After breakfast, the two of them immediately headed to the academy.
On the way, Naruto looked around. The villagers still stared at him with sharp eyes, but their conversations had changed.
"Look at that, now he's being picked up by another girl," one villager muttered.
"Yeah, right. What exactly is he doing?" his companion chimed in.
"Ugh, why am I even jealous? If someone like him can get a girl, why can't I?"
The villagers stopped gossiping instantly. They all turned to the man and looked at him with disgust.
"You're jealous because he got a little girl?"
"Are you crazy?" another added.
"He's definitely insane," said one villager who finally couldn't take it anymore and grabbed the man by his collar.
"That's enough, everyone. Let's just beat him up. He's been talking nonsense more and more lately. It's better if we just beat him up now!" another villager shouted, inciting the others.
They then started to hit and gang up on the man. Their punches weren't hard, but together, they were definitely painful.
Naruto and Sakura saw the commotion but only glanced at it briefly.
"A bunch of idiots," Sakura muttered.
"Yeah, they're truly dumb," Naruto replied.
They continued walking together to the academy.
At the academy.
Some students began to panic, including Kiba. He kept ruffling his hair at his desk.
"Damn it, can I do this?" he screamed internally.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru sat with Chouji, observing everyone.
"They all seem nervous," he commented suddenly.
Chouji looked at him. "Hmm, maybe," he replied while munching on chips.
Hearing that, Shikamaru stared at him. He then grabbed a bag of chips from Chouji.
"I'll take one, okay?"
"Hey! Give it back," Chouji tried to snatch it back.
"Come on, it's just one. Don't be so stingy," Shikamaru tried his luck.
Chouji finally nodded. "Fine, consider it a gift from me," he said, though he thought in his heart, that was my last bag...
They continued chatting until not long after...
Naruto entered the classroom, with Sakura beside him, drawing everyone's attention.
Seeing him arrive, some girls tried to approach him.
"Naruto-kun, have you had breakfast?"
"Naruto, are you free later...?"
"Hey, why are you asking for his time? Naruto is busy! So, Naruto, would you like to go on a date with me later?"
"Damn you, you're no different..."
The crowd around Naruto grew chaotic, making Sakura beside him irritated.
"Tch, stupid girls," she muttered quietly, but they heard it.
She walked forward, and the girls stepped back to give her space.
"She's starting again," one girl grumbled.
"Yeah, it's so annoying to see her act like that!"
The topic shifted to Sakura. Naruto heard it but didn't comment. He understood because Sakura's attitude had really changed and become quite harsh.
"All right, everyone, I'm sorry but I can't make any promises," Naruto finally spoke, his voice calm.
The girls looked at him again. "With who?" they asked in unison.
Naruto paused. He thought of something to say, but then his hand suddenly felt warm.
"Because Naruto already has a promise with me," a voice interrupted, accompanied by a hand wrapping around his.
Naruto turned, as did the other girls. They saw Ino smiling, hugging Naruto's arm, and giving them a sharp glare.
And just like that, they fell silent. One by one, they began to back off.
Some grumbled but didn't dare do anything because, just like with Sakura, they were afraid of Ino.
They didn't mess with Sakura because her practice scores had improved significantly, making them fear confronting her.
As for Ino, as everyone knew, she was close to Naruto. Rumors even said they were dating, although many girls still couldn't accept that. But they didn't want to upset Naruto by insulting Ino.
Watching them walk away, Ino turned her gaze to the side. "You're pretty popular," she said coldly.
Naruto looked at her. "Are you jealous?"
"What do you think?" Ino shot back.
"Of course..." Naruto replied.
Ino didn't respond. She simply huffed and walked to her seat. Her mood was good, and she didn't want Naruto to ruin it.
"That girl..."
Naruto finally decided to sit down. When he saw Hinata, he chose to sit next to her.
"Hey, Hinata-chan, may I sit here?" Naruto greeted warmly.
Hinata nodded with a smile. "Of course, Naruto-kun..." She shifted to make space.
Naruto sat beside her and looked at the blackboard. Then he called her name.
"Hinata..."
"Yes, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto paused. His gaze shifted to Hinata, and he gave a small smile. "Are you nervous?"
Hinata shook her head. "No. What about you, Naruto?" she asked in return.
"Yeah, I'm really nervous, because everything starts here..." he said softly.
Hinata looked at him. She could see the seriousness in Naruto's expression.
And it made her feel a little embarrassed, for thinking she had been strong enough all this time.
Soon, Iruka arrived. He greeted everyone with a smile, especially Naruto. His gaze looked happy, though with a hint of sadness.
"All right, everyone. You will take the graduation exam, which will be divided into two parts.
The first is a written test, and if you pass, you will move on to the second test, which assesses your chakra control using one of the three basic techniques—you may choose.
Do you all understand?"
Iruka ended his speech and asked if anyone had questions. But since no one spoke up, he began handing out the exam papers.
Naruto received his and found the questions easy.
The test started, and within five minutes, Naruto finished and handed it to Iruka.
"Naruto?" Iruka looked at him, confused.
Naruto handed him the paper and sat back down.
Iruka reviewed Naruto's answers and was shocked. All of them were correct. "Naruto passed the first exam!" he announced loudly.
Sasuke looked over. He smiled and also submitted his answer sheet.
Soon after, Iruka's voice rang out again.
"Sasuke, passed..."
Hearing that, some students became anxious, and one of them even started to panic.
Including Kiba. "Damn it!!" he screamed inside. "Why is this so hard? Didn't I study all night? No, Kiba, you must do this. If not, Hana might get angry..." His mind was a mess, but he continued working hard.
Eventually, the test ended. Some students failed, but most passed.
Kiba let out a sigh of relief. Shikamaru stayed silent, and Chouji quietly munched on his chips.
"You all did well. For those who didn't make it, you can try again next year. And for those who passed, don't get too excited yet—there's still one more exam," Iruka's voice echoed again.
Everyone nodded, including Naruto. The students who failed began to leave, leaving only the successful ones behind.
Naruto let out a deep breath, which Hinata noticed.
"Naruto-kun? Are you okay?" Her voice was gentle.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking this is better for them..."
Hinata fell silent. She nodded slightly but didn't say anything. She understood what Naruto meant—those who were weak should leave the arena.
Because if not, only destruction awaited them.
It was cruel, but that was the reality.
Hinata looked at Naruto's face. In her heart, she vowed to become stronger. Because to her, Naruto meant everything—and for him, she would do anything.