Everyone was already in the classroom when we entered.
In the past, I usually sat off to the side with a bunch of civilian kids. Today, I chose a different seat. Kuro was already waving at me, and I didn't trust myself not to punch his teeth in if I sat near him.
I walked to the back of the class.
A boy with yellow hair and an orange jumper was sitting there, staring out the window.
Naruto.
I quietly sat next to him.
"Huh?" He looked at me, surprised. It probably wasn't every day someone chose to sit next to him.
"Hi," I said, then ignored his reaction.
"Hey! You're the kid whose face I kicked in!" he suddenly shouted.
A vein popped on my forehead.
'No need to shout it loud!'
"It's Daichi Takumi," I said with a snort. What had I been doing all these years that even the protagonist didn't know my name?
"Oh! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" he shouted, pointing his thumb at himself.
"Naruto! Don't shout in class!" Iruka barked.
"My bad, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said, grinning and rubbing his head.
Iruka cleared his throat loudly. "Alright, settle down. Open your books to page—"
"Hey, sorry about kicking you so hard," Naruto whispered. "I wasn't aiming for your face, I swear!"
I looked at him, and he seemed genuinely apologetic.
'This kid.'
"It's okay," I said. "It was a pretty solid kick."
"Really? Thanks! No one's ever praised my kicks before."
'It was quite a kick to make me remember a whole other life'
I couldn't help but chuckle.
"What? Why are you laughing?" Naruto asked.
I waved it off. "Nothing."
Couldn't really tell him now, could I?
Naruto frowned, eyes narrowing just a little. "You sure?"
"Yeah," I said.
Naruto watched me for a second, like he was trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
"…You're kinda weird," he whispered.
"Yeah," I said. "I've been told."
"Really? Who else called you weird?" Naruto asked me with interest.
"I don't know, people?"
"Ha! People call me all sorts of things, you know, but I can't let it affect me, you know why?" He said all of a sudden.
'Oh boy,' I knew exactly where this was going. "Why?"
"Because I'm gonna be Hokage one day, believe it!" Naruto said it with the biggest smile on his face.
'Ah. Great.'
For a minute, I didn't know what to say. That was my first interaction with talk no jutsu, and even tho I saw it coming, I still couldn't dodge it.
Luckily, a piece of chalk whizzed through the air and smacked Naruto square on the forehead before I was affected by his talk no jutsu.
"NARUTO!" Iruka roared. "I told you not to shout in my class!"
"Ah—Iruka-sensei—"
"Hallway. Now."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto muttered, shoulders slumping as he dragged himself toward the door, laughter following him from the class.
Even with laughter echoing through the room, I couldn't help but feel sad.
This boy, he'd been my whole childhood. He'd made me laugh, cry, and, in a way, gave me the courage to keep going.
'Fuck it'
I stood up.
"Takumi?" Iruka said sharply. "Where do you think you're going?"
"It was my fault too, sensei," I said. "I was talking as well."
A vein popped on Iruka's forehead.
"Out. Both of you. And I don't want to hear a single sound."
"Yes, sen—"
The door slammed shut in my face.
…Rude.
Naruto stared at me in the hallway. "Why'd you do that?"
I exhaled slowly. "Guess I believe you."
"Believe what?"
"That you'll be Hokage."
He blinked.
Then grinned wider than before.
Now, before you start calling me cheesy or accusing me of getting hit by Talk no Jutsu, let me make something clear.
That level of genjutsu simply doesn't work on me. I swear.
You might not believe me, but this had been my plan all along.
There's no denying it—the ninja world isn't a kind place.
I live in an orphanage, for Kaguya's sake. The only reason I'm in the Academy and not getting emotionally lobotomised in Danzō's Root is that my chakra reserves are pathetic.
For now.
That's about to change.
And when it does, I won't be able to hide it—not with all the sensory types running around this village.
As long as I keep using my cheat, my chakra is going to grow. And I'm not planning to stop and quietly become some civilian nobody.
Which means Danzō will notice me eventually.
And when he does, he'll decide I can be put to "better use." By which I mean turning me into his obedient little bitch.
Yeah. No thanks.
So I need a backer. Someone untouchable. Someone important enough that even Danzō would hesitate.
Naruto.
Seriously. He's the protagonist.
Who knows? At this rate, there might even be a Takumi Rescue Arc somewhere down the line.
I chuckled at the thought.
"Hey," Naruto said, squinting at me. "What're you laughing about now?"
"Nothing," I replied.
"Hmph. Whatever." He glanced left and right, then started walking down the hall, deliberately quiet. "I'm heading out. You coming?"
"Where?" I asked.
"To get something to eat," he said. "I'm starving."
"What about Iruka-sensei?"
Naruto didn't slow down. "He won't even notice. Nobody ever does."
…Damn it.
Stop hitting me in the feels, kid.
"Wait up," I said, jogging after him. "I'm hungry too."
And just like that, I followed Naruto Uzumaki out of the Academy.
Now, I gotta be honest—when he said we were going to get something to eat, I figured he meant Ichiraku or… something that didn't involve potential food poisoning.
Boy, was I wrong.
Five minutes later, we were in the forest.
Digging for mushrooms.
"Oh well," I muttered. "Beggars can't be choosers."
Naruto was already crouched near a tree, plucking a suspicious-looking mushroom from the ground.
"How do you even know that's edible?" I asked.
"I ate one just like this last week," he said confidently. "It was fine. Well… it tasted kinda weird, but that's it."
…That explained a lot.
I straightened up, brushing the dirt off my hands, and decided that even beggars could afford to be choosy sometimes.
Naruto, with his Uzumaki physique, might be able to tank questionable mushrooms. I definitely couldn't.
But I also wasn't planning on going hungry.
I scanned the area, looking for something safer. A few minutes later, I came back.
"Look what I got."
I held up a pheasant that had been peacefully foraging nearby—right up until I introduced it to a paper shuriken barrage.
Naruto's eyes went wide.
"WOAH! You caught a bird?!"
"With a paper shuriken," I said. "+5."
"…What does the plus five mean?"
"It means I hit it pretty hard."
Naruto stared at the pheasant. Then at me. Then back at the pheasant.
"…Dude," he said, eyes wide, "that's incredible!"
Then his grin snapped into place.
"I'm gonna catch one too!" he declared.
And just like that, he bolted off into the trees.
I watched him disappear, then looked back down at the bird.
…Yeah. Figures.
I got the fire going.
A few minutes later, branches snapped behind me.
Naruto stumbled out of the brush, empty-handed, shoulders slumped.
"…They're really fast, you know," he said, kicking at the dirt. "I couldn't even get close to one."
I glanced at him, then at the pheasant slowly roasting over the fire.
"Here," I said, tearing off a leg and holding it out. "You can help me finish this. It's too much for me anyway."
Naruto froze.
"…For real?"
"For real."
His face lit up instantly.
"YES!" He grabbed it like it might vanish. "You're the best, Takumi!"
"Yeah, yeah," I said. "I know. Let's head back before Iruka-sensei comes looking for us."
Naruto groaned. "Aw, man… I was just starting to have fun."
"We can come again tomorrow."
He froze.
"…Really?"
"Yeah."
His face lit up instantly. "Awesome!"
-To be Continued...