"What did you just say? I didn't hear clearly. Could you repeat that?"
As she spoke, Furina smiled and turned her gaze toward the person in the crowd who had just accused her of defending Naruto, acting as if she truly hadn't heard.
The other girl, upon hearing this, was just about to open her mouth to repeat herself. But when she met Furina's eyes, for some reason she suddenly shivered.
Although she wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, in the end she chose to follow her instincts and shut her mouth. She retreated behind the others and no longer met Furina's gaze.
Noticing her retreat, Furina didn't bother with her anymore. Seriously, what were they guessing at every day? Whether in her previous life or this one, she liked girls, okay?
Even though one had been scared off, there was still a group of people chattering in front of her. Watching them gave Furina a slight headache.
If it came to actually fighting, taking on this entire group wouldn't be a problem for her at all. But arguing with so many people? That would really be the death of her.
"Sigh, if I'd known, I wouldn't have come over on a whim. What a hassle. Maybe I should just let them beat Naruto up to vent their anger."
Looking at the group whose mouths never stopped, Furina couldn't help but rub her forehead. The thought of running away crossed her mind, but she had just promised Hinata it wouldn't be right to bail now.
"Hey hey, what are all of you crowding here for? Even if it's graduation, you don't have to get this worked up."
Just as Furina was feeling troubled, a voice from the doorway came to her rescue. It was Iruka, arms crossed, looking at them somewhat speechlessly.
The group of girls surrounding Naruto, upon seeing Iruka arrive, returned to their seats one after another. Even though they had graduated, Iruka had taught them for so many years and still carried some authority.
"Thanks just now, Furina. If you hadn't stepped in, I definitely would've gotten beaten up."
After returning to his seat, recalling the furious looks on the girls' faces, Naruto couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. He had already closed his eyes waiting for them to attack, but after waiting a long time, nothing happened.
When he opened his eyes again, it was Furina's back blocking in front of him.
"No problem. What happened just now was because you got bored and jumped onto Sasuke's desk, but the main fault wasn't yours. As a friend, it's only right that I help you out."
"Friend, huh…" Although Furina had only said it casually, the word sounded different to Naruto.
He had naturally seen how that group of girls had stood up for Sasuke earlier. At the time, he hadn't minded too much after all, he had grown used to being alone since childhood. It was normal for others not to help him because of the Nine-Tails rumors.
But now he suddenly realized that there were people willing to help him though only a very few, like Furina and Iruka-sensei.
"Hey, what are you spacing out for? You look weird."
While Naruto was lost in thought, Furina also noticed his odd behavior. After all, one moment he looked like he was about to cry, the next he was smiling no one could miss that something was off.
"Ah, it's nothing, nothing. I was just thinking about how the team assignments will turn out later."
Facts proved that Naruto's lying skills were terrible. At the very least, Furina could tell with one glance that he wasn't telling the truth.
As for what Naruto was really thinking, she could already guess about eighty to ninety percent from his earlier reaction.
After thinking about it carefully, although Naruto usually seemed carefree and rough around the edges, he was actually quite sensitive inside.
To her, it was just an ordinary act of helping a friend. But in Naruto's heart, it was probably far from ordinary. People who lacked love were like that especially when the person in question was still just a child.
"Heh, Fourth… I wonder what you'd think if you knew how your son, whom you protected this village with your life for, has been treated like this."
Thinking of this, Furina felt a surge of complicated emotions. The son of a hero receiving such treatment no matter where you put it, that was undoubtedly a failure.
"What's there to think about? Just listen to what Iruka-sensei says."
Right after she finished replying to Naruto's earlier question, Iruka happened to announce Team 7. Hearing this, Furina couldn't help but perk up her ears.
"Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and… Furina."
"Yes!" Originally, when Naruto heard he was on the same team as Sasuke, he had been a bit unhappy. But after hearing Furina's name too, his expression visibly brightened.
"Even though I couldn't be with Sakura, and there's that annoying Sasuke guy, being on the same team as Furina isn't bad at all."
"With that dead-last Naruto? Well, that Furina girl's strength is pretty decent. It's acceptable, I guess."
Sitting on the other side, Sasuke was also reasonably satisfied after hearing his teammates.
Naruto aside, at least based on Furina's performance, she was qualified to be his teammate. And unlike the other annoying girls in the class, she wasn't troublesome he had already been driven half-mad by those girls.
When Furina heard that she had really been placed in Team 7, she finally let out a sigh of relief in her heart. Being in the protagonist group offered far more opportunities to gain Affection Points than anywhere else.
If she had been assigned to some other team, she would have had to find ways to squeeze her way into this one and just thinking about that was troublesome.
Soon after, Iruka finished announcing all the team assignments. The Sakura she had replaced ended up in a random filler team, with two teammates whose names Furina had never heard classic background characters.
Furina had no particular feelings about this. She neither disliked nor particularly liked Sakura; she had basically always been indifferent toward her.
But in the end, she had taken Sakura's spot. Even though Sakura herself didn't know it, Furina couldn't pretend she didn't know. Staying true to her own conscience was the most important thing.
So, if the chance ever came up later, she would introduce Sakura to Tsunade. After all, Sakura had quite a bit of talent in medical ninjutsu Tsunade probably wouldn't refuse.
Carrying their various thoughts, the people in the classroom gradually left one by one to handle their own affairs, waiting for the afternoon meeting with their team leaders.
Furina, meanwhile, went alone to the dango shop, planning to treat herself to a big meal to celebrate properly. Being assigned to Team 7 meant she finally had a solid place.
"Yo, isn't that Furina? You look so happy today. What would you like to eat?"
Seeing her regular customer arrive, the dango shop owner greeted her warmly.
Since it was still early, the shop was empty. Furina casually found a seat, responded to the owner's enthusiasm, and then asked about the thing she had been thinking about for a long time.
"By the way, shopkeeper uncle, did you manage to make that dessert I mentioned to you before? I remember you said last time that you'd figure it out after experimenting for a couple more days."