In the blink of an eye, Naruto had already spent a full month at the Ninja Academy.
During this time, he didn't use shadow clones to skip class; instead, he attended school obediently every day. In class, he studied advanced ninja knowledge well beyond his grade level—never once paying attention to the actual lessons.
The reason was simple: taijutsu (hand-to-hand combat) could only be trained by his real body, while shadow clones only helped accelerate ninjutsu learning.
And as far as ninjutsu went, he had already mastered most of the techniques currently available to him. There was nothing else worth focusing on unless he acquired a genuinely powerful new technique.
Perhaps that was also why many Kage-level shinobi, despite knowing the benefits of shadow clones, rarely used them for training—they simply reached a plateau where it didn't help much anymore.
As for reading unrelated books during class, Naruto felt his behavior was far more disciplined than students like Chōji, who openly snacked, or Shikamaru, who dozed off all day. At least Naruto wasn't disturbing anyone else.
Faced with such a class of problem students, Iruka could only feel frustrated and helpless.
Most of these students were from powerful clans. They came to the academy more to follow the Hokage's policy than to actually learn anything—after all, they were receiving elite training from their families outside of class.
Still, Iruka, who aspired to become an outstanding teacher one day, couldn't just let things slide. He had to do something.
Picking up a piece of chalk, he wrote "Reflection Essay" in large characters on the blackboard, then tapped the desk to get everyone's attention.
"We've studied The Hokage and the Will of Fire for a while now. It's time to write a reflection essay to show me what the Will of Fire means to each of you."
The class immediately erupted in groans and complaints. No one wanted to write an essay.
Naruto didn't join in the grumbling. He quietly put down the book he had been reading and pulled out his composition notebook. Within twenty minutes, he had completed a well-written 1,000-word essay.
Setting the notebook aside, he picked his book back up and resumed taking notes.
The books he was reading—on sealing techniques and medical ninjutsu, borrowed from the library—would be highly beneficial to his future development.
Iruka, watching from the front of the room, couldn't help frowning. Something about Naruto felt off. He couldn't quite say what, but it was unsettling.
After the bell rang, it was time for outdoor physical training.
Although the ninja profession included many specialized roles—such as medical-nin and research-nin—at its core, it was still a mercenary occupation. Combat ability was what truly mattered.
After a brief assembly, Naruto and the other students headed to the training grounds.
The instructor for physical training wasn't Iruka, but another tall and muscular Chūnin, exuding a powerful presence.
After a short warm-up jog, the students began one-on-one sparring sessions under the Chūnin's guidance.
Naruto easily defeated every opponent that came his way—until he faced Sasuke. At that moment, a smile finally appeared on his face.
"Sasuke, let's see how much you've improved since last time."
Sasuke gave a cold snort.
"Naruto, this time you're going to lose—badly!"
Naruto smirked, forming the Seal of Confrontation with his hands.
"I hope you last longer than last time. Don't disgrace the Uchiha name."
Sasuke's expression turned even darker.
Over the past month, he had lost to Naruto multiple times, and each time Naruto would taunt him afterward. While Sasuke knew Naruto was doing it to push him to improve, he still couldn't help getting angry—this time was no different.
With a low grunt, Sasuke charged forward. But Naruto dodged with ease and grabbed Sasuke's arm, hurling him into the air.
Sasuke quickly got up, and under the gaze of the entire class, formed hand seals:
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Flames rapidly began to form in front of him—but before he could finish, Naruto suddenly appeared beside him and broke the jutsu with a brutal punch. Sasuke hit the ground hard, clutching his scalded, red lips in pain.
The entire class was stunned. Even the Chūnin instructor stood there in shock, questioning his own sanity.
This was supposed to be a class of first-year students—so why the hell was Sasuke using Great Fireball Jutsu, a C-rank technique that even many full-fledged shinobi struggled to master?
And Naruto? He had just physically interrupted a jutsu mid-casting. Ridiculous.
The instructor broke into a cold sweat. If Naruto's interruption had failed, some of the students nearby might have been seriously injured.
Realizing the potential danger, the Chūnin instructor immediately stopped the sparring session and called both Naruto and Sasuke over.
With a stern expression, he said:
"Why did you use such dangerous ninjutsu during class?"
Sasuke scoffed.
"Didn't you say we should treat these as real combat scenarios? In a real fight, using ninjutsu to defeat your opponent is the obvious choice."
The instructor fell silent. Sasuke wasn't wrong—after all, the point of the lesson was to simulate real battle.
Turning to Naruto, the instructor seemed about to speak but hesitated.
"Do you understand how dangerous it is to interrupt someone's jutsu mid-cast? What if you hurt a classmate? From now on, don't use such risky moves during class."
Naruto gave him a calm look.
"Got it. I'll be more careful next time. But maybe we should skip these boring sparring matches altogether. If none of them are a match for me, I'll just forfeit by default."
"…"
After they returned to the group, the rest of the class immediately crowded around them—everyone admired strength.
Sasuke put on a cool, aloof facade, but was clearly enjoying the attention. Naruto, on the other hand, walked to a corner to snack with Shikamaru and Chōji.
In the faculty office, Iruka was grading essays and had witnessed everything that happened.
Now he finally understood what felt so off about Naruto.
His grades were excellent, and he consistently ranked first in combat—but aside from a few classmates, he kept everyone else at arm's length, treating them like they didn't even exist.
With that realization, Iruka took Naruto's essay and left the academy, heading straight to the Hokage's office.
Pushing open the door, Iruka found the Third Hokage leisurely at his desk. He handed over the composition.
"Lord Third, please take a look at Naruto's essay."
The Third skimmed it and smiled.
"It's a well-written piece. Naruto clearly understands the true meaning of the Will of Fire. There's nothing to criticize here."
"Did you come because Naruto caused trouble again? Kids, you know… just be patient."
Iruka shook his head and said seriously:
"Naruto's behavior is excellent. He's never caused problems. But he's too withdrawn, too mature—it's like he's a veteran who's already been through the Shinobi World Wars."
"If this continues, I'm afraid he'll eventually suffer a major psychological breakdown… and cause something truly catastrophic."
(End of Chapter)
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