Chapter 38: Interlude — Fireworks to Celebrate the Start of School

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The moment Naruto stepped into the classroom—

"Hey, are you Uzumaki Naruto?"

Inuzuka Kiba was crouching on top of his desk, looking down at Naruto.

Naruto had not only stolen his spotlight earlier, but had even managed to shock him. A faint trace of fear had risen in Kiba’s heart.

That made him extremely unhappy.

Naruto completely ignored him and walked straight past.

Deep down, Naruto wanted recognition.

But he would never curry favor with others just to get it. He used indifference as a protective shell, quietly licking his wounds in the shadows while secretly longing for the villagers’ acceptance.

"Damn it! I challenge you to a duel!"

Being ignored made Kiba feel as though his pride had been provoked.

Crouching on the desk, he suddenly pushed off with all his strength and pounced toward Naruto like a tiger descending from the mountain.

"Naruto!"

Hinata cried out worriedly.

The civilian students looked on gleefully.

The clan heirs watched with interest.

Yamanaka Ino was about to warn Naruto, but then she glanced at Hinata.

Just as Kiba was about to reach Naruto, Naruto swiftly raised his right leg and drove a powerful backward kick into him.

Anyone who dared attack him had learned from an early age that Naruto would strike back.

Fighting was perfectly normal in the shinobi world. It wouldn’t affect the persona he had created.

If he let himself get beaten without fighting back, people would look down on him.

Naruto had displayed an impressive talent for fighting since he was young. By the time he was a little over two years old, he could already take on eight or ten untrained adult villagers.

Of course, that sounded impressive, but it was actually nothing special.

Any ordinary genin could defeat dozens of untrained adults.

"Ugh!"

Kiba was kicked directly in the stomach and spat out a mouthful of sour fluid.

Naruto pulled back his right leg with a look of disgust, planted his foot, and used a short step to leap backward toward the window.

The civilian students looked disappointed.

The clan heirs gave Naruto meaningful looks.

Ino’s eyes lit up.

So cool!

Bang!

Kiba was sent flying and crashed directly into a desk, suffering a second impact.

"Oww!"

Akamaru let out a low whine and immediately moved in front of the injured Kiba, fur standing on end as he glared fiercely at Naruto.

But despite looking fierce, he didn’t dare attack.

Iruka, who had been chatting with the teachers from the other classes near the doorway, noticed the commotion and immediately rushed inside.

He quickly spotted Kiba lying on the floor and clutching his stomach.

"Kiba, what happened? Are you okay?"

Then he frowned and looked toward Naruto, whom Akamaru was glaring at.

Kiba had been the one to launch the sneak attack in the first place, only to get knocked out with a single kick.

There was no way he could admit that.

Besides, he wasn’t the type to run to a teacher or his parents just because he had lost a fight.

Clutching his stomach, Kiba slowly stood up.

"I’m fine. I just fell by accident."

But his attempt seemed to have the opposite effect.

Iruka waved his hand and angrily scolded Naruto.

"Naruto, how could you bully your classmate?!"

Naruto frowned.

He glanced at Iruka before turning around and walking straight back to his seat.

At that moment, Ino spoke up unhappily.

"You didn’t even find out what happened, Sensei. Kiba was the one who attacked first. That’s not fair."

She glanced at Naruto.

When she saw that he hadn’t noticed her, she puffed out her cheeks.

Hearing Ino’s words, Iruka froze.

A look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

"Naruto, I’m sorry. I blamed you without knowing what happened."

Naruto showed no reaction and quietly said something to Hinata.

Seeing this, Iruka felt a faint sense of guilt.

He immediately smacked Kiba on the head.

"You’re already picking fights on your very first day! From now on, you’ll fight the entire class by yourself during practical combat lessons!"

And with that, the little incident during break came to an end.

About twenty minutes later, the new students from every class had been seated quietly in the Ninja Academy’s auditorium under their teachers’ supervision.

Before long, the Third Hokage stepped onto the stage.

Down below, Naruto sat with his head lowered.

A strange smile briefly flickered across his face before disappearing.

...

Elsewhere.

Two shadow clones of Naruto, disguised as ANBU, were hiding somewhere in Konoha.

