Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

Academy.

After several days, the once quiet classroom was again filled with students.

However, unlike before, there was now a look of anticipation in everyone's eyes.

After all, following today's orientation, they would no longer just be kids…they would become fully-fledged Konoha's Shinobi!

"Naruto, are you alright?"

The moment Naruto walked into the classroom, Sasuke suddenly stood up from his seat.

This scene really shocked many female students in the class.

'Since when did Naruto and Sasuke-kun become so close?'

'And what exactly happened to Naruto?'

'Wait a second… is that really Naruto?'

The moment the female students saw Naruto, they were all stunned.

Naruto had undergone a complete transformation since they last saw him.

Previously, Naruto wore an orange outfit, which looked fine but wasn't exactly eye-catching, and the three whisker marks on his face were a bit less than ideal.

But now, Naruto looked completely different.

He had swapped his bulky jacket for a white, long coat given to him by Mebuki, his spiky hairstyle was now smooth and medium-length, and his face was free of whisker marks. His blonde hair and blue eyes shone with a noble aura, making him look like a young prince.

In the next moment, the female students burst into chatter, unable to believe that Naruto had turned out to be so handsome.

Some of the girls who had initially flocked to Sasuke even started to drift towards Naruto.

However, Naruto's gaze remained fixed on a girl with white eyes, who was twiddling her fingers in the corner.

'Sure enough, of all the girls I see, Hinata is still the cutest.'

But he didn't go over to her. Knowing her personality, she would probably get so nervous that her heart might explode. So Naruto felt there's no need to put her through that.

Retracting his gaze, he walked over to Sasuke.

"What? Were you hoping I wouldn't recover? I remember you being quite smug that day. Once the orientation is over, I'll be sure to settle the score with you." Naruto said unhappily as he took his seat.

Sasuke shook his head and replied helplessly, "You can't blame me for that. I also went through that Genjutsu… who knew you'd be so weak against Genjutsu."

"What do you know? There are advantages to being weak. At least the after-effects of the Genjutsu hit me hard. Unlike you, who's immune to low-level Genjutsu and has to work hark to find higher-level ones." Naruto curled his lips.

Sasuke also curled his lips and said, "You said that as if you're doing it just for me. Aren't you also going to use it?"

"Me? I I've officially graduated now, so I won't need to rely on Genjutsu anymore. If you don't appreciate it, I'll stop looking for advanced Genjutsu." Naruto said playfully.

Hearing this, Sasuke was momentarily stunned.

"Graduated? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. That Genjutsu was so stimulating to me that I went from one to ten thousand instantly." Naruto said proudly.

At first, Sasuke gloated over his misfortune and laughed at him. Now, he could finally make Sasuke suffer a setback.

Bang!

"That's impossible!"

Sasuke shot to his feet, his eyes full of disbelief.

As a member of the Uchiha Clan, he knew how hard it was to evolve the Sharingan. Each step was as difficult as ascending to heaven, especially the Mangekyo. Only a handful of people in the Uchiha Clan were able to awaken it in history.

'How could Naruto succeed in one leap just because of a D-Rank Genjutsu?'

"Whether you believe it or not, I've got it. How about this… come closer and I'll show you secretly." Naruto whispered.

Suppressing his shock, Sasuke slowly leaned his head toward Naruto.

He also knew it was abnormal for Naruto to have the Sharingan, so he had to keep it hidden from others. Sasuke leaned in extra close… so close their faces were practically touching.

"What is it? I want to see it too."

However, just as Naruto was about to put on his colored contact lenses, a very noisy male classmate came over.

Already unsettled, Sasuke was caught off guard when the male classmate nudged him from behind, sending him falling forward.

Right into Naruto's face.

Smack!

A light sound echoed through the room, and all the girls in the class screamed.

The veteran heartthrob Sasuke and the newly revealed handsome Naruto, had just kissed!

They felt the scene was too much to take in!

It was too dazzling!

Bang!

Naruto immediately shoved Sasuke away.

He couldn't believe it…

'How did we end up kissing even without me jumping on a table? Was this some kind of unchangeable fate from the original work? What a joke!'

"Was it my fault?"

The boy with a ponytail, who had nudged them, asked nervously.

When Naruto saw this person, he became even more furious, 'This guy was the same bastard who caused Naruto's first kiss to disappear in the original work.'

"You… you really outdid yourself!"

Naruto clenched his fist but eventually unclenched it. He couldn't really lash out just because of this.

But this kid was truly absurd. He only appeared once in the original work but managed to create a legendary scene. Even Naruto, who had crossed over, couldn't have foreseen this.

After all, who would have thought this kid would push Sasuke instead of him this time?

Yet, unlike the original story, Naruto didn't get a beating after this kiss. The girls in the classroom were all screaming excitedly, looking like rotten girls.

Only Sakura looked displeased, with a murderous expression on her face. But with most of the class cheering, she didn't make a move in the end.

"Naruto, your contacts still..."

Sasuke, still focused, hadn't paid any mind to the kiss, and his attention was entirely on the Mangekyo.

But before he could finish, he was interrupted by Naruto with a snort, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have lost my first kiss. Want to see it? Fine, after school, I'll let you see it to your heart's content… and experience its power firsthand."

Sensing the deadly aura in Naruto's words, Sasuke fell silent.

Creak…

At that moment, Iruka pushed open the door and entered, and everyone quickly returned to their seats and sat down obediently.

"Congratulations! From today onward, you are all Shinobi, ready to take on responsibilities of your own. But you're still rookie Genin, and the real challenges have just begun. From now on, you'll be split into groups of three, forming teams under a Jonin Instructor, and carrying out missions together. To ensure balanced abilities in each group, we have assigned the teams. I'll start announcing them now..."

As Iruka spoke, he took out a chart and began announcing the team assignments.

'Here it comes, the much-anticipated team assignments.'

Naruto's attention was immediately drawn in. He'd wondered if the butterfly effect might have altered the team assignments, but the 'first kiss' event just now served as a reminder that some things might be unchangeable.

Since the course of events was so tricky to predict, Naruto knew he'd have to take note of the team assignments first. This would help him figure out whether his influence was stronger, or if the plot's flow had more weight… It is a critical factor for his future plans.

If he had the upper hand, he could act preemptively and eliminate threats like Black Zetsu and Obito, stopping Kaguya from ever appearing.

However, if the plot took precedence, then various twists and coincidences might inevitably bring Kaguya back. If that was the case, he'd be better off focusing solely on improving his own strength.

After all, Kaguya's power level was well-defined, and surpassing it would suffice. But that would definitely require much more effort than just eliminating Black Zetsu.

Just as he thought of this, Iruka's voice broke through his thoughts:

"Then next, Team 7..."