Under Uzumaki Naruto's influence, the entire class had begun to change.
The first person transformed was—of course—Hyūga Hinata.
As Naruto grew stronger and more confident, Hinata found herself drawn toward him, inspired by the fiery determination she had never seen in anyone else. The shy girl who once hid behind her bangs slowly blossomed. Her hair grew longer, flowing softly over her shoulders, and her once-timid gaze began to shine with quiet resolve.
Though her gentle personality remained, she was no longer the withdrawn, hesitant girl who trembled at every challenge. She smiled more, spoke more, and trained harder than ever.
Her strength also surged.
With Naruto's guidance and encouragement, Hinata finally awakened to her clan's signature technique—the Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Palms—on her own terms. Instead of purely offensive attacks, she focused on defense, molding the technique into something uniquely hers.
Thus, she created a new technique:
Protection: Gentle Fist – Eight Trigrams Shield.
Its purpose was clear:
To protect herself.
To protect the people important to her.
To protect Naruto.
While it wasn't as absolute as the Hyūga's traditional defensive dome, breaking through Hinata's barrier had become incredibly difficult. And with the Byakugan's precise vision, Hinata could use defense as offense—deflecting an attack before striking the enemy's weak point in a single decisive blow.
Her ocular strength had also evolved.
In perception, long-distance sight, chakra detection, and X-ray vision, the Byakugan far surpassed the Sharingan.
And Hinata wasn't the only one being dragged forward by Naruto's momentum.
---
A Year of Change for Everyone
Haruno Sakura had undergone her own transformation.
The collapse of her friendship with Ino devastated her. Sakura valued friendship above everything, and losing Ino left her depressed for weeks. But she forced herself to rise again.
Iruka-sensei's words rang in her mind:
"If you want to stand beside Uchiha Sasuke, you'll need strength equal to his."
Watching Hinata improve because of Naruto made Sakura grit her teeth.
She refused to fall behind.
She trained hard—harder than she ever had before.
Ino, too, pushed herself.
Seeing Hinata's growth lit a spark of competitiveness in her heart. She cared deeply for the people in her life, and she wanted to become stronger for their sake.
Even Inuzuka Kiba, who had always bragged about natural strength over school grades, felt provoked. Kiba used to scoff at academics, believing power was all a ninja needed.
But when he saw Naruto—the class clown, the hopeless troublemaker, the "dead last"—train like his life depended on it and rise to the top student position…
Something snapped inside him.
"Like hell I'll lose to that idiot!" he shouted one day, training with renewed fury.
Shino Aburame also felt the effects of Naruto's rise.
No matter how good Naruto was or how bad he was, he always became the center of the class's attention.
Shino, quiet and serious, was constantly overshadowed.
Jealousy—mild but real—burned in his chest.
He trained to close that gap.
His talent was already high, and with the Aburame clan's deadly insect techniques, Shino quickly surpassed almost all his peers in raw combat ability.
But even with that, his sense of presence remained painfully low.
Routine, unchanging, silent—Akimichi Chōji and Nara Shikamaru were the only exceptions.
Especially Shikamaru.
He continued sleeping through lectures, unmoved by peer pressure or Naruto's explosive growth. The world could shake and crumble, but Shikamaru's laziness remained an unbreakable constant.
Even Chōji secretly admired Naruto's hard work and trained just a little harder than before.
But Shikamaru?
He simply muttered:
"Troublesome…"
And rolled over to nap.
Iruka-sensei saw all of this.
The changes.
The growth.
The passion.
But most of all—
He saw Naruto.
---
From Loser to Leader
The Naruto from a year ago was almost unrecognizable.
Back then, he was a boy who avoided work, skipped class, joked around, and pulled pranks from sunrise to sunset. A boy nobody liked. A boy nobody believed in.
He was a failure.
A burden.
A "Loser."
But today?
He had completely transformed.
Strong.
Skilled.
Confident.
Reliable.
Sure, he still acted silly sometimes—but the Naruto who stood before the class now radiated a sense of stability that reassured everyone around him.
Iruka felt emotional just watching him…
It's like witnessing a miracle unfold before my eyes.
One year.
Just one year—yet Naruto had emerged from the ashes of his former self:
From ugly duckling to white swan.
From worm to butterfly.
From loser to top student.
---
The Final Evaluation
The graduation exam arrived.
Unlike the year before, Naruto faced it with unwavering confidence.
There were three parts:
Academic exam
Ninjutsu performance
Practical combat assessment
Naruto passed all three easily.
Academics?
Thanks to Hinata's patient tutoring and his own effort, he scored above 90 for the first time in his life.
Ninjutsu?
The Transformation Technique—perfect score.
Combat?
He didn't get to fight Sasuke, to his disappointment, but both boys earned bonus points for crushing their opponents without breaking a sweat.
Finally—
The day came.
The auditorium filled with nervous students, their hearts pounding, waiting to hear their results.
Iruka-sensei stepped onto the stage. His footsteps echoed softly as he approached the podium. His chest felt tight with emotion as he looked out at the children about to become full-fledged ninja.
He cleared his throat.
"Now… I will announce the results."
A hush fell over the room.
"First place…"
Everyone leaned forward.
Hinata held her breath.
Sakura clenched the hem of her skirt.
Ino bit her lip in anticipation.
Even Sasuke's usually calm eyes flickered with tension.
Naruto…
Naruto stood calmly, arms crossed, eyes closed, an almost mischievous smile tugging at his lips.
Then Iruka announced it clearly:
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
The room exploded.
"Seriously?!"
"That loser—became FIRST?!"
"He hasn't been a loser for ages, idiot! He's been the honor student for months!"
"No way… the kid who used to be worse than me is now number one?!"
Hinata's hands trembled.
Then she smiled, her eyes soft and shining.
"Naruto-kun… that's wonderful. Congratulations…"
Ino's jaw dropped. "He actually did it?! When he said he wanted to reach the top ten, I laughed…"
"I didn't expect this!"
Sakura was utterly stunned.
"Naruto… the guy who used to follow me around like a puppy… took first place? He even beat Sasuke-kun…?"
"I… was I wrong about him all this time…?"
Sasuke's reaction was the strongest.
Even though he'd prepared himself mentally, fury and frustration blazed through him.
"Tch… Naruto. You really…"
He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists.
"But this is only the academy. A ninja's true worth is determined by strength. If only I could have fought you in the final…"
"But it's fine."
"Once we become real ninja… I'll surpass you. I will defeat you. I will become stronger than anyone—including you!"
"No one will stand in my way."
---
Naruto's Moment
And Naruto?
He wasn't as excited as people expected.
To him, this outcome was almost natural.
But deep inside, he felt a warmth he couldn't hide.
"A year ago… I never would've believed this was possible."
"Top of the class…"
"Back then, I would've been thrilled just to graduate."
In the original timeline, Naruto hadn't even passed.
He clenched his fist.
"Thank you, system-nii-san… thank you, Iruka-sensei… thank you, Hinata."
"And… thank you, me."
"For not giving up."
He chuckled.
Everyone's admiration washed over him, and for the first time in his life—
He accepted it proudly.
Every drop of sweat.
Every grueling training session.
Every moment he collapsed from exhaustion.
Every time he pushed past the system's painful "shock warnings."
All of it had been worth it.
Iruka watched him with soft eyes.
This boy… he's truly grown.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)