Inside the principal's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen solemnly patted Iruka on the shoulder.
"Iruka, your father used to be an outstanding teacher at the ninja academy. I believe your ability is not inferior to your father's. I'll leave this class to you."
Iruka only felt that the hand Sarutobi Hiruzen placed on his shoulder carried the weight of a thousand catties.
It was pressing him to the point where he could barely breathe.
'This class... Is no ordinary class. The Hokage's grand-disciple, the young master of the Uchiha clan, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan, and other children from the major ninja clans.'
'I don't get paid enough for this. How can I handle such intense pressure?'
'But this is a direct order from the Hokage himself.'
'Even if I can't bear it, I have to.'
"Please rest assured, Lord Hokage. I will definitely teach this group of children with all my heart!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with relief.
"Go familiarize yourself with the class first."
Iruka left the principal's office, teary-eyed, and walked toward the office.
"Iruka, I didn't expect this to be true. Looks like I should congratulate you on your promotion and raise in advance."
Just as Iruka returned to the office, Mizuki, who was standing in front of Iruka's desk, congratulated him with a smile.
In his hand was the student list for Iruka's class.
Mizuki was a friend he had known since childhood, a companion who had been with him during his most painful times. Their relationship was very close.
At least, Iruka thought so.
So when he saw Mizuki casually looking at his documents, he didn't think much of it and showed a troubled expression on his face.
"This won't be easy to teach. These little brats have scarier backgrounds one after another, and there are quite a few commoners mixed in. We can't even standardize the learning progress."
Hearing Iruka's complaints, Mizuki subconsciously clenched his fists.
'This bastard!'
In his eyes, Iruka was totally pretending to be pitiful after getting all the benefits.
The Hokage's grand-disciple was clearly placed in Iruka's class. It was obvious favoritism. Yet he still had the nerve to act troubled in front of him.
"Hehe, yeah, that's definitely a hassle," Mizuki forced a fake smile.
"I just looked through it. Seems like the guy who got your parents killed is in your class too. You'd better be extra careful."
Iruka's expression froze instantly.
———
On the other side.
Inside the classroom, the silent atmosphere was broken by Sasuke's voice, and many people snapped back to reality.
A few girls who were originally dissatisfied now had very complicated expressions.
They were at the purest age in a person's life, purely judging by appearance.
But they didn't expect that the high-quality handsome guy they were instantly attracted to... seemed to be a playboy.
Only, he said it openly and honestly, without deception. Looking at how red-faced Tenten and the others were, each of them acting like ostriches.
'He probably isn't a scumbag, right? Does this count as being a scumbag?'
"Sorry, we disturbed you guys."
One of them apologized to Aoba and Tenten.
They were pure love advocates. Since the flower had an owner, they would voluntarily give up.
'Only… does a pure love harem count as pure love?'
"It's fine," Aoba showed a warm smile.
"Even so, we can still be good friends."
Their faces flushed slightly, and after replying casually, they ran off in a bit of a panic.
If they stayed any longer, they'd turn into cuckolded warriors.
Seeing that Aoba already had someone, many shifted their sights to Sasuke.
Only, those who approached under Naruto's spotlight were all coldly rejected.
"I'm not interested in girls. You'll only slow down my hand seal speed."
"Hello!"
Just as Aoba thought everything was over, a boy's voice suddenly rang in front of him.
Aoba looked up and saw a boy with two red markings on his face.
"I'm Inuzuka Kiba."
"Your speech just now was super cool!"
Inuzuka Kiba grinned and gave Aoba a thumbs-up.
"I'm Shirakumo Aoba. Nice to meet you."
Although the other party probably already knew who he was, Aoba still introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you too!", Inuzuka Kiba's eyes lit up when he heard Aoba's words, and he became even more enthusiastic.
Kids don't have too many complicated thoughts. He instantly considered Aoba a good friend.
With the ringing of a bell—
Iruka walked in from outside, went up to the podium, and looked at the still noisy classroom, unable to help but remind them.
"Students, it's already class time. Find a seat and sit down first."
Once everyone found a seat and sat down, Iruka wrote his name on the blackboard.
"Let me introduce myself. I'll be your teacher for the next six years of your school life—Umino Iruka. You can just call me Iruka-sensei."
Umino Iruka clapped his hands with a smile and said, "For this class, let's start with self-introductions."
"Everyone can say their name, future dream, dislikes, and favorite things."
"So, who wants to go first?"
Iruka looked expectantly at the children below the podium.
Very quickly, the first student came up.
And this first student made Iruka's expression freeze for a moment.
Naruto, who seemed to have some sort of bull-attribute, directly leapt onto the podium.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like eating ramen. In the future, I want to become stronger and protect the things I want to protect!"
"As for my current goal—it's to beat Sasuke!"
Naruto's passionate tone made the air in the classroom freeze for a few seconds, and then many people began whispering.
"Uzumaki Naruto, why do you wear weird clothes every day and run upside down through the streets?"
Finally, someone couldn't help but speak up louder.
"That's called sweating youth out, burning youth!", As he spoke, Naruto's big white teeth reflected the light.
"What's that?", Except for a few who knew the details, most people were confused.
"Training! Taijutsu training!", Naruto explained.
"Definitely a weirdo."
Having trained with Might Guy for over half a year, in most people's eyes, Naruto had evolved from a monster into a weirdo.
You could hardly imagine the sight of a big and small pair of green guys doing handstand sprints through the streets.
Now, when villagers saw Naruto on the street, they all kept far away.
That wasn't a monster, that was a damn lunatic.
Even though none of the comments were good, to the current Naruto, they were just minor wind and frost.
"Alright, everyone quiet down."
"Great introduction, Naruto," Iruka looked at Uzumaki Naruto with a complicated expression.
Because of Mizuki's earlier remarks, when Iruka first saw Naruto, hatred naturally surged in his heart.
But he was a teacher. He had to treat every student equally.
"Who's next?"
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