Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

Upon arriving at school, Haruno Sakura greeted Shikamaru and Choji, and these two swapped seats with the students sitting behind her.

The two students happily agreed as well, after all, they did not want to sit behind Naruto Uzumaki.

And Naruto Uzumaki?

He was still wearing that yellow coat, but clearly it had been changed, it was not as wrinkled and stained as the previous one, and his hair had been groomed, swaying like the ocean in the gentle breeze outside the window.

Despite still having the six whisker marks on his face, at that moment Naruto looked like a warm little sun in Ino's eyes, making her young heart flutter.

"Sakura, I look cool today, don't I!"

However, as soon as Naruto spoke, he shattered Ino's fantasy.

It wasn't because Naruto's first concern was Sakura, but because his somewhat hoarse voice did not match his warm face at all.

"Have an orange to soothe your throat," Sakura offered him an orange.

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto took it gladly, while Sakura handed three oranges to Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.

"Thank you, Sakura." x3

The three of them also expressed their thanks.

Hyuga Hinata, sitting in a seat closer to the middle, saw Naruto and the others eating oranges and laughing together and wanted to join in, but she felt too nervous and could only observe with her Byakugan.

It seemed Sakura had noticed something, and as she turned her head, Hinata quickly turned away, with cold sweat breaking out on her neck.

"She's the young mistress of the Hyuga house," said Shikamaru, following Sakura's gaze, popping a slice of orange into his mouth, he spoke unhurriedly, "Hyuga Hinata, a girl who's a bit shy. You can tell she wants to join us, but she's just too shy."

"What the heck, leave it to me, Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto spoke with his mouth full, tossing the rest of the orange into his mouth, and moved behind Sakura to get to Hinata.

"Hinata, do you want to be friends with us?"

"Nar... Nar... Naruto!"

Hinata's face turned bright red in an instant, steam even appeared to come out of her head, and she buried her face on the desk.

Naruto: "???"

What's wrong with this guy? Does he always react like this when speaking to someone? That's just too exaggerated!

Shikamaru peeled another orange slice and forgot to eat it, taking a good while to realize and then said, "I was wrong before, perhaps Hinata doesn't just want to join us, maybe she just plainly wants to be friends with Naruto... Are kids these days maturing this early?"

Ino retorted, "As if you're any different!"

By then, Naruto had returned and said, "Hinata is too shy, I couldn't do anything, but once I become Hokage, I will definitely find a way to change her personality."

At that time, in Naruto's mind, the Hokage was the greatest person there was, capable of anything, so the problems that couldn't be solved now would surely be solvable after becoming Hokage.

But Sakura said, "Naruto, if you want to become Hokage, you need to study more."

"What are you saying? People who don't study can't become Hokage," Naruto grimaced, he couldn't get his head around those characters and numbers at all.

"However, a Hokage needs to have profound knowledge, you can't become one with the way you are now," Haruno Sakura said seriously, "Also, don't forget our promise, I'm still waiting for you to catch up with me, but at this rate, it's impossible."

Thinking of that promise, Naruto immediately became serious and said, "Don't worry, Sakura, I will definitely study hard!"

Subsequently, Naruto took out his textbook from the drawer and began to study.

He still recognized the basic characters.

Curious, Ino sitting next to Sakura asked, "Sakura, do you have some kind of promise with Naruto?"

"It's nothing much, just a little trick to motivate him to study," Sakura whispered, "After all, it's not good to always let him make mischief, it'll just make people in the village dislike him more."

Ino nodded and did not pursue any further.

Iruka entered the classroom and immediately noticed Naruto reading a book, he was quite astounded: "Did the sun rise from the west? This kid isn't skipping class, but actually studying?"

Influenced by Haruno Sakura?

Iruka was very pleased and began calling the roll, then he frowned because Uchiha Sasuke was not present.

"Report, I am late!" Sasuke entered the classroom, out of breath.

"Please take your seat, Sasuke."

"Yes."

Sasuke responded and returned to his seat.

Naruto, attracted by Sasuke, whispered to Sakura, "I didn't expect that guy Sasuke would be late. That's rare."

Actually, Sasuke was late because he had been surpassed by Sakura the previous day. He practiced in his small courtyard until late at night, hence why he overslept this morning.

Iruka put down the roster and started class as usual.

This time, even Sakura was daydreaming, secretly practicing the four seals of water, fire, wind, and thunder taught to her by Sun Wukong, continuously strengthening her powers.

Soon, it was noon.

Haruno Sakura took out her large lunchbox, which astonished Akimichi Choji who was sitting behind her.

"Haha, I'm growing so it's normal to eat a bit more," Haruno Sakura explained and seeing that Naruto hadn't brought a boxed lunch, she shared some with him as well.

