Chōji's antics were amusing.
But Natsuki had a good grasp of his character by now.
This chubby guy was warm-hearted and kind. He had an almost sacred attachment to food—so long as you didn't call him a pig or try to steal his snacks, he'd be the easiest person to befriend.
That said, the last piece of sweet potato still wasn't his.
Natsuki pulled the paper packet back a little, smiling. "Chōji, this is the last one. You want it, but so do I. I bet Shikamaru and Shino wouldn't mind having it either. I can't just hand it over to you. So how about we do rock-paper-scissors? Winner gets to decide what to do with it. Sound fair?"
Shikamaru groaned. "Such a drag… It's just a piece of sweet potato."
But Chōji's eyes lit up with determination. "The last snack? I won't let anyone else have it. I accept!"
"I'll join too," Shino added quietly.
It seemed to be his first time engaging in something like this, but he quickly got the hang of it. For someone like him, playing a game with new friends was a valuable experience.
The four of them huddled in a circle and got ready.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Haha! My scissors win!"
Natsuki grinned, holding up his hand in victory. Chōji looked devastated, clearly not expecting to lose.
"As agreed, I get to decide the fate of this last piece."
Natsuki pulled out a kunai and swiftly sliced the sweet potato into four pieces. "There, now we all get some. Friends share, after all."
Chōji immediately brightened up, snatching his share and popping it into his mouth with glee.
Shikamaru and Shino exchanged a glance and picked up their pieces as well. Childish as it may have seemed, the four of them had clearly grown closer through the interaction.
Naturally, they started chatting.
Chōji was curious about the sweet potato—where Natsuki bought it, how it was made. When Natsuki said he made it himself and even shared the process, the simple conversation turned surprisingly lively.
Just then, a stir broke out in the classroom.
Uchiha Sasuke entered the room, his handsome little face and cool demeanor instantly causing a wave of squealing among the girls.
Shikamaru scowled. "Girls are such a drag."
Natsuki met Shino's gaze and they both shrugged. Drag or not, they sure were loud. Only six years old, and already obsessed with pretty boys? Talk about early bloomers.
Also… Sasuke really was full of himself. Probably learned that from his oh-so-glorious big brother.
The very next second, a familiar loud voice echoed through the room.
"Uzumaki Naruto has arrived! From now on we're all classmates—let's get along, dattebayo!"
The moment he shouted, the entire class turned toward him. Many of them recognized him instantly. And even those who didn't could guess from the whisker marks on his cheeks.
Whispers broke out at once. Some weren't even whispers—words like "demon fox," "annoying," and "disgusting" were tossed around freely.
Even though Naruto had gotten used to this kind of treatment, he couldn't keep smiling this time. The grin on his face was cracking.
He had probably really looked forward to today—thinking he could finally make friends with kids his own age. But reality slapped him right back down. Was he really going to be alone again?
Could he ever gain acceptance?
Thankfully, Iruka arrived just in time and called everyone to take their seats.
As he caught a glimpse of Naruto's lonely back, a flicker of complex emotion crossed Iruka's face. There was some resentment in there—understandable, since he had lost his family the night of the Nine-Tails attack, and Naruto was the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
But Iruka was a kind man. He knew it wasn't Naruto's fault, and that contradiction only deepened his inner conflict.
"Ahem. Class, I'll be your homeroom teacher from today onward."
Iruka smiled warmly. "Let's start with introductions. I'll go first to set an example. My name is Iruka. I like eating at Ichiraku Ramen, and I don't really dislike anything. My dream is to be a great teacher. Alright, who wants to go next?"
Naruto shot his hand up. "Me! Me! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I love Ichiraku Ramen, and I hate the waiting time before the noodles are ready! My dream is to become Hokage, dattebayo!"
The class exploded.
A demon fox wanting to become Hokage? What a joke!
Inuzuka Kiba immediately barked, "You? Become Hokage? The future Hokage is gonna be me, the great Inuzuka Kiba! You probably won't even graduate from the academy!"
Others chimed in with their own Hokage dreams, making the room even noisier.
Iruka sighed, rubbing his temples. "Alright, alright! I know everyone has great dreams, but let's go in order. I'll call names. Uchiha Sasuke, you're up next."
Shing! All eyes turned to Sasuke. The girls looked like their eyes had turned into hearts.
(Well… except for Hyūga Hinata. Her eyes were currently sneaking glances at a certain blonde troublemaker.)
Sasuke stood up, face full of cool arrogance. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like dango. I hate idiots. My dream is to become a great ninja like my nii-san."
"Wow! Sasuke-kun is so cool!"
"I love you, Sasuke-kun!"
"Sasuke-kuuuun~!"
Girls squealed and screamed. The boys rolled their eyes in disgust.
Especially Naruto. He narrowed his eyes like a fox, glaring at Sasuke. "Tch! What's the big deal? I'm totally handsome too! Why are they all fawning over that guy? He's not that great! So full of himself… bet he'd go down with one punch, dattebayo!"
Sasuke seemed to sense Naruto's death glare, glanced back, their eyes met—and both instantly turned away with a mutual "hmph."
The fated bond between Indra and Asura had just been rekindled.
Then came the rest of the introductions.
"I'm Yamanaka Ino! My family runs the Yamanaka Flower Shop! I love flowers of all kinds, and my dream is to become super popular!"
"So troublesome… I'm Nara Shikamaru. I like sleeping. I hate trouble. Don't really have a dream."
"I'm Akimichi Chōji. I love eating. I hate wasting food. And I hate being called fat. My dream is to one day eat all I want without ever working."
"I-I'm Hyūga Hinata… I… I…" She stumbled shyly over her words—but it was adorable.
"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like… (glances at Sasuke), and my dream is… (another glance at Sasuke)…"
Naruto's eyes lit up as he looked at Sakura. He remembered seeing her before. She wasn't like the others—she didn't look at him with hate.
In that moment, Naruto fell hard.
But watching the lovely Sakura keep glancing at Sasuke?
Naruto felt like his lungs were about to explode.
(End of Chapter)
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