Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 34 Graduation

"Naruto, are you ready?" Iruka asked, holding a pen and paper without the slightest worry.

“Of course.” The blond boy raised his chin and confidently formed a hand seal. “Clone Technique.”

The three identical boys showed the same bright smiles, a perfect clone technique.

"Passed!" Although Iruka knew Naruto was strong enough to pass the test, he was still as happy as if he himself had passed. "Here's your headband."

Three Narutos skipped and hopped towards the examiner's seat. Two of them leaped over the table and pounced on Iruka, but they were just ordinary illusions, disappearing as soon as they touched him. The only Naruto still standing was much more composed than his clones, simply smiling as he reached out and accepted the headband symbolizing a ninja.

"You're being naughty again. Naruto, wait for me at our usual spot." Iruka was used to it. Naruto rarely caused trouble for others, but occasionally he would play harmless pranks, like the one just now.

Naruto took his headband and went out, but didn't put it on immediately. After becoming Hokage, he no longer wore it regularly, and receiving this brand-new ninja badge again filled him with a mix of emotions. The precious memory of receiving his headband for the first time was now a secret, but that only caused him some regret, because Iruka-sensei was still his precious family, and their bond wouldn't be altered by a headband!

"Finished the exam? Why aren't you wearing it? Haven't decided where to wear it?" Sasuke, who said he didn't care but whose body had already tied the headband to his head, asked when he saw him return. Their overall grades always hovered around first or second place, so there was no way they wouldn't get their diplomas.

Naruto brazenly squeezed into the only swing, taking up half the seat. Luckily, the two boys hadn't fully grown yet, so they could barely squeeze in.

"No, I just want to admire it a little longer."

The swing was completely stuck; the two of them were always acting childishly in strange ways, like insisting on exerting force in opposite directions when swinging. In the end, Sasuke was the first to leave the scene, and in doing so, he also snatched Naruto's headband.

"What! Are you going to take this too?" Naruto's tone didn't carry any anger or rage; he wasn't really serious about taking it through the rope.

Sasuke swatted away Naruto's wildly waving hands, went behind him, and carefully tied the headband to his forehead. Then he went around to the front and straightened the short hair that was stuck in the headband. Naruto seemed to see the little bundle of joy who had tied his scarf in the snow. His eyes welled up with tears, but a genuine smile appeared on his face.

Kurama was right; a person's essence is hard to change. Sasuke is still Sasuke, just a little awkward.

“Looks… even dumber.” Sasuke pinched Naruto’s cheek, ruining the atmosphere, and said something that didn’t match his true feelings.

Naruto wasn't about to give up. He immediately pounced, baring his teeth and claws. After a fierce back-and-forth struggle, he successfully loosened Sasuke's headband. The headband slipped down slightly, obscuring his eyes, giving Sasuke an opening, and he was unfortunately defeated.

"You guys had a lot of fun, didn't you?"

Iruka's voice finally broke the boys' silence. They casually brushed the weeds off themselves, straightened their hair, and then looked at him with sparkling eyes. Feeling struck by a sudden realization, Iruka waved his hand and led the children to a special meal, declaring they could eat their fill. However, he secretly grieved for his wallet due to the children's enormous appetites during their growth spurt. But… it was worth it, after all, no one else could take them to celebrate this important day.

"By the way, how much does Iruka-sensei earn?" Naruto asked sincerely, genuinely unaware of the salary levels at this stage. "He looked like he was really in pain just now."

"How should I know?" Sasuke regained his cool demeanor. "I'm going back."

"Isn't this something we should be concerned about? Tomorrow we'll be ninjas!" Even with Sasuke pulling his arm, Naruto didn't stop his daydreaming. "Which team will we be assigned to? Which Jonin will we be assigned to? What kind of missions will we be on as a team? I'm so excited!"

Sasuke was curious, but not much. He said dryly, "As long as I'm in a group with you, nothing else matters."

Naruto's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. It was definitely because tomorrow they would be stepping onto the "main track" of history, and the warm and happy life of Team 7 was about to begin. But, was the mission to the Land of Waves already impossible?

With Shisui involved, persuading Zabuza was a piece of cake. After Shisui's persuasive... oh no, after his fervent advocacy of the pursuit of true peace, Zabuza decided to give it a try by joining Hikari. So he and his subordinates, after some embellishment, obtained new identities in the Land of Craftsmen and incidentally joined the caravan Hikari had established there.

Later, the pilot program in Xinxiang was successful, and Zabuza personally experienced it. Upon his return, he became one of the most steadfast supporters of "Hui." He was also one of the few foreign ninjas in Hui who passed through layers of assessments to obtain a spot in the Fire Link project. Naruto had seen him once when transferring chakra. This ninja, once known as "Demon," had lost his ferocity; what burned in his eyes was not murderous intent, but true faith. Whether it was fate or not, Zabuza eventually chose to settle in the Land of Waves. With Hui's powerful military force, this small, exploited and oppressed country quickly eradicated its poverty. They established their own industries and became a node in Hui's commercial empire. Their geographical location was ideal as a supply point for long-haul shipping routes, and they could also produce unique seafood. The reason they were so poor before was that the people managing the land never thought about development; they only exploited cheap labor. How could they become rich that way?

So why did he used to think that daimyo were qualified to rule the world?

"What are you thinking about again?" Sasuke sighed helplessly, drawing Naruto's attention back. The little adult turned around and said very seriously, "Although I know you will definitely become a strong ninja, you really don't need to care so much about mission rewards. If you don't have enough money, just use mine."

Naruto paused for a moment, then burst out laughing, loudly emphasizing, "Sasuke, it's wrong to get something for nothing!"

"Weren't you the one agonizing over it? You huge idiot!"

The noisy teenagers didn't notice that one of them had a wandering gaze and a confused mind, while the other was trying his best to hide his reddened ears.

How can you just say things like that? You idiot, Sasuke. Shared property is only for blood relatives.

The first day as a ninja passed peacefully like this.

Naruto gave Sasuke a spatial scroll, saying it was to celebrate his successful landing. Inside were everything from an emergency medical kit to various ninja tools, many even bearing the Uchiha clan crest, and all of quite good quality. However, the only item in this huge pile was a body pillow that really stood out. Although the face on it didn't quite resemble Naruto's, the other features clearly identified it as an ugly-cute "Naruto" body pillow. Don't think he didn't know there was that weird thing on Naruto's bed; he certainly didn't have that kind of fetish!

The little guy, who was secretly disdainful, threw the pillow to the corner of the bed, demonstrating that his body was more honest than his mind.

Judging from this, this guy really put a lot of thought into preparing this for a long time. Doesn't that mean his gift is inferior...? That wretched idiot!

On the other side of the wall, Naruto looked the brand-new, incredibly large bookshelf up and down, his eyes practically sparkling! Heaven knows how much he hated his old, shabby bookshelf. It was completely overflowing, and he could only clean out the old books he hadn't touched in a long time every now and then. But those books might come in handy again someday, making finding them incredibly difficult. Plus, his old bookshelf was open, so it got dirty incredibly quickly, and he had to put insect repellent on it in the summer. Now, all those problems were solved, and what he saw when he left this morning was none other than the old, shabby one!

This must be Sasuke's graduation gift to him! Sasuke is so kind!

Naruto skillfully released his shadow clones and energetically cleaned the new bookshelf, then turned around and dragged out boxes of books.

"Then let's fill it up today!"