"How I hate that boy..."
"He's the reincarnation of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."
"Shut up, he'll hear you...!"
"How can the Hokage allow him to exist?"
As he walked through the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, Naruto Uzumaki endured the looks of contempt and hatred thrown his way.
Like every day, he had to put up with the villagers' whispers and complaints.
He was used to it. But that didn't mean he liked it. Nor that it was something he should ever get used to.
He simply had no other choice.
With his hands in his pockets, he ignored everything around him as he made his way to the Ninja Academy.
Today was the day of the Graduation Exam.
Under normal circumstances, he would be nervous—after all, he had already failed twice. But this time was different.
Because, although he was now called Naruto Uzumaki, he had once been someone else.
His previous name no longer mattered.
He had died in a traffic accident and, somehow, woke up in Naruto Uzumaki's body, in the ninja world.
It had been three months since then.
Naruto let out a heavy sigh as he crossed the Academy gates.
During those months, he had trained tirelessly. His progress was slow, but at least he had improved in certain aspects.
His chakra control was still a mess.
The interference of the Kyūbi's chakra—Kurama—made manipulating his own chakra much more difficult than normal.
He would have to visit him soon to fix that problem.
Even so, his control was no longer as horrible as before.
At least now he could create a perfect clone without any issues.
As he entered the classroom, everyone turned to look at him for a moment before going back to what they were doing.
In the past, he would have made a fool of himself to get attention, earning looks of disdain.
But he had stopped doing that months ago.
He no longer needed the village's approval. He no longer cared what they thought of him.
As far as he was concerned, they could all go to hell.
He scanned the room until he found the person he was looking for and walked over to her desk.
"Good morning, Hinata-chan."
"G-good morning, N-Naruto-kun..."
Hearing her speak so timidly was one of the small pleasures of his life.
In fact, it was the only reason he kept coming to the Academy every day.
He sat down next to her without asking for permission.
Hinata didn't seem to mind either. They had been sitting together for a while now.
He glanced to the other side of the room, where Ino and Sakura were fighting, as usual, over who would sit next to Sasuke.
Sasuke, for his part, rested his head on his hand and stared out the window, ignoring them.
Other girls were also trying to get his attention.
Naruto smiled in amusement at the scene, just before Iruka entered the classroom.
"Ah, it looks like you're all here," he said with a smile.
His gaze briefly landed on Naruto.
He was still surprised to see him arrive on time every day.
He didn't know what had changed in him, but he was glad.
The boy seemed more focused.
He also hadn't caused much trouble lately.
As Iruka thought about this, Naruto suddenly frowned.
Hinata, beside him, looked at him with concern.
"Is something wrong, Naruto-kun? A-are you not feeling well?"
Naruto hadn't felt well a few days ago, Hinata recalled.
Of course, he wasn't about to tell her that it was because he had accidentally drunk expired milk.
But no. This was different.
A floating screen appeared in front of him.
Like a video game interface.
But at the same time, different.
[The Chat Group has been activated! You have been designated as the group leader.]
[You can communicate with the group members anytime and anywhere!]
[You also have the authority to decide if the group members can see through your eyes!]
[With the members' consent, the group leader, Naruto Uzumaki, can inherit their bloodlines, combat experience, Ninjutsu, Chakra, techniques, and much more.]
Naruto didn't react outwardly as he read the messages.
On the outside, he remained calm.
On the inside, he was screaming with excitement.
He never could have imagined receiving a gift .
Honestly, he didn't care.
The only thing that mattered was that he now had a tool to become stronger.
Since arriving in this world, since becoming Naruto Uzumaki, he had set himself a single goal.
To strive to the top of the ninja world.
To become the strongest man.
Until now, it had only been a dream.
But now… now he could make it a reality.
"Open the Chat Group."
He didn't say the words out loud.
He first tried mentally communicating with the system, and to his relief, it worked.
As soon as he entered the chat, a flood of messages filled the screen.
The names—or rather, nicknames—of the members left him speechless.
[Ding! The member 'God of Shinobi' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Uchiha Suck' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Ghost of the Uchiha' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'First Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Yellow Flash of Konoha' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Bloody Habanero' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Fugaku of the Evil Eye' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Wife of the Uchiha Patriarch' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'White Fang of Konoha' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Eternal Genin' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Hyūga Twin Brother' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Founder of Akatsuki' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Broken Heart' has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The member 'Hero of Sunagakure' has joined the chat group!]
Naruto stopped reading.
There were too many names.
But he recognized most of the nicknames.
And there was one thing they all had in common.
Not a single member was still alive.
Even his parents, Minato Namikaze—the Yellow Flash of Konoha—and Kushina Uzumaki—the Bloody Habanero—were among them.
Talking to them would be awkward.
He didn't even know them.
But the strangest thing of all...
How could Minato be here?
His soul was sealed inside the Shinigami's stomach.
As Naruto pondered this, Iruka's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Naruto!! Pay attention to the class already!"
Iruka felt a strange nostalgia as he raised his voice at him.
Naruto stopped looking at the screen and smiled.
Iruka sighed and continued:
"It's time to begin the Graduation Exam..."
Just as Naruto remembered, to pass and officially become a Genin, they had to create at least one clone.
Iruka began calling the students one by one...