Chapter 227 - 5

Chapter 5: As long as you don't hold me back, I won't mindThe next day.Naruto arrived at the classroom early in the morning, slumped over his desk listlessly.He hadn't been able to see the Nine-Tailed last night.It wasn't because he couldn't enter his mental space, but because he hadn't noticed the milk had expired.After being forced to spend an unforgettable night on the toilet, Naruto began to doubt his previous guess about having a'special constitution' from the bottom of his heart.After all, on Earth, even an ordinary person wouldn't be so physically weak that a box of expired milk would give them diarrhea all night, right?Damn it, a lapse in judgment! If I'd known, I should have checked the expiration dates while cleaning the house and thrown all that expired milk away!While Naruto was wallowing in self-pity, the students in the classroom gradually increased in number.Today was the day the graduates would be assigned to their squads.The students who had passed the graduation exam were chatting with each other, each excitedly imagining their future life as a Ninja. The entire classroom was filled with a bustling atmosphere of youth.Woof, woof, woof!Suddenly, the sharp bark of a small dog sounded overhead, followed by a boy walking up close: "Naruto, when did you get here?"Hearing his name, Naruto looked up.A boy with a small white dog perched on his head and face paint on his cheeks stood to the side, looking down at him."Kiba?"Naruto quickly recognized the other person's identity.Speaking of which, this guy was his 'frenemy.' The two of them enjoyed bickering daily, and their relationship was actually much better than with other distant classmates.Sure enough, the next second, Inuzuka Kibaactivated his sharp-tongue skill: "This is the graduate orientation. What is a dead last like you, who failed the exam, doing here?"After a pause, he continued: "I get it. You must want to come here and try to blend in, right? Too bad, I caught your scent the moment I walked in. Your plan won't work!""Look at my headband," Naruto turned his head and tapped the headband on his forehead with his thumb. "I didn't need to pass some child's play exam. I earned my graduate status after defeating a troublesome enemy!""Huh?" Inuzuka Kiba showed an obvious look of disbelief. "You think you can fool everyone by getting a headband from who knows where and making up some lies?"As he spoke, he reached out to grab Naruto's forehead: "Let me see. This thing isn't a forgery you made yourself, is it?"Naruto turned his head and easily dodged it."Yo, you've got some moves."Inuzuka Kiba curled his lip. Akamaru, perched on his head, understood the signal and jumped down, lunging straight at Naruto.Seeing this, Naruto stood up from his seat to dodge, making Akamaru—who wanted to jump on his head and snatch the headband—miss his target."Hey, Kiba, aren't you annoying?"Naruto frowned, looking at the still eager-to-fight Inuzuka Kiba, feeling a bit of impatience.At this time, their movements finally caught the attention of others, and the originally noisy classroom gradually quieted down."Why is Naruto here? Didn't he fail the exam?""He wouldn't be here to pull a prank, would he? If Iruka-sensei finds out, he'll definitely be furious."Amidst the whispers, the students' gazes focused on them.Inuzuka Kiba was already a show-off by nature. Now, being watched by everyone, he became even more excited and shouted: "Hehe, Naruto, let me expose your trick!"Before he even finished speaking, he struck again.This time, Inuzuka Kiba's target was no longer Naruto's headband but his chest, planning to easily subdue Naruto and show off his strength in front of everyone.Seeing a punch coming at him, Naruto raised his palm to meet it.Slap!Naruto seemed unable to take the opponent's punch and took a step back.Inuzuka Kiba also didn't seem to expect the opponent's defense to be so weak. Unable to pull back his momentum in time, he instantly lost his balance and stumbled forward.To an outsider, that was exactly what happened.However, Inuzuka Kiba knew his own situation and was secretly crying out in distress.Because he could clearly feel that Naruto's palm, for some reason, was exerting a suction force that he found difficult to break free from.On the surface, Naruto retreated because he couldn't handle the punch, but in reality, he was using his palm to pull Kiba's fist, making it hard for him to maintain balance and forcing him to fall toward the ground.Fortunately, a frenemy is still a friend. Narutohadn't forgotten the little friendship between them. Before the other party completely fell, he withdrew the Hamon suction power in his palm.Inuzuka Kiba immediately noticed this. He slapped his palm on the ground, using the force to perform a desperate somersault in mid-air. His feet landed steadily, finally avoiding a face-plant in front of everyone.However, just as he was feeling relieved, Narutosuddenly closed in. A punch as fast as lightning hit Inuzuka Kiba right in the abdomen."Ugh!"Inuzuka Kiba's eyes bulged instantly. He felt a sharp pain sweep through him, his whole body went weak, and he was about to collapse to the ground.But at that moment, a bit of golden light from Naruto's fist flowed into Inuzuka Kiba's body.The Hamon was like an electric current, making Inuzuka Kiba unable to control his body. He could only freeze in place, unable to move a muscle."Be careful, Kiba."Naruto smiled and patted his shoulder, using Hamon again to release Inuzuka Kiba's frozen state while also helping to alleviate the sharp pain from the punch just now.Regaining his freedom, Inuzuka Kiba's eyes widened, looking at Naruto with a face full of disbelief.His brain wasn't quite working right at the moment. He really couldn't figure out how this guy had suddenly become so powerful.But in front of everyone, he was too embarrassed to throw a fit or admit his defeat.So, with his face turning various shades of blue and purple, Inuzuka Kiba could only mutter things like 'count yourself lucky' and slink off to find a seat in the back row of the classroom.Having settled the trouble, Naruto brushed the non-existent dust off his hands and sat back in his seat."What? It's over just like that?""Did Kiba change his personality today? He actually just left?""So boring."The fight everyone was looking forward to ended abruptly, and they all withdrew their gazes in disappointment.Only the cool-looking boy sitting by the window, Uchiha Sasuke, who gave off an unapproachable aura, noticed something unusual about this fight.He turned his head slightly, carefully observing the dead last who was usually unremarkable except for his pranks."When did this dead last become so powerful?"Taijutsu had always been Sasuke's pride. Because of this, he could more deeply appreciate how strong the Taijutsu quality Naruto displayed was, and a question subsequently surfaced in his mind.However, before Sasuke could think of an answer, Iruka walked into the classroom holding the class assignment list.He stood on the podium, and with one sweep of his gaze, the students below immediately fell silent. The entire classroom became pin-drop quiet in an instant.Iruka nodded in satisfaction. After meeting Naruto's gaze, he gave him a smile, then cleared his throat: "Ahem, everyone be quiet. From today on, you are Ninjas capable of standing on your own, but you are still just rookie Genin. So, for your safety, the Village, as per custom..."Naruto remained slumped on the desk, his body feeling much better. He listened to Iruka's explanation and quickly extracted the key information from his rambling talk.Newly graduated Genin are formed into three-person squads, each led by a Jonin, to accept and complete missions based on the team's strength...It was clearly very simple information, yet Irukamanaged to drone on for quite a while.It wasn't until the students below, who were originally excited, were all drowsy that he finally took out the list in his hand and began to announce the squad assignments."Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura Haruno...""Yes!"Before he could finish, the girl with long pink hair raised both hands and jumped up from her seat in excitement.Iruka ignored this and continued reading: "And Uzumaki Naruto.""Huh?"Sakura Haruno, who was cheering just a moment ago, looked as if she had suffered a major blow upon hearing Naruto's name. She slumped back heavily into her chair and protested indignantly: "Why do we have to have a dead last like Naruto in our squad?""Don't worry. As long as you don't hold me back, I won't mind."Naruto turned his head and smiled at the two people sitting not far away.