Still so soft, faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Hinata, you saw it too…"
Ino didn't turn around, sighing softly.
Hinata walked forward and nodded.
"Actually, I can understand. Sakura's heart is completely occupied by Sasuke now…"
Ino said, "I know…"
"It's fine to like someone, but the prerequisite is…"
"You shouldn't hurt others or hinder them…"
"The current Sakura, not only hurt Naruto, but also hindered Sasuke-kun. However, she doesn't seem to realize it, or perhaps, she doesn't want to realize it…"
Hinata also seemed lost in thought.
"Something terrible seems to have happened to Sasuke…"
"His current state is indeed very off…"
Ino wasn't entirely clear about the Uchiha Clan's affairs, but as the eldest daughter of the Yamanaka Clan, she still had a vague inkling.
Hinata was the same.
"No, not only that. His past experiences made Sasuke already very cold, but today's Sasuke seems to have become even worse…"
"I don't know what happened."
Ino shook her head, then seemed to think of something.
"If I had to guess, it's probably related to Naruto again."
Hearing Naruto's name, Hinata's heart instantly trembled.
"Nar-Naruto-kun?"
"Hmm, you couldn't have not noticed, could you?"
"Although he always speaks dismissively of Naruto, the person Sasuke-kun cares about most is him…"
Hinata nodded gently. As someone who pays close attention to Naruto, she had, of course, noticed this long ago.
"Inde-Indeed…"
"Because, although he always says sarcastic things, Naruto-kun is the only one Sasuke talks to voluntarily…"
Ino sighed, "Perhaps that's because of the shared trait they both possess…"
Hinata was silent for a moment before saying sadly.
"Is it loneliness…"
Ino's heart stirred. She had always had a similar feeling, but it wasn't until Hinata said it aloud that she truly understood it clearly.
"As expected of Hinata, her thoughts are indeed very delicate…"
"The loneliness of those two is something we cannot experience."
"Only they themselves can find some comfort in each other…"
"What a complex emotion. I'm afraid they themselves don't even fully understand it."
At this moment, Naruto's figure appeared before Hinata, heading towards her in the morning sunlight.
"Naruto-kun…"
"I… I sincerely hope that one day, you can escape loneliness…"
Chapter 37: Ino… has she fallen for someone else?! Please give me monthly votes!!!
Ino looked back and also spotted Naruto's figure.
She gazed at the girl, hands clasped tightly, silently praying for Naruto in the morning sunlight, and couldn't help but be deeply moved.
"Naruto, oh Naruto…"
"You have no idea how lucky you are…"
Naruto walked forward, feeling smug about his increasingly skilled Divided Attention.
He bounced along, smiling brightly, and greeted Hinata and Ino.
"Good morning!"
"Hinata, Ino!"
Hinata's face instantly flushed, and she lowered her head, softly saying.
"Good, good morning, Naruto-kun…"
Ino chuckled.
"That guy already ran off!"
Hinata looked up and realized that Naruto had indeed bounced far away.
But she didn't mind, still wearing a gentle smile.
"Is that Naruto guy really that good?"
Ino looked at Hinata's expression and couldn't help but become extremely curious.
She decided to observe that guy closely… Naruto was in a very good mood.
Because on the way to the Ninja Academy, he found that his Divided Attention ability had improved a lot.
Now he could completely review his academic subjects while doing a handstand with weights.
Although the injury on his leg still hadn't healed.
But his physique could completely endure it now, and he wasn't even afraid to bounce around.
He decided to continue practicing Divided Attention before class, striving to turn Chakra Refining Technique into a passive skill. This way… whether he was studying or training, his body could spontaneously refine Chakra.
At that time, his Chakra reserves would inevitably reach an unimaginable level.
Thinking of this, Naruto's eyes lit up, as if he had already seen his brilliant future.
Disregarding his injuries and fatigue, Naruto went to his seat, took out his textbook to study, and silently began refining Chakra.
On the other side, Sasuke, who was already training, saw Naruto arrive and immediately frowned slightly, clenching his fists, similarly pushing himself even harder.
He had barely slept all night.
He was now utterly exhausted.
However, upon seeing Naruto, Sasuke suddenly found strength and fighting spirit. All pain and fatigue vanished, and he immediately continued his training!
Their seats were far apart.
But the other students in the class all sensed two inexplicably powerful and terrifying auras, erupting from them as focal points, spreading out with a roar, pressuring everyone… terrifying to this extent!
Originally, Naruto was the only one pushing himself. He was already a Diao Che Wei, so it didn't matter if he pushed himself.
But now… even Uchiha Sasuke, known as a genius, started pushing himself too!
How could this be?!
You know, normally Sasuke wouldn't work so hard at the Ninja Academy.
He was the type to secretly put in effort in private… but now… someone better than you is working even harder!
Then… then what are we working for?!
Many students instantly gave up and continued to slack off… Of course, not everyone thought this way.
After all, quite a few people were forced to follow suit… So when Iruka-sensei walked into the classroom, he immediately sensed an inexplicable tension.
"This class is getting stranger and stranger…"
Naruto, no longer mischievous, with terrifying dedication… Sasuke, originally cold and indifferent, disdaining everything, but now also working desperately hard… And Hinata, following in Naruto's footsteps, also working hard, as well as Inuzuka Kiba, Shino Aburame, and others who were forced to push themselves… On the other hand, the former top student Sakura has been distracted lately, and even skipped class yesterday, which was unprecedented.
Iruka-sensei couldn't help but scratch his head.
Is this some kind of inverted genjutsu world?
However, seeing Choji still devouring snacks and Shikamaru soundly asleep, Iruka-sensei finally relaxed.
Thankfully, these two guys are still performing consistently… "Ahem, class is starting now!"
Iruka-sensei gave the command.
Naruto opened his eyes, a confident smile on his lips.
Knowledge Absorption… Activate!
Divided Attention… Activate!
Although both were Divided Attention, the difference from before was… the energy was previously more focused on Chakra Refining Technique.
Now, it was more focused on Knowledge Absorption.
But no matter what, this new ability was becoming increasingly proficient… From pausing every three minutes, it had extended to five minutes.
"Five minutes?"
"Although the time is not short, it's still far from my goal…"
"I must last longer!"
Naruto gritted his teeth and once again entered the state of Divided Attention.
He was completely unaware that Ino Yamanaka, who was extremely curious about him at this moment, was observing him meticulously with almost microscopic insight… "Four minutes and fifty seconds…"
Ino silently calculated the time, her eyes lighting up.
"Indeed!"
"It's about five minutes again…"
"That Naruto guy pauses every five minutes or so, then re-enters a state of complete concentration, staring intently at Iruka-sensei's lecture. That level of focus is almost like Sakura staring at Sasuke, or Hinata staring at Naruto, reaching an abnormal degree…"
"No wonder that Naruto guy has made such great progress these past few days…"
"But why does he have to pause every five minutes or so?"