In the classroom.
"Wide Forehead! The seat next to Sasuke-kun is mine!"
"Dream on, Ino Pig! I got here first!"
Sakura and Ino were engaging in their daily territorial dispute. Their foreheads were pressed together, their hands locked in a tug-of-war, glaring fiercely at each other. The classroom was chaotic, like a bustling marketplace. Inuzuka Kiba had his feet propped up on his desk, bragging to his deskmate. Nara Shikamaru was sleeping with his head on his desk, and Akimichi Chōji was eating potato chips.
Nobody paid attention to why the perpetually loud dead last hadn't shown up today. Just then, the classroom's front door was gently pushed open. Normally, Naruto would have kicked the door open and announced his arrival by shouting, "I, the great one, have arrived!"
But today, the moment Naruto's hand touched the doorknob, the man's words flashed through his mind again.
"Hmph, don't rush. Be elegant. Look down upon them..."
He forcibly suppressed his usual urge to make a scene, adjusted his breathing, until the practiced, fake smile reappeared on his face. Then, a deep blue figure, carrying a large box of milk, walked in silently. Sunlight shone on his blond hair; the styled, cropped hair no longer stuck up like wild grass but hung neatly over his forehead.
Ino Yamanaka, who was currently butting heads with Sakura Haruno, subconsciously glanced at the person entering the classroom and froze.
"This is..."
Sakura noticed Ino's unusual behavior, looked back, and also froze in place. Even Sasuke paused for a moment after seeing Naruto.
"Hmph, boring."
Sasuke scoffed and turned his head away. He figured this was just another one of Naruto's attention-seeking stunts. However, he had to admit that this time, Naruto had succeeded.
Naruto ignored the strange looks around him. His mind was currently focused only on the mission from "Yorozuya Gin", treat the whole class to strawberry milk, and then receive the reward. He then walked to the first row, took out a bottle of strawberry milk, and placed it on the desk of the first girl. That girl, who usually never gave him a good look, found her cheeks flushing red as she gazed at the clean and handsome boy in front of her.
"Th-thank you."
Naruto didn't stop, moving on to the next person. A strange scene unfolded in the classroom. The demon fox, who had always been hated and ignored by everyone, actually began distributing milk like a wealthy benefactor. Not only did no one refuse, but quite a few people even subconsciously said thank you.
When Naruto reached Shikamaru and Chōji's desks, Shikamaru spoke.
"What a drag..." Shikamaru scratched his head, looking at Naruto with a strange expression. "Naruto, what got into you?"
Chōji, without hesitation, tore it open and drank. "Delicious! Naruto, you look really cool today!"
Naruto gave the two of them a sincere smile and moved on to the next group. Finally, he arrived in front of Inuzuka Kiba. Kiba had his feet propped on the desk, and Akamaru was curled up on top of his head. Seeing Naruto's pretentious behavior, an inexplicable anger surged in Kiba's heart.
He's just a dead last, so why is he trying to act cool? He already disliked Sasuke, and now Naruto was acting the same way. Trying to attract attention through such methods is too low-class, isn't it?
So, when Naruto handed him the milk, Kiba violently swiped his hand.
Clatter.
The milk carton fell to the floor, splashing pink liquid everywhere. The class was silent for a moment. If this were normal, Naruto would surely have yelled, "What are you doing?" and immediately started wrestling with Kiba. This time, however, Naruto looked down at the stain on his trouser leg, and anger surged up in his chest. His fists subconsciously clenched, and the veins on his forehead twitched slightly.
"This guy... I really want to smash his ugly face..."
But immediately after, he remembered the words of "The One Who Stands Above The Heavens":
"Shut your mouth, and learn to disguise your true feelings with a smile."
"Hoo..." Naruto took a deep breath and forcibly unclenched his fists. "Hold it in! Getting angry now would make me a clown! I am not angry at all!"
