Winter departed and spring arrived, and Konoha Village was enveloped in a soft, new green.
As the cherry blossom season ended, the tender leaves on the branches grew denser, and the days gradually warmed up.
Today was a rare weekend; there were no training missions or scheduled classes.
Iruka walked down the street, heading towards the village's stationery store to purchase some practice ninja tools and textbooks.
As a teacher at the Ninja Academy, he had now spent a year with the little ones in his class; they were his first group of students.
Honestly, this year with the little ones in his class was even happier than he had imagined.
First, there were a few of the more troublesome students in the class.
Choji, during class, would secretly sneak snacks into his mouth when the teacher wasn't looking.
Whenever Iruka called on him, he would always see him frantically swallowing food.
And during taijutsu class, Choji displayed surprisingly 'timid' behavior.
Whenever sparring practice began, he would always find various excuses to put it off.
Initially, Iruka thought this child was timid and afraid of fighting.
But as the days of their acquaintance lengthened, he gradually discovered that this was not the case; rather, the little chubby boy was too kind, so kind that he was unwilling to harm any classmate, even during training.
Another student who gave Iruka a headache was Shikamaru.
This fellow, who always lazily sprawled across his desk, seemed to lack motivation for anything.
In class, he would always find various comfortable positions to doze off, and during exams, he even set an astonishing 'zero-point' record.
Every time Iruka saw Shikamaru's blank test paper, he couldn't help but sigh.
However, as he learned more about the Nara family's characteristics, Iruka began to wonder if this child was truly as 'incompetent' as he appeared on the surface.
The Nara clan was renowned for its intelligence; how could they raise a fool?
With this question in mind, Iruka decided to test him privately.
He found Shikamaru in private, without telling anyone else, and gave him a test paper and ample time to answer.
The result greatly surprised Iruka—a perfect score!
When Iruka asked for the reason, Shika lazily explained, 'I was just too lazy to write; those questions were too simple for me.'
The child Kiba was always restless, like he had a rabbit in his arms; he couldn't sit still, would often zone out in class, and occasionally skipped class to play with stray dogs.
Ino was alright, just a bit too flamboyant; she would occasionally glare angrily at someone for a long time if they interrupted her.
As for Sakura… Iruka always felt a little uncertain.
The child was quiet, took diligent notes in class, and worked hard to keep up in taijutsu class, but her gaze always fell on Uchiha Satsuki.
Her eyes held emotions that Iruka couldn't quite decipher.
Hinata was the quintessential good student, always sitting perfectly straight, with neatly written notes, even her handwriting was delicately meticulous.
However, her personality was too introverted; when called upon to answer questions, her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, but it was clear she was trying hard to overcome it.
Uchiha Satsuki—the Uchiha Clan Leader's daughter—had terrifyingly high talent, but her personality was too arrogant.
Most classmates who tried to talk to her would likely be given a cold glance, and then she would turn her head to continue chatting with Naruto.
Throughout the entire classroom, only when facing Uzumaki Naruto would the ice in her eyes completely melt.
She even reached the point of being clingy, where she would be wherever Naruto was.
The last one… Iruka's expression became complicated, and Uzumaki Naruto's golden-haired figure appeared in his mind.
The rumors about him in the village never ceased; the talk of 'demon fox' clung to him like a festering wound, always creeping into his ears inadvertently.
At first, Iruka truly didn't know how to face this child.
Reason told him that the Nine-Tails' sins should not be blamed on a child, but that hurdle in his heart just wouldn't budge, like an invisible lump blocking it.
Later, he gradually understood Naruto's situation.
Every time the child went out, he would encounter the villagers' evasive glances and hear the whispers, deliberately lowered but clearly audible, that reached his ears.
Iruka's own childhood, though lonely, had never known the taste of being disliked by almost the entire village—a loneliness that even the sun seemed to avoid.
But Naruto didn't seem to care at all.
Those unfriendly gazes, those insinuating remarks, he acted as if he didn't see or hear them.
He appeared in the classroom on time every day with his backpack, greeted his teachers respectfully, and as a student, he was actually very easy for teachers to manage, even exceptionally good.
He was exceptionally talented, with strength far exceeding children his age.
Aside from the intense sparring with Satsuki the first time, which made Iruka sweat, he never showed the slightest arrogance in class afterward.
Unlike Satsuki, who was cold to everyone, he could chat and smile with anyone who spoke to him without prejudice.
He also consistently showed respect to his teacher.
Given all this, Iruka always felt a little guilty.
He knew that rumors shouldn't influence his perception of a child, yet in the early days, he still paid him unnecessary attention, unlike with other students.
Thinking of this, and then seeing Naruto's perpetually cheerful demeanor, as if he had never suffered any grievances, Iruka's guilt deepened a few more points.
Soon, the stationery store's sign appeared at the street corner.
Iruka pushed the door open, and before he could even greet the shopkeeper, his gaze was caught by a familiar back not far away.
'Naruto?!'