Chapter 10 (Patreon)

Sasuke sat at his desk, still fuming. Naruto took the seat beside him, ready to work out the details of their future training.

More than anything, he wanted to know when Sasuke would let him look through the ninjutsu scrolls the Uchiha clan had left behind.

Before he could ask, two pretty girls burst into the classroom, arguing loudly as they rushed through the doorway side by side.

The moment they spotted Sasuke, they hurried over, each eager to get his attention first.

Naruto’s eyes lit up when he saw Sakura. He still needed to find a way to get her to teach him how to recognize genjutsu.

“Hey, Sakura!” he greeted her with a smile.

“Move!”

Sakura grabbed him by the collar and started pulling him out of the seat.

Naruto’s expression changed. He was about to resist when he felt someone watching him.

He recognized that sensation. The Third Hokage was observing him through his crystal ball again.

‘Damn it!’

Swallowing his frustration, Naruto let Sakura throw him into the aisle. He put on a bewildered expression, as though he had no idea what had just happened.

No one saw the cold look behind his sunglasses.

It wasn’t directed at Sakura alone. He was angry with the Third Hokage, too, and with the situation that forced him to swallow his resentment and keep pretending.

Once again, the need to become stronger pressed at him.

“G-good morning, Sasuke-kun!”

Sakura stood in front of Sasuke, blushing, her hands clasped against her chest.

“Can I sit next to you?”

Sasuke turned slightly to look at Naruto on the floor and frowned. Even that small movement made his neck ache where Naruto had kicked him earlier.

Seeing that Sakura had reached him first, Ino immediately tried to claim the seat for herself. The two began arguing, and the other girls crowded around, determined not to be left out.

Sasuke discreetly rubbed his sore abdomen, which had also taken a kick from Naruto.

“You’re all so annoying,” he muttered.

Naruto looked at Sakura and gave a quiet, bitter laugh.

‘So I wasn’t the only one making a fool of myself over a crush.’

A mischievous smile crept onto his face.

He jumped onto the desk in front of Sakura and leaned toward her, staring at her intently.

Startled, Sakura tried to step back, but the girls crowded behind her left her nowhere to go. She could only stare at Naruto’s face, now much too close to hers.

If Sasuke had been the one leaning toward her, she would have closed her eyes and leaned in without a second thought.

But this was Naruto, the boy she couldn’t stand.

Naruto tipped his sunglasses down just enough to glance at Ino.

Ino caught the mischievous look. Her gaze flicked toward Sakura, and she promptly smacked Naruto between the shoulder blades.

The shove sent him forward, and his lips met Sakura’s.

Exactly as he had intended.

Behind his back, Naruto gave Ino a thumbs-up.

‘Nice work, Ino!’

Sakura’s thoughts scattered. For a moment, she felt as though she might faint.

Her first kiss... with Naruto?

Of all people, it had to be the boy she disliked most!

“Naruto! I’m going to kill you!”

She jerked away, clenched her fists, and launched a furious barrage of punches, as though she meant to unleash the Pegasus Meteor Fist right there in the classroom.

Naruto laughed and slipped behind Sasuke, then pushed him straight into Sakura’s path.

Caught off guard, Sasuke tried to pull away, but Naruto seized his arms and held him in place.

Sakura snapped back to her senses the moment she saw Sasuke in front of her.

She tried to stop.

Her fist was already moving.

THUD!

The punch sent Sasuke crashing face-first to the floor.

The entire classroom fell silent.

Everyone stared at Sakura, who stood frozen in disbelief.

“I... I’m sorry, Sasuke-kun!” she stammered, her face pale.

Sasuke lifted his head, looking furious. He shot Sakura a disgusted glance before turning his glare on Naruto behind him.

Barely ten minutes had passed since Naruto had beaten him in the bathroom. His neck had already been hurting.

Now it hurt even more.

Before long, Iruka arrived, and the students quickly settled down.

Naruto sat to Sasuke’s right. Sakura sat on Naruto’s other side, still tearful.

“Congratulations, everyone. From today on, you’re all shinobi!”

Iruka smiled at the class.

“But you’re only beginning as genin. The real hard work starts now.”

He glanced at Naruto before continuing.

“You’ll be divided into teams of three. Each team will be assigned a jonin instructor, and you’ll carry out missions under their guidance.”

A stir of surprise passed through the classroom.

Naruto made sure to look just as surprised and curious as everyone else.

“Teams of three...” Sasuke murmured.

He turned to look at Naruto. Somehow, he had the feeling Naruto had known about this arrangement all along.

And perhaps that wasn’t the only thing he knew.

Sakura stole a glance to her left, looking straight past Naruto to Sasuke. Her cheeks warmed.

‘Please let me be on Sasuke-kun’s team! And please don’t put me with Naruto!’

“Alright, I’ll announce your teams now.”

Iruka opened the roster and began reading the names, working his way from Team One to Team Seven.

“Team Seven: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno...”

Sakura’s shoulders slumped.

Naruto already knew what was coming, but he immediately cheered at the sound of her name.

Iruka shook his head helplessly and continued.

“And Sasuke Uchiha.”

“Yes!”

Sakura brightened at once.

Naruto showed no disappointment. He simply turned toward Sasuke and raised his fist with a grin.

Sasuke stared at him, gritting his teeth.

Once he had finished reading the assignments, Iruka clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Your jonin instructors will come this afternoon. Until then, you’re free to take a break.”

With the team assignments finished, the sensation of the Third Hokage watching him finally disappeared.

Naruto breathed a little easier and turned toward the back of the classroom.

He had felt another gaze on him for some time. While Hiruzen was watching, he hadn’t wanted to reveal how keen his senses were, so he had resisted the urge to look.

Now he could finally see who it was.

‘Oh, it’s Hinata.’

A smile came to his face.

He naturally felt warmly toward the girl who had remained so devoted to Naruto in the original story—and who had eventually become the mother of his children.

“Hi, Hinata!”

At his greeting, Hinata turned red all the way to her ears. She ducked her head so quickly that she nearly disappeared beneath her desk.

‘She really is shy...’

Naruto smiled helplessly and started to get up, intending to walk over.

He turned toward Sakura, who was blocking his way, and opened his mouth to ask her to let him pass.

But Sakura assumed he was about to start talking to her again. Her expression soured, and she cut him off impatiently.

“Naruto, just because we’re on the same team doesn’t mean you can get in the way of me and Sasuke-kun!”

Naruto raised an eyebrow, almost amused.

“I’m not the same as I was before, Sakura. Don’t assume everything I do is about you. And we’ll see who ends up holding the team back.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sakura rolled her eyes.

Naruto ignored her, hopped over the desk, and headed toward Hinata.

He didn’t think Sakura was a bad person. But in his eyes, Sasuke always came first with her. Even if Sasuke defected, killed people, or threatened to destroy the world, she would still care about him.

Meanwhile, no matter how well Naruto did, she never seemed to take him seriously.

That alone wouldn’t have made him so hostile toward her.

What bothered him more was the pattern he remembered from the original story.

Whenever she needed Naruto, it was, “Naruto, where are you? Please help Sasuke-kun!”

But when she didn’t need his help, she seemed unconcerned with where Naruto was, or even whether he was alive or dead.

From his perspective, he mattered to her when she wanted something done for Sasuke. The rest of the time, she acted as though he had nothing to do with her.

That selfishness was one of the reasons he had come to hate Sakura.