Burp
Naruto burped because he was full.
"I...I'm full." Naruto said contentedly.
Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "I didn't know you could cook, Souji. Your cooking is delicious. I want to eat it again, but my stomach is full."
"Well, it's nothing. I just make it often, that's all." Souji replied.
After that, they talked about small things.
"..."
They tidied up and cleaned their eating utensils. Even Hiruzen helped. After that, they took a short break.
Yawn
Naruto yawned.
His mental state is a mix of tiredness, sadness, happiness, anxiety, and relief.
Even though he had taken a nap earlier, he was still sleepy.
"Naruto, you can go to sleep first." Souji said.
"Un." Naruto replied, rubbing his eyes.
"Don't forget to brush your teeth." Souji reminded him.
"Un." Naruto replied again. "Good night, Dad. Good night, old man."
"Good night, Naruto." Souji and Hiruzen said.
Naruto then got up and left.
"..."
"Souji." Hiruzen called, breaking the silence.
"What is it, old man?"
"As a Jinchuriki, Naruto is under the supervision of the Anbu. The Anbu I assigned to watch Naruto saw what you did this afternoon." Hiruzen paused for a moment, then continued, "Can you show me the spinning blue ball you made?"
"..."
'Ah? It's true. I was careless. But does he suspect me of something?' Souji thought.
"Spinning blue ball? You mean this?" Souji formed a Rasengan in his right hand.
Swish swirl
"..."
[+1]
'Jackpot!' Hiruzen thought excitedly.
Just by looking at it, he knew it was a real Rasengan.
"Can you stop it?" Hiruzen asked.
Souji nodded. Soon after, the Rasengan's rotation slowed down, it shrank, and then it disappeared.
'Extraordinary chakra control...' Hiruzen praised.
"..."
"Souji, do you know what you just made?" Hiruzen asked, making sure.
"A spinning blue ball?"
Hiruzen nodded and asked. "Was that your idea?"
Souji shook his head. "I was inspired by a cat playing with a ball of thread."
"..."
"What about chakra? Do you know that chakra can be shaped into threads?" Hiruzen asked.
"Oh, that? I accidentally turned my chakra into threads, so I know it's possible."
"Yes, and what you did is a high-level chakra technique." Hiruzen continued, "This technique you created is also one created by the Fourth Hokage, the Rasengan."
"Ah? So, what I made already exists. Well, what can I do? I thought I was creating something new." Souji boasted.
"..."
"Even so, creating the Rasengan from scratch without help is an extraordinary achievement."
"So, how long have you been trying to make the Rasengan?" Hiruzen asked.
"A month?" Souji answered uncertainly.
"..."
Twitch
Hiruzen's face twitched upon hearing that.
"..."
He sighed, then smiled. "It seems it's time for me to go."
He walked toward the door, followed by Souji.
"All right then, Souji. Ah? Tomorrow, you have to go to the teacher's room first. Do you remember who your homeroom teacher is?" Hiruzen asked.
"Umino Iruka?"
"Good. Then, good night, Souji." Hiruzen said.
"Good night, old man." Souji replied.
"..."
Hiruzen left their house and walked alone.
He hadn't expected to get a diamond, a solid background, capable chakra and chakra control, talent, and of course, the "Will of Fire."
Souji was just like Minato, if not more so.
Hiruzen really couldn't wait to see Konoha's bright future.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
The next morning, Souji woke Naruto up and they got ready for school. Of course, Souji made bento for both of them.
Usually unenthusiastic in the morning, Naruto was different this time. He couldn't wait to go to school with his Father even if that father was actually his classmate.
Naruto wore a black shirt with the Uzumaki clan symbol on the front and white pants. Souji wore a white shirt and black pants.
"Ready?" Souji asked.
"Ready!" Naruto answered enthusiastically.
"Let's go."
"Un."
"..."
They went to school together and were stared at by many people along the way. It wasn't because anyone dared to approach the demon fox, it was because of Souji's [Charm].
