"Hello… can I sit next to you?" Naruto Uzumaki, the future protagonist of this world, approached Haruto Kamiya nervously.
"Sure. I just got here myself. No one's sitting there." Haruto looked at Naruto without much emotion and answered calmly.
"Great!" Naruto cheered and sat down immediately after receiving permission.
Haruto and Naruto technically already knew each other. After realizing he had been reborn into the Naruto world, Haruto naturally felt curious about its main character, so he had deliberately gone looking for Naruto while wandering through the village.
Back then, Haruto's plan was simply to observe Naruto from afar. He had no intention of becoming friends. After all, Naruto was a jinchūriki. ANBU surrounded him constantly. Approaching him recklessly as an ordinary civilian brought more danger than benefit.
And there were potential dangers beyond that. The Third Hokage wasn't the only one monitoring Naruto—Danzo likely was as well. Even if the Third investigated and dismissed Haruto's contact as harmless, Danzo would not be so generous. Even if he didn't seem to care much, someone of Danzo's rank could casually make a move that would destroy an ordinary boy like Haruto.
Then there was the social danger: being ostracized by the village. Anyone who voluntarily approached the "monster" was, in the villagers' eyes, hopeless.
So the first time Haruto sought out Naruto, he kept his distance. He watched as people whispered "monster" around Naruto and threw him cold, hateful looks. Even just watching from the side made Haruto feel suffocated.
If their positions were reversed, even with a second life, Haruto doubted he could remain mentally stable. Someone like Gaara in his early years… no, Gaara had been too young, too powerless to react. Haruto, in that position, might have acted far more extremely—perhaps even plotting to use the Nine-Tails to take revenge.
You say I'm a monster? Then I'll become a real one. And when I'm strong enough, you'll learn what a monster truly looks like.
What truly led to Haruto and Naruto meeting was something that happened later. Naruto had tried to buy food with more money than necessary, only to be thrown out of the shop. His coins were tossed onto the ground and then stomped on.
Watching that scene, listening to the laughter around him, Haruto couldn't stand it. Though he didn't step forward, he later bought the food Naruto had wanted using his own money, then followed him to a secluded spot.
"Is this what you were trying to buy?" Haruto had asked.
"Y-Yes…" Naruto's timid voice still echoed in Haruto's memory.
Haruto handed him the food. Naruto's eyes widened. After a moment, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He frantically wiped his dirty coins on the cleanest part of his clothes and then offered them to Haruto with hopeful eyes.
Haruto counted the money—far more than the market price—and left with a satisfied expression. Truthfully, he didn't care about the money. He simply needed an excuse to help without appearing too friendly. Anything more would have contradicted his long-term plans. Even doing this much had been impulsive.
Watching this scene in the anime had already been painful. Seeing it in real life was suffocating. Haruto felt he should do something, yet found he couldn't. Even if he wanted to help, he needed a method that wouldn't expose him, so he used Naruto's own inability to spend money as justification. He pressured him, but not fully. To onlookers, it simply looked like he wanted to make money off Naruto.
As for deeper friendship—Haruto had to avoid it for his own safety. If he had been alone in this world with no attachments, perhaps he could have risked everything. But he wasn't alone.
Naruto, of course, understood none of this. He didn't care about the money. What mattered to him was that someone had treated him without coldness for the first time. It lit something inside him.
Later, Naruto encountered Haruto again in the village. His gaze immediately locked onto Haruto with surprise and joy. Haruto was helpless. Naruto wanted to approach… but stopped.
Even before reaching Haruto, Naruto felt the eyes of the villagers on him. He realized instantly that approaching Haruto would cause the boy trouble—just like how people had forbidden anyone from playing with him in the past.
In the end, he walked past Haruto silently, looking defeated. Haruto exhaled in relief. He hadn't been implicated. But Naruto never approached him again.
Haruto felt conflicted. What a good child… even after everything, Naruto still worried about others.
Returning to the present, Haruto glanced at the blond boy beside him. Naruto probably approached him because there were no adults here. Children were simple—they only avoided Naruto because adults told them to. Many parroted that Naruto was a monster without even understanding the word.
To Naruto, adults' malice cut far deeper than children's. Here at school, perhaps he felt he could reach out to someone who didn't hate him.
Thinking about Naruto's future personality, Haruto sighed. How did he end up like that? The influence of the Nine-Tails inside him, malice from the outside… honestly, the strange part was that he didn't become worse.
Haruto sighed again. Maybe it was Asura's influence—but the idea of being forced into a personality by fate made him uneasy. Terrified, even.
He hoped that wasn't the case. Otherwise, it would be far too tragic.
After some time, a young man with his hair tied back and a scar across his nose finally arrived. He walked to the podium and coughed.
The noise didn't stop. This was no longer a wartime era; academy students were far less disciplined.
Haruto looked at the teacher. He knew this man well—it was Iruka Umino, Naruto's first teacher, a chunin.
Iruka's parents had died in the Nine-Tails' attack. He hadn't known how to face Naruto at first, but eventually he was moved by him and came to accept him.
A good, qualified teacher. Now that Haruto understood his personality, he planned to make use of their teacher–student relationship and ask him for guidance.
"I'm Iruka Umino. I'll be your teacher from now on. You can call me Teacher Iruka. I'll begin roll call. When your name is called, please stand and introduce yourself. Let me demonstrate first."
"Iruka Umino. My favorite food is Ichiraku Ramen. I like positive, optimistic people. I don't dislike anyone at the moment. My least favorite food is mixed rice. My goal is to be an excellent teacher who trains generation after generation of outstanding students."
After introducing himself, Iruka picked up the prepared list and began calling names.
"Nara Shikamaru…"
"Akimichi Choji…"
"Yamanaka Ino…"
"Haruno Sakura…"
Haruto heard both unfamiliar and familiar names. When he heard Haruno Sakura's name, his expression grew slightly complicated.
According to his plan, he would eventually have to apologize to Sakura.