The opening ceremony at Konoha was even more boring than imagined.
When all the new students were lined up on the playground, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi began his lengthy speech. The Third Hokage's voice echoed across the playground, the content being nothing more than the same old platitudes like, "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns."
"...So children, you are the future of Konoha..."
Naruto secretly yawned, his peripheral vision scanning his surroundings. Most of the children stood ramrod straight, gazing up at the Third Hokage on the podium with adoring eyes.
Just then, a commotion arose from the crowd.
"Look over there... the one with black hair..."
"She's from the Uchiha Clan, right? So cute..."
"Such beautiful eyes, like jewels..."
"I want to be her friend..."
Naruto followed everyone's gaze and indeed saw Satsuki. She was wearing a brand new uniform today, her dark hair neatly tied back, and even among a group of children, her innate noble temperament was exceptionally striking.
Naruto had almost forgotten Satsuki's stunning looks—after all, being together every day, he had long grown accustomed to her delicate little face. It wasn't until now that he remembered, even with the gender swap, this person was still the undisputed most beautiful in the Ninja World.
However, the little girls who used to fawn over Sasuke in the original story had now all become restless little boys.
When the lengthy Fire Will speech finally ended, the new students filed into the Ninja Academy's tiered classroom. Naruto casually found a seat, and Satsuki, as a matter of course, sat next to him, her actions so natural as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Hey, what's going on? Why is she sitting next to that monster?"
"Quiet! My mom said he was the one who killed the Fourth Hokage..."
"Stay away from him... Let's go warn her."
A few civilian children whispered in the back of the classroom, but Naruto paid no attention to the gossip, instead eagerly observing the familiar faces around him.
The chubby boy eating potato chips, the pineapple-haired one with a lazy expression, the sunglasses-wearing one with no presence, the dog-smelling one, the white-eyed one, the pink-haired one, the blonde one...
Adding himself and the tsundere next to him, the Nine Rookies were finally complete...
As Naruto was thinking this, he suddenly noticed the seat beside him was empty. He looked around the classroom and finally spotted Satsuki among the civilian children in the back.
The little boys who had just been whispering were now red-faced and flustered, looking at the suddenly approaching Uchiha Satsuki. They pushed each other, their eyes sparkling with surprise—they hadn't expected this aloof Uchiha heiress to actually approach them!
However, Satsuki merely leaned in slightly and whispered a few words. The next second, the smiles on the boys' faces froze.
They looked as if they had been doused with a bucket of cold water, their expressions rapidly shifting from excitement to daze, finally wilting completely. They all slumped onto their desks, utterly deflated, having lost all their fighting spirit.
Naruto watched Satsuki return to her seat as if nothing had happened and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Hey, what did you say to them?"
"...Nothing, it's just that they were too unpleasant... spreading bad rumors about others without proof."
"I don't really care, but thank you anyway, Nizhu Zi."
"You should have refuted them, and also, don't call me Nizhu Zi."
Satsuki's dark eyes widened, and her fair cheeks puffed out slightly. Even though she was protesting, there was an almost imperceptible softness in her tone.
Rather than protesting, it looked more like she was pouting.
As the saying goes—to judge how close a friendship is, one looks at whether they dare to give each other nicknames. Just as every boy wants to be his brother's "godfather," teasing each other is the highest form of friendship.
He had accidentally blurted out this nickname one time. Satsuki paused for a second but didn't actually get angry, just protested in a soft voice like she was doing now. "Don't call me Nizhu Zi."
Satsuki didn't mind Naruto giving her a nickname, but why was the nickname Nizhu Zi?
A while later, a familiar figure appeared at the classroom door.
Iruka Umino walked in, carrying a stack of textbooks. His gaze inadvertently met Naruto's, he visibly flinched for a moment, then complexly shifted his eyes away.
"Quiet."
Iruka clapped his hands, and after the classroom noise subsided, he turned and wrote his name on the blackboard.
"My name is Iruka Umino." He put down the chalk, clapped the chalk dust off his hands, and gave a gentle smile, "Starting today, I will be your teacher."
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm halo on his forehead protector.
"I hope we can all get along well from now on."
Scattered applause broke out in the classroom, and the self-introduction segment officially began. Iruka looked down at the list in his hand, calling out names one by one.
The first few were names not mentioned in the original story, until—"Next, Inuzuka Kiba."
A boy with spiky hair and face paint suddenly shot up to the podium, shouting energetically.
"I'm Inuzuka Kiba! I love dogs the most! My dream is to become Hokage and then make everyone in the village own a dog!"
He grinned, revealing sharp teeth. Naruto instinctively looked at the top of his head—it was empty, without the small white ninja dog he remembered.
Has Akamaru not been born yet... or has he not adopted him yet?
"Next, Nagatsuki Tappei."
It was another name not in the original story, but upon hearing this name, Naruto jolted. For some reason, he suddenly felt a very unpleasant sensation.
A plain boy with glasses stood on the podium, looking utterly unremarkable.
"My name is Nagatsuki Tappei!" He pushed up his glasses, his voice suddenly becoming incredibly excited, "I like big sisters with silver hair, purple eyes, not very smart, and a bit silly!"
With such a distinctive hobby, Naruto was unsure why he suddenly felt so unpleasant towards someone he was meeting for the first time, wanting to punch him.
"Next, Uchiha Satsuki."
As Iruka's voice fell, a commotion immediately broke out in the classroom. The little boys unconsciously straightened their backs, their eyes fixed on the podium without blinking.
A few bolder ones even secretly tidied their hair, trying to look more energetic—though for their age, such actions were perhaps too precocious.
Are all the children in the Ninja World this precocious...? Naruto was already too lazy to complain about this setting.
Satsuki walked gracefully onto the podium. After she stood still, she said in a clear, cold voice, "My name is Uchiha Satsuki."
"My dream is to surpass my older sister and become a ninja who makes our clan proud."
At this point, her gaze unconsciously darted towards Naruto's direction, then quickly retracted.
"My hobby is..."
Satsuki's cheeks suddenly flushed slightly, and her voice dropped a few octaves. "...I can't say that."
This rare shy expression left the little boys below the stage stunned. Satsuki quickly returned to her seat, her ear tips still tinged with un-faded redness.
"Next, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto lazily walked onto the podium, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto." His voice was gentle, "I like many things..."
At this point, his gaze swept over every face in the classroom—the chubby boy from the Akimichi Clan, the lazy one from the Nara Clan, the young lady from the Hyuga Clan... finally resting on Satsuki.
"My dream is... that the world will not be destroyed."
This unexpected answer left Iruka stunned. He was confused, not understanding why a 6-year-old child would have such a dream.