Naruto (SI) Starting With Glint Glint Fruit

"Hm?"

Just as he was thinking, Naruto suddenly noticed something weird ahead—a strange-looking wall with a pair of feet sticking out from under it.

"Konohamaru, come out."

"You really are amazing, Big Bro Naruto! Even my expert-level hiding technique didn't fool you!"

"..."

Naruto was speechless. Anyone with eyes could see through that kind of disguise.

Konohamaru dropped his disguise and looked at Naruto with admiration. "Big Bro, teach me ninjutsu again today! I want to get strong like you!"

"Today?"

Naruto thought for a moment. He had class assignment in the morning and had to wait for his squad leader in the afternoon. That only left lunch and evening free.

"If you treat me to a big lunch, I might consider training you a little tonight," Naruto said after thinking it over.

"Really?"

"Then it's a deal!"

Konohamaru cheered.

"Alright, see you at the school gate at noon. I've gotta run to class now—and I've only got about ten minutes left! I'm off, Konohamaru!"

"Yata no Kagami!"

Naruto formed a circle with his hands, and in the center appeared a golden glowing mirror. Light beams shot out and bounced around, forming a glowing path of light!

Naruto stepped onto the path and moved at the speed of light. In an instant, he disappeared from where he stood.

Konohamaru saw golden flashes bouncing off the windows of nearby houses as Naruto vanished with the light. His eyes were full of awe.

"So cool~"

"Too bad Big Bro said I'd never be able to learn that kind of jutsu."

Thinking about it, Konohamaru felt a little down—but quickly picked himself back up.

"Even if I can't be cool like Big Bro, he said the Sexy Jutsu and Harem Jutsu could defeat every man in the Konohagakure Village!"

"If I master those two jutsu, I, Konohamaru, can still become the greatest ninja in the village!"

...

It only took Naruto a few seconds to cross several blocks and reach the ninja academy.

He walked into the classroom.

Most of the seats were already taken. He looked around. These classmates were both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

In a way, he had only met most of these people once before.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? Today's meeting is just for graduates," Shikamaru asked with a confused look after spotting Naruto.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto stared at the guy with the round bun hairstyle and asked in return.

"Huh? Yeah, it's me. What's wrong? Don't tell me you don't recognize me?" Shikamaru said, surprised.

"It's nothing."

Naruto replied with a blank face, then walked past Shikamaru and casually found a seat.

To avoid getting dragged into any drama between Haruno Sakura and Sasuke, he made sure to sit far away from Sasuke.

Even though he didn't have memories and didn't know Sasuke well, Naruto still remembered what he looked like.

After all, when he first came to this world, the first thing he saw was Sasuke taking the exam.

"What a weird guy,"

Shikamaru mumbled to himself as he scratched his cheek and then went back to his seat.

After a while, the sound of chatter came from the doorway.

Then Naruto saw two girls rush in—one with pink hair in a red outfit, the other with blonde hair in purple.

"We made it!"

"We made it!"

They both shouted at the same time, breathing heavily.

They looked completely out of breath!

"I beat you again, Sakura!"

"What are you talking about? My foot clearly stepped into the classroom one centimeter before yours!"

"No way, are you blind?!"

...

"So noisy."

Naruto glanced at them, then looked away, no longer interested.

Compared to the rest of the kids in class, Sakura and Ino were at least nice to look at.

But their personalities? Way too loud and unladylike.

If he could pick his own teammates, he'd want to replace Sakura without a second thought.

As Sakura and Ino argued, they suddenly spotted Sasuke and quickly ran over.

"G-Good morning, Sasuke~"

"Can I sit next to you, Sasuke~?"

"Hey! I'm supposed to sit next to Sasuke!"

"First come, first serve, right?"

"But I got to the classroom first!"

"No, I did!"

"Wrong! It was me!"

"I'm sitting next to Sasuke!"

...

Naruto watched a bunch of girls suddenly get up to join Sakura and Ino in fighting over the seat next to Sasuke. He couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"So damn loud."

He turned his head away—and suddenly met a pair of eyes sneaking a look at him.

"G-Good morning, Naruto~"

Hinata blushed as she looked at Naruto, speaking softly and carefully.

Naruto's eyes focused.

White eyes. Short hair.

"Hinata?"

"H-Here!"

Naruto hadn't even noticed when she sat down beside him.

"No need to be so nervous. Good morning."

"Y-Yes! Good morning, Naruto~"

Hinata's face turned red as she kept secretly glancing at Naruto.

Naruto-kun is so kind~

Hinata thought to herself.

Compared to girls like Sakura and Ino, Hinata's personality really made her more likable.

At least she was much easier to be around.

With girls like Sakura and Ino, whether they like you or hate you, they're both a headache.

If they like you, they'll talk non-stop all day—so noisy.

And if they hate you, they'll say anything, no matter how harsh.

Naruto still remembered how Sakura had said some really hurtful things more than once.

Like mocking one orphan in front of another for not having parents.

As for Ino—

Maybe because she didn't show up as much, she wasn't as annoying as Sakura.

But since the two of them had such similar personalities and could be best friends, they were probably more or less the same type of person.

In short, Naruto didn't really like either of them. His first impression of them was just bad.

Just then, Iruka walked in, and the girls quickly sat down, no longer fighting over who got to sit next to Sasuke.

"Congrats! From today on, you're officially ninjas who can work on your own! But you're still just rookie genin. The real tests are just beginning!"

"From now on, you'll be split into teams of three, and each team will carry out missions under the guidance of a jonin!"

"To keep things balanced, the teachers have already decided the teams!"

"First, Team One..."

It really seemed like they considered everyone's skill levels, since the earlier teams were made up of students with similar scores.

Until...

"Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke!"

When Naruto heard that, he just gave a dry laugh.

Balanced teams?

Do we look balanced to you?

If this wasn't rigged, then what was?

He glanced to the side—

Hinata looked sad that she wasn't on the same team as Naruto.

Sakura, on the other hand, looked upset that she was on the same team as Naruto.

Even though Naruto didn't openly compete with Sasuke and hadn't pissed off Sakura lately, his old self had been an annoying loser who followed her around, so she still didn't like him.

"If only I could switch teams," Naruto thought.