When Natsuro walked into the familiar classroom with Ino, the previously chaotic classroom fell silent instantly.
At that moment, everyone's attention was drawn to Natsuro. Although his body had developed quickly, his appearance had not changed much, so they quickly recognized him.
"Hey, everyone, long time no see," Natsuro greeted everyone in the class first.
In an instant, the classroom erupted into chaos. Even though Natsuro had graduated two years ago, his popularity in this class seemed to be undiminished.
Moreover, seeing Natsuro, who had become increasingly mature and handsome, the girls' eyes lit up, and when they saw Ino next to him, they were somewhat disheartened but still came over to get close!
Next moment, Natsuro was surrounded by a majority of the students, almost to the point of being impassable. Unlike before when it was mostly girls, even the boys couldn't help but crowd around, asking questions.
Of course, some people remained indifferent.
When Sasuke saw Natsuro, his eyes brightened, and a strong fighting spirit emerged. After two years, he had grown a lot and wanted to test the gap between himself and Natsuro.
Sasuke initially intended to approach Natsuro directly as he had before, but seeing the crowd surrounding Natsuro, he reluctantly gave up.
"Forget it, I'll wait until later. Natsuro shouldn't refuse if I approach him, right?"
As Sasuke pondered, he also felt a bump forming on his head, and it was quite painful...
Sakura, seeing this scene, especially when her friend Ino walked in holding hands with Natsuro, widened her eyes.
She had been worried about Ino's recent state, with her inner frustrations cursing Natsuro as a scumbag. But now, it was clear that their relationship had become very close.
Sakura felt a tinge of envy. Ino had made significant progress, but what about herself?
Thinking this, Sakura glanced at Sasuke, sighed, and felt somewhat depressed. How could she get closer to Sasuke...?
As she was thinking, Sakura noticed that Sasuke now had relatively few people around him and her eyes lit up. She stood up and walked towards Sasuke.
"Ugh, how annoying. This guy came back at this time. Doesn't he find it troublesome?" Shikamaru said, resting his head on the desk and looking at the surrounded figure with confusion in his eyes.
After some commotion, Natsuro finally sat down with Ino. Since the seats were no longer fixed, they could sit anywhere.
Ino smiled, feeling proud as she felt the envious gazes from her classmates. If she hadn't made a move early, she might have ended up like Sakura, chasing after Sasuke.
At this time, Naruto finally arrived late, his eyes lighting up when he saw Natsuro. Unfortunately, Ino was already sitting next to Natsuro, and there were other people on the other side, so he couldn't approach. He could only greet Natsuro and then look for an empty seat.
Then he noticed an empty seat next to his crush Sakura! However, when he saw Sasuke next to Sakura, his face darkened. Why did Sakura like this arrogant guy?
With a mixture of confusion, Naruto went and squatted down at Sasuke's desk, staring at him, trying to figure out what was so great about him that Sakura liked.
Sasuke looked at Naruto with confusion, not understanding what this physically intense guy was doing now.
"Hey, Naruto, what are you doing? Get off the desk," Sakura said, somewhat annoyed, seeing how close Naruto was to Sasuke.
Meanwhile, Natsuro, silently holding up his camera, noticed Naruto and Sasuke in close proximity and decided to capture the moment.
Soon, Sakura and Ino's eyes widened, and both Naruto and Sasuke were stunned. After a moment, they quickly separated, wiping their mouths and retching...
Sakura was frozen in shock. Sasuke's first kiss... seemed to have vanished right before her eyes, and her heart felt a crushing blow. If she could, she would probably throw Naruto out after giving him a few shoulder throws.
"Pfft~" Ino couldn't help but laugh when she saw this.
Natsuro looked at his camera with satisfaction. This angle was perfect.
"Natsuro, how did you know they would... you know," Ino, asked still laughing.
"Well, I initially just wanted to capture their love triangle, but ended up with this interesting scene. I struck gold," Natsuro replied.
"It definitely struck gold," Ino nodded seriously, then she thought about the love triangle Natsuro mentioned. She supported Sakura, but Naruto seemed to have a good relationship with Natsuro, and Sasuke also had a good relationship with him...
Forget it. As long as Sakura ends up with someone worthy, it's fine.
Thinking this, Ino looked at Natsuro. She liked him, and he should like her too, right? Ino's heart warmed with a genuine smile.
Soon, the classroom returned to normal, although many students still cast envious glances at Natsuro, especially the girls who occasionally fixed envious eyes on Ino.
