(Night Time, At Ichiraku Ramen)
Totally clueless about the report those Anbu guys gave Hiruzen after their shift, Naruto was just chilling at Ichiraku Ramen. Ordered his usual miso ramen. Ayame, Teuchi's 13-year-old daughter, came over to give Naruto his food.
She looked like a fun and energetic girl. Her hair was tied up in a little ponytail – smart for working in a kitchen, right? She always seemed to have kind eyes and a really warm smile, just like her dad.
She was wearing her Ichiraku Ramen uniform, you know, the white top with the logo and an apron. She just looked really friendly and welcoming, which totally fit the vibe of the ramen shop.
"So Naruto, today was your first day at the academy, right? How'd it go?" Ayame asked, all excited.
"Pretty boring, just a bunch of theory stuff about the village and its history," Naruto replied, like it was no big deal.
"I thought it'd be fun to be in the Ninja Academy," Ayame said, sounding a little bummed by Naruto's answer.
"Why so interested? You wanna be a ninja too, Ayame-chan?" Naruto asked, curious.
"No, and my dad wouldn't let me."
Naruto asked, "Why not, old man ramen? Didn't want you to become a kunoichi? Though, honestly, it's probably better if you don't." Knowing all the stuff that happened in the anime from his past life, Naruto figured it was way better to be a regular person than deal with all the ninja craziness.
"That was her mother's last wish, Naruto?" a voice said.
Then this middle-aged guy with a super cheerful and friendly face came over. Round head, big smile showing his teeth, and kind, gentle eyes. Yep, it was Teuchi Otsutsuki himself, wearing his white chef's hat with the Ichiraku Ramen kanji.
"Old man Ramen!"
"Father!"
"Ayame's mother didn't want her to become a ninja and have a tough life. I also want her to have a simple life too," Teuchi explained.
Naruto nodded. He remembered his own boring but simple life from before. 'Man, I miss my old life.' Ever since he got reincarnated as Naruto, all he's gotten is being alone. The village elders see him as some weapon, and everyone else hates him, thinking he's the demon fox.
'Hmmph.'
Naruto snorted to himself. Not like he cared about those people, but it still sucked to be isolated from day one, even if he didn't really want to be a ninja. He wondered if the original Naruto had something wrong with his head. After becoming Hokage, he should've realized why his childhood was like that and how he was used, but he just kept serving the village without question.
After chatting with them for a bit, Naruto headed back to his apartment. He was thinking about hitting the gym, ninja-style, and working hard to get some XP.
The moment the System told him it could pull the fox out of him without him dying or getting hurt, his brain had been constantly figuring out how to buy more cards and level up his chakra to Kage level.
"If I wanna beat strong guys, the best way is to do C-rank missions or higher. So, should I try to graduate early?" Naruto thought, not even noticing people whispering about him as he walked.
Naruto got to his apartment door, still lost in thought. "Yeah, early graduation would be the best. That way I can become a Genin sooner and start doing missions. Total win-win!"
——
The next morning, Naruto practically had to drag himself out of bed. He'd fallen asleep while still thinking about when to applying for early graduation.
Warm sunlight streamed onto Naruto's messy blonde hair as he slowly woke up. His white t-shirt and baggy black pants were all wrinkled. His sleepy, hazy blue eyes squinted against the light. He yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before splashing some cool water on his face. The cold water woke him up a bit, and little droplets clung to his whisker marks.
Naruto finished his morning routine super quick, like he always did. He threw on a clean blue t-shirt and his usual comfy baggy pants. A quick bowl of instant ramen was his breakfast. He nodded to his empty apartment and headed out, straight for the academy.
"I need to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but the academy hasn't even taught us a proper D-rank jutsu. Who's gonna teach me a B-rank one?" Naruto wondered aloud as he strolled towards the academy, trying to figure out who he could ask. "Especially who'd even be willing to teach me."
Then it hit him. "Iruka Umino! Yeah, he can show me the Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Bam!
He smacked his forehead. "How could I forget such a nice guy in Naruto's life?" Naruto knew there were only a very few people in the village who genuinely cared about him, and Iruka was definitely one of them. "Maybe it's because Iruka didn't have a class with us yesterday. That's probably why."
Just like the day before, Naruto was late, but nobody said anything. He quickly made his way to the last desk in the row. He said hi to Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino, who were already there.
"You're late, Naruto," Shikamaru said lazily, his head down on the desk with his eyes half-open.
"Even if I am, class hasn't even started yet," Naruto said casually, plopping down beside him. "So, is there any practical class today? Like taijutsu or something?"
"We don't know, but there's a Genjutsu lesson today," Kiba said, playing with Akamaru and answering to Naruto.
'Genjutsu class?' Naruto thought. He'd seen Kurenai Yuhi yesterday at the auditorium. 'Yeah, she's also a Chunin and an instructor at the Academy currently, right?'
Classes started, and just like yesterday, it was all about history. The only difference was that today they were talking about other countries too, with the instructor pointing out places on the map of the shinobi world.
Naruto yawned. Even though he wasn't really sleepy, he didn't see the point in bothering with all the details of the ninja world's map, especially since he wasn't even sure if he'd stay in Konoha in the future.
'Even though I'm not tired, these classes are making me sleepy.' Naruto thought, and he put his head down to take a nap. Shikamaru was already out cold next to him.
Later, during the break, all the academy kids were chatting and playing with their friends. Naruto, though, went off to find Iruka Umino.
"Hey Naruto, where are you going?" Kiba asked when he saw Naruto wasn't heading towards the academy's playground.
"Gotta find someone," Naruto said and then poof! He was gone.
"Maybe he went to the bathroom," Shikamaru said lazily, shrugging.
Choji, Shino, and Kiba, with Akamaru on his head, all looked at each other and shrugged too before heading to the playground.
Meanwhile, Naruto had found Iruka. He was sitting in an empty staff room, sorting through some papers. Naruto walked over to him.
"Iruka-sensei, I need your help," Naruto said politely, bowing his head as a greeting.
Iruka was surprised to see Naruto. He hadn't expected him to come looking for him. But when he saw Naruto, his eyes softened. "What help do you need, Naruto?" he asked with a bright smile.