The opening ceremony at Konoha's Ninja Academy was even more boring than imagined.
After all the new students had lined up on the training grounds, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, began his lengthy speech. His voice echoed across the field, filled with the usual platitudes like "Where the leaves dance, one shall find flames."
"...And so, children, you are the future of Konoha..."
Naruto secretly yawned, his eyes scanning his surroundings. Most of the children stood ramrod straight, gazing up at the Third Hokage on the podium with expressions of adoration.
Just then, a stir went through the crowd.
"Look over there... the one with the black hair..."
"She must be from the Uchiha clan, right? So cute..."
"Her eyes are so beautiful, like jewels..."
"I want to be her friend..."
Naruto followed their gazes and, as expected, saw Satsuki. She was wearing a brand-new uniform today, her dark black hair tied back neatly. Even in a crowd of children, her innate noble temperament stood out.
Naruto had almost forgotten about Satsuki's top-tier looks—after all, seeing her every day, he had grown accustomed to that delicate face. It was only now that he remembered that even with the gender swap, she was still the undisputed beauty of the ninja world.
The only difference was that the little girls who had fawned over Sasuke in the original story had now all been replaced by restless little boys.
When the long-winded speech about the Will of Fire finally ended, the new students filed into the academy's lecture hall. Naruto casually found a seat, and Satsuki, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, sat down next to him.
"Hey, what's going on? Why is she sitting next to that monster?"
"Keep your voice down! My mom said he's the one who got the Fourth Hokage killed..."
"We should stay away from him... Let's go warn her."
A few civilian children whispered in the back of the classroom. Naruto paid their gossip no mind, instead looking around with interest at the familiar faces.
The little fatty eating potato chips, the pineapple-headed kid with a lazy look, the one in sunglasses who had no presence, the one who smelled like a dog, the one with white eyes, the one with pink hair, the one with blond hair...
Adding myself and this tsundere next to me, the Konoha 9 is finally all here...
Just as Naruto was thinking this, he noticed the seat beside him was empty. He looked around the classroom and finally spotted Satsuki among the group of civilian children at the back.
The little boys who had just been whispering were now red-faced and flustered, looking at the suddenly approaching Uchiha heiress. They nudged each other, their eyes sparkling with surprise—they hadn't expected the cool and aloof Uchiha princess to approach them on her own!
However, Satsuki just leaned in slightly and whispered a few words. The next second, the smiles on the boys' faces froze.
As if doused with a bucket of cold water, their expressions quickly shifted from excitement to stunned silence, and finally, they deflated completely, slumping onto their desks, all their fighting spirit gone.
Naruto watched as Satsuki returned to her seat as if nothing had happened and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Hey, what did you say to them?"
"...Nothing. They were just being unpleasant... spreading rumors about people without any proof."
"I don't really care, but thanks anyway, Nidaime."
(TL Note: Nidaime/二柱子 means "Second Pillar," a common fan nickname for Sasuke.)
"You could at least deny it. And stop calling me Nidaime."
Satsuki's dark eyes were wide, and her fair cheeks puffed out slightly. Although she was protesting, her tone held an imperceptible softness.
It sounded less like a protest and more like she was pouting.
As the saying goes—you can tell how close friends are by whether they can give each other nicknames. Just like how every boy wants to be the "godfather" to his friends, teasing each other is the highest form of friendship.
He had accidentally blurted out the nickname once. Satsuki had frozen for a second but hadn't gotten truly angry. She had just protested in that soft voice, just like now, "Stop calling me Nidaime."
Satsuki didn't really mind Naruto giving her a nickname; she just wondered why it was "Nidaime."
After a while, a familiar figure appeared at the classroom door.
Iruka Umino walked in, holding a stack of textbooks. His gaze inadvertently met Naruto's. He was visibly startled for a moment, then looked away with a complicated expression.
"Quiet."
Iruka clapped his hands. After the noise in the classroom died down, he turned and wrote his name on the blackboard.
"My name is Iruka Umino." He put down the chalk, dusted his hands, and gave a gentle smile. "From today on, I will be your teacher."
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm halo on his forehead protector.
"I hope we can all get along well."
Scattered applause sounded in the classroom, and the self-introduction session officially began. Iruka looked down at the list in his hand and started calling out names.
The first few were names not mentioned in the original story, until— "Next, Kiba Inuzuka."
A boy with spiky hair and paint on his cheeks shot up to the front and shouted energetically.
"I'm Kiba Inuzuka! My favorite thing is dogs! My dream is to become Hokage and then have everyone in the village get a dog!"
He grinned, revealing sharp teeth. Naruto subconsciously looked at the top of his head—it was empty. There was no little white ninja dog from his memories.
Hasn't Akamaru been born yet... or has he just not been adopted?
"Next, Tappei Nagatsuki."
Another name not from the original, but hearing it made Naruto jolt for some reason. He suddenly felt a strong sense of annoyance.
An ordinary-looking boy with glasses stood at the front, seemingly unremarkable.
"My name is Tappei Nagatsuki!" He pushed up his glasses, his voice suddenly becoming incredibly excited. "I like silver-haired, purple-eyed, not-so-smart, ditzy older sisters!"
What a specific preference. Naruto didn't know why he suddenly felt so annoyed with someone he had just met, to the point of wanting to punch him.
"Next, Satsuki Uchiha."
As soon as Iruka's voice fell, a commotion erupted in the classroom. The little boys unconsciously sat up straighter, their eyes fixed on the front of the room.
A few of the bolder ones even secretly fixed their hair, trying to look sharper—though for their age, such an action was a bit too mature.
Are all the kids in the ninja world this precocious... Naruto was tired of complaining about this trope.
Satsuki walked to the front with elegant steps. After she stood still, she said in a cool voice, "My name is Satsuki Uchiha."
"My dream is to surpass my sister and become a ninja the clan can be proud of."
As she said this, her gaze unconsciously flickered towards Naruto before quickly looking away.
"My hobby is..."
A faint blush appeared on Satsuki's cheeks, and her voice grew softer. "...I can't say."
This rare display of shyness left the little boys in the audience stunned. Satsuki quickly returned to her seat, the tips of her ears still tinged with red.
"Next, Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto lazily walked to the front. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki." His voice was gentle. "There are many things I like..."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over every face in the classroom—the little fatty from the Akimichi clan, the lazy one from the Nara clan, the heiress of the Hyuga clan... finally settling on Satsuki.
"My dream is... for the world not to be destroyed."
This unexpected answer left Iruka stunned. He was completely baffled, unable to understand why a six-year-old child would have such a dream.
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