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VIII

The Academy

Naruto finished his daily morning run around the village and stopped outside the academy, his bag full of books that he did not need. He was "transferring" into a first-year class a few months late when in actuality it was just to take the academy exam without suspicion of favouritism from the Hokage towards his son. There was really no need for him to attend the academy, but it was customary for all aspiring shinobi to go through the academy.

Naruto entered the building, his steps silent unlike those of the other academy students. Naruto looked much older than he really was because of his immortality which hastened his development. Instead of looking like the five-year-old that he really was, he actually appeared to be easily seven. For that reason, there was little suspicion on the side of all the students and teachers as Minato had purposely withheld information from them.

Naruto got to the office without issue, having purposely masked his presence to escape the notice of the other students. He stopped at the counter, where a female chūnin was signing some papers. He decided to wait for her to finish before making his presence known.

"Good morning, miss. I am Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto and I am transferring into the class 1A today," Naruto spoke up, startling the woman.

"Oh yes, of course. Your sensei is Funenō Daikoku," the woman replied.

The woman stood from her place behind the desk, saying respectfully, "It's this way, Naruto-sama."

She escorted Naruto to the entrance of the classroom, passing him a sheet of paper that held his schedule. He thanked her, causing the woman to smile slightly before she left. Naruto proceeded to knock on the door, twice as was protocol for when a Konoha shinobi is requesting entry to any place. This was often forgotten by most genin, but every decent shinobi would remember the code.

The door was opened by a chubby and tanned chūnin who wore a bandana and the standard chūnin outfit. Naruto presumed that this chūnin was his new sensei, Funenō Daikoku. Naruto inclined his head to the smiling male.

"Greetings. I presume that you are Funenō-sensei?" Naruto greeted politely.

"Indeed. And you must be Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto-sama. Please come in," Daikoku said pleasantly.

Naruto entered the classroom, scanning the ranks as the chatter ceased when the students began to notice him. Both boys and girls alike stared at him in surprise. He looked quite a bit older than them despite being placed in the first-year class.

"Today, we will be having a transfer student. His name is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. He will be joining us for classes from now onwards, but he will be attempting the graduation examination at the end of the year. Please treat him well," Daikoku explained loudly.

The students began to talk excitedly among themselves.

"That means that he's Hokage-sama's eldest son!" exclaimed a boy.

"Naruto-sama is so cool!" squealed a girl.

"He's handsome," agreed another girl.

"He doesn't look that bad," admitted a boy.

"Think he's strong?" another boy asked his friend.

"What do you think? He's Hokage-sama's son!" the boy whisper-yelled back.

Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch at what he had just heard. 'I made a fan club by simply walking into a classroom... This is unbelievable,' Naruto thought dismally as he shook his head slightly.