Chapter 34
After the homeroom teacher left and declared self-study, the atmosphere in the classroom immediately relaxed.
Class turning into self-study was naturally welcomed by the students.
Most sat obediently in their seats, chatting with each other and excitedly discussing recent hot topics.
"Haa… since Sensei's gone, let's go out and play too."
Nara Shikamaru yawned, glanced at the empty lectern.
"But I haven't finished my chips yet…" Chōji grumbled as Shikamaru dragged him out of the classroom.
In the back row, Inuzuka Kiba toyed with Akamaru on his head while staring at the blond back sitting diagonally across from him.
"Tch, acting all serious." Kiba muttered under his breath.
Naruto paid no attention to the surrounding noise at this moment.
Under Xuanming's long-term influence, he had already developed the habit of "finding stillness amid chaos."
Right now he was engrossed in reading Ninja Tactics and Trap Recognition.
As for the cultural studies textbooks in his desk—history and geography were fine.
But subjects like mathematics—looking at the content made him sleepy right away; they were practically his natural enemy.
Since Naruto was studying seriously, Uchiha Sasuke sitting next to him naturally refused to fall behind.
With a tense little face, he held the academy knowledge notes his brother Uchiha Itachi had prepared for him.
He was frantically previewing next semester's material—absolutely unwilling to let Naruto secretly get ahead.
At that moment, Xuanming's figure appeared beside Naruto.
"Naruto, after Iruka left this time, he might not come back."
Naruto's hand flipping pages paused. He looked at the fox sage beside him in surprise.
"Not come back… what do you mean?"
"There are enemies in the back mountain."
Xuanming's voice was calm but certain: "If we let Iruka go alone, he will be killed there."
"What? Iruka-sensei is in danger?"
Bang!
Naruto slammed the book onto the desk and shot to his feet.
The noise was so loud that every eye in the class instantly turned toward him.
Uchiha Sasuke—next to him and deeply focused on his notes—was also startled into a flinch.
"Hey! Idiot, what are you doing?" Sasuke glared irritably.
Naruto ignored the surprised stares around him.
His expression turned serious. He solemnly confirmed with Xuanming: "Can we go save him?"
Although Iruka always had a strange, contradictory attitude toward him—praising his excellence while subtly rejecting him—
compared to other teachers, Iruka was already one of the good ones.
Since Xuanming told him, it was naturally so he would take action.
"There's a chance, but time is tight. Move quickly."
Receiving the affirmative answer, Naruto didn't say another word—he left his seat and ran straight out.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Sasuke shouted at Naruto's back.
"To the back mountain! To find Iruka-sensei! If we're too late it'll be over!"
Before the words even finished, Naruto's figure had vanished through the classroom door.
He rushed out of the school building, leaped onto the rooftop, and rapidly dashed across the village roofs toward the back mountain.
He was very familiar with the route to the back mountain—he occasionally went there to meditate on the mountaintop or in the forest.
He hadn't run far when another urgent whoosh of wind came from behind.
Uchiha Sasuke—lips tightly pressed—chased up with agile movements, running side by side with Naruto.
Naruto glanced sideways: "Why did you come?"
Sasuke gave a cold snort: "Iruka-sensei said it was self-study. You're openly skipping class right now. As the class… anyway, I'm keeping an eye on you."
"I'm not skipping class." Naruto didn't slow down: "I told you—I'm going to save Iruka-sensei."
"I know." Sasuke stared straight ahead, eyes resolute: "That's why I'm coming too."
Iruka was widely recognized as a good teacher in the class, and he often praised Sasuke's talent and strength. As an elite of the Uchiha clan, how could he sit idly by when his teacher was in danger?
The current Sasuke had not yet experienced the night of the clan massacre. His older brother still often accompanied him during gaps between missions.
His father Uchiha Fugaku no longer had to expend energy on clan meetings plotting rebellion against Konoha.
He could devote more time to teaching his youngest son and encouraging him to interact with Uzumaki Naruto.
This allowed Sasuke—though outwardly maintaining the Uchiha clan's usual aloofness—to be filled inside with youthful passion and a sense of justice.
"This time is really dangerous—even Iruka-sensei might get hurt."
Uzumaki Naruto frowned and advised: "You should go back."
"What's dangerous about it?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "You can go, but I can't? In terms of strength, I'm not losing to you."
Hearing this, Naruto said no more.
Indeed—in terms of actual combat growth, the two had always been neck and neck; neither was significantly stronger than the other.
One more person meant one more share of strength.
"Fox Sage, where exactly is Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked openly toward his side.
Xuanming floated beside him. He could clearly sense three clusters of malice gathering in the back mountain direction.
Comparing it to the scene in his precognition, he could deduce the hidden enemies' position was right there.
Going straight for Iruka might be hard to locate, but knowing the enemies' direction and following them would naturally lead to Iruka.
"A little more that way!"
He pointed out the general direction for Naruto.
"Got it!"
Naruto immediately adjusted course, shifting direction on the rooftops.
Sasuke saw this and instantly followed closely behind.
"Can you find Iruka-sensei?" Sasuke asked while running.
"Of course I know—this position is from Fox…" Naruto started to answer.
"I know." Sasuke cut him off with an expression like he'd seen through it long ago: "It's 'Fox Sage' telling you again, right?"
Naruto gave an "mm" and offered no further explanation—he poured all his energy into rushing forward.
The two charged into the back mountain forest one after the other. Even in the complicated woodland terrain, their speed did not decrease.
BOOM——!
Suddenly, an explosion roared from deep in the dense forest, startling countless birds into flight.
"Over there!"
This time no guidance from Xuanming was needed—the rising column of smoke was the clearest road sign.
In Xuanming's perception, the three clusters of enemy malice had already begun moving—clearly about to act against Iruka.
"We need to hurry, Naruto." Xuanming's urging voice came: "Iruka has probably already encountered the enemies."
Naruto's heart tightened. Looking at the still-rising smoke in the distance, he realized their current speed probably wouldn't make it in time.
No more conserving energy.
Naruto took a deep breath.
"Sasuke, keep heading in that direction. I'm going ahead!"
Before the words finished, a massive surge of chakra erupted inside him, gathering in the meridians of his legs—controlled to boost movement speed.
His speed exploded. Uzumaki Naruto transformed into an orange afterimage, instantly pulling far ahead of Sasuke.
"What?!"
Sasuke only saw a blur before his eyes.
Watching the receding back in front, his face filled with disbelief.
"This guy… was hiding this kind of speed?"
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