Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

"Naruto, you did really well this time, and we all saw the effort you've been putting in, keep it up, okay? Don't pull pranks just to get attention anymore." Iruka spoke earnestly as he patted Naruto's head, a faint smile on his lips.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei!"

Naruto nodded vigorously and then, seeing Sasuke lowering his clasped hands, suddenly laughed, "Sasuke, you clapped for me just now, didn't you?"

"No, you saw wrong." Sasuke turned his head away, his cheeks slightly red.

He felt embarrassed.

Because he had indeed clapped.

Strangely enough, he himself didn't know why he felt compelled to clap for Naruto Uzumaki, a guy he deemed annoying, but seeing Naruto's smile, he felt an impulse.

"Don't hide it! I saw it!" Naruto Uzumaki exclaimed.

"There was nothing to see," Sasuke insisted on his point of view.

"Well, whatever." Naruto chuckled and strolled past Sasuke, returning to his seat to tell Sakura, "Look, Sakura, I got 61 points!"

This meant he was one step closer to closing the gap between him and Sakura.

"Mm, you need to keep up the good work," Sakura said as she patted Naruto's head, her warm palm making him feel a motherly warmth.

"All the grades have been reported. The students who failed, stay behind; I will be calling your parents to come over," Iruka announced. At his words, the students who hadn't made the mark immediately wailed.

"No!"

"Iruka-sensei, I was only one point away!"

"I was two points away!"

"Cut us some slack, Iruka-sensei!"

"Yeah, I was only thirty-six points short!"

Iruka was at his wit's end - those who missed the pass mark by five points or less were one thing, but thirty-some points? Where did they get the nerve?

"That's it, no exceptions," Iruka declared firmly, "Lastly, the students who passed can think about the questions they got wrong. Those who don't want to stay can leave now. Have a good winter break."

"Oh, and don't forget to write your end-of-term reports."

The passing students left the classroom with grins or glee at others' misfortune, leaving those who had failed looking on with envy and frustration.

"Let's take advantage of the afternoon to finish our reports," Sakura suggested, "That way, we'll have lots of free time for the whole break."

"I agree," Naruto Uzumaki said without hesitation, ready to agree with anything she said.

"But where are we going to write them?" Shikamaru asked, "Since we're doing it together, we can't go to the classroom, right? Iruka-sensei is there, and my house won't work because the elders will certainly come over, and with other people around, it'd be uncomfortable. I bet we wouldn't be able to write a single word."

"Then let's go to my place; there's nobody there," said Naruto Uzumaki.

As an orphan, Naruto Uzumaki naturally had no one at home.

Everyone present knew this, so no one else brought it up, but Naruto himself seemed used to it.

"All right," Sakura took the lead on behalf of Ino and the others, "Let's go to Naruto Uzumaki's house."

Naruto Uzumaki was very happy because it was the first time he had invited his friends to his home.

When Sakura and the others entered Naruto's house, they were taken aback.

The space was fairly open, with a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, everything one could need, but the only problem was that it was dirty and messy.

"Your house is so dirty, Naruto," Choji said with some disdain, "Good thing Kiba Inuzuka isn't here, or he'd definitely faint."

"I'll clean it up right away," Naruto also realized the seriousness of the situation; he couldn't leave a bad impression on Sakura for not being tidy.

However, Naruto was all thumbs when it came to housework, tumbling several times and making even more of a mess.

"Let's help out too," Sakura said, picking up a broom nearby and clearing the trash in the living room.

"So troublesome," Shikamaru yawned, then coughed a few times because of the dust, but still, he got up, took Choji with him, found some rags, and went to the kitchen sink to fetch water to clean the dust off the cabinets and glass.

Yamanaka Ino picked up the mop leaning against the door and went outside to scrub it.

An hour later, Naruto's home was transformed, with floors shining and clean clothes hanging out on the balcony.

"Thank you, guys!" Naruto felt an immense warmth.

"No need for that, we're friends, right?" Sakura said, crouching down and patting Naruto's head.

"Yeah, we are friends," hummed Naruto happily.

Ino whispered to Shikamaru and the others, "I suddenly feel like Sakura is more like Naruto's mom."

Choji nodded, "I feel the same way." Thе full sеriеs is hоstеd оn Мy Virtuаl Librаry Еmpirе, knоwn аs МV7LЕМРYR.

Shikamaru: "Seconded."

Afterwards, Naruto glanced at the sun about to set in the west and said apologetically, "Looks like I won't be able to finish today's report, sorry."