"Thank you, Sakura," Naruto said with a beaming smile.

"You're welcome, Naruto, but this isn't free," Sakura's lips curved into a slight smile.

"Of course, I, Naruto Uzumaki, will definitely become Hokage in the future and repay your kindness, Sakura," Naruto assured her, thumping his chest.

"I'm not talking about that," Sakura shook her head, "What I mean is, how about we go train for an hour after school?"

In the mental training space, Haruno Sakura found that Naruto was more resistant to beatings compared to others his age, perhaps because of the Nine-Tails sealed within him, his recovery powers were astonishingly strong.

As long as the wound wasn't fatal, it would heal at a visibly rapid speed.

Therefore, Naruto should be an excellent punching bag.

"No problem!"

Naruto agreed carelessly.

How could he refuse time alone with Sakura?

He wasn't stupid.

At three in the afternoon, the ninja school let out.

Sakura invited Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji to join her and Naruto for training.

Although Shikamaru complained about the hassle, he still agreed.

"Sasuke, do you want to join us?"

"I don't have time to play ninja games with you," Sasuke coolly turned around and left with Uchiha Itachi who had come to pick him up.

"What a show-off, this guy, to actually reject Sakura's invitation," Naruto complained.

"Forget it, Sasuke is from the Uchiha clan," Shikamaru pointed out the essence of the matter, but Naruto couldn't understand and kept on grumbling about Sasuke's inability to recognize a good opportunity.

Shikamaru just sighed. Enjoying the story? Find more at MV-LEMPYR.

His family had warned him not to get too close to the people of Uchiha.

Moreover, compared to Naruto, who was labeled a 'demon fox,' the Uchiha clan was even more ostracized.

But this was only something discussed within their families; for the commoners, the Uchiha were still a prestigious family, one they aspired to cling to and revere.

For Shikamaru, however, he had noticed a certain difference in his father's attitude towards the Uchiha—a rift with the village's higher-ups.

Sakura cast a meaningful glance at Shikamaru; he seemed to know a lot, yet was a master at playing dumb, or perhaps, he preferred to avoid the hassle by choosing to be lazy.

Shikamaru's father apparently shared the same character trait.

On the empty field by the river, Sakura and Naruto faced off.

"Sakura, I'm pretty strong you know, don't get defeated by me," Naruto laughed heartily.

"Don't worry."

Sakura gave Naruto a smile and then, swinging her arms, rushed towards him, covering over fifteen meters in a second. Before Naruto could react, she landed a punch in his stomach, sending him flying almost five meters.

Uh...

The real Naruto seemed weaker than the "Naruto" in the mental space.

In that space, the "Naruto" of the same age would dodge her punches and even counterattack with his battle instincts.

But the Naruto in front of her seemed only capable of standing there stunned.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura hurried over and helped Naruto, who was clutching his stomach, to his feet.

Seeing Sakura come over, Naruto immediately took his hands off his stomach and laughed loudly, "Of course, I am Naruto Uzumaki!"

It might've been more convincing if Naruto's eyes weren't brimming with tears of pain.

Sakura realized then that the "Naruto" within the mental space, devoid of emotions, was more like a puppet driven by pure battle instinct, allowing for stronger attacks.

The Naruto in front of her had emotions and feelings; when facing an attack, he could be paralyzed by fear, his brain perhaps not even able to respond.

That was the difference.

"Naruto, you should rest a bit," Sakura said as she helped the resilient Naruto to a nearby stone, knowing that despite his strong recovery power, he would still feel pain.

"Don't worry, Sakura, I'm fine," Naruto said after just a few seconds, feeling much better.

"Okay."

Sakura nodded, still insisting that Naruto rest while she turned her attention to Ino and the others, "Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, I've heard of the 'Ino-Shika-Cho' trio's reputation from my father, so the three of you come at me together."

"Sakura, aren't you being too arrogant?" Ino said, hands on her hips. We are strong, you know.

"Don't underestimate Sakura, she's a true genius," Shikamaru, abandoning his usual detachment, sharpened his gaze, "We might not be able to beat her unless we team up."

"Let's get started," Sakura said with a cheerful smile.

"Then, come on, Sakura!"

Sakura made the first move, running at incredible speed, seemingly bringing the wind with her, already showing some of the poise of the strong despite her young age.

Ino Yamanaka moved first, with Shikamaru and Choji attacking from both sides.

Dodging Ino's swinging punch by bending her body, Sakura leaned against Ino's chest using a soft technique and pushed him away.

Then, she caught Shikamaru's swinging fist and, with an over-the-shoulder throw, sent him flying onto Choji.

"Ah! Shikamaru, don't come this way!"

Bang!

In the end, Shikamaru collided with Choji, and both of them fell to the ground.

In less than thirty seconds, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio...

Defeated!