"Iruka."
Mizuki led Senju Haruto onto the Academy training field, greeting Iruka-sensei.
Haruto's eyes swept the area. Dozens of students were gathered there, and, unsurprisingly, Uchiha Sasuke was the center of attention.
Especially for the girls—their eyes barely left him, each wearing a lovestruck expression.
Off to the side, Naruto Uzumaki stood alone, isolated from the rest. He didn't seem to mind, but there was still a faint shadow of loneliness about him. After all, he was only six or seven years old at this point.
If you filmed the current Naruto, uploaded it as a vlog, and posted it online, the screen would probably be flooded with comments like "Naruto, Naruto—Mama's here to hug you!", "Protect the best little prince!", and "I need to be on that!"
Hinata Hyūga, however, wasn't present. Haruto guessed she was still recovering and resting at the hospital.
"Ah, Mizuki," Iruka turned, returning the greeting. He was holding a small gradebook—likely for recording scores.
His gaze soon shifted to Haruto, standing beside Mizuki.
"You must be the student the Third Hokage mentioned," Iruka said warmly.
Thirteen was an unusual age to begin at the Academy, but Iruka didn't seem bothered by it.
"That's me," Haruto nodded.
"All right, Iruka, from today I'm entrusting him to you," Mizuki said pointedly, though he made no move to leave. "It's practical training day, isn't it?"
"That's right," Iruka replied. "For a shinobi, physical ability is crucial. In fact, taijutsu is even listed as one of the core shinobi combat skills."
He was speaking as much for Haruto's benefit as anyone else.
"Okay," Iruka cut short the small talk, waving for his students to gather.
But before Naruto could take his place next to Sasuke, Sakura Haruno rushed in and shoved him aside.
"Sasuke-kun," she greeted softly—only to find her rival Ino Yamanaka standing on Sasuke's other side.
"Ino-pig, why are you standing there?"
"That's what I should be asking you, billboard brow. That spot was supposed to be Naruto's."
"Ahem."
Hearing the girls arguing over who got to stand next to Sasuke, Iruka cleared his throat to shut them up.
Sasuke, hands in his pockets, looked as disinterested as ever.
Girls these days… are they really this quick to mature? Iruka thought with mild exasperation before turning back to the class.
"Starting today, Senju Haruto will be joining us as a transfer student."
"Go ahead and introduce yourself, Senju-kun," Iruka said with the friendly air of an older brother.
At this point in time, Iruka was still a fairly new chūnin instructor. In his efforts to get along with the class, he sometimes distanced himself from Naruto—like now, ignoring how Naruto had just been shoved aside.
"All right." Haruto stepped forward to face the others.
"My name is Senju Haruto. There's nothing I particularly like or dislike. My dream is to become Hokage… and restore the Senju clan to greatness."
In truth, Haruto knew something about the Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi had a hobby.
In his spare time, the old man would sit in his office and watch people through a crystal ball.
It was a technique called the Telescope Jutsu. As long as you knew someone's chakra signature, you could observe them from a distance.
Most of the time, Hiruzen used it to watch Naruto, ensuring the boy—being the jinchūriki—didn't get into trouble.
Now, with both Naruto present and Haruto displaying his chakra, there was a good chance Hiruzen was watching.
So Haruto's words weren't just for the class—they were meant for Hiruzen's ears. To make it clear where he stood: his ambition to become Hokage, and to revive the Senju name. Coming from him, it was perfectly natural.
"The man who's gonna be Hokage… is me, Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto suddenly jumped out from the crowd, pointing at Haruto.
His declaration was met with laughter.
"Hahaha! The dead-last wants to be Hokage? That joke never gets old."
"Yeah, if Naruto could be Hokage, I might as well become the God of Shinobi."
"Exactly!"
"Talk about not knowing your place."
"You guys!" Naruto's face turned red as he shouted back, "I will be Hokage—and then the whole village will acknowledge me!"
"Enough, Naruto," Iruka sighed. The Hokage was the most respected person in the village—and as long as the Nine-Tails was sealed inside him, Naruto could never be Hokage. It was cruel, but it was better he faced reality early.
"You—"
Before Iruka could continue, Haruto cut him off.
"Then you'd better work hard, Naruto," Haruto said with a smile.
Naruto froze. He'd heard his own dream dismissed countless times, always met with mockery or the cold, distant eyes of adults.
But here was someone… not laughing, not scoffing—but encouraging him.
The look in Haruto's eyes, the sincerity in his smile… it was as if he truly believed Naruto could achieve it.
Naruto stood there, stunned, his eyes glistening.
Is he… crying?
Haruto blinked. This wasn't how he remembered Naruto—always grinning, always brushing off hardship.
"Ah, it's nothing," Naruto sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. "Just some dust… got in my eyes."
Watching him, Iruka felt a sudden pang in his chest.
The other students, however, were just confused. Since when was Naruto the type to cry?
"Ahem."
Sensing the awkwardness, Iruka redirected the class.
"All right. Since Senju-kun is here now, let's get back to our lesson."
Flipping through his gradebook, he noticed that with Hinata absent, there was a gap in today's sparring schedule. Coincidentally, Sasuke was left without a partner.
Uchiha versus Senju, huh?
"Senju-kun," Iruka said with a grin, "how about you try your hand against our top student—Sasuke Uchiha?"