Her voice was still soft, as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "Hinata, you saw what happened?…" Ino sighed softly without looking back.
Hinata walked forward and nodded. "Actually, I can understand it. Sakura's heart is completely occupied by Sasuke-kun right now…"
Ino said, "I know… Of course, there's nothing wrong with liking someone, but the premise is… you shouldn't hurt others or hinder them. Sakura is not only hurting Naruto, but she is also hindering Sasuke-kun. However, she seems to be completely unaware of it, or perhaps, she doesn't want to realize it…"
Hinata was also thoughtful. "It seems something terrible must have happened to Sasuke-kun… He's really not in the right state of mind right now…"
Ino was not completely clear about the affairs of the Uchiha clan, but after all, she was the eldest daughter of the Yamanaka clan, so she had a vague understanding of it. The same went for Hinata.
"No, it's more than that. Sasuke was already very cold due to his previous experiences, but today's Sasuke seems to have become even worse. I don't know what happened."
Ino shook her head, then seemed to think of something. "If I had to guess, it's probably related to Naruto again."
Hinata's heart trembled instantly when she heard Naruto's name. "Naruto-kun?"
"Well, you couldn't have missed it, could you? Even though everyone looks down on Naruto, he's the one Sasuke-kun looks at more than anyone in classroom…"
Hinata nodded slightly. As a silent follower of Naruto, she had, of course, noticed this a long time ago. "Indeed… indeed… Because, even though he always makes sarcastic remarks, Naruto-kun is the only one Sasuke-kun would ever actively communicate with…"
Ino sighed. "Perhaps it's because of the characteristics that both of them share…"
Hinata was silent for a moment before speaking sadly. "Is it… loneliness?"
Ino's heart moved. She had always had a similar feeling, but it was not until Hinata said it out loud that she truly understood it. "As expected of you, Hinata. You're really thoughtful. We cannot understand the loneliness of those two people. Only they themselves can find some comfort from each other. What a complicated relationship! I'm afraid even they themselves can't figure it out."
At this time, Naruto's figure appeared in front of Hinata, walking towards her in the early morning sunlight.
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered. *'I… I sincerely hope that one day you can escape that loneliness…'*
Ino looked back and also spotted Naruto. She looked at the girl who was clasping her fingers together in the morning sun and silently praying for Naruto, and her heart couldn't help but be touched.
*'Naruto, oh, Naruto… You don't even know how lucky you are…'*
Naruto walked forward, feeling proud of himself for becoming increasingly proficient at multitasking. He jumped up and down, smiled brightly, and greeted Hinata and Ino. "Good morning! Hinata, Ino!"
Hinata's face instantly turned red, and she lowered her head and spoke softly. "Good morning, Naruto-kun…"
Ino burst out laughing. "And just like that, he ran away!"
Hinata looked up and found that Naruto had indeed already jumped away. But she didn't care and still had a gentle smile on her face.
"Is Naruto really that great?" Ino looked at Hinata's expression and couldn't help but become curious. She decided to observe that boy carefully.
…
Naruto was in a good mood. Because on the way to school, he had found that his ability to do two things at the same time had improved a lot. Now, he could completely do a handstand with weights while reviewing his academic subjects. Although his leg injury had not yet healed, his physique was strong enough to allow him to endure it completely, and he wasn't even afraid of jumping around.
He decided to continue practicing dual-tasking before class, striving to turn his chakra refining into a passive skill. This way, whether he was studying or practicing, he could allow his body to spontaneously refine his chakra. By then, the amount of his chakra would inevitably reach an unimaginable level. Thinking of this, Naruto's eyes lit up, as if he had already seen his bright, shining future.
Regardless of his physical injuries and fatigue, Naruto came to his seat, took out his textbook to study, and silently began to refine his chakra.
On the other side, Sasuke, who was already training, frowned and clenched his fists when he saw Naruto arrive, and also pushed himself even harder. He had barely slept last night and was now utterly exhausted. However, when he saw Naruto, Sasuke suddenly felt stronger and more determined to fight. All the pain and fatigue were swept away, and he immediately continued his training!
The two of them sat at opposite ends of the world. However, the other students in the class all sensed two inexplicably powerful and terrifying auras, centered around the two of them, erupting and spreading outward, oppressing everyone.
It was so terrifying! It turned out that Naruto was the only one who had been going all out. He was the dead last in the class, so it didn't matter if he pushed himself too hard. But now… even Uchiha Sasuke, who was known as a genius, had started to get serious. How could this be?! You know, Sasuke usually didn't work so hard at the ninja academy. He was the type who worked hard in secret.
But now… people who were better than you were working harder than you! In that case, what were they working so hard for?! Many students immediately came to their senses and just continued to lie down and slack off. Of course, not everyone thought this way. After all, many people were being forced to follow suit.
So when Iruka-sensei walked into the classroom, he instantly sensed an inexplicable sense of tension. "This class is getting weirder and weirder…"
Naruto, who no longer acted mischievously and worked incredibly hard. Sasuke, who was originally cold, indifferent, and disdainful of everything, but was now also working hard. Also, following in Naruto's footsteps, Hinata worked just as hard, and Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and others who were being forced to fly away. On the contrary, Sakura, who used to be a top student, had been absent-minded recently and had even skipped class yesterday, which was an unprecedented event.
Iruka-sensei couldn't help but scratch his head. Was this some kind of reversed illusion world? However, seeing Choji still eating his snacks in big mouthfuls and Shikamaru sleeping soundly, Iruka-sensei felt relieved. Fortunately, these two guys were still performing steadily.
"Ahem, class starts now!" Iruka-sensei ordered.
Naruto opened his eyes, and a confident smile appeared on his lips.
*'[Knowledge Absorption]… open! Dual-tasking… open!'*
Although both were doing two things at the same time, the difference from before was that previously, his energy was more focused on chakra refining. Now, it was more inclined towards absorbing knowledge. But no matter what, this new ability was becoming more and more proficient. The pause time had been extended from three minutes to five minutes.
"Five minutes? Although the time is not short, it is still far from my goal. It has to last longer!" Naruto gritted his teeth and once again entered the state of multitasking. He had no idea that Yamanaka Ino, who was extremely curious about him, was observing him carefully with almost microscopic insight.
"Four minutes and fifty seconds…" Ino calculated the time silently, and her eyes lit up. "Just as I thought! Another five minutes or so… That guy Naruto pauses every five minutes, then re-enters a state of complete concentration, staring intently at Iruka-sensei's lecture. That kind of intense focus is just like Sakura staring at Sasuke or Hinata staring at Naruto, to an obsessive degree. No wonder Naruto has made such great progress these days. But why is there a pause of about five minutes?"