I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Naruto forced himself to stay awake and said to the Nine-Tails inside him, "The more you perform, the easier it is to expose your flaws. Not deliberately pretending to be yourself is the best disguise."

"But Big Fox, you can also listen to some inspirational quotes. What the three-generation old man said makes a lot of sense."

"Advocating mutual understanding and support among people, and burning one's youth for the next generation, are all good inspirational messages."

"However, even the third-generation old man himself believed this story and fooled himself."

Kurama snorted coldly and then ignored Naruto.

It wasn't that it objected to Naruto's mockery of the Will of Fire, but rather that it recalled past memories.

The Six Paths Sage, who created these Tailed Beasts, seems to have said something similar to the Will of Fire.

However, what the Six Paths Master said was that chakra is a bridge connecting people's hearts, and with the help of chakra, one day people will be able to understand and help each other.

He once regarded the words of the old man Rokudo as the truth, but his experiences over the past thousand years have gradually made him doubt them.

If people can't even understand each other, can humans really understand tailed beasts? Especially after the emergence of Jinchuriki, ninjas directly used tailed beasts as tools of war.

For a thousand years, it seems that only Naruto, that brat, has tried to understand himself and treat him as a friend.

The speech lasted a full hour, and Naruto was in a daze for an hour as well. The other elementary school students started to get restless and began to complain.

The Third Hokage simply smiled, said a few more words, and ended his speech.

After leaving the venue, Naruto stretched and then heard a crisp notification sound.

"Kurama's favorability towards you has reached the level of trust. Your adaptability to 'Tailed Beast Chakra' has greatly improved, and you can use the Nine-Tails Chakra at will. The proud Nine-Tails may not say it, but in its heart it has long regarded you as a friend."

Upon hearing this sound, Naruto entered the sealed space, glanced at the fox in the cage, and a smile appeared on his lips.

He wasn't surprised that Nine-Tails' affection for him had increased, after all, they were each other's only support and had experienced very similar situations, so they could understand each other.

But the fact that the system had given him the ability to adapt to 'Tailed Beast Chakra' still surprised him.

This not only means that he can use the Nine-Tails' chakra at will, but also gives him a great advantage when facing other Jinchūriki.

In a sense, he is now a perfect Jinchūriki, but apart from his large chakra reserves, he is quite weak in other aspects.

Naruto did not disturb Kurama's sleep. After leaving some food, he quietly left the sealed space.

Kurama opened its eyes, swallowed the food that had been fed to it, and looked at the void with some curiosity. Why was Naruto smiling like that? Could it be that he was up to some mischievous idea and wanted to play a trick on the old man again?

After gaining and adapting to the 'Tailed Beast Chakra', Naruto was in high spirits and headed towards the classroom.

After pushing open the door, Naruto realized that he was the last student to arrive at the classroom. As soon as he entered, he attracted the attention of the whole class, who all turned to look at him.

Do I look bad in my outfit?

Naruto wondered to himself, the red robe with gold trim, though not as flashy as the imperial robe, suited his slender figure perfectly. Coupled with the masculine aura he exuded from regular training, he was a rare sunny young man.

In the class, he was second only to Sasuke, the cold-faced pretty boy who sat in the corner.

Could it be because of her identity as a fox spirit?

Ignoring the stares, Naruto found his spot and casually picked up a textbook to read. Rather than engaging in pointless conversations with others, he figured he might as well study the material properly.

Chapter 25 Self-Introduction and Sasuke

As the school bell rang, Scarface Iruka walked into the classroom with the class roster.

Even though there were no traps like blackboard erasers or buckets this time, Iruka still spotted Naruto in the back row of the classroom at a glance.

Naruto was engrossed in his book, looking every bit the diligent student, but Iruka wouldn't forget that Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the village.

His parents died in the chaos caused by the Nine-Tails.

Despite the fundamental difference between a Jinchuriki and a Tailed Beast, he still harbors a sense of hatred that extends to Naruto as well.

This was also the thought of most of the village's ninjas after they learned of the Jinchuriki's identity.

Having lived on the edge of a knife for years, they don't care about the difference between Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts. They just need an outlet for their anger, and not kicking someone when they're down is already more than enough.

Iruka sometimes harbors resentment, but he strives to overcome this prejudice.

His dream is to become an excellent teacher who will not change his attitude towards students because of their family background or life story.

After calming himself down, Iruka took a deep breath and began his self-introduction:

"Before the formal lecture, let me introduce myself. I am Iruka, your homeroom teacher for the next six years. I like Ichiraku Ramen, hate bibimbap, and dream of becoming an excellent teacher who does not discriminate against any student."

"What kind of dream is that? Shouldn't the teacher's dream be to become Hokage?"

"At the very least, I want to become the principal of a ninja academy. Is becoming a teacher also a dream?"

After Iruka introduced himself, a noisy commotion immediately erupted from the audience, with some even mocking Iruka's dream.

Iruka's expression was somewhat unpleasant, but he still patiently said, "Dreams have no distinction of high or low status. We need to respect other people's dreams. Would anyone like to introduce themselves first?"

"If not, I will call out names according to the roster."

After hearing Iruka's words, Naruto looked up at his homeroom teacher, then looked forward to the other people's self-introductions with great interest, and began to think about what his dream was.

Should one conform to others' expectations and become the Seventh Hokage, or choose to be oneself?

What kind of dreams do these three generations of old men hope to have?

Meanwhile, the Third Hokage, who had returned to his office, also took out his crystal ball to watch the live broadcast.

