"Mhm, teeth brushed properly, face cleaned properly… the clothes are still old, though…"
Inside his ho, Naruto examined his appearance with slight dissatisfaction as he looked down at his worn outfit.
But very quickly, he grinned brightly again.
"Still, I washed everything really clean. Perfect. Ti to go!"
The mont he stepped out the door and onto the streets, Naruto felt as though even the sunlight was warr than usual.
His mood was unbelievably good.
Because today—
Was his first day at the Ninja Academy.
When Grandpa Third Hokage inford him about it, Naruto had nearly exploded with excitent.
After all, he was still just a child.
No matter how strong he might beco in the future, a place like the Ninja Academy—where all the village children gathered together—naturally filled him with anticipation.
New friends.
Classmates.
Teachers.
Maybe even new ninjutsu.
And most importantly—
His ninja journey would begin there!
Naruto took a deep breath and shouted internally with all his might—
Ninja Academy, here I co!
However—
The mont Naruto arrived at the Academy gates with a huge smile on his face, the joy in his expression gradually faded.
"Mom, stop walking here already! I'm basically an adult now!"
"I don't wanna go to school, Dad! Let's go ho!"
"Ah, be good now. Make sure to get along with the older kids…"
The Academy entrance was overflowing with noise and laughter.
Parents and children gathered together chatting happily.
And seeing that scene caused the loneliness Naruto usually hid deep inside himself to resurface once again.
It felt as though a bottomless chasm existed between him and the crowd.
One he could neither cross nor approach.
Even facing unfamiliar ninja assassins or entering battle for the first ti had never made Naruto feel this afraid.
Because he…
Had no family.
Suddenly, a warm surge of chakra rose from deep within Naruto's heart, slightly dispelling the negative emotions swallowing him.
"Don't be afraid. This old man's here."
Naruto froze.
Before he could even react to where that chakra ca from, two familiar voices suddenly sounded behind him.
"N-Naruto-kun… good morning…"
"Oi, Naruto!"
Naruto turned around.
Hinata Hyūga and Sasuke Uchiha stood behind him, greeting him at the sa ti.
Hinata remained just as shy as ever.
anwhile, Sasuke still wore his slightly arrogant expression.
"You guys…?"
Naruto stared blankly at the two of them.
"Didn't you say you weren't enrolling until next year?"
"Hmph. Like I'd let you get ahead of ."
Sasuke snorted.
"You're already way stronger than . And now you wanted to start school before too?"
"Just wait. Once we're in school, I'll surpass you and show you the strength of the Uchiha clan!"
"Um… Naruto-kun…"
Hinata glanced nervously between the two boys before softly explaining:
"I think Sasuke-kun… did the sa thing I did…"
"We both… asked our families to let us enroll early."
Then she asked timidly:
"Will… will that cause you trouble?"
"...Of course not!"
Naruto looked so touched he nearly started crying on the spot.
Then suddenly rembering sothing, he peeked behind them curiously.
"Where are the family mbers who ca with you guys?"
"Hmph. It's just school."
Sasuke folded his arms and snorted again, clearly misunderstanding the question as Naruto looking down on him.
"I'm not so little kid who still needs family escorting around. What, you think this is so daycare ga?"
His voice wasn't quiet at all.
Nearby, several children currently being escorted to school by their parents imdiately prepared to glare at whoever dared insult them all at once—
But the instant the adults recognized the Uchiha crest on Sasuke's clothes, their expressions changed drastically.
They hurriedly dragged their children away without another word.
To most people—
The Uchiha clan wasn't soone you casually provoked.
"My family…"
Hinata looked troubled.
But before she could finish speaking, another voice Naruto recognized vaguely rang out nearby.
"Lady Hinata, please refrain from wandering around and approaching outsiders so casually."
"It causes unnecessary trouble for as your assigned guard."
Neji Hyūga walked over coldly.
He too was enrolling this year.
Yet despite that, he still couldn't escape the fate of protecting the Main House as a branch family mber.
Neji truly couldn't understand it.
As soone from the branch family, he had fought hard just to gain permission to attend the Ninja Academy.
He originally thought that once school began, he could temporarily set aside the burden of branch family duties.
Yet sohow, the Main House heiress—who was originally supposed to enroll next year—suddenly entered school alongside him.
And the clan head personally assigned Neji to protect Hinata.
Was his life truly incapable of escaping the Main House's control?
"Outsiders?"
The expressions of both Naruto and Sasuke imdiately turned unfriendly as they looked toward Neji.
Neji showed no intention of backing down.
His pale Byakugan eyes glared right back at them.
In his view, Naruto and Sasuke were rely children playing ninja gas.
Though Naruto had caused a disturbance at the Hyūga compound two years ago…
Neji simply believed the clan chose not to pursue responsibility against a child.
"Looks like you want to fight."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the Byakugan.
As the second son of the Uchiha clan head, he had absolutely no intention of yielding before the Hyūga clan.
"Ah… um… please don't…"
Seeing the atmosphere between the three boys grow increasingly tense, Hinata imdiately began stuttering nervously again while waving her tiny hands desperately, trying to stop them.
At that mont, a thick-browed boy with a bowl haircut happened to pass nearby.
Unlike the other noisy children around him, the boy was drenched in sweat as though he had just finished running for two straight hours before arriving.
Seeing Naruto's group, his eyes instantly lit up with fiery admiration.
"They're getting along so quickly already!"
"This is the perfect opportunity for to work harder and surpass everyone!"
"After school, I'll do another five thousand push-ups!"
anwhile, nearby at the Academy entrance, a bun-haired little girl who had just convinced her parents to return to their ninja tool shop instead of escorting her any farther also noticed the commotion.
Tilting her cute little head, she looked at the strange group curiously.
"What a weird bunch…"
"I really hope I don't end up involved with them."
"Aaaaah… Lord Hokage really gave a troubleso class this year…"
At the sa ti, Iruka—currently responsible for welcoming the new students—also noticed the situation from inside the Academy.
Rembering how the Third Hokage specifically inford him beforehand that children from both the Uchiha and Hyūga clans would be entering alongside Naruto…
Iruka instantly developed a massive headache.
Still, as a responsible teacher, he quickly rushed over while shouting loudly:
"Oi! You kids, stop fighting at the school gate and co register already!"
Far away atop a utility pole—
Itachi Uchiha silently watched his younger brother's expression from the shadows.
His face remained completely emotionless.
Nearby, Hyūga Hiashi stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
His pale eyes functioned like telescopes as he watched his daughter's flustered appearance.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
anwhile—
Inside the Hokage's office—
The Third Hokage watched everything through his crystal ball.
A gratified smile slowly appeared on his aged face.
"Naruto's going to school today, isn't he?"
Inside Naruto's ntal world, Minato muttered worriedly:
"I wonder whether he'll adapt properly… whether he'll—"
"Oh, would you shut up already and look for yourself?"
Kurama irritably reopened his chakra perception to Minato.
This guy had been rambling all morning long.
Regretting what a terrible father he'd been.
Did he think this place was so kind of church confession booth?
High above the village, towering trees slowly sprouted fresh new buds.
Dead branches fell away, becoming nourishnt for new growth.
And sooner or later—
Those erald leaves would flourish once more until they covered the sky itself.
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