"It's no big deal, there's always tomorrow," Sakura said unconcernedly. "Besides, we have a bit of time tonight. I suggest we spend the night at Naruto's place, what do you think?"

"I think that's a good idea," Shikamaru, who had done household chores all afternoon, could empathize with Naruto's difficulty and felt that sleeping over wasn't a big deal.

"With everyone together, it will definitely be a lot of fun," Yamanaka Ino agreed.

"I need to go home and let my mom and dad know," Choji pointed out a crucial aspect—staying overnight at someone's house would naturally require informing one's parents.

"I should do the same, I even need to ask for a day off at the tailor shop," Sakura said.

"Naruto, we'll head off first then. Make sure you prepare dinner for us tonight," Shikamaru turned back and called out to Naruto.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely have it ready," Naruto promised loudly.

After leaving Naruto's place, Shikamaru suggested, "Let's each bring some food, since Naruto's house seems to have only instant noodles, eggs, and milk that are almost expired—plus, he has quite a lot of them."

Having cleaned the house earlier, Shikamaru had peeked inside the kitchen cupboards, which were almost completely filled with instant noodles.

"No clue why he bought so many."

"Maybe he likes them," Choji guessed.

"I think it's because Naruto lives alone and doesn't know how to cook; instant noodles are simple—you just add hot water," Ino shared her view. "But why does Naruto live alone? Konoha has an orphanage. My mom told me that orphans in Konoha are usually sent there."

"Actually, a small number of orphans aren't sent to the orphanage," Shikamaru knew more. "For instance, if their parents were ninja and they owned their house, not renting, it could be passed on to the children. If the offspring are still infants, the Hokage will assign a nanny to raise the orphan until they can live independently."

"Naruto's probably in that situation," he guessed.

"Instant noodles being easy to make is one thing, another matter is that most of the Konoha locals are reluctant to sell goods to Naruto. Fresh fruit and meat are all produced locally in Konoha. Only items like instant noodles and milk are imported from the Land of Fire," Sakura explained.

Konoha Village might be sizable, but its society resembled a subsistence economy. Larger merchants were from the Land of Fire; even some newer merchants who hadn't experienced the Nine-Tails incident didn't really care about Naruto's identity.

As long as you paid, they would sell.

Milk and instant noodles, clearly businesses that resettled after the Nine-Tails incident, were naturally willing to sell to Naruto, especially since he bought in bulk.

This had resulted in Naruto stocking up a lot at home to the point he didn't even realize they were about to expire.

The four of them exchanged a few words and then split up to go home and inform their parents.

"Sakura, are you going to spend the night at a friend's house?" Haruno Cho asked, somewhat worried.

"Yes, I'm staying over at Ino's place," Sakura lied.

"Oh, then that's fine," Haruno Cho smiled.

"Mom, can you prepare some vegetables and eggs for me? I'm planning on cooking with Ino," Sakura said as she entered the kitchen and spoke to her mother.

"There are some greens, a piece of pork, and a box of eggs left in the fridge, you can take those," Sakura's mother opened the fridge, took out the three types of ingredients, and packed them for Sakura.

"Thank you, mom," Sakura smiled.

"Have fun playing with Ino, okay?"

"Yeah, I will."

Watching Sakura leave cheerfully, Haruno Cho sighed at how her daughter had grown up and asked Sakura's mother, "What's for dinner, dear?"

"Since Sakura took the ingredients, we'll have to make do with instant noodles tonight. How many packs do you want?"

"Just instant noodles, huh… then give me three packs."

Meanwhile, Sakura had already met up with Ino and the others, all carrying various ingredients.

Ino brought a bag of konjac, Choji brought a steak as big as himself, and Shikamaru brought a deer leg and a bag of oranges.

"Let's go to Naruto's place," Sakura said, leading the group like the big sister of the group.

Ding dong!

Hearing the doorbell, Naruto immediately put down the five cups of instant noodles he was holding and opened the front door: "You're here!"

Seeing the ingredients in their hands made Naruto a bit embarrassed.

All he had prepared were five cups of instant noodles.

Shikamaru sniffed the scent of instant noodles in the air and said helplessly, "Naruto, were you really planning on serving us instant noodles?"

"Ah, that, well..." Naruto stuttered, unable to explain.

"Let's make some delicious food together, everyone, come help out," Sakura cut through Naruto's awkwardness.

While talking, Sakura led Shikamaru and the others to the kitchen counter behind the living room, set down the ingredients, then turned to call Naruto, "Naruto, what are you standing there dazed for? Come and help!"

"Yes!"