The gazes in the classroom instantly turned toward Naruto and Iruka.
Naruto continued staring out the window, showing no intention of turning around, pretending not to hear.
Iruka felt the stares of his students on him, causing a mix of shame and anger to well up inside. He was starting to feel cornered.
At that moment, his anger burned fiercely, rapidly consuming his rationality.
"Heh, looks like this dead last is trying to grab attention. This should be fun to watch."
Whispers began spreading throughout the classroom.
"Get out!"
With everyone's attention focused on Iruka, he realized that if he didn't handle this well, he'd lose all authority in the future.
Raising his voice a few decibels, he spoke again, now gripping a piece of chalk from the podium. His fingers tightened until the chalk snapped in half—one piece falling to the floor, the other remaining in his hand.
But Naruto remained unmoved, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Frustrated, Iruka hurled the chalk in Naruto's direction with chakra-enhanced force.
The piece of chalk sliced through the air with a sharp sound, flying straight toward Naruto's head.
If it hit, while it might not cause a concussion, it would definitely leave a nasty bump.
The moment he threw it, Iruka regretted it, berating himself for losing his temper and acting irrationally.
"If I lose my teaching license because of the demon fox... it wouldn't be worth it," he thought bitterly.
But then, remembering Naruto was the demon fox, he rationalized that if the boy were expelled, many parents might even support him for it...
Iruka's thoughts were a chaotic mix of emotions.
"Chalk is for writing, not throwing!"
As the chalk approached Naruto, Sasuke noticed Naruto's unresponsive demeanor. Without hesitation, he planted one foot on a chair, leapt onto the desk, and delivered a flying kick, sending the chalk hurtling back at Iruka with even greater speed.
Sasuke landed gracefully, arms crossed, looking down at Iruka with a mocking gaze.
"Do you think this is how a teacher should act?" he said, his tone dripping with disdain.
Naruto's shadow clone secretly sighed in disappointment, but he remembered Kakashi's advice to keep a low profile and let his thoughts settle.
"This Sasuke guy knows when to step up," thought Naruto's shadow clone. "He might be worth befriending..."
Iruka, seeing the chalk he had thrown deflected by Sasuke, exhaled a small breath of relief.
But then his pupils shrank in shock.
"How is Sasuke this strong?"
The chalk hadn't disintegrated into powder after being kicked back. This meant Sasuke's chakra control had reached an extraordinarily high level—far surpassing what Iruka expected of a student.
To put it bluntly, Sasuke's skill already surpassed that of his teacher.
Iruka pulled out a kunai and slashed at the chalk piece with all his might.
"Ugh..."
Though he managed to cut through the chalk, the backlash from the impact jarred his wrist, causing him to momentarily lose balance. A small fragment of the chalk struck his shoulder, making him let out a muffled groan as he staggered back a step.
"Sasuke! You're standing outside to listen to the lesson too!"
Now humiliated and furious, Iruka's anger boiled over. The strange looks from the students made him feel utterly humiliated.
The situation was spiraling out of his control...
In his frustration, he shouted at Sasuke in a desperate attempt to reassert his authority.
"You should be the one leaving," Sasuke retorted, his voice calm but cutting. "With skills like yours, and a temper like that, what qualifies you to teach us?"
Hearing Sasuke's retort, Iruka was stunned into silence.
To Sasuke, Iruka was nothing more than a disgrace to the teaching profession.
While he was kind to most students, Sasuke had noticed how he always picked on Naruto, who sat right next to him. Sasuke saw more than others and couldn't ignore the blatant unfairness.
This mistreatment happened right under his nose.
"You..."
"Shhh..."
Iruka was trembling with rage at Sasuke's words.
But the classroom erupted in murmurs and hushed laughter.
To the students, a teacher who couldn't even handle a piece of chalk and lost a confrontation with a student wasn't worth their respect.
Many of their families had shinobi, and in their eyes, Iruka was far too weak to teach.
Furious, Iruka glared at Naruto, who still hadn't turned around. In his mind, Naruto was the root cause of all this chaos.
He dared not provoke Sasuke, so his resentment instinctively turned to Naruto...
And after that brief exchange with Sasuke, Iruka realized he was no match for him in strength either.
Unknowingly, this ten-year-old child had already surpassed him.
Frustrated and humiliated, Iruka stormed out of the classroom.
There was nothing else he could do—he'd been utterly defeated.
As Iruka exited, Sasuke lowered his crossed arms and slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Let me back in..."
Sasuke looked at Naruto, who clearly had no intention of letting him in, and spoke in an annoyed tone.
Just a moment ago, he had stood up for Naruto, and now, not only did Naruto not thank him, but he also refused to let him in. It was utterly absurd.
He despised the surrounding stares.
A bunch of fickle people, swayed by the wind. He refused to associate himself with them.
From a flawless version read in a forum!
"So handsome…"
Not far from where Naruto and Sasuke stood, Sakura and Ino practically spoke in unison, their eyes full of admiration as they gazed blankly.
"Lord Hokage, you must help me…"
After leaving the classroom, Iruka mulled over his options, and after hesitating for a while, he decided to seek out Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi already had a splitting headache.
Now, seeing Iruka's angry face, coming to complain, only added to his frustration.
"What's going on?"
Suppressing his irritation, Hiruzen furrowed his brows and asked.
After all, Iruka was one of his trusted teachers at the Ninja Academy and generally a reliable instructor.
For him to leave class during teaching hours and come here likely meant something serious.
"Lord Hokage, I can't teach that class anymore…"
Hearing Hiruzen's question, Iruka replied with a face full of grievance.
His class had too many students from influential families, and he simply couldn't handle them.
He didn't even dare to directly file complaints, opting instead to take a step back and see what Hiruzen would say.
"What happened? Weren't you handling it just fine? Why this all of a sudden?"
Hiruzen was taken aback by Iruka's statement, realizing this might be a significant issue.
After all, Iruka was Sasuke's teacher. His tone softened slightly with concern.
"Lord Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto caused trouble again, and now he's becoming increasingly defiant. I just can't manage this class anymore. You'd better find someone more capable…"
Hearing Hiruzen's concerned tone, Iruka was both puzzled and touched. He took the opportunity to complain about Naruto, subtly hinting that either he or Naruto had to go.
"Naruto?"
Iruka's words struck a nerve with Hiruzen, and an image of Naruto's cheerful face flashed through his mind.
To him, while Naruto lacked talent, he had always seemed well-behaved. Why would Iruka say such things about him?
This was also because, during his occasional observations of the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen's focus had been on Sasuke, paying little attention to Naruto.
Now, hearing Iruka's complaints, Hiruzen felt a bit perplexed.
"Yes, Naruto."
Iruka, startled by Hiruzen's raised voice, replied softly.
"What exactly happened?"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the somewhat uneasy Iruka.
His instincts told him the matter wasn't as simple as it seemed.
"During class, Naruto kept whispering and disrupting Sasuke's learning. So, I asked him to step outside to listen to the lesson. But now, he treats my words as if they mean nothing…"
The atmosphere in the office grew heavier, and Iruka's heart began to race.
He braced himself and used Sasuke as a shield, trying to appeal to Hiruzen's favoritism.
Of course, he conveniently omitted the part where Sasuke had lashed out at him.
Sasuke's arrogance was backed by his talent and connections, and Iruka didn't dare provoke him.
But Naruto? A dead last in the rankings? On what grounds could he be so defiant?