"Perfect score? What." Sakura muttered, stunned for a moment, then she scowled.
'Naruto is still an idiot, he will never be better than Sasuke-kun .'
Ino was completely dumbfounded, thinking to herself, 'Today is really strange. How come that dead last was able to perform a proper jutsu now when he could not just a mere week ago?'
"Tsk, that guy" Inuzuka Kiba muttered and walked away with the white puppy on his head.
As a member of the truancy trio, Kiba was thankful that Naruto's poor grades kept him from being the worst in the class.
Sasuke, after watching for a while, also turned away, his eyes reflecting the lush trees at the end of the corridor, showing his usual cold demeanor.
'Why do i even care what the dead last got. I don't care. It has nothing to do with me. tsk '
"Sa...Sasuke-kun, since we graduated, can we have a meal together?" A girl who had just emerged from the corridor's corner asked as she nervously clutched her forehead protector. It was obvious that she had just passed the exam.
"I have things to do, find someone else." Sasuke said coldly. He was a proud person who did not allow himself to stagnate, so he intended to go back and redouble his training.
'need to show that loser whose on top after all.'
The hatred for his clan's extermination drove him to live, and aside from that, he had no interest in anything else, well... beating up that loser does not count, so without hesitation, he refused the girl.
Sakura, in the crowd, watched the scene of the girl being rejected by Sasuke at the end of the corridor, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions. Happy that Sasuke rejected another girl, but sad that it would probably be the same for her. Suddenly, a hand slapped her shoulder, startling her.
"Ino, what are you doing?"
"Hehe, stop looking. Sasuke-kun won't go on a date with you." Ino said as she looked at Sakura smugly.
For some reason, Naruto's annoying face flashed through her mind, and his vile voice echoed in her ears.
"Sasuke doesn't like women! Wo! Men! I have a better shot with him than you do."
"Ah!!!! Damn it!" Ino suddenly squatted on the ground with her head in her hands, her face twisted in anger and a slight flush.
After passing the Graduation Exam successfully, Naruto's life was back on track. During the three-day break, Naruto was lazily lying at home for the next couple of days.
Naturally, he did not meet Konohamaru, since he had already beaten him a while back and was unsure if he was even out of the hospital yet.
On the last day of the break, as Naruto was dozing off, the sunlight filtered through the window onto him, making him feel warm and cozy.
Suddenly, a dazzling light made Naruto frown and he opened his eyes directly.
An Anbu's member wearing an animal mask was squatting on the tree outside the window, his cold eyes visible through the holes in the mask, his voice emotionless.
"Hokage-sama wants to see you."
After saying this, without giving Naruto a chance to react, the Anbu's member vanished instantly.
Naruto stared at the ceiling for several minutes, confirming that someone had indeed been there, 'But where did he go?'
"Go…"
'I will get up in a minute, let me just rest my eyes.'
'The sun is so warm and comfortable, just like soaking in hot spring water.'
'warm'
Even breaths sounded as Naruto fell asleep again.
When he woke up, it was already dark.
There was no light in the room. A dark figure was sitting at the desk, flipping through Naruto's training plan. In the dim light, the rustling pages sound quietly, suddenly stopping after a while.
"Ah, you're awake." An old and familiar voice sounded, with a hint of gentleness and kindness.
When the light came on, the room was directly illuminated.
The third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was sitting at the desk, and he turned his head to look at Naruto with a smile. On the desk were Naruto's brand new forehead protector, diary, and recipe book.
"Hokage-sama." Naruto, groggy from sleep, rubbed his eyes and called out.
"What happened to calling me gramps before?" Hiruzen was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily, "What's wrong? Now that you're a Shinobi, you're becoming distant?"
"Hehe." Naruto scratched his head a little embarrassed.
"I am already a qualified Shinobi now, so it is not appropriate to call you that."
Internally he was screaming 'No way am I going to call you something so familiar when your inaction has led to my crappy living arrangements.'
Hearing this, Hiruzen smiled and let it go, then asked, "Did you forget something today?"
"Something?" Naruto looked puzzled. After thinking for a long time, he finally remembered that an Anbu seemed to have come and asked him to go see the Hokage.
"Ah! I forgot!"
"You little brat!" Hiruzen sighed helplessly, "But it's fine. you rest."
"Hokage-sama, is there something you want to talk to me about?" Naruto asked.
"Well, it's not really something important." Hiruzen said, "I wanted to ask about your dreams for the future."
"My dream is to take it easy." Naruto said without thinking.
"Take it easy?" Hiruzen was puzzled.
"It means living a stable and relaxed life," Naruto explained.
"Have young people become like this now? I guess I'm out of touch with the times." Hiruzen said self-deprecatingly.
"But Naruto, wasn't your dream to become the Hokage?"
"What is life like after becoming Hokage? Are you happy?" Naruto asked.
"Well," Hiruzen coughed and said, "I'm usually quite busy, and sometimes, Konohamaru would complain that I can't spend time with him."
"But in order to protect the village and its people, this responsibility drives me forward, even to the point of risking my life for the village at any time. I think I am probably happy."
"Well, that's is the life of the Hokage-sama. It sounds exhausting." Naruto said, sitting cross-legged on the bed, "But I don't want to live such a hard life. I don't want to be looked at with strange eyes anymore."
"For someone like me, even to have a fresh meal, I have to consider whether the store owner will sell me the vegetables. Even if I become the Hokage, nothing will change."
"Naruto, if you become the Hokage, the people in the village will definitely respect and love you." Hiruzen tried to persuade.
"But Hokage-sama, I'm doing pretty well now." Naruto said, holding his head. "If I don't make mistakes and slowly become an ordinary person, everyone will forget about me eventually."
"Although I don't know why so many people are hostile to me, I think by becoming a Shinobi, I probably won't have to deal with such looks anymore."
Hiruzen wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat, and he didn't have the courage to say them out loud. He knew that it was his negligence that caused this child to become the way he is now.
Rome wasn't built in a day. Naruto is an optimistic person by nature, and it is obvious that he has become like this because of the hostility he has suffered over the years.
If he wanted to change Naruto's attitude, he may need to guide him slowly in the future.
"Naruto, if the enemy breaks into the village in the future and wants to harm the people you care about, what will you do then?" Hiruzen asked.
Naruto thought about it, and after thinking for a moment, he looked at Hiruzen and said seriously.
"I don't know."
…
Hiruzen left without saying more.
Naruto sat at the desk where Hiruzen had been, touching the forehead protector, his gaze gradually turning indifferent. Although this system appeared to be a 'take it easy' system, it was on the condition that he was able and willing to take the easy path. Sometimes he probably wont be able to lay back and take it easy.
Naruto was planning to take it easy as often as possible and slowly accumulate strength. If there's a more relaxed way to become stronger, why not take it?
Let others compete and work hard.
In this terrifying world where strength reigns supreme, having no power means being at the mercy of others.