"Go... go to Naruto-kun's house?"
"Of course, there's nowhere else for us to go."
Hinata, her face a deep shade of crimson, nervously twisted her fingers together but ultimately gave a small, determined nod.
"Mhm."
Her voice was as faint as the buzzing of a mosquito.
Naruto, however, was absolutely overjoyed and exclaimed loudly, "Then it's a promise!"
"I'll see you tomorrow!"
He clasped his hands behind his head, humming a cheerful tune as he bounced back to his seat.
Hinata watched Naruto's retreating figure, a gentle smile blooming on her blushing face.
*'Tomorrow, I get to study with Naruto-kun?'*
*'Th-that's wonderful...'*
Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka exchanged a look when they saw this scene play out.
"Hinata… she actually did that for Naruto…"
Ino Yamanaka offered a sly, knowing smile. "Heh, Forehead, it looks like that Naruto is going to have a new crush soon!"
"Hmph, what does that have to do with me?" Sakura crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and said with a dismissive air. "I'd be glad if that baka finally stopped pestering me!"
After Ino walked away, she still couldn't help but shoot a glance in Hinata's direction. She shook her head, casting aside the strange thoughts, and then propped up her chin, smiling as she went back to gazing at Sasuke.
Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji were completely dumbfounded.
"Is that… is that really Naruto?"
"Did he actually take the initiative to ask someone to tutor him?!"
Akimichi Choji shoved a large mouthful of chips into his mouth. "Munch, munch. There are only two possibilities: either Naruto has finally gone crazy, or we've all fallen into a genjutsu."
Nara Shikamaru just shook his head. "There's one more possibility, and that's that I haven't actually woken up yet. I need to go catch up on some sleep."
He yawned, shuffled toward his desk, and quickly slumped onto it like a boneless blob of mud, closing his eyes.
"You're so lazy, Shikamaru," Akimichi Choji commented before sitting beside him and continuing to eat loudly. "Munch, munch."
Inuzuka Kiba, sitting in the back row, also frowned in utter disbelief. Inuzuka Kiba's personality was actually very similar to Naruto's. Both were a bit unreliable, but they also cared deeply about their image, loved to brag, and of course, most importantly… both aimed to one day become the Hokage.
"That Naruto… could he really be trying to get rid of his title as the dead last?"
"How could that be!" a sinister voice suddenly sounded beside him. "That's not necessarily true. If you're asking for a reason… anyone has the potential to change."
Inuzuka Kiba yelped like a startled pup, nearly jumping out of his seat in fright.
"Shino?! When did you get here?!"
Shino Aburame stated flatly, "…I've been sitting next to you for the past half hour."
"I didn't feel a thing!"
"..."
At that moment, the chattering classroom suddenly fell completely silent. Iruka Umino strode into the room. This abrupt change made Iruka-sensei frown as well.
"What's wrong with all of you?"
"N-nothing…"
Iruka inadvertently glanced over at Naruto. *'He's still refining his chakra… My heartfelt advice actually worked, and while I'm happy for him, isn't he going overboard ?! Is this level of effort a bit excessive? Naruto, are you trying to become a hokage that bad?!'*
Iruka's mouth also gaped slightly, his mind filled with wild thoughts until a student's cough brought him back to reality. A faint blush appeared on his face. Many teachers and even the principal had subtly criticized him for focusing too much on Naruto.
However… Iruka cleared his throat. "Alright, let's begin class!"
[Detected…]
Naruto interrupted the System. "Heh heh heh, I know. Full concentration!"
He immediately widened his eyes and began to stare intently at Iruka-sensei, his ears perked up like a fox's, afraid of missing a single word. This posture not only made Iruka-sensei feel a little unnerved, but all the other students also looked as if they had just seen a ghost.
"That Naruto… yesterday wasn't just a one-time thing? Is he actually still trying to listen carefully?"
"This is as bizarre as Sasuke replying with full sentence rather than 'hnn'…"
"Exactly, it's even scarier than Choji suddenly announcing he's going on a diet."
"Ah, I thought of one too! It's as ridiculous as Sakura suddenly stopping her chase after Sasuke and falling in love with Naruto! Hahahaha…"
"It is as bizzare as shikamaru not sleeping for a whole day"
*Thwack—*
*Thwack, thwack!*
Just as a few students were laughing, Iruka-sensei's chalk flew out like three shuriken, breaking apart in mid-air to hit three different foreheads simultaneously without missing.
"No whispering!"
"Yes, Iruka-sensei…" The three of them rubbed their painful foreheads, grimacing as they lowered their heads.
Iruka sighed. "Can't you all just listen to the lesson properly? Look at Naruto…"
After saying this, Iruka's brain instantly froze. When had Naruto suddenly become a role model? This was the first time in his life he had ever said such a thing. Everyone in the class turned to look at Naruto. Naruto still maintained a dignified, meticulous expression, his gaze as firm as if he were taking a solemn oath.
Iruka also felt a bit awkward. "Ahem, Naruto, why don't you answer this question?" he said, seizing the opportunity.
The classroom was instantly filled with a sense of malicious glee.
Naruto also froze for a moment but immediately stood up. His brain started working at a frantic pace.
*'It's the same type of question as yesterday… Combining Iruka-sensei's lectures from the past two days, and what Sakura said when she answered the question yesterday…'*
After Naruto's concentration had improved, his powers of observation, memory, and analysis had also greatly increased.
"5… 500 meters?" Naruto answered cautiously, as if he were carefully lighting the tag on a paper bomb.
Iruka-sensei stared, completely dumbfounded, as if he had just been hit by a paralyzing jutsu. Seeing this, Naruto's mouth gradually widened into a grin, his smile becoming more and more unrestrained.
"So, uh... Iruka-sensei, did I get it right?!"
Iruka-sensei shook his head. "No."
Naruto instantly deflated. "Then why did you make that face just now?!"
Iruka sighed. "I'm not surprised that you got it wrong. I'm surprised that you… almost got it right. You were very close to the correct answer. You just made a very common small mistake, the kind that even Sakura might make if she were being careless. This is already a miracle."
Naruto frantically ran his hands through his hair. "…But I still didn't get it right, did I?!"
Unbeknownst to him, the entire classroom had already fallen into a deathly silence. Sasuke, Sakura, and everyone else felt a shock that bordered on genuine fear.
*'Is Naruto not a baka anymore?!'*