"It’s about time. Thirty-five minutes have passed."

One of the shadow clones estimated the time.

The other quietly extended his senses.

A moment later, he nodded.

"The Third Hokage is already on stage. Izumi-san isn’t in the residential district. You go first. I’ll wait for your signal."

"Got it!"

The first shadow clone responded.

He sensed a certain Flying Thunder God marker.

Then he vanished from the spot.

Elsewhere, on a relatively quiet street in Konoha...

An elderly man wearing a black robe and a woven hat walked along the street. He wore reading glasses, and his hair had already turned white at the temples.

Every so often, he reached out and touched one of the nearby residential buildings.

Upon closer inspection, a special explosive tag could be seen disappearing into the wall the moment he touched it.

At its center was a single character:

Explosion.

The man’s name was Gennō.

In the history of the shinobi world, there was a relatively powerful shinobi village hidden deep within the mountains of the Land of Mountains—Kagerō Village.

During the Second Great Ninja War, it had fought against Konoha.

Later, its main forces left the village, allowing Konoha to launch a surprise attack that severely weakened it.

Afterward, the village pretended to sign a ceasefire agreement with Konoha.

In secret, however, it sent a shinobi skilled in mechanisms and traps—Gennō—to infiltrate Konoha and plant explosive tags throughout the village.

His plan was to work from within and cooperate with the village’s forces to destroy Konoha in one decisive strike.

But shortly after Gennō was sent to Konoha, Kagerō Village was suddenly attacked by Takigakure and completely destroyed.

When Gennō eventually learned that his village had been wiped out, he abandoned his original plan.

He concealed his identity, settled down, started a family, and eventually had a son.

But his son was ultimately killed by Konoha shinobi.

The hatred born from losing his son...

That hatred drove Gennō to revive his original plan.

For years, he had returned to Konoha periodically under the guise of a craftsman.

And every time he came, he secretly planted more explosive tags.

He intended to accumulate enough of them to create a devastating chain reaction and destroy Konoha in one stroke.

Suddenly—

An ANBU appeared out of thin air in front of Gennō.

"Gennō of Kagerō Village. Your secret placement of explosive tags has been exposed. Surrender peacefully."

Gennō’s pupils suddenly contracted.

The ANBU had accurately identified both his identity and his plan.

There was no doubt about it.

Gennō immediately retreated.

At the same time, he sensed the explosive tags he had planted over the years.

They were all still there!

Gennō’s expression hardened.

"You came to capture me without removing the explosive tags?! I’ll make Konoha pay for its arrogance!"

As he spoke, he rapidly formed a seal with one hand.

Zzzzt!

The sound of fuses being ignited rang out throughout Konoha.

"Hah!"

The Naruto shadow clone disguised as an ANBU let out a mocking laugh.

He made no attempt to stop Gennō.

If Gennō was willing to detonate the explosives himself, it saved him the trouble.

"Thanks, Gennō! If you leave Konoha now, you might still make it out in time."

With that, the shadow clone vanished instantly.

Gennō was left standing there in a daze.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Ninja Academy’s auditorium...

Hiruzen Sarutobi was speaking about the Will of Fire when his brows suddenly furrowed.

A moment later, realization struck him.

His expression changed drastically.

"Explosive tags! Quickly! Raise a barrier and protect the students! The rest of the ANBU, follow me!"

With that, he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared.

The ANBU who had been concealed nearby quickly revealed themselves.

Four of them rushed to the four corners of the auditorium and simultaneously raised the Four Violet Flames Formation.

A moment later...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Powerful explosions erupted throughout Konoha.

The entire auditorium was instantly destroyed.

Chunks of debris rained down onto the Four Violet Flames Formation.

The students inside the barrier screamed in terror.

Panic spread through the crowd.

The more timid students burst into tears.

Some even tried to flee the auditorium.

The Ninja Academy teachers hurriedly calmed them down and prevented them from leaving.

But as the continuous explosions echoed throughout Konoha beyond the barrier, grief and anger filled their faces.

Naruto was gently comforting Hinata.

Through the barrier, he watched the smoke slowly clear.

Outside, beautiful fireworks were blooming throughout Konoha.

And deep within Naruto’s heart...

There was nothing but peace.