Chapter 78: Daily Life

Ninja Academy.

After lunch.

Naruto leaned beneath the shade of a tree, listening to the rustling of the leaves and feeling the cool autumn breeze brush against his face.

The crisp autumn weather was exceptionally pleasant.

Not far away, Sasuke was surrounded by a group of girls, his face filled with impatience.

At that moment, Ino poked Naruto with her finger and asked curiously,

"Naruto, you and Sasuke seem to have gotten pretty close lately."

Although the two of them didn’t interact much in class, Naruto and Sasuke had recently been arriving at the classroom together every day.

After school, Sasuke would also wait for Naruto so they could leave together.

It wasn’t just Ino who was curious.

The entire class found it extremely strange.

It felt as if the whole world had changed ever since Naruto gave Sasuke a lunchbox.

Naruto, who used to beat Sasuke up all the time, and Sasuke, who used to get beaten up by Naruto all the time...

Of course, saying that Naruto frequently beat Sasuke up was a little exaggerated.

It would be more accurate to say that Sasuke, who seemed to have a bit of a masochistic streak, would frequently provoke Naruto just to get himself beaten up.

But somehow, these two had actually become close!

Had the world changed too quickly, or had they simply failed to keep up?

Now, Sasuke didn’t provoke Naruto anymore.

Even the beloved scenes from their practical combat classes had disappeared.

The boys in the class felt that they had lost quite a bit of entertainment.

On the other hand, the fangirls surrounding Sasuke were quite happy.

At least they no longer had to watch Sasuke’s handsome face get beaten up.

Naruto, who had been resting with his eyes half-closed, slightly raised his eyelids.

"Sasuke lives near me now, and Uchiha Izumi is one of his only remaining clansmen. Since she’s living with me, the two of them naturally became familiar with each other."

Hearing this, Ino thoughtfully nodded.

That made sense.

They lived nearby, and Sasuke’s only remaining clanswoman was living with Naruto.

It would be difficult for them not to become familiar with each other.

It would be even better if Sasuke ended up with Sister Izumi, while Hinata was forced into an arranged marriage within her clan.

Then everything would be perfect.

Thinking about it, Ino felt absolutely delighted.

As for Sakura?

Ino glanced at Sakura, who was shamelessly sitting beside Sasuke.

She secretly sighed.

She doesn’t have much hope anyway...

For the sake of my best friend’s happiness, I can only apologize.

A true plastic friendship.

Sitting beside Sasuke, Sakura suddenly shuddered.

For some reason, she suddenly felt a wave of malice coming toward her.

At that moment, Naruto asked,

"By the way, how’s your clan’s jutsu training going?"

Naruto and the girls had become close enough that they could talk about almost anything.

From time to time, he would also ask about their training.

Both Ino and Hinata were worried that they weren’t making enough progress and would disappoint Naruto.

Because of that, whenever they returned home, both of them would push themselves much harder during training.

Ino especially liked comparing herself with Hinata.

Hinata didn’t consciously think that way, but she naturally didn’t want to fall behind either.

The two of them were both giving it their all.

In terms of strength within the class, the ranking had always been:

Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Ino.

Yes, even Ino couldn’t compare with Hinata.

Most students at the Ninja Academy hadn’t mastered any ninjutsu yet, so their practical combat classes were basically limited to taijutsu.

Hinata had been practicing the Gentle Fist since childhood.

For Ino to beat her was genuinely difficult.

That was also why Ino liked competing with Hinata.

"Of course!"

Ino came back to her senses, a proud expression appearing on her face.

"I’ve already learned my clan’s secret technique."

As she spoke, she looked toward Sakura in the distance and formed a heart shape with her hands.

"Mind Body Switch Technique!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Ino’s body suddenly went limp.

Naruto caught her in his arms.

Although he couldn’t see her secret technique being activated, Naruto could sense a burst of Yin Release chakra emerging from Ino’s body and flowing into Sakura’s.

Not far away.

A sly look appeared in Sakura’s eyes.

Seeing Naruto holding her body, she secretly thought,

Plan successful!

Damn it, Ino-Pig! Get out of my body!

"Come on, just let me stay for a while. What’s the harm?"

Ino ignored Sakura’s constant shouting inside her mind.

Supporting her chin with her hands, she watched Naruto holding her own body in the distance.

Although she couldn’t actually feel anything, simply watching the scene was enjoyable enough for Ino.

The more she watched, the more her cheeks gradually turned pink.

Not far away.

Naruto turned toward Hinata.

"Hinata, has your training been going smoothly lately?"

A hint of excitement appeared on Hinata’s face.

She softly replied,

"Naruto-kun, I’ve already learned the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms."

"Oh? You’ve already mastered the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms?"

Naruto’s heart stirred.

He continued asking,

"Does Uncle Hiashi know?"

Hinata’s strength had improved compared to the original story.

Naruto wondered whether this would affect whether Hanabi would be given the Caged Bird Seal.

Unaware of what Naruto was thinking, Hinata smiled brightly.

"Father was very pleased when he found out. He even praised me. Yesterday, he specifically asked Mother to prepare my favorite dishes."

When she mentioned the food, a trace of disappointment appeared on her face.

"It’s just a shame there wasn’t quite enough."

After saying that, her cheeks turned red, and she shyly lowered her head.

Hearing this, Naruto couldn’t help laughing.

She really has it tough.

He couldn’t resist reaching out and pinching Hinata’s flushed cheek.

Hinata trembled slightly.

Her head, which was already lowered, sank even further toward her chest.

Not far away.

Watching Naruto and Hinata interacting, Sakura—whose body was currently being controlled by Ino—clenched both fists.

She bit her lower lip, and flames suddenly seemed to burn in her eyes.

Hinata actually took advantage of her absence and made a move!

As expected, Hinata really is her lifelong rival!

"Hahaha, Ino-Pig, hurry up and get back here! Your Naruto is about to be stolen by Hinata!"

Hearing the gloating voice in her mind, Sakura’s forehead bulged with anger.

"Get out!"

The next moment, "Sakura’s" eyes suddenly rolled.

An idea came to her.

"Hey, Sasuke~!"

She called out in an exaggeratedly sweet voice.

At the same time, her body suddenly lunged toward Sasuke.

The real Sakura, who was completely caught off guard, suddenly regained control of her body.

She saw herself about to crash straight into Sasuke’s arms.

Her mind screamed:

Ino! Well done!!

The next moment—

Sasuke swiftly dodged.

Bang!

Sasuke shook his head.

Without even looking at Sakura, who was sprawled face-down on the grass in an extremely undignified pose, he turned around and walked straight back toward the classroom.

"Pfft—hahaha!"

Ino, who had just released the Mind Body Switch Technique and returned to her own body, immediately burst out laughing.

A true plastic friendship.

"Ino~!"

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