"Teacher, did you come especially to pick me up?" Sasuke asked. His little pale face was still round, looking a bit different from the handsome Sasuke of the future.
"Hah, look at you all smug. I came here today to pick up both of you."
Hearing that Natsuki had come to fetch them on purpose, Naruto was overjoyed.
Even though Natsuki treated him kindly, he didn't often have the time to come see him.
Just having someone come to pick him up from school made Naruto this happy… how starved of love had this child been?
Damn that Third Hokage. Natsuki became even more determined—this pure-hearted boy must never be tainted with bad habits.
"Let's go." As Natsuki walked ahead, he asked the two little ones, "Did you hear any rumors today?"
Naruto scratched his head. "A lot of classmates said Lord Jiraiya got arrested."
Catching Jiraiya had only happened that afternoon, yet the news had already spread all the way to the Academy.
"Who's Jiraiya?" Naruto asked curiously. They hadn't learned about him yet at school.
Sasuke couldn't hold back. "Jiraiya is Lord Third's student, one of the Legendary Sannin. A hero of Konoha."
Naruto blinked in confusion. "If he's a hero, then why did he get arrested?"
"Because he was peeking into the women's bath," Natsuki explained, "so he got caught."
Sasuke's face instantly twisted with disgust.
"Why would he peek into the women's bath?" Naruto, who had grown up without guidance, was like a blank sheet of paper.
Natsuki ruffled his hair. In the past, Naruto never cared about his appearance, and no one had ever taught him. But lately, he seemed to understand the importance of looking presentable. His hair was neatly combed now—if he let the sides grow a bit longer, he would look almost exactly like his father, Minato.
"You're still too young to understand why, but what you do need to know is this: peeking at women like that is wrong."
"Oh…" Naruto seemed half-understanding.
Natsuki continued, "Let me put it this way—do you have any female classmates you're close to?"
Naruto nodded earnestly, counting on his fingers. "Mm, Hinata, Sakura, Ino, they're all our friends."
"Then if one of them was bathing, and someone spied on her, how would you feel?"
Naruto frowned, thought for a moment, then slapped his fist into his palm. "I'd be really upset! I'd even want to beat them up!"
Natsuki nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly. So you must never do something like that. Anyone who does is of low character. No matter how strong they are—even a Sannin—if they do this, they're nothing more than a creep."
Naruto puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, Natsuki-senpai! I'll never do that kind of thing!"
Natsuki turned to Sasuke. "What about you, Sasuke?"
Sasuke huffed arrogantly and looked away. "I'd never do something that boring. I'm an Uchiha."
Natsuki rolled his eyes. Honestly, I wish you'd be a bit more interested in girls… Otherwise, like in the last life, if someone hadn't pushed you into it, you'd probably end up single forever.
"By the way, Naruto, I heard your grades aren't very good?" Natsuki asked.
Naruto scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "Um… Natsuki-senpai, the stuff at school is kind of hard. I learn really slowly."
But Natsuki didn't scold him. After all, Naruto had grown up as a wild child—expecting him to suddenly become a top student wasn't realistic.
"It's okay, Naruto. If your academic grades are weak, you can take your time and learn. But you have to work hard in the other subjects. You can't stay at the bottom forever."
Naruto nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, Natsuki-senpai! I'll work really hard!"
Seeing how much attention Natsuki gave Naruto, Sasuke suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. He quickly shook it off and pushed the feeling down.
But seeing Naruto's happy face, Sasuke couldn't help but smile as well.
For the rest of the time, Natsuki asked about Naruto's daily life and listened to Sasuke talk about what he was learning at school. The three of them chatted and laughed, much to the frustration of the Anbu watching from the shadows.
Every time Natsuki came to see Naruto, they were on edge, terrified he'd plant some strange ideas into the boy's head.
After all, even Jiraiya had been humiliated by Natsuki that morning—what chance did a few lowly Anbu have? They could only tremble silently.
But Natsuki did nothing suspicious. He simply acted like a caring elder, looking after Naruto's wellbeing, then sent him home. Only after that did the Anbu finally relax and disperse.
Once they left, Natsuki walked with Sasuke toward the Uchiha compound, pulling out an envelope as they went.
"This is a letter from Itachi. It's for you."
"Ah!" Sasuke's face lit up in joy. It was a letter from his brother!
Even though he knew he'd see his brother again someday, Itachi's absence was still hard for him to get used to.
Sasuke quickly opened the letter. He didn't hide it from Natsuki, instead reading it right in front of him.
Though it wasn't long, Sasuke read it over and over several times before carefully placing it back into the envelope.
Natsuki chuckled softly. Sasuke really was adorable at this age.
"What did Itachi say?"
Sasuke couldn't hold back his grin. "Brother said I should listen to you, study hard at school, and not bring shame to the Uchiha name."
Hah, Itachi's treating him like a little kid. When he was Sasuke's age, he was already on the battlefield.
After storing the letter away, Sasuke followed Natsuki back home. Fugaku wasn't there—he had gone out to check on some of the reparations Kumo had delivered, looking for anything useful.
Before leaving, Natsuki suddenly asked, "Sasuke, what do you think of Naruto?"
Sasuke blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean as a person. What do you think of him?" Natsuki clarified.
Sasuke muttered "an idiot" under his breath, but then answered honestly. "Naruto's actually a good guy. He's really warm-hearted, even though he's a bit simple-minded. Even when people badmouth him behind his back, he never gets upset about it."
Natsuki nodded. Sasuke's words were true. Naruto's nature could be described generously as open-hearted and cheerful—or less kindly, as simple-minded.
But given the kind of environment he grew up in, the fact that he hadn't turned dark and bitter was already remarkable.
Seeing Sasuke had no prejudice toward Naruto, Natsuki asked again, "And what do you think of his strength?"
Sasuke looked puzzled. "Strength? Naruto doesn't have any strength. He can't even pass his written exams—there's no way he could beat me."
As he spoke, Sasuke puffed out his chest proudly, his little face practically shouting, Hurry up and praise me!
Natsuki chuckled. "Don't get cocky. You're stronger than Naruto now only because you had parents to teach you when you were young. Naruto didn't have anyone, so of course he's behind."
Sasuke lifted his chin high. "Even if someone taught him, he'd never beat me. I'm an Uchiha!"
Natsuki smiled. "How about we make a bet then?"
"What kind of bet, teacher?" Sasuke asked.
"If Naruto manages to beat you at the Academy one day, then you lose. But if you stay stronger than him all the way through school, then you win."
Sasuke smirked confidently. "Don't worry, teacher—you're definitely going to lose this bet."
Natsuki grinned. "Alright. If you win, I'll give you a treasure."
"And if I lose—"
Before he could finish, Sasuke cut in proudly, "Relax, teacher, I won't lose!"
Natsuki shook his head. "Confidence is good, but don't let it turn into arrogance. If you do lose, then I'll have you do something for me."
"What is it, teacher?" Sasuke asked curiously.
"…Hmm, I haven't decided yet."
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