"Sasuke?" Ino blinked.
Then she looked at Sakura.
Only to find that Sakura's expression seemed… off.
"Sakura?"
"Sakura!"
Ino called her twice, but Sakura didn't respond.
In the end, it was little Hanabi who tugged on Sakura's hand, snapping her back to reality.
"Why are you so nervous?" Ino asked, confused.
Sakura forced a stiff smile.
"I'm… a bit nervous."
"I don't know what my attitude will be like in the black-frame world…"
"Oh my god~" Ino rubbed her forehead helplessly and flicked Sakura on the forehead.
"Do you really not understand yourself?"
"Didn't you notice that black-frame you doesn't even blush?"
"Is… is it really that obvious?" Sakura stammered.
Clearly, she had realized something herself.
Ino comforted her, "It's fine. The black-frame world is the black-frame world, and our world is ours. They won't affect each other."
["A new classmate?"]
["An Uchiha?"]
[Little Naruto froze for a moment.]
[Then he asked instinctively,]
["Weren't there any Uchiha from before enrolled?"]
[Hearing this, the three kids blinked, clearly not understanding what little Naruto meant.]
[Shikamaru was the first to answer,]
["Yeah. That one named Uchiha Sasuke should be the first."]
[Little Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a glance.]
[Then, tacitly, neither of them said anything more.]
[Speaking of Uchiha Sasuke—]
[Ino crossed her arms, nodded, and said,]
["Just like the rumors say, the Uchiha clan really does produce good-looking people."]
["That Uchiha Sasuke is indeed very handsome. All the girls in class blushed for him."]
["But he seems a bit full of himself."]
["He's nothing like our Naruto—cute and handsome, and a total sweetheart~!"]
["That's a lot of modifiers," Shikamaru rolled his eyes.]
[The three clans were very close, to the point that the three of them were inseparable—like siblings.]
["What's wrong with that?" Ino shot back immediately.]
[Then she looked at Sakura.]
["Right, Sakura?"]
[Sakura smiled slightly.]
["Yeah!"]
["Although Sasuke is the most handsome boy I've ever seen, I don't know him well."]
["And he doesn't seem interested in girls at all. He's always cold."]
["There's no way he compares to Naruto-kun~!"]
[As she spoke, Sakura secretly glanced at Naruto.]
[A blond boy who looked like a miniature Minato—how could he not be handsome?]
[Hearing this, Ino widened her eyes.]
["Hey!"]
["You think Sasuke is more handsome than Naruto?!"]
[Little Naruto chuckled and interrupted the topic.]
["Is everyone hungry?" he asked.]
["Hungry~!" x4]
["Then I'll leave it to you," little Naruto said with a light smile as he stood up.]
[Chōji immediately sprang up and dashed to the kitchen at sprinting speed.]
[Ino and Sakura also stood up, whispering to each other as they headed for the kitchen.]
[This was their rule—who did what before cooking had already been assigned.]
[Little Naruto looked at Shikamaru.]
["Has the Uchiha clan already been completely relocated to the edge of Konoha?"]
[Shikamaru looked as though he had expected the question.]
["Yeah. I heard the Uchiha don't seem to have any complaints."]
["That Uchiha Sasuke is said to be the youngest son of the Uchiha clan head."]
["Then what about the eldest son?" little Naruto asked.]
["No idea. Dad and Uncle Inoichi stopped talking when they noticed me eavesdropping."]
[Shikamaru shrugged and lazily leaned against the fridge.]
["But I think the clan head's eldest son was probably sent to do something related to the Hokage."]
["Like those people who used to monitor you."]
[After saying that, Shikamaru yawned.]
[He didn't seem very interested in the matter.]
[Little Naruto was silent for a moment before saying,]
["I want to try making contact with Sasuke."]
["What I want… I might be able to get it from him."]
[Shikamaru frowned slightly.]
["It's better not to get too close to the Uchiha."]
