This Naruto Is a Player!

Time flew by. Counting the days, the graduation exam was tomorrow.

"Ah, childhood!"

On the rooftop, Naruto and a few others lay gazing at the sky. This childhood felt like sand, impossible to grasp, slipping away unnoticed. Fortunately, this childhood was far happier than his last life.

"Naruto!"

Iruka-sensei's voice drifted up from below. Naruto poked his head over the edge, like a dog, and beside him, Sasuke, Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and others lined up, revealing their heads one by one. For a moment, five fake dog heads plus one real dog head looked down. Oh, right, he forgot Shino; add him to the list.

"Come down," Iruka beckoned.

"Coming!" Naruto didn't think twice and jumped down. Naruto maintained basic respect for Iruka-sensei, who often treated him to ramen and genuinely cared for him. Besides the Third Hokage, he was the second adult to accept him.

"Class dismissed. You can all head home now," Iruka said to the others behind Naruto.

"Goodbye, Sensei! See you tomorrow, Naruto!"

"Goodbye, Iruka-sensei! See you, Naruto!"

Everyone bid their farewells. Seeing Iruka dismiss the others, Naruto suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Sensei, I have something important at home. Maybe I should head back first..."

Naruto turned to leave but was stopped by Iruka, "Hold it, Naruto! Your misdeeds have been discovered! Still trying to escape?"

"What misdeeds, Iruka-sensei?"

"You forgot what you did?"

Forgot? No, there's just too much.

During his childhood and time at the Ninja Academy, the number of side quests was actually quite normal, mostly pranks and such. Who knew that as graduation approached, various side quests would pop up in all sorts of ways? Naruto had done too many side quests recently to keep track. Some of them were indeed not good in nature, and Iruka was now asking Naruto to confess. He wouldn't dare. What if he exposed something that hadn't been discovered yet? That would be terrible.

"Iruka-sensei, give me a hint."

Iruka was speechless. He simply looked at the Hokage Rock.

'Oh, it's that.' Naruto remembered. But that thing wasn't even a quest! Drawing on the Hokage Rock was just something he did on a whim. If he didn't draw once a week, Naruto would get obsessive-compulsive.

To be honest, there was a reason Naruto kept doing it. Personally altering the Hokage Rock was a historical event. This was a super, super big reward, and Naruto had been coveting it for a long time. But the Third Hokage just wouldn't give him the chance. Therefore, Naruto could only quietly draw once a week, making the villagers realize how beautiful these Hokage Rocks were under his brush, in various beautiful styles. Wouldn't those lifelike Hokage Rocks be much better than these plain old stones?

The Third Hokage was truly stubborn!

"The Hokage has ordered you to clean it all up by today," Iruka-sensei announced.

"I have a condition that prevents me from cleaning anything~"

Iruka-sensei flared up: "Now, you get over there and clean it up properly!"

"Alright," Naruto sighed. He then sincerely tried to seek Iruka's support, "Iruka-sensei, don't you think the Hokage Rock, as it is now, with the drawings, looks better than just bare stone?"

Iruka scratched his head awkwardly, but finally praised him genuinely, "What you drew certainly looks better than bare stone."

"Right?" Naruto immediately suggested, "How about we start a petition, asking the Third Hokage to consider our opinion? As long as we have enough support..."

"Naruto!" Iruka interrupted Naruto's fantasies. "Such important matters aren't easily decided by us. If you still want to change it in the future, wait until you become Hokage."

Naruto gave Iruka a speechless glance. Wait until I become Hokage? That'll be ages from now. Don't let the Third Hokage's age fool you; the old man was still sturdy.

Seeing Naruto's reluctant expression, Iruka decided to offer him a carrot: "If you can clean it up before evening, I'll treat you to ramen."

"Alright."

"Alright? Is that all?"

"Yay!~" Naruto grudgingly played along.

The next day, it was the day of the graduation exam. All the students gathered in the classroom. Naruto quickly scanned the room; the total number was around 30. If he remembered correctly, there were 90 students in his entire grade at the opening ceremony six years ago. Now, only these few remained. It seemed the path of a ninja was quite difficult indeed. Two-thirds of them couldn't become ninjas and were forced to drop out. Yet, he, Naruto Uzumaki, the notorious dimwit of the Ninja Academy, had stumbled his way through.

He could only say he was good at controlling his scores.

"The graduation exam will now begin. Those whose names are called, please come to the next room. The test this time is the Clone Jutsu. Students, please prepare yourselves." Soon after, Iruka-sensei came to announce the topic. Then, one student after another was called into the next room for the exam.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Coming!" Naruto shouted and ran to the next room. The room was very spacious; the chairs had been moved aside for the exam. Naruto and his group had helped move them yesterday.

Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei sat behind a table. On the table were rows of ninja headbands, signifying their status as Konoha shinobi. Naruto eyed them with considerable longing. Finally, the six-year main quest is almost complete.

"Naruto, hurry up," Iruka-sensei urged. He knew Naruto well. Although his grades weren't great, the Clone Jutsu was definitely not a problem, and graduation was certainly not an issue.

"Okay!"

Ram → Snake → Tiger

Clone Jutsu.

Poof!

Three lifelike clones instantly appeared around Naruto. Iruka exchanged a few words with Mizuki, then decisively passed him. The moment Naruto took the headband from Iruka-sensei's hand, he actually felt a surge of emotion, almost like crying. Six whole years! How many six-year periods does one have in life?

Wait, the next main quest isn't going to make him Hokage directly, is it? Just kill him now!

"Remember to submit your ninja registration form tomorrow, and don't forget to attend the orientation session the day after tomorrow," Iruka-sensei reminded him.

"Got it," Naruto waved goodbye.

"This kid," Iruka sighed, watching Naruto walk away, feeling quite uneasy.

Just as he stepped out the door, Naruto's eyes narrowed. Mizuki-sensei's gaze seemed off. There was malice. He'd seen plenty of that kind of malice in the village, but Mizuki-sensei usually seemed pretty nice. Why the sudden change? He could only say he hid it too well. Just like Naruto, they were both too good at hiding things.

However, those days would soon be gone forever. The time he needed to continue concealing his strength was finally over. From today on, he, Naruto Uzumaki, would show the world in detail: what a true genius was!

Wait.

"Why isn't this main quest complete yet?" Naruto glanced at his panel; the main quest still showed as in progress. He decided to ask his dog-headed strategist, Shikamaru.

Shikamaru explained, "This only counts as graduating from the academy. You only truly become a genin once your squad leader recognizes you."

I see.

"Hey, Naruto, come here for a photo!"

"Okay, coming!"

Click!

The group photo was taken. In the picture, Naruto wore his headband on his forehead, a bright smile on his face.

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