Over the next few days while waiting for the Genin Orientation Meeting, Naruto didn’t train.
Instead, he picked up his long-neglected fishing rod and headed into the forest to enjoy a rare day of fishing.
It had been gathering dust for quite some time.
Ever since discovering a store that sold nearly expired food at discounted prices, he had stopped fishing altogether.
After all, being self-sufficient was only necessary when there was no other choice.
If he had the option, who wouldn’t prefer a more comfortable life?
Especially as someone who had once been an ordinary office worker from the modern world, Naruto understood how to enjoy life’s little comforts far better than most people in the ninja world.
Besides, most of his time was already devoted to training.
Fishing had gradually become nothing more than a leisurely hobby.
Time quietly slipped by as Naruto peacefully spent his days fishing.
Soon, an entire week had passed.
Because of his constant meditative state, Naruto always enjoyed excellent sleep.
The moment he woke up, he was immediately refreshed.
He got up on time, washed, and ate breakfast.
Of course, “near-expiration” food was not the same as expired food.
Naruto would never eat food that had actually gone bad.
After finishing his morning routine, he tied his forehead protector around his head.
It was a ninja’s symbol of identity and helped avoid unnecessary trouble, so wearing it was worthwhile.
The Naruto reflected in the mirror wore black trousers and a red hooded jacket over a protective mesh shirt.
Standing about 153 centimeters tall, with the short buzz cut he had trimmed himself, the forehead protector fit him perfectly.
If not for the three whisker-like markings on each cheek, he would have looked exceptionally handsome.
Unfortunately, those whisker marks ruined much of the overall effect.
Even his carefully chosen outfit couldn’t completely make up for them.
Naruto didn’t mind too much.
Although it wasn’t perfect, he wasn’t obsessed with perfection.
He had no intention of hiding the whisker marks with the Transformation Technique.
After finishing his appearance, his eyes fell on the ninja equipment pouch already prepared on the table.
A standard ninja loadout consisted of two pouches.
One smaller pouch was strapped to the thigh on the dominant-hand side.
The larger one was fastened around the lower back.
Although Naruto had already reached the level where “flowers and leaves could become deadly weapons,” that didn’t mean he no longer needed ordinary ninja tools.
Even using conventional weapons to mislead opponents had its own tactical value.
So he had still prepared a basic set of equipment.
Because money was limited, however, his gear was rather modest.
His equipment included:
* Five kunai—two in the thigh pouch and three in the rear pouch.
* Five shuriken stored in the rear pouch.
* Two coils of ninja wire, each one hundred meters long.
* Five smoke bombs.
* Two explosive tags.
* One hundred square sheets of specially cut paper, each roughly the size of a palm without the fingers, prepared specifically as ammunition for his Wind Release: Loaded Shuriken Technique.
That was everything he owned after saving up for six years.
The paper, of course, cost almost nothing.
One hundred sheets amounted to less than half a notebook, and after six years at the Ninja Academy, he had accumulated plenty.
Today, however, was only the Genin Orientation Meeting.
There was no need to carry his equipment.
After taking one last glance at it, Naruto left home and headed toward the Ninja Academy.
When he entered the classroom, he naturally walked to the back.
“Morning, Naruto,” Shikamaru greeted him from the last row.
“Morning.”
Naruto smiled and sat beside him.
Just as he sat down, Sakura spoke to the boy sitting next to Sasuke.
“Could you move, please?”
Naruto had never liked Sakura.
Since he had no interest in chasing after her, they had never become close.
Even so, someone else had stepped in to fill the role that the original Naruto once played.
That person was the boy Sakura had just asked to move.
The moment the boy realized Sakura was speaking to him, his face lit up with excitement.
In his imagination, he had already skipped ahead to getting married and even naming their future children.
His lovestruck expression only made Sakura dislike him even more.
Growing impatient, she dropped all politeness.
“Guiren!
Hurry up and move!
I want to sit over there!”
The boy shot Sasuke several resentful glares.
Without waiting any longer, Sakura pressed his head down with one hand and vaulted right over him before landing gracefully in the seat beside Sasuke.
“How annoying…”
The young boy could only roar silently in his heart.
Unlike Naruto, he didn’t dare challenge the academy’s top student, Uchiha Sasuke.
He could only watch helplessly as the girl he admired devoted all her attention to another boy.
Naruto couldn’t help finding the situation amusing.
Now that he wasn’t playing the original Naruto’s role, someone else had unknowingly taken over that part of the story.
Unfortunately, because he had become this version of Naruto, the famous accidental kiss between Naruto and Sasuke would never happen.
At exactly ten o’clock, Iruka entered the classroom.
“From this day forward, you are independent ninja,” he began.
“However, you’re still rookie genin.
Your real trials are only just beginning.”
“From now on, the village will assign missions to you.
You will work in three-person squads under the guidance of a jōnin instructor, who will lead you in carrying out your missions.”
“To ensure that every team is balanced, I’ve carefully arranged the following assignments.”
Iruka unfolded the team roster and began reading.
“Team One…”
“Team Two…”
“Team Seven: Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke.”
“Yes!”
Sakura cheered excitedly, immediately flashing Ino a triumphant victory sign.
“Damn it!
Sakura got him!”
Ino ground her teeth in frustration.
Sasuke merely frowned slightly and glanced at Naruto.
Naruto returned the look with a calm smile.
Seeing that, Sasuke couldn’t help thinking that this so-called “dead-last” was probably more dependable than the loud, excitable girl sitting beside him.
On the podium, Iruka continued reading.
“Team Eight: Hyūga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba.”
“Team Nine…”
“Team Ten: Akimichi Chōji, Yamanaka Ino, and Nara Shikamaru.”
“I knew it…”
Ino let out a dramatic groan.
“That concludes the team assignments.”
“Although you’ve spent six years together as classmates, serving on the same squad is entirely different.”
“As classmates, you studied and played together.”
“But teammates face life-and-death situations together.
They are companions who entrust their lives to one another.”
“So take this opportunity to get to know your teammates more deeply.”
“This afternoon, I’ll introduce your assigned jōnin instructors.”
“Class dismissed.”
The moment Iruka finished speaking, he disappeared in a Body Flicker Technique.
The classroom instantly erupted into conversation.
“Kenichi, Tōdō—we’re teammates now!”
“Keiko, Yanshan—please take care of me from now on.”
Students grouped together with their newly assigned teammates, happily introducing themselves again despite having known each other for years.
Meanwhile, Sakura immediately seized her opportunity.
“Sasuke-kun, let’s go have lunch together!
We can get to know each other better!”
“I don’t need to.”
Sasuke replied coldly.
Without another word, he walked over to the window and jumped straight out.
“Sasuke-kun!”
Sakura hurried after him.
By the time she reached the window, however, he had already disappeared.
Biting her lip, she hesitated only for a moment.
Although she wasn’t brave enough to leap directly from the second floor like Sasuke, she climbed out the window anyway and carefully slid down the building using the supporting wall outside.
As for Naruto…
He had been completely ignored.
But he couldn’t have cared less.
He calmly stood up, turned around, and walked out of the classroom.
He simply needed to find a quiet place to lie down and enjoy a nap.
After all…
There would be plenty of waiting to do that afternoon.
ADD TO COLLECTION.