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Chapter 24: I Want to Become Hokage!
In the last row of the classroom, after Hinata got up and left, Ryosuke was the only one remaining.
Although there were quite a few students, the classroom covered a large area and could accommodate hundreds of people.
Most students gathered in the front, huddled together.
Of course, there were also people like Ryosuke who preferred to sit in the back row or alone in a row.
For example, Uchiha Sasuke sat alone near the window, unwilling to be with others.
"Sit wherever you like."
Chuckling at the uneasy-looking face next to him, Ryosuke replied casually.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Ryosuke didn't expect him to come to the last row.
But it made sense; Naruto's personality at this time was different from that in the plot. He hadn't yet become cheerful and mischievous.
Now, he was just an ordinary child excluded by the outside world for a long time and not good at speaking.
"Thank you. My name is Uzumaki Naruto."
The boy was very polite. Naruto thanked him, introduced himself, and then waited for Ryosuke's reply with curiosity.
"My name is Hyuga Ryosuke."
Ryosuke nodded gently and gave his name. Then he lowered his head and picked up the ninja manual placed under each desk to read.
Next to him, Uzumaki Naruto seemed like he wanted to continue talking but didn't dare.
He didn't say anything. Though Ryosuke could see he had something on his mind, he didn't initiate conversation.
Having too much contact with Naruto wasn't a good thing. Since Naruto came and sat next to him, Ryosuke felt a sense of being watched and kept in the dark.
But Ryosuke didn't refuse Naruto's seat and send him elsewhere. There was no need.
Ryosuke planned to hide until he had enough strength to ensure his safety.
However, hiding didn't mean turning himself into a recluse in others' eyes, nor did it mean avoiding all potentially dangerous people. That would be too deliberate.
Just going with the flow and being a normal person in school was the best disguise.
After holding it in for a long time and seeing that Ryosuke didn't care about his intentions, Naruto finally spoke, "Um... don't you hate me?"
"Hate you?"
Ryosuke stopped flipping through the book and turned his head in confusion. "Why should I hate you?"
But his counter-question left Naruto stunned.
After a long pause, Naruto couldn't explain.
Yes, why should they hate him?
This question had often popped up in his mind since he could remember, but no one had ever given him an answer.
It seemed there was no reason or cause for everyone's disgust and rejection of him.
But now, Naruto was confused.
The rejection and disgust that almost everyone had for him since he could remember disappeared, including from many people in this class.
Among them was this classmate with a warm smile.
"Please be quiet for a moment."
Just when Naruto was stunned, a young man wearing a Chunin forehead protector and a scar on his face walked in from outside the classroom. "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Umino Iruka, and I will be your theoretical teacher for the next month."
Disgust, rejection, and even hatred.
Naruto clearly felt from the teacher at the podium the same feelings as many villagers.
"Like him, I can feel that he hates me."
Naruto spoke again, his voice subtle but full of confusion and grievance. "But I don't feel that from you, Ryosuke. Why would they hate me for no reason, but you don't?"
Staring closely at Ryosuke, there were many students in the classroom who had no ill will toward him.
But for some reason, Naruto went to find Ryosuke.
Perhaps it was because of the gentle smile on his face, which made him feel close and easy to talk to.
"I have no idea."
Ryosuke shook his head apologetically. "But I suggest you ask the Third Hokage. As the Hokage of this village, he knows a lot about the village."
"I just saw the Third Hokage calling you on the playground. I think you have a good relationship, right? You can go ask him."
After saying this, he clearly felt the consciousness spying on him seemed to have some emotions.
But Ryosuke didn't care. He had already guessed it was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The village leaders all knew about Naruto's identity and origin. Those who knew the truth would not reject him.
In this classroom, there were many future heirs of various clans who naturally understood this. So Naruto didn't feel any malice from some of the students.
But Ryosuke couldn't tell him that, nor did he want to comfort him.
He didn't want to arouse vigilance among the Konoha high-level officials because of this incident.
Naruto nodded thoughtfully, seemingly taking the matter to heart.
Standing on the podium, Umino Iruka said to all the students with great experience: "Although some people may leave this class in a month due to test scores, according to convention, please introduce yourselves first."
"Start according to your seats. We'll go one by one."
With a warm smile on his face, he signaled everyone not to be nervous, "Name, age, dream, start with these aspects."
And with his words, the first day of school officially began.
The first person to introduce himself was a ninja from the Sarutobi clan who was sitting in the front row. His dream was to become Hokage.
After he introduced himself, Iruka gently gave him affirmation and encouragement.
The second one was a ninja from the Mitarai clan, followed by Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino.
One after another, Ryosuke could clearly feel that as they got closer, the subtle movements of Naruto beside him had exposed his inner nervousness.
"It's a great dream. Medical ninja is also a respectable profession. So the next one is..."
At the podium, Iruka smiled as he recorded the information of the previous student. As soon as he turned his attention to the next student, his smile suddenly disappeared and his face became expressionless.
But Naruto was obviously used to this situation, he clenched his fists and stood up.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and my dream is to become Hokage."
Naruto was not the only one who dreamed of becoming Hokage, but when he said it, it made people pay special attention.
In the class, those who didn't know the truth sneered.
They didn't say anything, but their laughter was extremely harsh.
"Really..."
Iruka didn't stop these people from laughing. He muttered something casually without recording it, and turned his attention to Ryosuke.
Not hearing any encouragement or getting any response, Naruto clenched his fists and sat down silently, lowering his head without saying anything more.
"My name is Hyuga Ryosuke, and my dream is to become a great ninja."
There was no particularly lofty goal. Ryosuke stood up, replied casually, and sat down again.
"A great ninja?... Ryosuke's dream is so vague. It seems like he doesn't know what he plans to do in the future." Iruka returned to his gentle smile from before, and after making a teasing remark, he recorded the information about Ryosuke.
But then he started talking again, "The seats in the front are more suitable for listening to the class. Would you like to sit in the front, Ryosuke?"
All of a sudden, Ryosuke could feel Naruto's head lowered even lower beside him.
"No, thanks, teacher."
Ryosuke smiled and replied, "I prefer this position that I chose myself."
(End of this chapter)
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