Ninjas returning from other worlds

After a quick breakfast, Aoki Yuu made his way leisurely toward the Academy.

"Yuu, good morning!"

"You're graduating soon, aren't you? You'll make a fine ninja, I'm sure."

From time to time, familiar neighbors would greet him and strike up a conversation, and Yuu would respond with a polite smile. Over his years in Konoha, he had built a decent reputation among the locals.

Of course, he heard the name Uzumaki Naruto far more often, though the comments about him were much more malicious.

Yuu had grown used to it. All the pain and hatred left over from the Nine-Tailed Fox's attack seemed to be focused on Naruto. And he, in turn, was always pulling some stunt to get attention, including today's incident with the Hokage Rock.

If anyone else had done such a thing, it wouldn't have been called a mere prank. A prison sentence would have been the lightest punishment.

Strolling into the Academy and entering his classroom, he immediately noticed Haruno Sakura sitting in the front row.

Today, she wasn't wearing her usual cute red ribbon bow. Her pink hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail, which gave her entire appearance a surprisingly bold and fresh look.

Such a transformation had obviously caught everyone's eye. Her best friend, Yamanaka Ino, was standing beside her, demanding an explanation.

"Sakura, why did you change your hairstyle without talking to me about it?"

"I just felt like a change of style," Sakura tossed out casually.

"I don't believe you!" Ino protested. "You're definitely trying to get Sasuke's attention this way! That's a low blow!"

Sakura glanced briefly at Uchiha Sasuke, who was sitting nearby, and smirked.

"Relax, I'm not interested in him anymore."

Yamanaka Ino froze.

"Not interested... what does that mean?"

"It means..." Sakura paused, a faint embarrassment on her face as if recalling something shameful from her past, "...that I've suddenly lost interest in Sasuke. So you can feel free to pursue whoever you like and stop thinking of me as a rival."

"Sakura, you..." Ino was at a loss for a moment, but then her anger flared up again. "What's with that tone?!"

She felt as if her friend had become a stranger. Not only had she suddenly given up on something that had once been so important to them, but she was acting like an adult talking to a child—with that irritating mix of condescension and encouragement.

"You say that like you're just handing him over to me! Even if you fought me for him, I wouldn't lose!"

"Good luck!" Sakura said earnestly.

This only made Yamanaka Ino even angrier.

"I told you, don't talk to me in that tone! I'm not speaking to you for the rest of the day!"

Hearing this, Sakura laughed.

"Alright, how about I treat you to dessert after class as an apology?"

Ino turned away, ignoring her.

Tsk, Yuu curled his lip and returned to his seat.

What a natural-born villainess transmigrator. Is she not even going to try to hide the changes in her personality?

The good mood brought on by the System's reward vanished without a trace.

"Morning, Yuu," the portly boy next to him mumbled with his mouth full. "You don't look too happy."

"Probably because of graduation tomorrow," Yuu replied. "It's a little sad, after all."

"What's the big deal? We'll become ninja, but we'll still be comrades in the same village," the boy said cheerfully. "We might even get a chance to fight side-by-side."

"I hope so," Yuu smiled.

Fight side-by-side... If he, a ninja from a common family, didn't have his cheat, then after graduation, he and an heir to the Akimichi clan like Choji would end up in completely different worlds.

The small stir caused by the changes in Sakura didn't create a major uproar. Compared to the sudden personality shift of a twelve-year-old girl, the main topic of discussion today was Naruto's prank on the Hokage Rock.

Just before class began, Instructor Iruka finally dragged a bound-up Uzumaki Naruto into the room.

After the familiar lecture, Iruka announced a review test of the Transformation Jutsu.

Aoki Yuu got in line with the other students. He was looking forward to this with some anticipation, as he vaguely remembered that this scene was also in the original story.

"Haruno Sakura."

Iruka, holding a register, looked at Sakura standing at the front of the line. Her appearance surprised him slightly, but he spoke as usual.

"You're first."

Sakura stepped forward and formed a seal out of habit. In the next moment, a perfect duplicate of Iruka appeared before everyone.

"Pass," Iruka marked his register, then added, "Compared to the last test, your speed at forming hand seals has gotten much faster. I can see you've been training hard."

"Something like that," Sakura nodded.

Compared to last time, I've only had about ten more years of training... she thought. Although, after arriving in that other world, she had barely used ninjutsu, relying on the three basic techniques only at the very beginning.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Iruka called the next name.

Sasuke stepped forward with an impassive face, silently formed the seal, and transformed. Flawless, as expected.

"Pass," Iruka nodded in satisfaction. "Next, Uzumaki Naruto!"

This is it! Yuu immediately focused his attention.

Uzumaki Naruto snickered and formed the seal with equal familiarity, but in the next instant, what appeared before everyone was not Instructor Iruka, but a sultry, naked blonde with two pigtails.

Yuu's pupils constricted.

You had to admit, Naruto had a talent for this. Such a figure, such a pose—the sight of it was enough to make your brain short-circuit for a moment.

Compared to the boys and girls in the class, the effect on the adult Iruka was far greater. He practically turned to stone and only snapped out of it when Naruto dispelled the technique, clutching his stomach and howling with laughter.

"Well?! What do you think of my Sexy Jutsu?!"

"You idiot! Stop inventing such vulgar techniques!" Iruka, blushing with a mix of shame and rage, smacked him on the back of the head. "Fail! Next!"

The students went up one by one, and Yuu, watching his field of vision, felt a slight disappointment.

Although the scene of Naruto using his Sexy Jutsu for the first time was in the original story, the System did not trigger a check-in.

Probably because this scene is too mundane, he guessed. After all, the original had a lot of everyday moments, and it's unlikely I can check in at every single one.

Soon, Iruka called Aoki Yuu. He stepped forward and formed the seal with an unremarkable speed.

"Pass."

The result was as expected. Iruka even offered him some encouragement.

"Yuu, you're as consistent as ever. Keep it up, and you'll definitely become a decent ninja!"

'A decent ninja?'

Yuu smiled. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

Except, in this world, you won't last long by just being "decent."

His path was the one that led to the very top.