As the class bell rang, Iruka walked in with a roster.
When Iruka saw Natsuro, his eyes also lit up, and he announced that Natsuro had become a Jōnin to encourage the other students to work hard and aspire to become Jōnin as well.
Whether or not Iruka's encouragement had its intended effect was unknown, but when Iruka finished speaking, the whole class erupted into chaos.
After all, not everyone was like Naruto, unaware of what being a Jōnin represented!
Even in the classroom, the students gathered around Natsuro, and no matter how much Iruka called out, it was futile.
Only when electric arcs began to flicker around Natsuro did the students return to their seats in fear.
Iruka gave Natsuro a grateful glance, and Natsuro shrugged in resignation, giving Iruka a look that said, "I knew it would be like this." Natsuro thought his progress had been somewhat exaggerated; this kind of commotion was already considered good.
At the moment Iruka made the announcement, Sasuke slammed his hands on the desk and stood up abruptly.
"What's there to be surprised about? I already knew," Naruto said smugly beside Sakura, seeing Sasuke's reaction.
Ignoring Naruto, Sasuke sat back down, but his eyes were very bright because he remembered what Natsuro had said to him before...
"Who says you can't get revenge if you can't catch up with me?"
"I don't believe I'm worse than that guy you mentioned."
Initially, Sasuke was somewhat doubtful about these words but mostly disbelieved them. However, now...
Sasuke started to believe because that guy became a Jōnin at 13! Natsuro became a Jōnin even a year earlier than that!
Moreover, Sasuke felt his own strength increasing rapidly and realized he was likely in the rapid growth phase Natsuro mentioned. Looking at Natsuro now, Sasuke suddenly felt a surge of confidence.
Although Sasuke had always wanted revenge, he had also been aware of the gap between himself and Natsuro. Now, he seemed to see hope, and his eyes glowed.
"Jōnin, really...?" Shikamaru looked at Natsuro, his usual lazy demeanor completely gone, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Next, Shikamaru suppressed his inner astonishment, placing his five fingers together and thinking quickly. He knew that becoming a Jōnin was not something simple.
Natsuro's achievement meant he must have done something significant. Being a Jōnin in such a short time indicated substantial achievements.
But he hadn't heard of Natsuro's name before, which meant Natsuro might have used another name during his exploits?
Then, Shikamaru thought about any sudden, high-profile accomplishments over the past two years...
Soon, Shikamaru's eyes widened further in surprise as he stared at Natsuro. Could it be...?!
However, besides this possibility, Shikamaru considered other possibilities, though much less likely. He was left wondering what kind of abnormal person his former classmate had become!
Natsuro, unaware of Sasuke and Shikamaru's thoughts, was chatting with Ino.
"Natsuro, who do you think my teammates will be?" Ino asked.
"Shikamaru and Choji," Natsuro answered confidently.
"What? How could it be those two? One's a fat guy, and the other is totally lazy..." Ino frowned, saying, "And how are you so sure?"
"Because Ino-Shika-Cho can't be separated. You might not know, but your father and their fathers form the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. The techniques of these three families are highly compatible and can exert tremendous effects when combined," Natsuro explained without hiding anything.
"Well, that leaves no other hope, does it?" Ino blinked, also thinking about her father's good relationship with those two, feeling somewhat disappointed.
"Hmm, who would you like to be in a team with?" Natsuro asked, feeling a bit envious. Could it be...?
"Of course, Sakura and Hinata. I think we girls should form a team and prove that we're not inferior to anyone!" Ino said, not noticing Natsuro's change in expression.
Natsuro was stunned and then couldn't help but laugh at himself. It seemed he was just an ordinary person after all~
"Hey, why are you laughing? Do you think what I said is wrong?" Ino looked at Natsuro with a frown.
"No, I just think that the strongest among the Sannin is Lady Tsunade, who is a woman," Natsuro quickly said. He genuinely believed this because Tsunade had that strength despite having let herself go after the death of her loved one and her fear of blood.
If she had dedicated herself to training, even Jiraiya's incomplete Sage Mode might not be her match. And besides... Sage Mode isn't exclusive to Mount Myoboku!
"That's good," Ino said with satisfaction, her face full of anticipation. Lady Tsunade was her idol, no, she should say, the idol of most female ninjas in Konoha!
At this point, Iruka had finished his opening speech and began announcing the team assignments...
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