Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

As Naruto predicted, Kakashi Hatake had not yet arrived when he entered the classroom.

The other graduates had already been led away by their respective Jonin, leaving only Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha in the once lively classroom.

Sakura and Sasuke looked over when they heard the door open.

"...Naruto."

"Humph."

The person who pushed open the door was not the Jonin teacher that the two thought, and Sakura and Sasuke's reaction was quite interesting.

Sakura greeted him softly, probably because Naruto had rejected her at noon. After greeting him, Sakura lowered her head and didn't dare to look Naruto in the eye.

Sasuke, as always, let out a cool "humph".

"Hey, good afternoon!"

Naruto greeted him in return.

There were exactly two dumplings left in the box, and he handed the box to Sasuke first.

Sasuke glanced at Dango, then at Naruto: "I don't eat sweets."

I vaguely remember something like that.

Naruto shrugged and handed the box to Sakura: "Sakura, would you like some?"

"Sakura?"

Sakura Haruno was surprised by how Naruto addressed her.

"Don't you like me calling you that? Then I'll call you Haruno."

"No, no, I'm just a little surprised that you would call me that, Naruto."

Sakura quickly stopped Naruto from calling her Haruno again and reached out to take a dumpling.

She thought her relationship with Naruto wasn't good.

That's how young girls are.

Naruto had previously rejected her invitation to discuss team activities, which made her start to overthink and feel anxious.

However, to be fair, of the three members of Class 7, only Sakura fits his age group now.

Naruto goes without saying.

Although Sasuke was somewhat immature during this period, the tragic experiences he endured were genuine.

Naruto stuffed the last remaining dumpling into his mouth.

He thought to himself, "Next time, half a box of dumplings will be enough."

—Sasuke's question came at this moment.

Why are you late?

Sasuke's gaze was fixed on Naruto.

Naruto slowly swallowed the dumpling in his mouth, his tone slightly flippant: "The Jonin teacher in charge of our class hasn't arrived yet."

"You're talking like the Jonin teacher is definitely going to be late. What will you do if the Jonin teacher isn't late?"

"Hey, you two, stop fighting..."

Sakura stood up nervously, trying her best to mediate the strange atmosphere between Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, remained silent for a moment, and then he said, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again next time."

He wouldn't argue with a child.

He slept soundly from noon until the afternoon.

So what's wrong with apologizing? Apologies are worthless anyway.

Sakura and Sasuke were both taken aback when they heard Naruto's apology.

When did Naruto, who was always gloomy, fierce, and unapproachable, suddenly disappear?

It was probably two years ago...

"You've really changed a lot, Naruto."

Sasuke couldn't help but speak his mind.

Sakura, who was standing nearby, shared the same sentiment.

Naruto just smiled and said nothing.

The fact that Sasuke is acting this way shows that although he harbors pain and hatred, he is still positive and optimistic about the future.

He verbally referred to the other two members of the three-person ninja squad as a burden, but he still showed them the care they deserved.

Sasuke's transformation occurred during the subsequent Chunin Exams.

He encountered a group of formidable rivals of his own age and discovered that he was not a unique genius.

Naruto's rapid growth also made Sasuke question the speed of his own growth for the first time.

Then Uchiha Itachi appeared in Konoha.

This further intensified Sasuke's realization of the painful reality he was in.

Thus, he left Konoha.

If Naruto were guided from this moment onwards onto the path of hope and sunshine...

Sasuke, being kind by nature, probably wouldn't have been so easily lured away by Orochimaru just because he saw Itachi.

After all, in the original work, Kakashi's few words were enough to make Sasuke ponder on the tree for a whole day, almost causing him to give up his idea of ​​revenge.

but……

Naruto did not intend to do that.

After the Chunin Exams, Sasuke was taken out of the village by the Sound Four.

It was the best time to defect that Naruto had deduced from his own defection plan.

Why leave Sasuke in the village if Danzo isn't dealt with? To have his eyes gouged out?

Why not let Sasuke follow the same path as in the original work? Maybe then Naruto won't even have to deal with Danzo himself.

Naruto had already witnessed Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan two years ago.

Naruto currently has no way to deal with this.

It's best to leave it to Sasuke to handle, since the best way to deal with the Sharingan is to use the Sharingan to fight the Sharingan.

"I'm so sorry. I just met a pregnant cat on my way here and I was helping her give birth."

In the classroom, the silence of the three was broken by the voice of a fourth person.

A ninja in his early twenties, wearing a green vest typical of Konoha ninjas, with long silver hair, a black mask, and his left eye covered by a headband, walked into the classroom.

Kakashi Hatake is considered an elite among Konoha's Jonin.

Naruto had already seen him the night of the Scroll of Seals incident.

However, Kakashi's opening remarks did not receive a response from Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

"Um--"

Kakashi touched his chin and said his first impression of the three: "You guys are pretty annoying!"

"..."

Having someone who was several hours late say that makes me feel like I've been wronged.

The rooftop of the ninja academy.

Kakashi sat on the rooftop railing and began a meeting with the rest of Team 7 that was several hours late.

"Please give a brief self-introduction so I can get to know you."

Kakashi said, "Things I like, things I hate, interests, and dreams."

"Let me demonstrate for you."

Kakashi looked at the three people sitting side by side in front of him, spread his hands and said, "My name is Hatake Kakashi."

After speaking, Kakashi remained silent.

After waiting for a while, Sakura asked, "Um... Kakashi-sensei, what about the introduction later?"

"I don't want to tell you."

"..."

"Alright, it's your turn to introduce yourselves!"

"I'll go first."

Naruto spoke up:

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I don't dislike anything, so I like most things. I have many interests, too many to list in a short time, but my dream—"

Naruto looked up and met Kakashi's gaze: "I want to become the Hokage who surpasses all previous Hokage!"

Naruto has been telling this lie for two years now, and he doesn't feel any pressure to lie even to Kakashi.

Sakura and Sasuke's answers were not much different from Naruto's memories of his past life.

The only difference is that the answer to what Sakura hates has changed significantly.

What started as disliking "Naruto" has turned into disliking "being treated like a child by parents".

Chapter 8 Survival Drill

"Very good, now I have a basic understanding of the three of you."

After finishing his self-introduction, Kakashi looked up at the sky.

"We'll begin our mission tomorrow—though it's called a mission, it's more like an exam by definition."

Sakura and Sasuke were both confused by Kakashi's explanation.