Souji himself was unaware of this. He thought they were staring at him because of Naruto.
It never occurred to him that it was all because of his [Charm]. He even thought the [Charm] attribute was a scam.
(System: ....)
When they arrived at the academy gate, Souji was stared at by the people there, including parents and their children.
They all had the same question, 'Who is he?'
However, Souji didn't care. Instead, he thought they were staring at him with dislike because he was close to Naruto. Once again, it was because of Souji's active [Charm], when he started being honest with himself.
Sincerity is the simplest way to enter someone's heart. That's what Souji was radiating now. After entering the academy, Souji and Naruto parted ways. Souji didn't tell Naruto that they would be in the same class.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
Yawn
"Troublesome..."
A boy with his hair styled like the end of a pineapple looked at his entire class with boredom.
"Shikamaru, aren't you sleeping?" asked a stocky boy.
"Hm, I think I have time for a nap. Choji, wake me up if Iruka-sensei comes." said Shikamaru.
"Of course." Choji replied happily, munching on potato chips.
Initially wanting to sleep, Shikamaru paused for a moment, he felt something was off about his friend.
"Choji, what are you hiding from me?" Shikamaru stared at Choji, who was trying to look calm.
"Nothing, Shikamaru," Choji said, eating his potato chips quickly.
Shikamaru knew his friend's habits well. When Choji ate his potato chips normally, it meant there was no problem. But when he ate them quickly, it meant he was nervous and hiding something from Shikamaru.
"Choji, do you know the new rules at the academy?"
"Huh? New rules? I don't know," Choji replied.
"The new rule is that every student who brings potato chips to school must finish them before 7:15 a.m." Shikamaru continued. "Any remaining chips after that time will be confiscated."
"..."
"WHAT?!" Choji shouted. This made Shikamaru pull him aside and cover his mouth because he didn't want Choji to be the center of attention in class.
"Choji, if you make a fuss like that, the whole class will know you're breaking the rules." Shikamaru whispered.
"Ugh... What should I do, Shikamaru? I don't want my potato chips confiscated." Before Shikamaru could answer, Choji cut him off, "I know! I'll eat them all before they're confiscated!"
Shikamaru looked at him and said, "Choji, if you do that, then you won't be allowed to bring potato chips to school ever again."
"What?" Choji blinked and shook his head. "No, no, no. Then I don't want to go to school."
"If you don't go to school, your parents won't give you money to buy potato chips."
"If that's the case, won't I die?"
Shikamaru sighed. "If you die, you won't be able to buy potato chips anymore."
"..."
"Huh?"
Perhaps the right phrase to describe Chōji's current situation is "reluctant to live, unwilling to die."
In the end, he gave up and asked Shikamaru for help.
"I'll help you if you tell me what you're hiding." Shikamaru said.
Finally, Choji told Shikamaru, "Aunt Yoshino said that if I tell her how many times you fell asleep in class, she'll give me extra potato chips."
"..."
"Haa... women... troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered.
"Shikamaru, You'll help me, right? I've told you everything." Chōji whispered.
"Don't worry. You can eat your potato chips again. I won't tell Iruka-sensei," Shikamaru replied.
"Oh, thank you, Shikamaru," Choji said happily as he ate his potato chips.
"You're welcome."
'Sorry, Choji. I tricked you.' Shikamaru thought.
"..."
Then, not long after, a blonde-haired girl with a ponytail came to greet them.
"Morning, Shika and Choji." she said.
"Morning, Ino." Choji replied.
"...Troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered.
"Huh...? What are you saying, Shika?" Ino asked, giving Shikamaru a sharp look.
"Morning... Ino." Shikamaru said again.
"Hm." Ino responded briefly before sitting down.
'Tch...' Shikamaru thought, annoyed.
Why did he have to deal with troublesome creatures on a troublesome day and morning?
'How troublesome...' Shikamaru thought.