Iruka's class was the class he valued most in his year. The next generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family, the second son of the Uchiha family, and Naruto, the Jinchuriki he cared about most, were all in Iruka's class.

And Iruka, who had been personally trained by him, was naturally the best person to teach these children.

Soon, it was Naruto's turn to introduce himself. After standing up from his seat, he said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I am Uzumaki Naruto. You can easily find out my true identity by asking around. My hobbies are cooking, reading, and training. I hate people who hate me. My dream is to live an ordinary life and protect the people I want to protect."

After hearing Naruto's self-introduction, Iruka fell silent.

Naruto's dream is too humble, and he only hates those who hate him, but this dream is too difficult for Naruto.

Shikamaru and Choji also looked at Naruto with complicated expressions, understanding that Naruto was very lonely.

Hinata looked worried, as if she wanted to get up and comfort Naruto. At the same time, she was also annoyed that she had never understood Naruto's feelings. It was really wrong of her.

As for Sakura and Sasuke, they looked at their new deskmate with some curiosity, realizing that Naruto seemed to be no ordinary person.

The Third Hokage put down his pipe. He began to wonder if he had been too harsh on Naruto. After learning that he was a Jinchuriki, Naruto seemed to have completely lost his dreams and only wanted to be an ordinary person.

But a Jinchūriki is destined to never become an ordinary person.

After letting out a soft sigh, the Third Hokage deactivated the crystal ball and began handling official business.

After feeling the chakra surrounding him disappear, Naruto knew that his self-introduction was finally complete.

His self-introduction was never directed at Iruka and his classmates, but at the Third Hokage who was silently manipulating his life. Only by satisfying the Third Hokage could he successfully pass the test and gain more benefits.

As for the subsequent self-introductions from the other students, Naruto didn't pay much attention and chose to continue flipping through his textbook.

Since he chose to be high-profile, he naturally couldn't fall behind in his academic studies, and he was also interested in the knowledge presented there.

However, what Naruto didn't know was that his words had already caught Sasuke's attention.

After the bell rang, Sasuke approached Naruto and said, "Hey, I remember your name is Naruto, right? They all call you the Demon Fox behind your back. Are you exceptionally strong?"

Naruto put down his textbook, glanced at the younger version of Sasuke, and shook his head inwardly.

Sasuke ignored the prohibition and called me the Demon Fox to my face. Although I didn't mean to offend him, I still felt that Sasuke was a bit annoying and was ready to fight.

"They do call me that behind my back. My strength isn't that great; I've barely mastered the Three Bodies Technique."

"You've mastered the Three Bodies Technique?"

Sasuke was somewhat surprised; no wonder he sensed a faint aura of power from Naruto.

Everyone had just enrolled, and Naruto had already mastered the Three Body Technique, something he knew only his older brother could do.

Sasuke's initial eagerness to spar vanished without a trace.

Naruto saw through Sasuke's thoughts and said with a smile, "You must be Uchiha Sasuke, right? The clan that the security force belongs to. Don't you want to spar with me?"

"Could it be that you haven't mastered the Three Body Technique yet? Aren't all Uchiha people geniuses?"

Sasuke's face turned red, but he hadn't actually mastered the Three Body Techniques; he only knew the Shadow Clone Technique and the Substitution Technique.

If Naruto wasn't lying, he was no match for Naruto, but when it came to the honor of his clan, Sasuke couldn't back down and had no choice but to challenge Naruto.

"I accept your challenge. Shall we find a spacious place?"

"How's the playground? Now, with everyone here as witnesses."

Sasuke made the suggestion, but the next moment, a pencil was pressed against his neck, leaving a black mark.

Naruto's voice rang out softly: "Sasuke, you've already lost!"

Sasuke said somewhat indignantly, "This is a sneak attack; you didn't even say 'start'."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and said disdainfully, "The battle began the moment you issued the challenge. The enemy won't give you a chance to prepare, nor will they fight you fair and square."

Sasuke was speechless for a moment, but still said defiantly, "I challenge you again, and this time I'm ready."

Naruto shook his head slightly, stood up from his seat, and turned to look at Sasuke:

"I refuse your challenge. Let's wait until you get stronger. I have no interest in fighting someone who hasn't even mastered the Three Body Techniques. To me, it's like playing house."

Despite having his abilities diminished, Sasuke didn't become discouraged; instead, he became even more motivated.

He originally thought there weren't many people in the ninja academy who were qualified to be his opponents, but he didn't expect that his classmate Naruto would be such a formidable opponent, and life in the ninja academy became more interesting.

Chapter 26 Hinata's Determination

After returning from relieving himself, Naruto went back to his seat and noticed that Sasuke's gaze towards him had changed.

If Sasuke approaching him was an accident, then luring Sasuke into a challenge and easily defeating him was a deliberate act.

He needs to learn about the specific situation within the Uchiha clan through Sasuke.

Unlike the Hyuga, who have the Caged Bird system, the relationship between the Uchiha and the Konoha leadership has reached a point of fierce confrontation. They will not give up striking at each other's power as long as they have the opportunity.

The way to get Sasuke's attention was very simple: just belittle the Uchiha clan and give them a good beating.

In some ways, becoming Sasuke's opponent is just as easy as becoming Might Guy's opponent.

After responding with a disgusted look, Naruto picked up his textbook and continued reading. Since he had nothing better to do, he would bring more extracurricular books to the ninja academy to read in the future.

The academic subjects taught in the first year of the Ninja Academy were too basic for him and did not require much time.