Ch-17:We can avoid hinata

Good guy!

Naruto stared at Haruno Sakura with a bewildered expression. Was this betrayal?

Sakura, with a coy smile, pursed her lips and teased, "Naruto-kun, don't look at me like that…"

Naruto, clearly puzzled by her strange behavior, frowned. "What are you pretending for?" he muttered in exasperation.

Sakura dropped the act and stepped closer to Naruto, her eyes studying him. Sensing something off, Naruto instinctively leaned away. "What are you doing? Don't get weird. I warned you."

He nervously added, "If Hinata finds out about this, I'm doomed."

With that, Naruto pushed her away gently.

To his surprise, Sakura shrugged and confidently said, "It's fine. We can avoid Hinata."

Naruto: "…"

Oh no.

This girl's definitely not acting right.

Naruto turned to leave, shaking his head in disbelief. But Sakura followed him, chattering away with gossip that filled the air between them.

Then, out of the blue, she whispered, "Naruto, do you know the underwear I bought you? Someone messed with it."

"What?!" Naruto's shock was palpable. That's not something you joke about. If true, it could ruin everything.

Seeing Naruto's alarmed expression, Sakura quickly clarified, "Don't worry! I'm not sick or anything."

Huh? Naruto blinked in confusion. Did I ask that? Why did she feel the need to explain that?

Wait.

Why did she say that?

A terrible realization dawned on him. Did she try on the clothes before sending them over?

No way! Is this girl really that mischievous?

Naruto's face twisted with discomfort. He suddenly understood why there was always a faint fragrance lingering on the items Sakura sent him.

With an irritated expression, Naruto shot Sakura a warning glare.

Feigning innocence, Sakura raised her hands defensively. "Okay, okay, Naruto! I won't do it again."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, though deep down, he doubted her sincerity.

This is creepy.

I should start buying my own clothes, Naruto thought to himself. This situation was getting too weird.

Luckily, as class resumed, Sakura calmed down and became more reserved. With so many eyes on them, she toned down her behavior. But Naruto knew she was still causing trouble in her own way, switching targets to Ino.

"Ino-pig! Why do you always go after the things I like?" Sakura demanded heatedly.

Ino shot back, "Aren't you the one who liked Sasuke? I even gave you a photo of him. What more do you want?"

Sakura huffed, "I've thought it over. I don't like Sasuke anymore. The only reason I liked him was because you did, and I wanted to outdo you."

"But now I realize that I like Naruto, and Sasuke doesn't matter anymore."

"So go ahead! Keep liking Sasuke!"

"You're insane!"

"Flat forehead!"

"Ino-pig!"

As they bickered, Naruto could only watch from the sidelines in disbelief.

Shikamaru, sitting behind him, sighed. "It's such a drag, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded silently in agreement.

Inuzuka Kiba, seated nearby, stared wide-eyed at the chaos. Even Akamaru, his loyal companion, appeared stunned by the sheer absurdity of it all.

On the other hand, Sasuke seemed completely unbothered by his fangirls' sudden change of heart. It was as if he owed Naruto a favor for diverting all their attention away from him.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had secretly tried out Naruto's unusual training technique. The results? Surprisingly effective. That odd stance allowed him to quickly burn energy, test his endurance, and work muscles he usually couldn't reach with regular training.

With newfound confidence, Sasuke had resolved to challenge Naruto in the afternoon's sparring session. He didn't believe for a second that he was any weaker than Naruto.

---

Later that afternoon, the penultimate class before the holidays began. Iruka stood before the class, smiling warmly at his students.

"The holidays are just around the corner, and the final exams are behind us. So today, let's take a break from studying and relax."

Iruka paused for a moment before continuing, "But I'll give you one small assignment. Think about it carefully during this class: If the moon suddenly started falling from the sky and you only had one day left before the world ended, who would you choose to spend that day with?"

Chōji murmured dreamily, "Wouldn't it be great if the moon were made of meat?"

The entire class burst into laughter at his comment, filling the room with joyful noise.

Iruka handed out blank sheets of paper for everyone to write their answers. Naruto stared at his blank page for a moment, Hinata's image flashing briefly in his mind. He imagined a final day spent with her—warm, quiet, and bittersweet.

But no. Instead of wasting time like that, a ninja should act. Naruto scribbled his response: Try your best to stop the moon.

As the students completed their assignments, Iruka called out, "Uzumaki Naruto, please collect everyone's work."

The room fell silent, and Naruto could feel half the girls in the class stiffening at the mention of his name.

"Sure, Iruka-sensei," Naruto replied, standing to gather the homework.

Curiosity piqued, Naruto couldn't help but glance through the pages.

Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. Uzumaki Naruto…

Naruto blinked in disbelief.

Are they seriously only thinking about love?

Shocked by the lack of originality, he scanned the boys' answers. Predictably, they were all fantasizing about spending the end with the girls they admired.

Only a few students chose family.

Finally, Naruto came across an answer that wasn't a name, much like his own. It was Shikamaru's. Naruto nodded in approval. That made sense—someone thinking logically.

After collecting all the papers, Naruto handed them to Iruka. But when Iruka tried to analyze his students through their responses, he realized how naïve that idea had been. He couldn't make sense of their thoughts at all.

---

The last class of the day arrived: practical exercises. Sasuke had been waiting for this moment.

As soon as they arrived at the training grounds, Sasuke walked up to Naruto with determination in his eyes.

"That training method you shared? It's really effective," Sasuke said. "Now, I want to challenge you."

His challenge immediately raised the energy among their classmates, pushing the atmosphere into an excited frenzy.

Naruto blinked. My training method? Useful? Does he mean… that training technique?

Judging by Sasuke's serious expression, it didn't seem like a joke. Maybe I should give it another try later, Naruto thought.

"I'm not going to lose to you this time, Uzumaki Naruto!" Sasuke declared.

Naruto, snapping out of his confusion, simply nodded. "Fine. Let's do this."

They took their positions on the field, facing each other as the spectators cheered. Word of their duel spread quickly, attracting attention from students of other classes.

In the distance, Hyuga Neji watched the commotion unfold. His teammate, Rock Lee, approached him and asked, "Who are those two?"

Neji glanced calmly at the scene. "One is a descendant of the Uchiha clan," he said, "and the other is a legendary monster."

The clash between Uchiha and the monster? That sounds interesting, thought Lee as the crowd grew larger.

Before long, nearly half the school had gathered to witness the fight. Iruka had to step in to maintain order amidst the excitement.

Finally, the time had come. The match officially began.

"Watch out," Sasuke warned, his eyes gleaming as he activated his demonic, scarlet Sharingan.

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