Chapter 53:
"What did you promise me last night?"
Sasuke stood beside Naruto's bed. The moment he opened his eyes, Sasuke reached out and pinned him down.
This bastard hadn't actually rested at all last night, had he?
Did he want to die?
Day after day, he was always making people worry endlessly!
"Sasuke… I-I'll get up right now…"
Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was extremely close, and shrank back into the blanket in fright.
Although he had known he would be woken up, he didn't expect Sasuke to get this close!
Just now in the soul space, he had extracted another portion of Nine-Tails power, split it into ten parts, and let his shadow clones begin assimilating and absorbing it.
Every day he could assimilate a little more. He had already quietly extracted enough to noticeably affect the Nine-Tails' condition, so the speed naturally had to increase again.
He wondered if these ten shadow clones could last three months. After all, the last one had only lasted a year.
He had to admit — the amount of chakra the Nine-Tails possessed was truly satisfying…
"Get up and make breakfast!"
Sasuke quickly let go. For a moment he had actually thought Naruto looked better than him?
It was better to ignore that strange thought. This idiot caused trouble every day and looked stupid and dazed — it was already good enough that he didn't find him ugly!
"Sasuke, why is your face red?"
Naruto suddenly reached out and pinched Sasuke's cheek, turning his face back toward him.
It really was red. Had Sasuke done something guilty?
"Make breakfast. I've already finished training. Do you want to stay a dead-last in your final year too?"
Not wanting his strange thought from earlier to be noticed, Sasuke slapped Naruto on the shoulder.
He was always the dead-last. This guy had even gotten used to it — Sasuke was too lazy to even bother disdaining him anymore.
"I won't! Next year is the graduation exam. I will definitely become a ninja. Let me tell you — I'm going to work hard and become even stronger than the Hokage!"
Naruto roared and climbed out of bed. Sasuke's slap had left his shoulder red.
This guy, even without merging with his shadow clone, was still annoyingly tsundere.
"Tch! With your grades, I doubt you can even graduate…"
Sasuke complained, then left Naruto's bedroom.
After Naruto finished making breakfast and packed lunch, they ate their fill and headed to school. As expected, Iruka called them aside.
"Iruka-sensei, yesterday my stomach really hurt, that's why I left. I wasn't skipping class…"
Naruto clutched the hem of his shirt and lowered his head in front of Iruka, confessing before he was even asked.
"It was sensei who neglected you. Yesterday on the road I saw you carrying rabbits you caught in the mountains…
Later I went to ask the Hokage and only then discovered there was a problem with your living expenses…
The person who deliberately skimmed your money has already been taken away for investigation. The missing amount from before has been made up. From now on, if the two of you can't even eat your fill, remember to come tell sensei…"
Iruka handed a plump wallet to Sasuke.
Last night he had actually been summoned directly by the Hokage. But some things couldn't be said directly to Naruto and Sasuke. Although he didn't know who had brought up the issue, since the Hokage said he had asked, then it had to be him…
As long as these two children could eat their fill, he could feel a little more at ease. As for the matter he had inquired about a year ago…
Since the Hokage acted as if it had never happened, he didn't dare ask again. He would just pretend it didn't exist.
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