In the early morning, as the sun began to rise, Naruto dressed neatly and prepared to head to the Ninja Academy. After glancing around his small hut, he stepped out with a sense of calm.
Although he had gone to bed very late, Naruto felt energized. He had taken another solid step toward becoming stronger. With his current mental strength, he could probably go three days without sleep before feeling discomfort.
Four hours of rest per day was enough for him to recover. Even though he had only slept two hours the night before, Naruto couldn't help but feel excited.
He walked outside. The surrounding houses were empty; the villagers who once lived nearby had all moved out because he was labeled the "demon fox." But Naruto welcomed the peace and quiet.
He ran swiftly through the village streets and soon arrived at school. As usual, he greeted Hinata, making her blush slightly. Naruto then pulled out a book and began reviewing. Even though he had already mastered its content, reviewing still brought him new insights.
"Illusion Principles +2! Illusion Principles +2! Spirit +1!"
Nice!
The voice that echoed in his mind was like music to Naruto's ears.
Hinata looked at Naruto curiously, her gaze falling on the book in his hands.
It was a book on illusion theory.
According to what she knew, that was material scheduled for the next academic year.
She hadn't expected Naruto to start learning it so early.
Hinata couldn't help but stare at his side profile in a daze. Naruto, so focused, looked incredibly cool.
After an unknown amount of time, Naruto noticed Hinata staring blankly at him.
Waving a hand in front of her face, he asked, "Hinata! Is there something on my face?"
Hinata snapped back to reality, her cheeks flushing as she whispered, "No, it's just that Naruto-kun... today... looks kind of handsome."
"Haha! Hinata, you're really cute today too!"
Naruto gently patted her head, causing Hinata's face to turn deep red. She looked like she might faint.
Naruto quickly withdrew his hand. He had been patting Hinata's head every day recently. After all, relationships should be nurtured from childhood. And Haruno Sakura? She didn't even smell as nice as Hinata.
Over the past few days, Hinata had become more accustomed to it. Repetition does that—there's a big difference between something happening once and it becoming routine.
At some point, Uchiha Sasuke had entered the classroom and was glancing casually in Naruto's direction. With a bit of baby fat still on his face, Sasuke wore his usual aloof expression, prompting another round of squeals from his fangirls.
Sasuke secretly watched Naruto. He saw Naruto teasing Hinata again, and then returning to his reading.
From where Sasuke sat, he couldn't quite make out the title of Naruto's book, but he could tell it wasn't part of the current class curriculum.
"Ahem! Everyone, quiet down. Open your textbooks and turn to Chapter 1—Konoha and the Will of Fire!"
Iruka's voice rang out along with the bell, silencing the chatter. Naruto calmly closed the genjutsu theory book and placed it in his desk.
He then pulled out the official school textbook, which he thought lacked substance, but had no choice but to study since it counted toward the liberal arts grade.
Still, he didn't mind. The liberal arts only made up 20% of the overall score. The rest was practical—combat, physical, and chakra-based training.
Naruto flipped through the pages quickly and memorized the content. His memory far surpassed even Shikamaru's. While Shikamaru had near-photographic memory, Naruto was already at a monstrous level thanks to his system.
Sasuke continued to secretly observe Naruto and suddenly noticed something.
Naruto's body was shaking slightly.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed and followed the movement.
He realized Naruto's hands were in constant motion.
What is he doing?
Then it clicked.
He's practicing hand seals!
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.
This guy is still training, even during class... damn it!
He's using every moment to improve!
Sasuke began reflecting. Despite having strong chakra, he hadn't put much effort into physical conditioning.
Naruto must be physically stronger than me… just like my brother said—he's hiding his true strength!
If Sasuke had known modern slang, he would've realized: Naruto is grinding.
Furious, Sasuke pulled a book from his desk drawer.
It was the same book on basic hand seals that Naruto had been using.
Sasuke started practicing too.
But because it was his first time, his movements were clumsy. He could only perform two hand seals per second and even made occasional mistakes.
His exaggerated movements caught Iruka's attention.
As a Chūnin, Iruka might not match combat specialists, but he could easily tell what Sasuke was doing.
He saw Sasuke flipping through the book on hand seals and nodded slightly.
As expected of the Uchiha clan—already recognizing the value of hand seal speed.
In battle, a single second could determine life or death. Fast, efficient hand seals could change everything.
What Iruka didn't know was that Sasuke wasn't motivated by clan pride—he just didn't want to fall behind Naruto.
"Uchiha Sasuke-san! Please focus on the current lesson. That content will be covered later."
Iruka's tone was firm but not scolding, much like teachers from Naruto's previous life who disliked students studying other subjects during class.
Sasuke blushed slightly but nodded and closed the book.
Iruka resumed his lecture, and Sasuke glanced at Naruto again.
Naruto looked back and smiled.
He had noticed Sasuke's movement and guessed that Sasuke might be copying him.
But Naruto was already capable of multitasking—he could attend lectures and perform hand seals simultaneously.
To him, these theory lessons were easy.
Naruto's grin seemed mocking to Sasuke.
Damn you, Uzumaki Naruto!
Sasuke cursed internally.
His round face tightened with frustration. Naruto, seeing Sasuke's expression, was confused.
Did I offend him somehow? he wondered.
Sheesh, the second pillar really needs to get humbled by life...
Naruto ignored Sasuke and focused on practicing his seals.
He could now perform four and a half seals per second with no mistakes.
While he still wasn't on Uchiha Itachi's level—who could reach six per second—Naruto believed, with the help of his ability, he would eventually surpass him.
End of the Chapter.
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