Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 36, Class 7

On the day the group assignments were revealed, Naruto woke up unusually early. Having been in Konoha these past few days without the hassle of working late into the night, he was exceptionally energetic. Breakfast was a simple sandwich with meat and eggs. Since it was still early, he and Sasuke ran a few laps around the training field before heading to the classroom. This time, Naruto sat very obediently, showing no intention of moving an inch, even if the girls tried to make a fuss.

However, the main troublemakers had become good friends again over the past year, perhaps because the distance between them had narrowed, shattering the beautiful illusion. After their sparring session with the older students that year, the barriers between them disappeared, and the children set their sights on their tree-climbing and wading skills. Naruto was all about physicality, so expecting him to teach properly was out of the question, while Sasuke, with his theoretical knowledge, had some patience, but not much. Unsurprisingly, Sakura learned the fastest among the group of kids, while the others were equally disliked. Actually, what Sasuke disliked most was that their training sessions were taking away from his and Naruto's sparring time; Sasuke was still quite obsessed with pursuing power.

The noisy crowd came and went quickly. Sakura naturally sat down next to Naruto. Naruto had originally wanted to sit separately from Sasuke, but Sasuke, to avoid attracting unwanted attention, had firmly placed him in the shield position. This silly boy, isn't he afraid of shutting out even the real potential suitors?

Naruto is already middle-aged; counting the years he's lived again, he's practically fifty. He treats these childish crushes as mere play, something to laugh about and move on from. He doesn't mind seeing Sasuke surrounded by girls, but Sasuke even pulled his hair, firmly refusing to move, so Naruto had no choice but to comply. Speaking of which, Sakura was much gentler with him this time, probably because he wasn't as indiscriminate in his speech as he was when they were kids. But Sasuke's temper seems to be getting worse lately; he's been physically aggressing him for no reason—pulling his arms and ears is one thing, but this has escalated to pulling his hair! If you were to rank Sasuke's anger, you could tell just by looking at where he hits him.

"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha."

Teacher Iruka read out the combination of fate, but this time Sakura just clenched her fist in her seat, Naruto just smiled lightly, and Sasuke turned his head to look at his teammates, his cold face softened a little, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

From this moment on, their adventure officially began.

"All the other teams have left. Who is our teacher?" Sakura was getting impatient. The classroom was empty, with only three poor kids waiting for their teacher.

Naruto went to the bathroom halfway through, and when he came back, he lay on his side on the table, casually flicking Sasuke's hair in front of him. "I can already guess which teacher it is."

Sasuke, the only one still sitting, wasn't sitting very upright either, leaning against the table behind him, and echoed, "Yeah, it can only be that guy."

Feeling excluded, Sakura asked, "Huh? Do you guys even know who the Jonin teacher is?"

"It's definitely Kakashi-sensei. He really, really loves being late!" Naruto knew where Kakashi was, but he wouldn't say. So, in his past life, around this time, the Third Hokage and Kakashi had illegally broken into the two kids' house? Probably to have a heart-to-heart talk or something. Kakashi had never actually been to their house before.

Sasuke snorted in agreement, and Sakura, who had long admired Kakashi, listlessly found a seat and slumped down. The quiet classroom, filled only with the chirping of cicadas, was incredibly sleepy. Naruto completely collapsed and closed his eyes. He had a habit of taking a nap, but today the team had all gone to lunch, leaving him no time to sleep. Before falling asleep, he generously offered his forearm so Sasuke wouldn't have to rest his head on the wooden table to catch up on his sleep. So when Kakashi opened the door, he was greeted by Sasuke, who was half-asleep and looking at the door with one eye open. Naruto, who had been sleeping soundly, immediately sat up straight, looking at Sakura with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

"Too slow, Kakashi." Sasuke pointed out his name without any mercy.

"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto waved at him with his eyes closed, sounding like he was still half asleep.

"Kakashi-sensei, hello!" Sakura awkwardly mimicked Naruto's greeting, after all, he was a Jonin! Her parents had only ever been ordinary Chunin for most of their lives.

Kakashi smiled helplessly; even though the mask concealed the corners of his mouth, his curved eyebrows and eyes were still visible.

"This is probably the first time I've met Class 7. My first impression of you guys... is pretty good~"

The four of them walked up to the rooftop in a lively atmosphere. Since two of them knew each other in a three-on-three situation, Kakashi suggested that they introduce themselves as a group to get to know each other better.

Naruto immediately raised his hand and said, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Kakashi, who had been waiting for a long time but hadn't received anything, knew that Naruto's mischievous side was at play again. He almost gave Naruto a beating and said, "And then? Aren't you going to add anything about what you like or dislike, your future dreams, or anything like that?"

Naruto blinked and thought for a moment, then said, "I like the sun, I hate the rats in the sewers, and my dream is to become Hokage!"

What does he like? What does he hate? Rats are understandable, but why add a prefix? And what's the sun? Doesn't he always run into the shade during training? He almost got heatstroke once. Could he really like the sun? Isn't this... some kind of... metaphor? If it really is... then he'll have to reassess Naruto's potential.

"I'm here! My name is Sakura Haruno. I like being able to protect others, I hate troublemakers, and my dream for the future is..." Sakura glanced at the grinning Naruto and said in a defiant tone, "To become Hokage!"

Wow! That's a bit unexpected.

This isn't surprising, because during that year, Sakura and Ino also met Hinata, who was extremely shy and usually timid and reserved. Her personality easily attracted the malice of some teenagers, and coupled with the distinctive appearance of her Byakugan, Sakura's punches even became a bit harder. Deep down, Sakura admired Sasuke, liking his appearance, his strength, and the way he would patiently explain things despite his apparent impatience. However, she had already realized that Sasuke only had eyes for Naruto, and this inexplicable competitive spirit arose within her.

Naruto wants to become Hokage, so she wants to become Hokage too. If she can do it, wouldn't that prove she's better than Naruto, and then Sasuke will finally take notice of her?

Naruto had never imagined any of these twists and turns. He was briefly surprised, then became incredibly excited. "Sakura wants to compete with me? Sure! Let's see who succeeds first!"

This blessing comes from the bottom of my heart. Anyone who has served as Hokage knows what kind of trials and tribulations that position entails...

I don't understand it, but the team atmosphere seems pretty good. Even when there's competition, they encourage each other... That's great.

Kakashi sighed silently, his gaze falling on the only cool guy.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, and I like..." Sasuke paused, seemingly trying to keep his eyes from wandering, and said firmly, "I don't like anything! I hate a lot of things, my dreams... or rather, my ambitions, to revive the Uchiha clan, and... I must kill that man."

...So he really is a problem child? Was he just glancing at Naruto? Something feels off... Oh well, I'll observe him later.

"That concludes the self-introductions."

"Wait a minute. What about you, teacher?" Naruto interrupted Kakashi's attempt to bluff his way out at lightning speed.

"Ah, I forgot." Kakashi lied without batting an eye. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't have any likes or dislikes."

Naruto whispered from below, "He clearly likes saury and hates tempura."

Kakashi pretended not to hear, "...My future dreams...I have many, many interests."

Naruto continued in a low voice, "His most peculiar interest is that he spends his free time reading a book called 'Make-Out Paradise'."

Sakura replied quietly, "It doesn't feel like a serious book."

"That's it."

A tic-tac-toe sign appeared above Kakashi's head as he called out, "Naruto Uzumaki, what are you talking about?"

Naruto immediately started looking up at the sky and down at the ground, pretending that nothing had just happened.

"In short, we've become acquainted. Starting tomorrow, we will begin our mission."

“Let’s start with the ‘survival drill’.”