything wrong.
His appearance genuinely hadn’t changed that much.
At most, he had prematurely transformed into the version of Naruto Uzumaki who had mastered Sage Mode.
“Hey, Kurama.
Have I really changed that much?”
Naruto asked curiously.
For once, Kurama didn’t contradict him.
“You have changed considerably.
You look especially similar to your father.”
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
“I look like Minato Namikaze?”
“Yes.
Your smiles, in particular, are almost identical.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
Amid the classroom’s strange atmosphere, Iruka entered.
He immediately sensed that something was unusual, but he couldn’t determine the cause.
Iruka soon began taking attendance.
“Sasuke Uchiha!”
“Hinata Hyūga!”
“Sakura Haruno!”
“Shikamaru Nara!”
“…”
“Naruto Uzumaki!”
“Present!”
Naruto rose from his seat.
Iruka stared at him in silence for several seconds before his eyes abruptly widened.
“Who are you?”
“…”
Only after offering a lengthy explanation did Naruto finally convince Iruka that he was truly Naruto Uzumaki.
Iruka’s mouth felt dry.
His thoughts were identical to those of every student in the classroom.
Could a person genuinely change this much in only two days?
Fortunately, Iruka still took his responsibilities as a teacher seriously.
After finishing attendance, he began the day’s lesson, although he couldn’t resist glancing toward Naruto occasionally.
“Recently, we discussed the fundamental structure of the Clone Technique.
Today, we’ll study another of the Three Basic Techniques—the Transformation Technique.”
“The principles behind the Transformation Technique are simple, but it can be extremely useful at critical moments.”
“It is an important ninjutsu in combat, espionage, and situations requiring you to lure an enemy into a trap.
Users ordinarily transform into another person, but they can also assume the appearance of animals, plants, weapons, and other objects.”
“…”
Iruka lectured for quite some time before helplessly realizing that none of his students were paying attention.
Not only were they whispering among themselves, but they also kept turning to look at Naruto in the back row.
“Are handsome boys really that popular?”
Iruka complained inwardly.
Unable to continue the lesson, he simply clapped his hands.
“Since no one is paying attention, we’ll practice taijutsu today instead.”
“Everyone, form an orderly line and follow me outside.”
Iruka departed first.
More than fifty students streamed out of the classroom behind him.
Not a single boy came within three meters of Naruto.
It wasn’t because they hated him.
They simply felt painfully inferior beside him.
After arriving at the training field, Iruka distributed kunai and shuriken among the students.
Iruka stood at the front and demonstrated the proper method of throwing a kunai.
Naruto watched him once before looking away.
Naruto shook his head slightly.
After experiencing three months of Weapon Mode training, Naruto had thoroughly transformed into a master of kunai throwing.
A single glance was enough for him to recognize the flaws in Iruka’s technique.
However, Iruka couldn’t be blamed.
He was merely an ordinary chūnin who wasn’t particularly skilled in combat.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been assigned to teach at the Academy.
“Hinata!”
Naruto strode toward Hinata, who was watching him with flushed cheeks.
A genuine smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
Throughout all of Konoha, Hinata had been the first person to offer him warmth.
She was like a ray of light illuminating his darkened heart.
The moment Hinata heard Naruto’s voice, her face turned bright red.
She shyly lowered her head and rummaged through her pocket.
“Naruto, I… I still don’t have enough money to support you…”
Hinata bashfully produced several dozen coins, seemingly worth tens of thousands of ryō, and looked at Naruto expectantly.
Naruto didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Hinata, do you truly intend to keep me as your man?”
Hinata became too embarrassed to answer.
Naruto affectionately rubbed her head before revealing the white lilies he had hidden behind his back.
“Ta-da!”
“Hinata, these flowers are for you.
They smell wonderful, and they’re white—just like the eyes of my favorite girl.”
“Do you like them?”
Hinata’s face instantly became as red as a ripe apple.
She covered her mouth shyly.
“N-Naruto… do you like the color of my eyes?”
Naruto placed the lilies in her arms and nodded vigorously.
“Yes.
Your eyes are my favorite.
They’re white and beautiful, just like ice and snow.”
Crystal-clear tears gathered in the corners of Hinata’s eyes as she cradled the flowers against her chest.
This was the first time anyone had ever praised her white eyes as beautiful.
And the person who had done so was Naruto…
As that thought crossed her mind, Hinata’s face became increasingly red.
Naruto smiled and opened his arms, preparing for Hinata to throw herself into his embrace.
Just then, Sasuke stepped directly between them.
He cast Naruto a challenging look.
“Loser, you haven’t been paying attention to the lesson.
Have you already decided that kunai throwing is beneath you?”
Naruto’s expression darkened as he glared at Sasuke for ruining the beautiful moment.
“What’s gotten into you?”