From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

"Yes, Lord Sandai, it's been a month since the start of the semester. I'm here to give you a report on our class."

As Iruka spoke, he handed over a document with both hands.

"Look at my memory, I'm getting old."

The Third Hokage shook his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly. He took the documents and began to read them. They contained the students' grades and performance in the first month, as well as Iruka's analysis of the students' situations.

"How's teaching going lately?"

After flipping through the pages for a while, the Third Hokage casually asked a question.

Iruka replied in a deep voice, "Thank you for your concern, Third Hokage. Everything is fine in the class!"

"Ah."

The Third Hokage nodded slightly and continued flipping through the manuscript. When he came to the information on Uchiha Sasuke, his hand paused, and his eyes became much more serious.

How is Sasuke now?

The Third Hokage looked at Iruka and asked softly.

After a long silence, Iruka said, "Third Hokage, Sasuke's personality has changed somewhat."

"Ah."

The Third Hokage nodded slightly, not at all surprised. Normal people would be more or less affected by such a thing.

"The old Sasuke may have appeared arrogant and aloof on the surface, seemingly ignoring his classmates, but it was clearly just a child's way of masking his shyness and timidity through a tough and arrogant demeanor that didn't reflect his true feelings. The Sasuke of today..."

Sasuke used to give off a cool and aloof vibe, like a proud lion, making him unapproachable, but in reality, he was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

Iruka sighed and continued, "Third Hokage, I also suspect that Sasuke has a closed personality disorder."

The Third Hokage took a drag of his cigarette: "Continue."

"Sasuke is acting too calmly right now, he doesn't seem like..."

At this point, Iruka paused, thought for a while, and then replied, "A closed personality is a personality that lacks interest in the outside world and lacks emotional experience. Although Sasuke responds to greetings from other classmates and is very polite in his dealings with people, Sasuke basically does not take the initiative to communicate with other classmates, does not actively participate in activities, and does not interact with people around him. On the surface, Sasuke has become much more easygoing and polite, but he has now closed himself off."

Iruka could sense a deep distance hidden beneath Sasuke's outward politeness; there was no one in his eyes, or rather, the person who was there wasn't here.

Thinking about what had happened to Sasuke, Iruka sighed inwardly.

Wasn't he the same way back then?

During the Nine-Tails incident, she witnessed her parents, both Jonin, sacrifice themselves to protect the village, which caused a drastic change in her personality. She was the life of the party in front of her schoolmates, but she often cried silently in front of the Konoha Memorial Monument by herself.

This outward calm masks an inner pain that only those experiencing it can truly understand...

"is it?"

The Third Hokage's eyes flickered slightly as he silently smoked, recalling Sasuke's performance over the past two months.

He went to school every day as usual, never late or absent, and after school he would quietly lock himself in the Uchiha clan's territory for training.

In interpersonal interactions, they also act in a very businesslike manner.

Staring at the calm face on the document, the Third Hokage sighed and put down the file in his hand.

"Iruka."

"Hi, Third Generation Lord!"

"Where the leaves dance, the fire will never die. The First Hokage united the comrades of the various clans to create the village. The Second Hokage inherited the First Hokage's ambition and founded the Ninja Academy. In addition to teaching children the skills to become ninjas, the Ninja Academy also teaches them to understand the meaning of comrades. Just like the ocean, each person is like a drop of water in the ocean. A single drop of water cannot become an ocean, but when all the water comes together, it becomes an ocean."

The Third Hokage looked at Iruka earnestly and said, "Sasuke has closed himself off. His current behavior is very similar to yours when you were a child. You need to work harder in the future. I hope that under your guidance, Sasuke will become a true successor to the Will of Fire."

At this point, the Third Hokage sighed slightly, thinking of Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Shisui, and Uchiha Itachi.

Guilt, nostalgia, complexity, and entanglement flashed across his eyes.

Iruka didn't notice the Third Hokage's change in expression; he only saw the Third Hokage's face turn serious before Iruka quickly replied, "Yes, Third Hokage!"

The Third Hokage nodded slightly and continued, "What about Naruto? How is he doing?"

When Naruto was mentioned, Iruka had a wry smile on his face: "Third Hokage, that Naruto guy is still as troublesome as ever."

The Third Hokage chuckled: "Iruka, it seems you've truly accepted Naruto from the bottom of your heart now."

"Yes, Lord Sandai, thank you for your help with this matter."

Iruka nodded, a complex expression on his face.

Because his parents died at the hands of the Nine-Tails, and Naruto was rumored to be the incarnation of the demon fox, Iruka was unable to face Naruto when he first became Naruto's teacher and resigned from his position as the Third Hokage.

Finally, the Third Hokage gave him two choices: either teach Naruto Uzumaki and try to open his heart to accept him.

