We're close to 900 POWA STONES!!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 62: Planning a Birthday
A few days later at noon, the ninja classroom was filled with cheerful noise as Naruto crouched on the open floor, playing with the class's newest "special member."
"Come on, Akamaru, sit!"
Naruto gave the command, looking at the small dog before him—Akamaru, snow-white all over except for the black fur on the backs of his ears.
This was Kiba's recently acquired partner. The ninken who would one day grow to human size was currently just a palm-sized puppy.
"Woof!"
Akamaru immediately sat obediently, tilting his little head up with bright black eyes gazing unblinkingly at Naruto.
"Good boy! Now, shake hands!"
Naruto extended his palm, and Akamaru immediately raised his right front paw, smoothly placing his soft paw pad in Naruto's palm for a proper handshake.
"As expected of a ninken—so smart."
Naruto couldn't help but express his admiration as he used his other hand to pet Akamaru's small head. The puppy's fur was even softer than he'd imagined. Feeling the praise, Akamaru immediately squinted his eyes and let out a satisfied "woof" from his throat, his tail wagging rapidly like a little motor, beating a cheerful rhythm against the floor.
A while back, Kiba had walked into the classroom carrying a fluffy white creature and proudly announced his new partner.
"This is Akamaru, my new partner!" Kiba held up the palm-sized white puppy. The little guy seemed somewhat timid, constantly sniffing the air with his wet black nose.
Naruto's eyes had immediately lit up. He properly raised his hand and requested permission to pet Akamaru.
At the same time, he internally complained—as expected of ninja school, students could actually bring pets to class.
You had to understand, Naruto had been eyeing that big fox in his body for ages but never found a chance to pet it. For now, petting a dog would satisfy his craving.
Kiba's reaction was even more enthusiastic than expected. "Of course you can!" He practically bounced as he handed Akamaru over.
In Kiba's life plan, his dream was to become Hokage, and his first decree as Hokage would be "everyone in the village must own a dog." Now that he could develop another dog lover, he was one step closer to his dream.
On the other side of the classroom, Satsuki rested her chin on one hand, watching this scene with gentle eyes. In her view, Naruto was working hard to build connections—after all, the Inuzuka clan was also a prestigious family in Konoha.
Thinking of this, her eyes flashed with sympathy. For the sake of future development, Naruto was truly going to great lengths.
The boys in class quickly noticed this rare scene. The second daughter of the Uchiha family, who was usually cold as ice to everyone, was actually showing such a gentle expression.
A few bold boys secretly exchanged glances, but none dared approach. After all, since the school year began, every boy who'd tried to get close to Satsuki—except for Naruto—had been coldly rejected.
"Hey, Naruto, are we really going tonight? I've prepared a super awesome gift!"
Choji munched on potato chips while approaching Naruto, who was still playing with the dog, confirming once more the plan they'd made recently.
That's right—tonight's operation was to give Iruka-sensei a surprise.
Why, you ask?
Because today was a special day—Konoha Year 55, May 26th. It was Iruka-sensei's birthday!
Though Naruto had always known that Iruka would eventually accept him, for some reason, he'd felt an inexplicable fondness for this teacher from their very first meeting. The last time he'd felt this way was when he first met Satsuki.
At the start of the school year, there had still been a few degrees of distance in Iruka's gaze toward Naruto, born from the Nine-Tails incident. But Naruto hadn't retreated because of this—he persisted in being a good student every day, listening carefully in class, helping classmates who didn't shun him after school, and even actively greeting Iruka when they met in the hallways.
At first, Iruka would only respond with a cold "mm" before quickly looking away. But as time passed, Naruto's persistence seemed to slowly melt that barrier—Iruka began responding to his greetings, and later would even chat casually with him.
Eventually, Naruto noticed that Iruka's gaze had changed.
From the initial complexity and distance to what it was now... guilt?
It seemed Iruka was blaming himself for initially distancing himself from Naruto.
Regarding Naruto organizing a birthday celebration for their teacher, he'd also invited the other future rookie nine. As friends who'd grown close, everyone agreed in their own distinctive ways.
Satsuki: "Since you're begging me this much, I suppose I'll reluctantly help you..."
Shikamaru: "What a drag... but count me in. Have you figured out how to get Iruka-sensei to the location?"
Choji: "Oh! Let me join too—I'll bring lots of snacks."
Shino: "Mm, if you want to throw a birthday surprise for Iruka-sensei, I'll come too. If you ask why, it's because I also want to express gratitude..."
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A while later, the classroom door was gently pushed open as Iruka entered carrying the attendance roster. After a simple roll call to confirm everyone was present, he announced that the afternoon would still be taijutsu class and told everyone to gather at the training grounds.
The students formed a somewhat uneven line as they headed to the training grounds. The afternoon sun was somewhat glaring, carrying the distinctive laziness of late summer.
Taijutsu class sparring pairs were quickly announced. When they heard "Uzumaki Naruto versus Uchiha Satsuki," the surrounding classmates unconsciously stepped back.
Pairing these two again was unavoidable—after all, these two were simply too far above the others in skill level. If they sparred with other classmates, matches would typically end in one exchange, achieving no training effect whatsoever.
Iruka approached the two and gave his instructions. "Listen carefully—this sparring session is taijutsu only. No ninjutsu or ninja tools allowed, and you must stop at first contact. Understood?"
He still remembered the scene from their first Katon clash. If he let them use ninjutsu against each other, forget the risk of them getting hurt—even the classmates watching from the sidelines would be in danger. Iruka felt that if left unchecked, these two might end up demolishing the entire ninja academy.
"Yes..."
Naruto and Satsuki responded in drawn-out tones, both voices carrying clear reluctance. Especially Satsuki—she pouted slightly, the disappointment in her eyes practically written across her face.
"Show some spirit! Do you understand how dangerous that level of ninjutsu is for you right now? What if you hurt someone else? Now form the seal of confrontation!"
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