["Like you said last time—with the Hyūga incident…"]
["Naruto~ the pot's washed~!" Ino poked her cute head out from the kitchen.]
["Coming," little Naruto replied with a smile, then looked back at Shikamaru.]
["We'll try. If it doesn't work, we'll drop it."]
["We're still young."]
["And by the way, you're coming for the new training this afternoon."]
["Yeah, yeah~" Shikamaru waved him off.]
["What a pain."]
Yamanaka Ino: "Tsundere!"
Yamanaka Ino: "But black-frame Shikamaru always says 'what a pain,' yet he never refuses black-frame Naruto."
Temari: "Maybe it's like Orochimaru—he's very interested in what black-frame Naruto is doing."
Inuzuka Kiba: "Tch! Idiot! Come ask me! I can definitely get those so-called history books!"
Aburame Shino: "This kind of knowledge may actually be easier for me to obtain. Studying insects often traces back through generations, involving a wide range of records."
Orochimaru: "Perhaps in the black-frame world, after meeting black-frame Naruto, I too would develop an intense interest in him."
Uzumaki Kushina: "I suggest you behave yourself."
Namikaze Minato: "Yes, Orochimaru-senpai. Though I appreciate you agreeing to revive me later, business is business."
Uzumaki Kushina: "When did I allow you to speak?"
Namikaze Minato: "..."
Senju Tobirama: "Good! Grow strong like this! In the future, make sure to kill those four traitors!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Tobirama-sensei, I—"
Shimura Danzō: "Shut up, Tobirama-sensei! Hiruzen may hesitate, but I'll tell you— even if you're revived, you'll still have to call him 'the Third Hokage, Third-sama'!"
Danzō, having smashed his own pot, now only wanted to muddy the waters further.
—BOOM!!!
Suddenly—
A deafening explosion rang out across Konoha.
Everyone froze.
Soon, an old man came running, shouting:
"Bad news!"
"The cemetery just exploded!"
"Judging by the direction—it looks like the Second Hokage's and First Hokage's graves!"
Everyone: "..."
[The days that followed became simple and regular again.]
[After confirming that no one was monitoring him anymore, little Naruto relaxed a lot.]
[The back mountain became a natural training ground.]
[Following Shikamaru's memories, everyone began earnestly practicing tree climbing.]
[At first, they were full of enthusiasm.]
[By the end, the four kids were crying and begging to return to their old training routine.]
[Aside from knowing that chakra had to be attached to the soles of their feet, they had no useful information.]
[From barely managing three steps to five—]
[the five of them fell countless times.]
[Little Naruto only became more stubborn the more he failed.]
[Because he felt that interfering force again.]
[He wasn't sure whether it came from the "bad big fox" or the whispering force.]
[Either way, the more it interfered, the more unwilling he was to give in.]
[Relying on his rapid recovery, little Naruto trained tree climbing almost recklessly.]
[Every time training ended, the four kids had to support him all the way home.]
[Thankfully, little Naruto recovered quickly.]
[And food was never an issue (thanks to Chōji's father's generous feeding).]
[In just half a month, little Naruto managed to stabilize himself on the tree trunk for a full five seconds.]
[This greatly motivated the other four kids.]
In the chatroom, many praised black-frame Naruto's perseverance.
Only Kushina watched with a heart aching, tears falling freely.
[Another half month later, Shikamaru brought back some news.]
[The tsundere Uchiha Sasuke overheard Shikamaru deliberately talking with Chōji about their secret training and immediately became interested,actively striking up a conversation.]
[Before Shikamaru could reply, Ino spoke first:]
["You want to train with us? No way. We only acknowledge strong people as friends. You? Hmph~"]
[This angered Sasuke so much he almost attacked.]
[But just as he made a move, he realized he was already surrounded by the four kids.]
[Leaving behind a vicious 'Just you wait,' he turned and left.]
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