He ignored the mess on the floor and took out a new bottle of milk from the box. He struggled to control his facial muscles, forcing out a stiff smile that he tried hard to keep friendly.
"Did your hand slip? It's fine, I have plenty more."
Naruto gently placed the new milk carton on Kiba's desk. Kiba looked at Naruto's forced, unnatural smile and felt inexplicably lacking in confidence.
"You... are you sick?"
He cursed, but he didn't knock over the milk again, taking the opportunity to back down.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Naruto maintained his fake smile as best he could and turned to the next person. After handing out the last bottle of milk, Naruto first used a mop to clean up the milk stains on the floor before taking the empty carton back to his seat in the corner.
[Ding!] [Mission: Treat the entire class to strawberry milk, Completed] [Obtained E-rank Treasure Chest, Opening... Reward obtained: 10,000 Ryo]
[Ding!] [Mission: Change appearance, Completed] [Obtained C-rank Treasure Chest, Opening...] [Reward obtained: Aizen Sōsuke's Black-rimmed Glasses, Obtained Skill Book "Aizen's Guide to Attire and Calligraphy"]
Naruto felt his pocket and discovered a glasses case and a stack of banknotes inside. With the money secured, Naruto was first delighted, then puzzled.
"Glasses?"
He opened the case under the desk; a pair of unremarkable black-rimmed glasses lay quietly inside. But in Naruto's sight, a description of the properties appeared next to the glasses:
[Aizen Sōsuke's Black-rimmed Glasses: Increases learning ability by 100%, reduces personal presence by 30%, indestructible]
"Good stuff!"
Naruto's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he picked up the glasses and put them on. Instantly, the slightly wild look in his eyes, caused by his recent anger, was obscured by the reflection of the lenses. At this moment, Naruto looked like a gentle, harmless honor student.
Next, he looked at the virtual skill book.
[Do you wish to learn "Aizen's Guide to Attire and Calligraphy"?]
"Learn!"
Following the confirmation in his mind, a stream of consciousness poured into his brain. Countless pieces of knowledge and subtle habits manifested in Naruto. He first subconsciously adjusted his posture. His previously hunched back instantly straightened, his neck tilted slightly back, and his hands naturally folded on the desk. Even his slightly wrinkled collar was meticulously smoothed out.
His entire demeanor changed in an instant. He casually wrote a few words on paper and found that even his handwriting, which used to look like chicken scratch, seemed to have been reborn.
Just then, the class bell rang. Iruka-sensei rushed into the classroom holding his lesson plan.
"Quiet down, everyone, and return to your seats!"
Iruka-sensei habitually scanned the class, his gaze instinctively falling upon the troublemaker in the back corner. Although Naruto looked like a completely changed person today, that didn't stop Iruka-sensei from preparing to scold him for skipping class. However, when his gaze landed on the corner, he froze once again.
Naruto, who should have been sleeping, drawing, or chatting, was sitting there perfectly upright. Under his blond, cropped hair, he wore a pair of scholarly black-rimmed glasses, and his clothes were clean and tidy. Seeing Iruka-sensei look over, Naruto pushed up his glasses and gave a standard smile:
"Good morning, Iruka-sensei."
"Uh... ah, morning."
Iruka-sensei stammered a reply, nearly snapping the chalk he held.
"Th-this is Naruto?"
He got goosebumps all over. "H-how did this kid change so much overnight?"
It wasn't just Iruka-sensei. Hyūga Hinata, who had always secretly watched Naruto, had a face as red as a ripe tomato. She tightly clutched the strawberry milk Naruto had just given her, reluctant to drink it. The moment Naruto put on the glasses, Hinata felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest.
"Naruto-kun... with glasses... so... so gentle..."
"Ugh..."
Steam seemed to rise from Hinata's head, and with a flushed face, she collapsed onto her desk and fainted.
"Hinata! What's wrong, Hinata!"
Kiba, sitting next to her, was startled.