However, Kakashi couldn't take things too far; he could only ensure Naruto's safety. As for anything else, he really couldn't do it, nor did he dare to.
Although Naruto understood Kakashi, it didn't mean he could forgive Kakashi for watching him be mistreated without stepping in to stop it.
So, when he first met Kakashi, he had conducted a bit of a test.
This time, he even more directly showed a look of disdain toward Kakashi.
In this way, over the next six months, Naruto used the Lightning Release Body Forging Technique to train frantically.
When Kakashi saw that Naruto wasn't using the Medicinal Formula for Medicinal Baths, he became somewhat worried about Naruto's body.
Yet, after six months, not only was Naruto's body fine, but the body-forging effects became increasingly obvious.
Although Might Guy had given the Medicinal Formula to Naruto, he didn't know that Narutowasn't taking the Medicinal Baths. Seeing Naruto's body becoming sturdier, he wanted to take Narutoas his disciple even more.
Fortunately, Naruto had the Spiritual Spring to eliminate Internal Injuries; otherwise, his body would have run into problems long ago, just as Kakashi had said.
During these six months, many things happened in the Village. The conflict between the Uchiha and the Village grew greater, the Uchiha held frequent Clan Meetings, and the relationship between the Village and the Uchiha became increasingly tense, leading the Uchiha Guard Squad to be even more heavy-handed when enforcing the law in the Village.
Just when the conflict between the people of the Village and the Uchiha was at its most intense, the Ninja Academy finally opened.
The Uchiha Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku—who was also the father of Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi—sent Uchiha Sasuke to study at the Ninja Academy. The purpose was to ease the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the Village, while also befriending the other Great Clans.
Naruto was also required by Hiruzen Sarutobi to attend the Ninja Academy.
Naruto knew very well that he absolutely had to go to the Ninja Academy. If a Jinchuriki cannot become a Ninja, they can only become a tool.
Standing at the entrance of the Ninja Academy and watching adults send their children to school, Naruto's heart was filled with countless emotions.
At that moment, many adults bringing their children into the Ninja Academy spotted Naruto.
"Why is this Demon Fox here as well?"
"Yeah! Why hasn't this damn Demon Fox died yet!"
...
...
Naruto had grown somewhat numb to these groundless accusations.
Just as Naruto was about to step into the Ninja Academy, he saw Uchiha Itachi bringing Uchiha Sasuke to the school as well.
Uchiha Itachi stared intently at Naruto, as if he had much to say, yet also as if he said nothing at all.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Sasuke glared fixedly at Naruto, as if blaming Naruto for stealing Uchiha Itachi's attention.
Then, Naruto saw Hiashi bringing Hyuga Hinata to the Ninja Academy as well.
Hyuga Hinata was as shy as ever. Upon seeing Naruto, her face turned red, and she lowered her head, hiding behind Hiashi.
Seeing this, Naruto smiled at Hyuga Hinata and nodded, which served as a greeting.
Hiashi, however, had a dark expression and was glaring with his Byakugan at Naruto, wary of the little cabbage behind him being uprooted by a pig.
After all the procedures were finished, a freshman welcome ceremony was held. Hiruzen Sarutobistood at the front, speaking endlessly about the Will of Fire.
Naruto felt a bit drowsy listening and let out a yawn, noticing that Hinata was stealing glances at him.
Naruto grinned and mouthed to Hyuga Hinata: "Want to go for grilled fish after school?"
Hyuga Hinata lowered her head shyly, but then stole a glance at Hiashi. Seeing that Hiashi wasn't paying attention to her, she gave Naruto a secret little nod.
Seeing Hinata's secretive and cute behavior, Naruto almost laughed out loud.
He couldn't help but think to himself, 'Five-year-old brats, they really are quite precocious.'
After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, it was finally time for class assignments.
Unsurprisingly, Naruto was assigned to the Second Generation Class.
Why was it called the Second Generation Class? Because most of the students in this class were the future clan heads of the various Ninja clans.
With Nara Shikamaru of the Nara Clan, Ino Yamanaka of the Yamanaka Clan, Akimichi Choji of the Akimichi Clan, Inuzuka Kiba of the Inuzuka Clan, Shino Aburame of the Aburame Clan, and Uchiha Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan, it could be said that this class gathered the next generation of successors from all of Konoha's Great Clans.
Naruto had originally wanted to sit with Hyuga Hinata, but seeing that someone was already sitting next to her, he had no choice but to sit in Minato Namikaze's favorite spot: back row, by the window, in the corner.
Just as Naruto sat down, he heard a commotion. Turning to look, it was Inuzuka Kiba arguing with an unknown extra.
It was probably over a seat; Naruto didn't pay it much mind.
At that moment, someone sat down next to Naruto.
Naruto turned to see someone wearing a dark gray sleeveless trench coat. The stand-up collar of the coat covered the lower half of his face, he wore black glasses over his eyes, and the coat's hood was pulled over his head. It could be said his entire body was wrapped up in the trench coat.
"Hello, I am Shino Aburame! May I sit here?"
Naruto nodded and said, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! No one is here, so of course you can sit here."
"Thank you!"
Just as Shino Aburame finished speaking, a burst of screaming rang out.
Both Shino Aburame and Naruto couldn't help but turn to look.
As it turned out, much to Naruto's speechlessness, a blonde girl and a pink-haired girl were screaming there, repeatedly saying how handsome someone was.
Naruto followed their gaze and, with his mouth twitching slightly, didn't know what to say.
Uchiha Sasuke was standing at the door with his hands in his pockets, posing coolly, which was what had caused the two fangirls to scream.
While Naruto was speechless, he felt a subtle gaze. It glanced at him and then immediately looked away.
Naruto looked toward where the gaze had come from and saw Nara Shikamaru.
Nara Shikamaru and Choji soon sat in the row directly in front of Naruto.
Naruto roughly understood what was going on; Nara Shikaku must have told Nara Shikamarusomething, which was why he had deliberately glanced at him.
Before long, almost all the students had found their preferred seats and sat down.
Their homeroom teacher walked in at that moment.
"Hello everyone, I am your homeroom teacher, Iruka Umino. You can call me Iruka-sensei. I like Ichiraku Ramen, I hate naughty students, and my dream is to become an excellent teacher. Alright, let's have everyone in the class introduce themselves one by one, starting from the first person in the first row on the left."
"Hello everyone, my name is Tajima Takao. I like curry rice, I hate green peppers, and my dream is to have my own curry shop."
"Hello everyone...!"
After the introductions went around, it was finally Naruto's turn.
Naruto stood up, looked at the students in the class, and said, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. The people in the Village call me the Demon Fox. You can call me Naruto, or you can call me a monster or the Demon Fox; I don't care at all. I don't have anything I hate for now, I won't tell you what I like, and my dream... is to stay alive!"