NOVEL NEXT Chapter 374 What Should You Do?
"Naruto is still up to his usual pranks, trying to attract the attention of his classmates, and even this morning, I had to catch him and bring him back to the classroom," Iruka reported.
"Still the same, huh." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, "Iruka, you must work hard, Naruto needs more care."
"I understand, Lord Hokage." Iruka took a deep breath before bringing up another matter, "Also, Lord Hokage, one of our students, Haruno Sakura, has already extracted her chakra. I only taught them yesterday to make an impression on the students, but she managed to extract it and control it very well, sticking it to her hands."
"It gives me the feeling of a mini sun, warm."
"She and Naruto have become friends, even sharing her meal with Naruto Uzumaki."
"Just like... just like the Fourth Hokage once did."
Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment, and then smiled, "It seems Naruto has made a friend... Alright then, you can go back now, Iruka, don't delay this afternoon's lesson."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Iruka left the Hokage's office full of energy, while Sarutobi Hiruzen took out the class record from the drawer, finding Haruno Sakura's information.
"Haruno Sakura, the child of Haruno Cho?"
"Because of her wide forehead, timid personality, she is kinda friends with Yamanaka Ino but is still bullied by other girls—seeking warmth in numbers, huh?"
Comparing the information given by the Anbu after observing the ninja academy, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and then shook his head, "She's just a little girl, I shouldn't think too much. Maybe she just wants to make friends with Naruto because she feels their situations are similar."
He pulled out the Crystal Ball and observed the classroom. He saw Naruto sticking close to Sakura, which seemed to annoy her to the point where she even clenched her fist.
Excited, Sakura's cherry-blossom colored long hair floated around her head, looking like an imposing octopus.
"This feeling, why does it seem so familiar?" For some reason, Sarutobi Hiruzen thought that if Haruno Sakura's hair grew a little longer and turned red,
Hisss—
"Minato, Kushina..."
With preconceived notions, Sarutobi Hiruzen was now certain that there was nothing wrong with Haruno Sakura; it's just that her situation was the reverse of Kushina and Minato's. For a better reading experience, visit M(VLEMPYR).
Kushina once said she was going to be the wife of the Hokage, and she indeed became the Hokage's wife.
And Naruto is claiming he will be the man who becomes the Hokage—
"Cough cough, I'm getting old, I'm getting old, fancying random thoughts, starting to believe in fate, am I?" Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled to himself, but seeing the warm scene between Naruto and Sakura in the Crystal Ball, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up into a smile, "I really hope you can both be happy like this for life, that way I would feel like I've done right by Minato and Kushina."
In the classroom, Sakura couldn't stand Naruto's clinginess and couldn't help but clench her fist, smacking him on the head, "Cut it out, will you, Naruto!"
"Ow~ that hurts, Sakura, why did you hit me!" Naruto didn't understand and even felt a bit wronged, thinking that Sakura didn't like him anymore.
It hurt, and he wanted to cry.
"Sorry," Sakura said, feeling she might have been too harsh, "But you really are too clingy; we're not boyfriend and girlfriend, you know."
Who knew Naruto would slap his chest confidently and say, "If you don't have a boyfriend, Sakura, I can be your boyfriend."
"Bang!"
Naruto got hit again.
"While I am friendly towards you, you're still far from being my boyfriend," Sakura said as she rubbed her fist, "But speaking of which, your head is really hard."
"So, Sakura, when can I become your boyfriend?" asked Naruto, seeing hope, excitedly.
"When you can score a hundred percent on a test and beat me in the combat training that starts only after the third year," Sakura offered Naruto a promise.
"Really?"
"Really."
Sakura nodded, then added with a touch of disdain, "But you should dress up more in the future. Your hair is messy, your clothes are dirty, even if someone else wanted to be friends with you, they might stay away because of your lack of cleanliness."
"Is that so?" Naruto lowered his head, pondering.
In the afternoon class, Iruka was surprised to find that Naruto was actually taking notes seriously, and he could repeat every word he taught without missing a beat.
It seemed that Naruto was quite smart, as long as he could focus.
But why the change?
Could it be because of Sakura?
Iruka didn't dwell on it, and continued teaching the students about how to extract chakra and practice the twelve basic hand signs for ninjutsu casting—
Rat: Thumbs overlap, left thumb on top
Ox: Right hand horizontal, left hand vertical
Tiger: The thumbs of both hands must be extended
Rabbit: Right hand with the little finger extended, the remaining four fingers lightly clenched
Dragon: Thumbs overlap, left thumb on top
Snake: Thumbs overlap, right thumb on top
Horse: Elbows extended, both hands' index fingers opposed creating a triangle
Sheep: Thumbs extended straight overhead, left thumb on top
Monkey: Little finger and thumb parallel
Rooster: Pay attention to the angle of the thumbs and the alignment of fingers on both hands, don't mix them up
Xu: Place the right fist in the palm of the left hand.