Either expel Naruto outright, out of sight, out of mind, and make him drop out of school.

In the end, the kind-hearted and gentle Iruka chose the first option.

"Naruto may seem carefree on the surface, but he is a very soft-hearted child. He is lonely and longs for recognition, but he may not be able to find a suitable way to do so yet."

As they spent more time together, Iruka discovered Naruto's inner loneliness and gradually accepted him. He also understood why Naruto wanted to be recognized by everyone, because Iruka had also had the same expectations of everyone when he was a child.

"Hahahahaha!"

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage nodded and burst into laughter.

Chapter 18 Sakura's Question

The two chatted about Naruto for a while longer, and then the Third Hokage asked, "You said that Naruto often provoked Sasuke at school and even challenged him?"

"Yes, Lord Sandai."

Iruka sighed and rubbed his forehead, saying with a wry smile, "Naruto is always like this, as if defeating Sasuke would make him number one, but he always gets instantly defeated by Sasuke..."

"Just like I said, Naruto is a sensitive person, and perhaps he understood the loneliness in Sasuke's heart."

"hehe...."

The Third Hokage chuckled, took a drag of his cigarette, and revealed a kind smile.

“Iruka, sometimes, that’s how bonds are formed.”

Through their daily interactions, the Third Hokage suddenly remembered his disciples Jiraiya and Orochimaru, as well as Kakashi and Obito Uchiha from Minato's team.

Having grown up without a family or parents, Naruto discovered and deeply understood the loneliness felt by others who had also lost their families.

Judging from the information, Sasuke has never shown any sign of refusal or impatience in the face of Naruto's challenge.

Perhaps, for Sasuke, two equally lonely people attracted and resonated with each other.

Sometimes, bonds are formed unintentionally in such situations.

"Iruka." The Third Hokage pondered for a moment and then said, "It seems that the two little ones are quite destined for each other. Let nature take its course. You should also put in more effort to train them to become pillars of Konoha."

Iruka shuddered, his eyes hardening with a resolute gaze, carrying a sense of sacredness, and declared firmly, "I will not fail your trust, Third Hokage!"

"Okay, go ahead, I believe in you!"

After Iruka left the office, the Third Hokage stared intently at the portrait of the Fourth Hokage on the wall. After a long while, he sighed and took out two more reports from the drawer.

A report is about Naruto's daily life.

The other one is about Uchiha Sasuke's daily life.

After seeing Sasuke go to the back mountain today, the Third Hokage only showed a slight thoughtful expression before putting the two documents back into the drawer, opening the crystal ball again, and placing the image in some indescribable places.

Sasuke was unaware of the conversation in the Hokage's office, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care and would simply continue doing what he was supposed to do every day.

Sasuke knew that he was currently under the joint protection of the Third Hokage and Itachi Uchiha to some extent.

As long as he doesn't do anything that crosses the line in the village, it won't cause too much of a stir.

Moreover, compared to the original work, Uchiha Sasuke always seemed unapproachable, full of bitterness and hatred, and constantly talking about revenge and blood feuds.

He felt that he had performed very well.

------------

Ninja Academy.

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

"arrive."

"Please come up here and get your report card."

Iruka called out Sasuke's name, holding a report card in his hand.

"Thank you, teacher."

Sasuke stepped forward, took the report card, and calmly began to speak.

"Wait a minute, Sasuke!"

Iruka stopped Sasuke, pulled him aside, and announced, "Classmates, let's congratulate Sasuke on getting first place in the monthly exam again! We hope everyone will learn from him!"

"Wow, as expected of Sasuke-kun!"

"Sasuke-kun is so handsome!"

"boring....."

"Damn it... that arrogant Sasuke!"

Iruka pointed at Naruto, who was sitting in the last row with a disgruntled look on his face, and shouted, "Especially you, Naruto, you should learn more from Sasuke in the future!"

"Hmph!" Naruto slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Who wants to ask this guy for help? Iruka-sensei, just you wait, next time I'll definitely defeat Sasuke and become the strongest in our class!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom erupted in laughter and boos. Naruto, however, remained unfazed, displaying an attitude of "I've already said it, I'm not afraid of anything."

Upon seeing this, Iruka's eye twitched and veins popped out on his forehead.

Sasuke silently observed the emotional entanglement between the two teachers and students, then quietly began to walk back to his seat.

"Sasuke-kun, you're amazing!"

As soon as I sat down, Sakura Haruno, who was nearby, came up to me with a lovestruck expression.

"Thank you!" Sasuke replied indifferently.

"By the way, Sasuke-kun, this time..." Sakura hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Your chakra control was excellent in the ninjutsu test this time, because..."

"Ah, thank you for this, Sakura."