Shuffle.. Shuffle..
The newbie students all kinda shuffled towards their classes, a mix of "this is it!" and "oh man, what's gonna happen?" vibes hanging in the air.
Naruto strolled into the classroom, his eyes quickly scanning for the usual suspects of Konoha 12, but obviously Team Guy was not here.
Right at the back, chilling on the last bench, were Shikamaru and Choji, still munching on another bag of chips like it was his life's mission.
'Might as well go say hi to Shika and the gang,' Naruto thought to himself.
With that in mind, he moseyed over to where Shikamaru was slouched next to Choji.
"Yo, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. You guys cool if I hang out here?"
Shikamaru gave Naruto a lazy once-over with his half-closed eyes. He recognized him, not as the whole demon fox thing, but as that kid his dad had mentioned a few times.
"Hey, I'm Shikamaru Nara, and this is my friend Choji Akimichi," Shikamaru said, shifting over on the seat.
"Want some?" Choji offered, holding out the chip bag.
"Ah, sweet, thanks," Naruto said, snagging one.
Naruto plopped down next to them, thinking how laid-back and friendly they seemed.
"Alright! This place is buzzing," Kiba announced as he swaggered into the class.
"Woof!"
Akamaru barked and yipped excitedly on Kiba's head, bouncing around.
Right behind him, Shino walked in quietly, those dark shades and high collar totally hiding his face.
They spotted Shikamaru and Choji and headed for the last seats in the row.
"So, looks like we're in the same class, huh? Nara, Akimichi."
"...Troublesome," Shikamaru drawled.
"And that's Naruto," Choji said, waving a hand towards Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet ya both," Naruto said, throwing up a casual hand.
"Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my Ninken Akamaru," Kiba said, pointing at himself and the dog.
Shino just gave a slight nod, "Shino Aburame."
"Alright! Everyone settle your down!"
While everyone was chatting, a teacher's voice echoed from down the hall, telling them to get seated 'cause class was about to start.
The guy was pretty big, with brown hair and a goatee. He was rocking the standard Konoha ninja gear, flak jacket and all, with his headband tied bandana-style.
"Alright, let's start things with intros. My Name is Daikoku Funeno, your main homeroom teacher. Now, everyone, one by one, tell us about yourselves," Daikoku said.
As the introductions started, Naruto's brain started doing a quick search: 'Was there a Daikoku Funeno in the anime?'
'Ah! Wait, yeah! He was the teacher back when Itachi was a student. Seemed like a pretty chill dude, if I remember right.'
'System, lemme grab three Chunin Level Cards,' Naruto thought.
[Purchasing... Completed]
( Host : Naruto Uzumaki )
( Chakra Capacity : Lower Chunin )
( XP : 2,190 )
'Ugh.'
'Always stinks seeing that number drop. Use one card on Daikoku.'
[Target Level : Average Chunin]
[Chakra Replication... Successfull]
( Chakra Capacity : Elite Chunin )
Naruto felt his chakra level up a bit, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
"Oi, Naruto, what are grinning like a maniac for?" Shikamaru asked, looking a little uneasy.
Naruto wiped the smile off and went back to his normal look.
"Nothin', just stoked to finally start this whole ninja gig."
"...Seriously?" Shikamaru asked, raising his eyebrows.
After the intros, classes kicked off. Meanwhile, Naruto used his other two Chunin Level Cards on Daikoku.
( Chakra Capacity : Special Jonin )
After using all the cards, his chakra shot up to Jonin level, feeling like a sudden crazy boost, like a hidden tap just got cranked open.
'Jonin! This system's seriously OP, if only getting XP wasn't such a pain,' Naruto thought, quietly amazed at this new power.
His senses got super sharp, a nice clear feeling washing over him.
Naruto glanced around at the other students. Sasuke, unlike his emo anime self, wasn't brooding or anything.
Even with all the fangirls drooling over him, he was totally ignoring them, his gaze intense on something else.
Sakura and Ino were also busy fawning over Sasuke, while Hinata was shyly peeking glances at Naruto.
'Heh! Still happening, just like in the anime. Guess it was my bad for being impulsive at that time. Not that it's awful, but romance ain't really my thing right now. Not yet anyway.'
One class after another wrapped up, and then it was break time. Naruto was chilling with Shikamaru and the gang out on the grounds.
He didn't mind being alone, but if there was cool company, why be a loner?
"Man, classes are such a drag," Shikamaru said, staring up at the clouds.
"Yeah, I thought they'd at least show us some cool ninjutsu or something," Kiba said, totally agreeing with Shikamaru.
"Uh-huh," the others chimed in.
"History class was straight-up boring, all they did was yap about the Third Hokage, total Bullshit," Naruto said casually.
Hearing Naruto say that made the others' jaws drop. They kinda felt the same way, but saying it out loud? That was a whole other level.
Even Shikamaru's usual lazy look vanished.
"Oi, Naruto, are you trying to get us in trouble? If someone hears that, things could get real bad for you."
"Yeah, the Third might be a good guy, but those high-level elders in the village won't let that kind of insult slide."
Naruto just waved his hand dismissively.
"You guys are overthinking it. You know deep down everything I said is true."
"Even if the Third's strong, you really think he's the god of shinobi?" Naruto asked.
"Well, he's an old man now. Back in his prime he might have b—"
"Still way overhyped," Naruto cut in, interrupting Kiba.
"Let's just drop this, next class is about to start," Shikamaru said, steering the conversation away.
The others nodded in agreement and started heading towards class. While walking, Naruto thought to himself.
'God of shinobi? He can barely kick Kurama out of the village. Meanwhile, Hashirama used to beat the crap out of Kurama, and EMS Madara could handle him solo.'
"BRAT!, did you seriously have to blurt that out like that!"
In his mindscape, Kurama let out a low growl.