Chapter 12
Time flew like a fleeting horse—more than twenty days had passed.
During this time, Shikamaru seemed to have come to some realizations and somehow ended up becoming friends with Naruto. Maybe it was because they got punished together for skipping class?
Naturally, this led to Chōji also becoming friends with Naruto.
Even though Inuzuka Kiba didn't have Akamaru yet, he too often wandered off during class hours and, with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chōji, formed what people started calling the Skipping Class Four.
Even Natsuki and Shino, due to their relationship with Shikamaru and Chōji, occasionally tagged along with Naruto for river games or street wandering. Though not exactly close friends, they at least became familiar with each other.
To Naruto, school life now felt blissful.
He had a teacher who cared for him, friends who didn't discriminate against or hate him, and even a girl he liked. Every day was filled with laughter and fun. He was fully immersed in happiness.
Natsuki maintained his usual stance—he wasn't close to Naruto, but always treated him with friendliness.
And since his interactions with Naruto were purely due to Shikamaru and Chōji, surely Hiruzen or even Danzo wouldn't be dumb enough to suspect him of deliberately getting close to the jinchūriki.
But Natsuki didn't have time to worry about that.
He was focused on his training plan. While he couldn't grow stronger overnight, his progress each day was significant.
His physical strength had clearly improved, his chakra reserves steadily increased, and through consistent studying at school and the library, his body and mind were growing rapidly.