I turned my attention back toward Iruka.
For now, there were more important things to worry about.
Like figuring out exactly what the hell I was.
After the history lesson, Iruka finally took us outside to the training grounds.
"Alright, everyone!" he called out. "We're going to start with something simple. I want all of you to run five laps around the training ground."
A few students groaned.
I looked around.
Five laps?
That wasn't exactly difficult.
Especially after the training I'd been doing before the academy started.
I took my position with the others.
Naruto and Sasuke were already near the front.
Iruka raised his hand.
"Ready..."
I leaned forward slightly.
"Go!"
Everyone took off.
As expected, Naruto and Sasuke immediately pulled ahead.
They were fast.
I followed behind them, keeping a steady pace.
Third place.
I wasn't trying to show off.
There was no reason to reveal everything I could do on the very first day.
So I maintained my pace and simply observed them.
Naruto was surprisingly energetic.
Even after several laps, he didn't seem willing to slow down.
Sasuke, meanwhile, was much more composed, maintaining his pace without wasting unnecessary energy.
They're both pretty impressive for six-year-olds.
The final lap began.
I glanced at them.
They were starting to slow down.
My legs, however...
Still felt fine.
I increased my pace.
One step.
Then another.
I passed Naruto.
He looked at me in surprise.
"Hey!"
I continued.
Then I caught up to Sasuke.
His eyes widened slightly as I passed him as well.
I crossed the finish line first.
I slowed down and turned around.
Naruto came in shortly after, followed by Sasuke.
I wasn't even breathing heavily.
I looked down at my hands.
...Interesting.
I'd already noticed something was different during my training before the Academy.
This body wasn't normal.
My strength.
My speed.
My endurance.
Everything was noticeably above what I'd expect from an ordinary six-year-old.
And now I'd just confirmed it.
I looked toward the other students, most of whom were still struggling to finish.
I'm definitely not a random civilian.
The thought returned again.
There was something strange about this body.
Something I hadn't figured out yet.
And the more I trained...
The more obvious it became.
"Hey! You bastard!"
Naruto came running up to me, still catching his breath.
"How the hell are you so fast?! You were clearly in third place before!"
I looked at him for a moment.
Then my eyes drifted down toward his bright orange outfit.
A mischievous smile appeared on my face.
"Maybe it's because of those orange clothes."
Naruto blinked.
"What?"
I shrugged.
"Maybe if you ran naked, you'd be faster."
There was a brief silence.
Naruto's face went completely blank.
"...What?"
I burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
"HEY!"
Naruto's face turned red.
"What's so funny?!"
"You should try it!"
"NO!"
He pointed at me angrily.
"I'm never running naked!"
I laughed even harder.
"Then I guess you'll never know."
"YOU BASTARD!"
Naruto started chasing me around the training ground.
I casually ran away, laughing.
Yep.
This guy is definitely Naruto.
I stopped running and turned toward him.
Naruto stopped as well, still looking annoyed.
I gave him a small smile and extended my hand.
"Toshiro Takahashi."
Naruto stared at my hand for a second.
Then his expression brightened.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
He grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically.
"Toshiro, huh? You're pretty fast!"
I chuckled.
"You're not bad yourself."
Naruto grinned.
"Of course I'm not! I'm going to become the hokage one day dattebayo!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Yeah!"
He puffed out his chest proudly.
"I'm going to become Hokage!"
I couldn't help but smile.
Yep.
That's definitely Naruto.
"Then I guess I'll have to keep up with you."
Naruto's eyes lit up.
"You're on!"
We released each other's hands.
And just like that...
I'd made my first friend in this world.
The next day came quickly.
During lunch break, I noticed Naruto walking toward me with three other kids.
One was a boy with a pineapple-shaped ponytail who looked like he'd rather be sleeping.
Shikamaru Nara.
Beside him was a chubby boy happily eating chips.
Choji Akimichi.
And then there was the blonde-haired girl walking beside them.
Ino Yamanaka.
Naruto stopped in front of me.
"Hey, Toshiro!"
I looked up.
"What's up?"
"I want you to meet my new friends!"
He pointed toward them one by one.
"This is Shikamaru, that's Choji, and this is Ino!"
Shikamaru gave me a lazy glance.
"Yo."
Choji smiled.
"Nice to meet you."
Ino looked at me curiously.
I stood up.
"Nice to meet you three."
I smiled and reached up, removing my sunglasses.
"My name is Toshiro Takahashi."
The moment I removed them, my bright blue eyes were exposed.
Ino's eyes widened slightly.
"Whoa..."
She stared at my eyes.
"They're really pretty."
I smiled.
"Thanks."
Naruto immediately looked between us.
"Hey! Why did you take your sunglasses off for her?!"
I blinked.
"...I didn't?"
"Yes, you did!"
Shikamaru sighed.
"What a drag..."
Choji continued eating his chips.
Ino giggled.
I put my sunglasses back on.
"Nice meeting you all."
Naruto grinned.
"Come on! We're going to show you something!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You'll see!"
I looked at Shikamaru.
He shrugged.
"I don't know either."
I sighed.
Something tells me this is going to be troublesome.
Still...
I followed them.
My curiosity is growing.
I wonder what he's going to show us...
Naruto was practically bouncing as he walked, clearly excited about whatever he had planned.
Shikamaru looked half-asleep already.
Choji was still eating.
And Ino was walking beside Naruto, occasionally glancing back at me.
I smiled slightly.
Well... this should be interesting.
"What is it, Naruto?" I asked, genuinely curious.
Naruto turned around with a huge grin.
"It's my secret hideout!"
I blinked.
"Your... secret hideout?"
"Yep!"
He pointed ahead proudly.
"I found it yesterday! Nobody else knows about it!"
Shikamaru sighed.
"That's not exactly a secret if you're telling everyone."
Naruto ignored him.
"It's really cool! There's an old training ground hidden behind the trees, and there's even a little river nearby!"
Choji's eyes lit up.
"Is there somewhere to eat?"
Naruto stared at him.
"...Why would there be food?"
Choji shrugged.
"Just asking."
Ino giggled.
I smiled.
A secret hideout, huh?
That actually sounded interesting.
"Alright, Naruto. Show us."
Naruto's grin widened.
"Come on!"
He immediately started running ahead.
"Last one there is a loser!"
"Hey, wait!" I called out, following him.
Shikamaru groaned.
"What a drag..."
And the four of us hurried after Naruto.
After following Naruto through several winding paths and a stretch of trees, we finally reached the place.
I stepped out from between the trees and looked around.
It was a small, secluded training ground.
There was an open patch of grass surrounded by trees, with a narrow stream running nearby.
A few old training posts stood around the area, some of them already worn down from years of use.
Naruto spread his arms proudly.
"Ta-da!"
"This is my secret training ground!"
I looked around.
"Huh..."
I had to admit, it was actually pretty nice.
Shikamaru looked around lazily.
"So this is what you dragged us all the way out here for?"
"Yep!"
Choji immediately walked toward the shade and sat down.
"I like it."
Ino looked around curiously.
"It's pretty peaceful."
I adjusted my sunglasses and examined the area with my Six Eyes.
There weren't many people nearby.
Almost no chakra signatures either.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
This place really is secluded.
A small smile appeared on my face.
Not bad.
Naruto suddenly clenched his fists.
"I decided this is where we're going to train together!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Train?"
"Yeah!"
He pointed at all of us.
"One day, we're all going to become awesome shinobi! So we should start training now!"
Shikamaru sighed.
"You're way too energetic."
Naruto ignored him.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
Well...
I suppose having a secret training ground isn't a bad thing.
Especially when I had plenty of things I wanted to experiment with.