Usually, when he thought about troublesome things, Naruto's voice would be the loudest in the class, and with all his mischief, Shikamaru couldn't sleep peacefully.
But...
Shikamaru noticed that Naruto had been silent, occasionally smiling to himself.
"..."
'What's going on with him?' Shikamaru thought. 'Did he hit his head on something?'
"..."
"Kyaa! Sasuke-kun!" The girls in the class screamed when they saw Uchiha Sasuke arrive.
'Ugh...again and again...troublesome.'
Shikamaru sometimes wondered how he ended up in this class full of trouble.
"..."
"..."
"All right, Souji. Now follow me. We're going to class." Iruka said.
"Yes, Sensei."
They went to class, with Souji following behind. The class, which had been noisy, immediately fell silent when Iruka arrived.
'Have they finally started respecting me as their teacher?' Iruka thought. He didn't know that their silence wasn't because of him, but because of Souji's presence.
Even Naruto didn't expect to see Souji in his class.
"All right, children, back to your seats."
They followed his instructions. Iruka, who saw this, felt happy that his efforts had finally paid off.
"..."
"Hey, do you know who he is?"
"Ah, he's handsome."
"Handsome? Isn't he cute?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
The female students whispered to each other.
Ino and Sakura weren't exempt from this either.
"Hey, Sakura. Isn't he more handsome than Sasuke?" Ino whispered.
Sakura wanted to agree but then shook her head. "No, no. Sasuke is better than him." Yes, Sakura said "better," not "more handsome."
"Huh? If that's the case, then you're not interested in him, are you?" Ino asked to make sure.
"Ino, don't you like Sasuke anymore?" Sakura asked back.
"Eh?" Ino was surprised by Sakura's question.
She tried to look at Sasuke.
"..."
'This is strange. Sasuke looks ordinary.' Ino thought.
Then, she saw Souji standing in front of the class.
'Hm, he's more handsome than Sasuke.' she thought.
"Ino, Ino..." Sakura called.
"Ah? What is it, Sakura?" Ino asked.
"Are you daydreaming?"
"Ah, I'm sorry."
"..."
"All right, we have a new student in our class. Souji, please come forward and introduce yourself." said Iruka.
Souji walked to the front of the room and stood in front of the blackboard. He saw the other students looking at him. He looked at each student in the class one by one.
'All the Rookie 9 are in this class.' he thought.
"..."
Not a single one of them spoke when Souji looked at them. Even Iruka was silent, he didn't know why.
Souji looked toward the window where the sun slowly appeared and gradually shone on him.
'Well... I really want to try this.' he thought, deciding to follow the introduction style of one of the characters he remembered.
He pointed his hand to the sky and said, "The man who walks the path of heaven and will rule over everything. Tendou... Souji."
"... "
'So cool.' Naruto thought, amazed by his father's introduction.
The other male students thought the same thing.
Even Sasuke admitted it. The others fantasized about being in Souji's position.
Unlike the boys, many of the girls experienced an electrical short circuit in their brains, causing their minds to go blank. Sakura and Hinata were the exceptions.
Sakura, with all her abilities, refused to be amazed. She tried to turn her gaze toward Sasuke.
Meanwhile, Hinata, confused by Naruto's behavior, was now amazed by Souji. She wondered how he could be so confident.
"..."
And Iruka?
He couldn't even say anything. He also thought Souji's introduction looked cool.
"..."
Cough
Iruka scratched his dry throat.
"All right, Souji. Please sit down." Iruka said, not giving anyone a chance to ask questions.
Souji nodded and said, "Thank you, Sensei."
Hearing that, Iruka nodded happily at Souji's attitude toward him. "Finally." he thought. 'There's a student who truly respects me as a teacher.'
Souji then chose a seat next to Naruto.
"Yo, Naruto." he greeted softly.
"Un. Dad." Naruto replied softly, nodding his head.
Of course, he felt very happy inside.
It's just that someone heard him.
'Dad?'
"..."
"..."