章 78: Chapter 78: Their Respective Resolutions

"Oh ho, a kiss, huh? It seems like your relationship has progressed again~," Mrs. Yamanaka said with a smile as she watched Ino run inside.

"Mom! You were spying again!" Ino said, a bit annoyed.

"Hehe, Mommy wasn't spying. I was watching openly. It's not like you two were hiding it from me," Mrs. Yamanaka responded with a cheerful smile.

"Ugh…" Ino didn't know how to respond.

"By the way, Mom, there's something I want to discuss with you." Suddenly, Ino looked seriously at her mother.

"What is it? Is it about little Natsuro?" Mrs. Yamanaka looked at her daughter's sudden serious expression and thought she was adorable. If she had met someone like Natsuro when she was Ino's age, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist pursuing him either.

Ino shook her head and said, "Mom, I'm going to start training even harder from now on, so I might not be able to help out at the flower shop anymore."

"Hmm? Why?" Mrs. Yamanaka was a bit puzzled. Although she never expected Ino to always help out at the shop, why bring this up all of a sudden?

Ino quickly explained to her mother about Natsuro's early graduation.

"Oh, so that's it. He's really an outstanding young man," Mrs. Yamanaka realized. If that's the case, Ino's actions before and now made sense. No wonder she had been so proactive.

"Alright, I agree," Mrs. Yamanaka said with a smile.

"Mm, thank you, Mom!" Ino said as she jumped into her mother's arms, acting all spoiled.

Mrs. Yamanaka gently stroked Ino's hair, her smile never fading. In truth, they never expected Ino to help at the shop. It was just that this little girl had always been so considerate, wanting to help with the family business on her own.

Now that the little girl has set her own goals, how could they, as her parents, not support her?

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The next day, at the Ninja Academy, Natsuro was surrounded by a crowd of students. It was all because Iruka had announced his early graduation during class.

When Iruka made the announcement, Naruto had jumped up and shouted.

"I want to apply for early graduation too! I'm going to be the Hokage, so how can I stay in school forever?"

"Naruto!! How about you focus on improving your theory grades first? And if you can't even master the Three Basic Jutsu, you won't graduate, even in the sixth grade!" Iruka shouted at Naruto, who had disrupted the class.

Naruto immediately deflated. It was true—whether it was theoretical knowledge or the Three Basic Jutsu, he was extremely bad at them.

"Who would've thought you'd graduate early," Shikamaru said, a bit wistful.

"Yeah, there's not much point in staying here anymore, so I applied for early graduation," Natsuro replied.

"With your skill level, you could've graduated a long time ago. But you waited this long—was it because of Ino?" Shikamaru teased.

"That's part of the reason, but not entirely," He didn't deny it. His relationship with Ino was pretty much public in their class.

"Alright, but the whole early graduation thing sounds like such a hassle," Shikamaru said, scratching his head. Even though he could apply for early graduation himself, he would never do something so bothersome.

However, the hand that Shikamaru had been resting on his desk slowly clenched into a fist. After all… he really didn't want to be left too far behind.

Feeling a bit irritated, Shikamaru looked over at Choji, who was still eating. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Hey, Choji, I know a way for you to eat even more grilled meat."

"Hmm?" Choji's eyes immediately lit up. More grilled meat? Really?

"If you can keep up with Natsuro's progress, you'll definitely get to eat more grilled meat!" Shikamaru said with a mischievous grin.

"More grilled meat! Oh! I'm fired up! I'm going to work hard and surpass Natsuro!" Choji didn't think much about it, his eyes blazing with determination.

Shikamaru smiled at the sight. He didn't feel guilty at all—motivating a friend to work hard could never be a bad thing, right? It sure felt good to drag someone else into the effort.

"Natsuro, I want to graduate too!" Naruto, who had been downcast earlier, now said.

"Then you'll have to work hard. The Genin exam places a lot of emphasis on the Three Basic Jutsu," Natsuro said with a smile.

"Ugh… but, I'm okay with the Transformation Jutsu, but I really struggle with the Clone Jutsu and the Substitution Jutsu…" Naruto said, rubbing his short blond hair in frustration.

"Alright, I'll come over after school today and teach you some tips," Natsuro said after thinking for a moment.

"Promise?" Naruto's eyes immediately lit up.

"Promise."

After class, he found himself surrounded again. Most of the boys came to ask how he managed to graduate early, while the girls were all expressing how much they would miss him.

He was used to this by now. He just said goodbye to the people he was close to and greeted everyone else. It was the last day, after all—no need to keep up the cold and distant act.

"Natsuro, come outside with me for a moment." Just then, an untimely voice rang out.

Looking over, he saw that it was Sasuke. Sasuke was staring at him intently, as if worried he would be refused.

"Alright." Natsuro looked at Sasuke, smiled, and nodded.

Finally, he broke free from the crowd and followed Sasuke out of the classroom. Soon, they arrived at that familiar spot—he still remembered how he had beaten up Sasuke here before.

"So, what do you want this time?" Natsuro asked.

"I'm going to defeat you, and then prove that I can graduate early too!" Sasuke said coldly, already charging at him.

When Sasuke heard about Natsuro's early graduation, he was stunned. Then, he realized he shouldn't waste any more time at the Academy. If he stayed in this basic school, how would he ever catch up to that person?

But Sasuke didn't know how to apply for early graduation. Ask Iruka? That didn't seem right. So, he decided that if he could defeat Natsuro, who had already graduated, he could prove that he was ready to graduate too!

That was Sasuke's plan, but he seemed to have forgotten that he had never once beaten Natsuro before.

Natsuro could roughly guess Sasuke's intentions, but unfortunately for Sasuke, with his current skill level—while he was indeed at the level of a Genin—defeating Natsuro was just a pipe dream!

It didn't take long before Sasuke was pinned to the ground by him with one hand.

"Damn it!" Sasuke gritted his teeth. Why did it feel like the gap between them wasn't closing, but getting even wider? He had worked so hard, so why was this happening? Was his talent really that lacking? If so, how could he ever…

Natsuro pressed Sasuke down, then, as usual, knocked on the hardest part of Sasuke's skull before saying, "You're so eager to defeat me—is it because you want to get revenge on that rogue ninja?"

Hearing his words, Sasuke fell silent. He stopped struggling, as if he had no strength left.

Natsuro sat down on Sasuke's back and said, "I've heard a bit about what happened with the Uchiha clan. To be honest, I support you in seeking revenge. After all, it would be inhuman to let go of such hatred."

"But I can't even beat you. How am I supposed to catch up to him? How am I supposed to kill him?" Sasuke gritted his teeth, his voice filled with frustration and uncertainty.

"Heh…" Natsuro chuckled and then, raising his hand, knocked hard on the same spot on Sasuke's head again.

"Hey! Why did you hit me again?!" Sasuke immediately got angry and started struggling again.

But what Sasuke didn't realize was that he had gotten used to being hit in that spot. Every time Natsuro hit him there, it just hurt—no bumps ever formed anymore.

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