Naruto: The New Beginning

22. Peaceful days

"Cowards" Sasuke frowned. How could someone who didn't even dare to take a fight be a ninja?

"Don't be so cold, Sasuke. Those two are good friends," Naruto said.

Sasuke was confused. One didn't dare to make a move, and the other conceded defeat. What's good about that?

"Both of them are thinking of each other. One is afraid the other will get injured and doesn't take action, and the other is afraid the other will be embarrassed by the teacher and admit defeat," Naruto explained.

"So what?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course, I want to get to know them. What's wrong with having more friends?" Naruto said, genuinely liking Shikamaru and Choji.

In the original series, the two didn't show any disgust towards Naruto like the others. They even formed a group of four with Naruto and Kiba to skip class together.

Shikamaru once asked his father, Shikaku, "Why do people in the village hate Naruto?"

Shikaku replied, "What do you think of him?"

Shikamaru answered, "I don't hate him"

Shikaku then said, "Do what you think is right."

Choji once nearly fought for Naruto. Even though these events hadn't happened yet, Naruto still felt a natural affection for them. So, he wanted to get to know them better.

"Shikamaru and Choji, right? Hello!" Naruto pulled Sasuke, who wore a reluctant expression, over to Shikamaru and Choji, who had just left the field.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and this guy is Sasuke Uchiha."

"I know you guys. You're amazing," Shikamaru said, noticing how almost all the girls' eyes followed the two of them. He sighed, thinking, 'What a drag, They seem like very troublesome guys'

Shikamaru finally mustered a bit of energy and continued, "So, what's up?"

Choji, who had been silent, stepped forward to half-block Shikamaru, worried that the two were there to cause trouble.

Naruto said calmly, "It's nothing. I just think you two are pretty cool, so I wanted to get to know you."

At this, Choji, who wasn't particularly chubby yet, looked a bit stunned. He had always felt a bit inferior because of his plumpness and other children disliked him for being clumsy and didn't like to play with him.

Only Shikamaru didn't laugh at him for this, so Choji only had Shikamaru as a friend. Now that someone said he was not bad, Choji was a little overjoyed.

"Don't you think I'm... Fat?" Choji asked anxiously.

"Does that have anything to do with making friends?" Naruto replied nonchalantly. What's wrong with being chubby? Naruto had a few chubby classmates in his previous life, who were mild-mannered and had good temperaments, Being around them was fun.

"Choji, you are also a member of the Akimichi clan; I've always believed that the Akimichi clan's strength allows them to make their companions feel safer, Right, Sasuke?" Naruto said truthfully and then attempted to involve Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded. He had heard of the Akimichi clan. He didn't care about Choji's stature, as long as he was strong enough.

Shikamaru was happy for Choji. If he could make new friends, Choji would be happy. Shikamaru turned his head, and sure enough, Choji was moved to the point of tears, sniffing hard.

"Thank you! I'm so happy," Choji said.

Naruto didn't expect Choji's reaction to be so strong. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay. Why don't I invite you to eat Ichiraku Ramen tomorrow at noon? It's delicious."

Sasuke found his blind spot. "Why not after school?"

"Because today is the first day of school. My mother told me to come home early," Naruto sighed and patted Sasuke on the shoulder. "The consequences of disobedience, Sasuke, you understand."

Sasuke shuddered at the thought of a terrifying figure with flowing red hair and looked at Naruto with more sympathy. 'I'm lucky my mom is gentle through, But I heard from my mother that she wanted me to recognize Aunt Kushina as my trainer. No way... In all fairness, Aunt Kushina used to be pretty good, cheerful and liked to laugh, praising me for being cute every time. But once, I made her angry, and she strangled me by the neck and drilled her fists on the top of my head.'

When Shikamaru heard Naruto's words and saw Sasuke's reaction, he roughly understood something. "Sure enough, moms are troublesome creatures."

Thinking that when he got home, his mother would ask about his school situation. After he made friends, his mother would brag about how well she had done and then start to nag if he was listless again.

After three minutes, she would drag his father, who was watching the fun, into it, saying that no one in the Nara family could be saved.

Fortunately, their son was still young and could be corrected quickly. His father would probably try to defend a bit and then lose the battle, secretly using ninjutsu to plug his ears, giving himself a headache until dinner was over.

"Troublesome. Maybe I should try to learn ninjutsu, at least enough to sneak in earplugs," Shikamaru thought.

And Choji's mind was full of thoughts about the ramen for lunch tomorrow. Naruto's treat...

At the end of the afternoon class, the four little friends walked out of the school together. Choji and Shikamaru were led away by their parents.

Choji happily waved goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke, while Shikamaru waved with a lazy attitude.

Naruto noticed that Hinata went back with Neji, and when Neji said something with a smile, Hinata replied in a low voice. It seemed they had a good relationship.

Sasuke called out to his brother with a look of surprise, ran over, and hugged Itachi's thigh. Well, because of the height difference, Sasuke could only hug his thigh. Itachi smiled and said hello to Naruto, then led Sasuke away.

Naruto went back with Kimimaro. "I also have a family now."

Naruto, who went to school for the first day, had to talk about today's experience when he got home.

Sasuke did the same, complaining to Itachi with a frustrated face, saying that he had lost to Naruto again and wanted to learn ninjutsu from his brother.

Choji told his father, Choza, that he had made two new friends and happily ate two more bowls of rice. Choza was also happy for his son, so he served him another bowl.

As for Shikamaru's house, it was similar to what Shikamaru had guessed. Shikaku was soon discovered by his wife after putting on the earplugs and was scolded for half an hour.

Shikamaru was thinking about how he would wear earplugs in the future.

Hinata finished her evening training, coaxed Hanabi to sleep, and lay tiredly in her bed. Thinking that she would see Naruto again tomorrow, she smiled sweetly and fell asleep.

***

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