Naruto studied the sunglasses-wearing classmate in front of him, taking a moment to recall his name. "Shino, if you're sincere about this, then show me. Let's have a fair and just sparring match like proper friends."
As he spoke, something struck Naruto as odd.
Shino was one of the few classmates whose name he actually remembered, yet somehow they'd never become friends until now. The boy had an incredibly low presence—mysterious, distant. Aside from Kiba, Shino barely interacted with anyone in class. He never spoke during lessons and always vanished immediately after school.
If I hadn't noticed him today, I might've lost a potential friend. That would be terrible.
Seeing Naruto's pectorals begin to twitch in anticipation, Shino's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Alright, Naruto. I'll spar with you."
There was no escape. Might as well accept his fate.
"Great! I can see your sincerity, Shino." Naruto's face lit up with satisfaction. Then he frowned. "Wait—why do you look so depressed about it?"
"No! Absolutely not! You're seeing things, haha..." Shino's expression immediately shifted to forced cheerfulness.
This is too difficult.
"Good. Must've been my imagination." Naruto nodded. "Actually, I have something to do with Iruka-sensei after class this morning. Let's meet up this afternoon instead, okay?"
"See you then, future friend Shino Aburame!"
Naruto flashed a brilliant smile, waved enthusiastically, and strode into the school building.
The moment Naruto entered the classroom, Choji, Shikamaru, Sakura, Ino, and his other friends immediately surrounded him with greetings and enthusiastic chatter. The topics were somewhat awkward and forced, but everyone participated anyway.
Better to maintain conversation than risk Naruto feeling left out—which would inevitably lead to him suggesting another "sparring session."
To avoid further beatings, they'd all silently agreed to manage this friendship very, very carefully.
"Thank you, System," Naruto thought warmly as seven or eight people gathered around him. He felt genuinely grateful.
[You're welcome, Naruto,] the System replied in his mind.
[Now do you believe that Ultimate Taijutsu training can help you make many friends? Keep working hard. Someday, you'll have friends across the entire world—even beyond this realm.]
The System's tone was gentle, encouraging.
"I believe it completely now," Naruto thought back. "I'll work even harder to make more friends."
He remembered his first days at the Academy—walking into class with no one acknowledging his existence. The other students wouldn't mock him openly like villagers did on the streets, but they wouldn't speak to him either. They'd simply pretend he wasn't there.
Naruto had claimed not to care. But deep down, he'd desperately wanted to connect with them.
Now, nearly every classmate in the room was his friend. The System's promise—that strength would earn him friendship—had proven true.
Behind Naruto, Shino entered the classroom slowly and observed the scene: a group of students with bruised and swollen faces surrounding Naruto, all wearing expressions of "happiness" as they chatted with forced enthusiasm.
Shino felt his depression deepen. Tomorrow, he'd definitely join the "Happy Club" himself.
Ring, ring, ring.
The class bell rang. Students returned to their seats.
Iruka arrived right on time, textbook in hand. He walked to the podium with his usual warm smile. "Good morning, everyone! Let's begin today's lesson."
Then he looked out at his students' faces.
The atmosphere felt... strange.
Except for Naruto and Shino, every single student had a bruised and swollen face. And Shino, whose face remained unmarked, wore an expression of profound misery.
Iruka's gaze settled on Naruto, who beamed with his typical sunny enthusiasm.
At least Naruto looks happy. Shino should learn from his example—that positive attitude.
"Ahem." Iruka cleared his throat and began the lecture.
Ring, ring, ring.
The dismissal bell rang several hours later.
"Alright, class, that's all for this morning," Iruka announced. "Go home for lunch, and be careful on your way."
Students began packing their bags.
"Bye, Naruto!"
"See you later, Naruto!"
"I'm going to talk to my dad again. Maybe under my persuasion, he'll become your friend too, Naruto!"
"Thanks, Choji. You're the best."
After his friends departed, Naruto gathered his belongings and prepared to head to the office to find Iruka-sensei.
As soon as he exited the teaching building, he spotted his target.
Iruka stood in the courtyard holding his lesson plan, smiling as he watched Naruto approach.
"Naruto," Iruka called.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto brightened. He hadn't needed to search after all—his teacher had waited for him here, saving him a trip.
"Were you waiting specifically for me, Iruka-sensei?"
"That's right, Naruto. I wanted to talk to you, so I waited here." Iruka's smile remained warm. He glanced at Naruto's height—only about a head and a half shorter than himself now.
Time really did fly. In the blink of an eye, Naruto had grown so much.
Behind them, the 1.2-meter-tall Shino walked past.
Iruka blinked. Oh. Maybe my perspective was off.
"What a coincidence, Iruka-sensei! I wanted to talk to you too." Naruto's eyes lit up. "Please, you go first."
"Well, I'll be direct." Iruka's expression grew earnest. "Naruto, I don't want you to see me only as your teacher. I'd like you to think of me as your friend too."
"That's right—Iruka-sensei wants to be good friends with you, Naruto."
He smiled hopefully. He wanted Naruto to feel comfortable confiding in him, to come to him with problems, rather than viewing him as some distant authority figure who kept them separated by professional boundaries.
After listening to Iruka's words, Naruto lowered his head.
Iruka-sensei wants to be my friend too. First Sakura and Ino came to me, and now Iruka-sensei. My charm really has grown.
Seeing Naruto's bowed head, Iruka worried that the boy felt uncomfortable with the idea because of their teacher-student relationship.
"Naruto, don't overthink it," Iruka said gently. "Your teacher genuinely wants to be good friends with you."
Naruto raised his head. His eyes shone with sudden intensity.
"But, Iruka-sensei, if you want to become friends with me..."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"There's still a process to complete!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~