Hai: Both fists confront each other facing downwards.
Iruka demonstrated each of the twelve signs in detail to his students, describing their characteristics, and then let them practice on their own to become familiar with these twelve basic signs.
As for the various uses of these twelve signs, and why forming different sequences can release different ninjutsu, Iruka did not teach.
"Perhaps it's because we are not yet ninjas and most people haven't refined their chakra," thought Haruno Sakura as she began practicing the signs, only to find that, as she formed them, the meridians and cells inside her body seemed to be stimulated, and her chakra underwent some changes. However, as soon as she shifted her thoughts, it calmed down.
"So that's how it is, forming signs is to stimulate the meridians and cells inside the body, refine the chakra, and it also makes it easier for us to control it."
"Except it seems I can skip this step."
After all, her chakra was very obedient and could be manipulated at will. The only thing missing was the means to cast ninjutsu; probably if she knew the signs and performed them once, she could fully learn them and save the time needed to form signs every time she wanted to release ninjutsu.
The so-called signs are equivalent to mathematical, physical, and chemical formulas.
Other ninjas, in order to cast ninjutsu, need to write out the formulas over and over again to calculate the results. The form that is finally presented is the release of various ninjutsu. However, she only needs to remember the formulas, and they can be engraved in the will of her chakra, so she does not need to write out formulas over and over again to release ninjutsu.
Even, if she reached a certain level, she could even deduce new formulas herself.
"Mr. Wukong, thank you!" Haruno Sakura thanked again.
"No need for thanks, it's just rent," said Sun Wukong with a light smile. "Speaking of which, for a ninja, the ways of combat are not limited to ninjutsu. Taijutsu is also very important. Come to the mental space, I have prepared a surprise for you."
"Is it really okay to fall asleep during class?" If she entered the mental space, her physical body in the outside world would fall asleep, and teacher Iruka would blame her.
"Don't worry, I can split off a strand of my consciousness to temporarily manage your body," said Sun Wukong.
"Okay, then."
When Haruno Sakura opened her eyes again, she had entered the mental space.
She didn't know what the feeling was, only that she could come to this place whenever she wanted.
But at the ninja academy, Sakura didn't dare to do so.
After all, her physical body would fall asleep in the outside world.
Now things were different.
With Mr. Wukong taking over her body, she naturally could enter this space and receive Mr. Wukong's guidance.
"What surprise?" Sakura looked forward with anticipation.
"Take a look," Sun Wukong said, pointing a finger. The figures of Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, Sasuke, Hinata, and others emerged from the water.
They were her classmates!
Beyond that, there were other ninjas she had seen: her father Haruno Cho, teacher Iruka, and even the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen who had attended the opening ceremony.
Even the memories of past Hokages like the First, Second, and Fourth were there.
In short, everyone she could recognize had appeared.
"This is!"
Sakura exclaimed in surprise.
"Although this space was opened by me, it is your mental space. Depending on your cognition, it can evolve all kinds of characters. They are akin to puppets, but since they lack emotions, their fighting instincts are even more fearsome," Sun Wukong explained to Sakura. "You can fight against them to train your taijutsu and ninjutsu. I will also guide you from the sidelines."
"Can I really beat a Hokage?" Sakura was a bit unconvinced.
"You have to have some confidence, right?" Sun Wukong smiled. "You can start by picking on the classmates who bullied you."
Hearing this, Sakura was a bit excited and found those girls, starting the battle on the flat water surface.
Having refined her chakra, though she knew no taijutsu, her strength was unsurpassed by ordinary girls. Soon, she overcame the girls who had bullied her.
"Sweet!"
Haruno Sakura laughed triumphantly, then immediately saw Sun Wukong's somewhat mocking face and quickly reverted to her ladylike demeanor: "Ahem, that wasn't too bad, was it, Mr. Wukong?"
"It was terrible, just brute force," said Sun Wukong, stating the plain truth.
"Oh, I see..." Sakura felt let down, but she soon perked up. After all, she was just a first-year student at the ninja academy. Wasn't it normal not to know how to fight?
"Then, next, I choose teacher Iruka."
Sakura's gaze shifted toward [Iruka].
And [Iruka] stepped forward, produced some shuriken, and, with a Body Flicker Skill, appeared behind Sakura and kicked her flying!
Sakura, defeated!
"Teacher Iruka actually used ninjutsu, that's cheating!" Sakura complained, "Didn't we agree it was just taijutsu?"
[Iruka] just stood there in a daze, offering no answer.
"I almost forgot, this isn't the real teacher Iruka," Sakura realized.
"Sakura, your future opponents won't stupidly compete with you in taijutsu when they face you. In the situation where you don't know ninjutsu, what will you do then?" Sun Wukong asked with a beaming smile.