Chapter 26: The Mask of a Smile
Early the next morning—to be precise, just a few hours later—Ren Arakawa woke up feeling refreshed. Looking at the empty second-hand refrigerator, he realized just how poor his previous life had been.
"Damn it, I can't keep living on welfare like this anymore!" Ren silently resolved that from now on, he would definitely eat well and live well. If all else failed, he would find a rich and beautiful woman to be his sugar mama.
After getting up, Ren quickly washed up and then headed straight for the Ninja Academy.
After the graduation assessment, the school would assign students to classes based on their overall performance. However, the "class" here didn't refer to a school class, but rather a mission squad. Each squad consisted of four students, led by a jōnin instructor. They specialized in taking on D-rank and C-rank missions that weren't very dangerous. This approach not only honed the teamwork skills of the new genin but also steadily improved their abilities.
Ren urgently needed money to improve his quality of life. As a newly graduated genin, the only way he could think of to make quick money right now was by completing missions!
"Ren... wait for me!"
Just as Ren arrived at the entrance of the Ninja Academy, Naruto Uzumaki, his face beaming with excitement, ran over from the other side of the street.
"Hey, Naruto, you look pretty good today!" Ren smiled as he looked at Naruto. He had already noticed the forehead protector the other was wearing. It seemed that after he left last night, Iruka had given his own forehead protector to this guy! No wonder this idiot was so happy first thing in the morning. But that was fine! It wasn't a bad thing to escape the shadow of being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki a little earlier.
Naruto Uzumaki deliberately touched the forehead protector on his head and said smugly, "See? From today on, I'm also a ninja who can stand on my own!"
Ren pretended not to know: "You can graduate without even taking the exam? Did you pull some strings?"
"Haha~ It's because I learned a super powerful ninjutsu!" Naruto Uzumaki laughed heartily as he gestured. "You don't know this, but after you left yesterday, Iruka-sensei and I had a man-to-man duel. He said that if I could beat him, he would let me graduate without any special conditions! So, I used the technique I just learned and beat him up. As a bet, he gave me his forehead protector!"
Ren Arakawa: ? ? ?
What the hell!
So, I helped you take care of Mizuki, and you ended up beating up Iruka instead? Is this the legendary butterfly effect?
[Minato Namikaze: He's amazing! As expected of my son. I thought he missed the exam yesterday and wouldn't graduate, but he ended up graduating smoothly!]
[Kushina Uzumaki: Yeah, it seems Naruto has pretty good talent for training!]
[Uchiha Madara: You two, save your breath. This kid is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; the village can't keep him at the academy forever.]
[Tobirama Senju: That's right. Before fully mastering the power of a Tailed Beast, a Jinchuriki is a ticking time bomb. Keeping them at the academy is just asking for trouble. Fourth Hokage, wasn't your wife a Jinchuriki? Don't you even know that?]
[Minato Namikaze: Um... to be honest, I didn't really notice back then.]
[Uchiha Izuna: I bet this kid was too busy chasing girls back then. That's the downside of early romance!]
Minato Namikaze: ...
[Kushina Uzumaki: ...]
When Ren and Naruto Uzumaki arrived at the classroom together, almost all the other students were already there, except for Uchiha Sasuke. Everyone was whispering and discussing yesterday's graduation exam.
"Look, it's Ren! He's finally here!"
"That guy really stole the show yesterday. I wonder who he'll be grouped with today!"
"Ren seems even more handsome today! Is this the aura of increased strength?"
"Huh? How did that dead-last Naruto Uzumaki get a forehead protector too? Didn't he skip the graduation exam yesterday?"
"Damn it, this kid must have stolen it from someone!"
"That's right! How could a dead-last who can't even use the Clone Technique graduate? He must have stolen the forehead protector. When the teacher comes, he'll definitely expose him in front of everyone!"
"Hahaha... that'll be quite a show!"
...
When Ren and Naruto Uzumaki walked into the classroom together, everyone's eyes immediately fell on them. However, when they looked at Ren, their eyes held deep respect and admiration! Many girls couldn't help but cast admiring glances his way.
But when they looked at Naruto Uzumaki, that respect and admiration instantly turned into mockery, contempt, and even disdain! The two people who had entered the classroom together received completely different treatment!
This made Ren even more certain of one thing: the advantage that strength brings! If Naruto Uzumaki possessed strength similar to his at this moment, these people would never dare to mock him like that!
However, to Ren's surprise, Naruto Uzumaki seemed completely unfazed by these people's attitudes. His face still wore a simple, honest smile. Others might think he was just shameless and foolish, but only Ren knew that beneath that smile, the pain Naruto Uzumaki silently endured was something most people could hardly imagine!
It was a miracle he hadn't turned to the dark side like Gaara!