Naruto picked up the jacket from the table and said, "Kurama, you should know this already. It's a flaw shared by all intelligent beings—you just don't like living that way."
"You've existed in the shinobi world for so long. Maybe you should consider learning it. Otherwise, once you're free… one day you might end up suffering at human hands again."
Inside the sealed space, Kurama shut his crimson slit pupils and said nothing.
For some reason, the closer he got to the day he would break free, the more he hated the shinobi world.
That afternoon, class was held in the dojo.
Standing in the corner near the bottom of the floor, Naruto casually handed a bag of chips to the boy beside him. "Chōji—your dad's coming to pick you up today?"
Chōji's half-lidded eyes snapped wide open. He grabbed the chips fast, tore the bag open, and shoved a handful into his mouth. After a few crisp crunches, he nodded hard. "Mm-hm! This whole week it'll be Dad picking me up."
Leaning on Naruto's other side, Shikamaru's ear twitched. He yawned. "Naruto… at least give me a bag too."
Naruto turned his head and spread both hands. "You were sleeping. I didn't want to bother you. And I thought you didn't like chips. If you want some, ask Chōji."
"Hic—"
Before he could finish, a hiccup sounded beside them. When they looked over, they saw Chōji had already crumpled the empty bag into a ball.
Shikamaru shook his head with weary resignation, then looked toward Iruka at the center of the dojo.
"If I'm timing this right, after one more match, sensei will call your name. And if nothing changes, your opponent will be Sasuke again."
"Are you really going to keep brushing off the homeroom teacher? I still don't get what Iruka-sensei is thinking. When you applied to graduate last time, the Hokage told him about your situation."
A flicker passed through Naruto's eyes. Then he waved toward Hinata as she stepped onto the floor.
"Isn't this better? Iruka-sensei has been pretending he doesn't know the whole time anyway."
Shikamaru followed Naruto's gaze. His expression turned strange.
Once Iruka announced the start, Hinata didn't hesitate—she pressed forward first, her strikes sharp and decisive.
In less than thirty seconds, she dropped her opponent with a clean tenketsu strike.
She was nothing like the timid, fragile girl Shikamaru remembered from their first days at the Academy.
"Next match—Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto lifted a hand. "Iruka-sensei, I forfeit!"
The dojo instantly filled with the familiar booing. Sasuke's fan club, in particular, erupted like they'd been injected with adrenaline, swarming him with praise.
Sasuke let out a quiet breath of relief.
He wasn't surprised by Naruto's usual instant surrender. If anything, he was glad Iruka-sensei always paired him with Naruto.
Mainly because… he wasn't even the real Sasuke.
He was only a Shadow Clone.
He'd actually wanted to raise his hand and forfeit too—but the girls around him were screaming so loudly that the moment he opened his mouth, his voice vanished under theirs.
Iruka on the dojo floor was used to this by now. With the roster in hand, he calmly called out the next pair.
Ding-ling-ling—
The dismissal bell rang. As everyone filed out of the dojo entrance, Hinata's cheeks flushed and she walked up to Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chōji.
"Naruto-kun…"
After greeting him, Hinata immediately lowered her head, her index fingers fidgeting and tapping together.
Naruto stepped closer. "Your Gentle Fist was really clean, Hinata. You've gotten even stronger."
Only when she felt her face heating up did Hinata look up. Seeing Naruto's blue eyes focused on her, she hurriedly looked away.
"Um… Naruto-kun is really strong too. Why do you keep forfeiting…?"
Naruto glanced at someone walking toward them and said softly, "Because I don't want to crush someone's pride."
"Hmph."
A cold snort came from behind them. Hinata turned, puzzled. "Sasuke-kun…?"
Sasuke's gaze swept over them, hostile and sharp. He didn't say a word—just turned and walked away.
Shikamaru and Chōji exchanged a look.
When Sasuke had approached, they'd thought he was going to start something. Instead he'd only snorted once and left, for no apparent reason.
After most of the others had gone, Naruto naturally took Hinata's hand and started walking her toward the gate.
Shikamaru's eyelid twitched. By now, he barely reacted to scenes like that.
Once the two were a bit ahead, Shikamaru motioned to Chōji—who was acting like he hadn't seen anything—and followed behind.
By the time they reached the school gate, Hinata was already with the Hyūga guards who had come to escort her. She waved goodbye to Naruto from their side.
But something else caught Shikamaru's attention.
Sasuke still hadn't gone home.
He was sitting on the swing across from the gate. Two girls stood nearby—and one of them was someone Shikamaru knew well.
Shikamaru moved closer to Naruto and gestured subtly. "Sasuke… waiting to block you?"
Naruto glanced at Sasuke on the swing. "He's not the type to do something as childish as a grade-school brawl."
Chōji leaned in just then. "Naruto—my dad's here."
Naruto had already noticed Chōza Akimichi approaching. Even ignoring the bright red hair, the man's sheer build made him stand out.
Chōza soon reached them. Chōji stepped to his father's side and pointed at Naruto as he introduced him.
"Dad, this is my friend I always tell you about—Uzumaki Naruto. And you already know Shikamaru, so I don't need to introduce him."
"Naruto, this is my father—Chōza Akimichi."
Naruto looked up and saw Chōza grin, his face full and broad. "Heh. Chōji talks about you two all the time. Thanks for looking out for him—especially you, Naruto. Chōji says you often treat him to snacks."
Naruto took two steps forward, smiling as he offered his hand. "Akimichi-senpai, you're too kind. Friends should look out for each other."
Chōza blinked, thrown off. Being called senpai by a kid felt oddly wrong. He glanced at Shikamaru and Chōji, still puzzled, then shook Naruto's hand anyway.
"See you tomorrow," Naruto said, smile unchanged, and turned to leave in the direction of home.
Chōza watched Naruto's retreating back, still uncertain. After a moment, he said, "Let's head home too. Shikamaru, you come along as well—I'll give you a ride."
Shikamaru nodded and moved beside Chōji.
Right before they left, he looked back toward where Naruto had gone—and his expression turned strange.
Sasuke was following Naruto.
And behind Sasuke… Sakura and Ino were following too.
Naruto walked to a secluded stone pavilion and sat down. He was well aware of who was tailing him. With a single thought, he entered the Mirror World.
He found the newly copied data puppet of Chōza Akimichi and opened the memory playback associated with him. Not long after, Naruto exited.
Something was off.
Chōza's memories clearly included a mission connected to the ancient kingdom of Lōran. In those images, Naruto saw not only Anrokuzan and Queen Sara of Lōran—he also saw Shibi Aburame and Kakashi.
But he didn't see any memory of Naruto himself going to Lōran.
Had his father used some kind of memory-erasing formula on everyone?
Then why was Naruto the only one who had "awakened" memories of Lōran?
Tap.
Sasuke walked into the pavilion, expression cold. After scanning the area, he sat on the stone bench across from Naruto.
Naruto pointed toward a rockery some distance outside the pavilion.
But Sasuke's expression didn't change. Lowering his voice, he said, "I finally know why you always forfeit."
"Because from the day we started school… the 'Naruto' in the classroom has been a clone!"
Naruto looked genuinely surprised. "You followed me just to say that?"
Sasuke's eyes sharpened. "What? Am I wrong?"
Naruto gave a short, annoyed laugh. Then he stood and said flatly, "Today, I actually came in person."
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