Naruto's eyes flickered open, immediately squinting against the bright light filling the room. As his eyes adjusted, a sharp headache pounded through his skull, as if he had slammed his head against a wall. The pain throbbed intensely, pulsing with each heartbeat.

"Naruto, here."

Naruto saw a blurry hand reaching out to him with a pill. He took it clumsily, his fingers weak. A glass of water was then placed in his hands, and he held it with both, bringing it to his lips with shaky movements. The cool water soothed his dry throat as he swallowed the pill.

As the medication started to work, the intense grip of the headache began to ease.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I want ramen," Naruto replied almost without thinking, as he looked around to orient himself.

He was in the school infirmary. The room was stark and clinical, with white walls and a faint smell of antiseptic. Beds lined up with crisp, clean sheets, and medical equipment was neatly organized around the room.

"Of course you do," Iruka said, chuckling gently as he set the glass down on a nearby tray.

[ Quest Failure: 20 Exp ]

"Guess I lost," Naruto grumbled, his voice tinged with disappointment.

"Naruto." Iruka placed his hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look up. "You were amazing out there. No one in your class has pushed Sasuke to that point. If it wasn't for Sasuke awakening that Sharingan..."

"Sharingan, you mean those red eyes?"

"You saw them?"

"Of course, I was confused why teme's eyes were red. So, he awoke the Sharingan," Naruto said, a smile creeping onto his face as he remembered that the Unawakened Sharingan gave teme some stat boosts, which meant the awakened Sharingan gave that emo a bigger boost.

"Loser had to get a power-up to beat me."

Iruka sweat-dropped as Naruto held his head high, clearly proud despite the defeat. "Good, you're back to normal," he said with a relieved sigh.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't worry, I was just worried what Sasuke's last attack might have done. The nurse said you were fine but..." Iruka's voice trailed off, his expression tinged with anxiety.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei, but you should leave, you have classes to teach."

"Naruto, school is over."

"Oh, so I missed school," Naruto said, his smile broadening. He seemed genuinely pleased by the news; his earlier troubles momentarily forgotten.

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Iruka sighed and pulled out a hefty notebook.

"Hinata left me with these," he explained, opening it to show the meticulous notes inside. "She took two sets of notes in class—one for herself and one for you."

Naruto looked down, and to his surprise, he felt a few tears escape his eyes. The gesture touched him more deeply than he expected.

"Guess you found a friend, huh, Naruto?" Iruka said with a warm smile. Naruto nodded, quickly wiping his face to hide his emotions.

"Here, eat some," Iruka said, handing Naruto a plate of apple slices cut into bunny rabbit shapes.

"Don’t worry, I made those," Iruka continued with a mischievous grin. "They’re from your girl—friend."

"Thanks, sensei," Naruto replied, his response washing over Iruka's playful intent with complete obliviousness.

But was Iruka deterred? Not at all.

The hint of mischief remained in his eyes as he prepared for another attempt to tease Naruto.

"I think you should get Hinata a gift."

"I'll get her a gift, sensei," Naruto responded, his voice carrying a tone of determination. He seemed oblivious to the deeper implications of Iruka’s suggestion.

Iruka sighed, shaking his head slightly as he mumbled under his breath, "I hoped that kick Sasuke gave you would cure your obliviousness."

"Did you say something, sensei?"

"I think we need to talk, Naruto."

"We do?" Naruto asked, curious about what was on Iruka's mind.

"Yeah, firstly, I tried to check some information about Uzushiogakure, but I couldn't find any. I'm sorry," Iruka explained, looking a bit apologetic.

"That's okay, Iruka sensei. Hinata told me about Uzushiogakure," Naruto replied, relaying the information Hinata had shared with him.

Iruka seemed surprised but nodded. "I'll try to see if I can find more information."

"Thanks, sensei."

"Well, aside from that, let's talk about your spar," Iruka brought up the topic of the earlier match.

"What about it?" Naruto asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Don't worry, you aren't in trouble."

Naruto nodded, still nervous. He scrambled mentally for an excuse about how he knew the swirling Kata.

"Naruto..." Iruka began, but he was cut off by Naruto's sudden outburst.

"I made that Taijutsu up!"

Iruka blinked in surprise.

"Wow, but I think, Naruto, you should stop your experimentation and learn the academy style. Combine both. It's not like the academy style is going to clash with your very own fighting style."

Naruto nodded, already realizing that he didn’t want to limit himself to just the Uzumaki label. Anything that could make him stronger, Uzumaki-branded or not, was good for him. "I'll learn it, sensei."

"You stay here; I'll get the nurse to give you a check-up," Iruka said, preparing to leave the room.

"Sensei," Naruto called out, stopping Iruka in his tracks. "Thank you for staying by my side even after school is over."

Iruka blushed slightly at the heartfelt thanks.

"Let's get ramen, after the check-up."

"Yatta!"

"But if the nurse says no, we eat something else,"

"Fine," Naruto grumbled.

[ System Quest Alert ]

[ Quest: Learn Basic Academy Taijutsu ]

[ Objective: Perform basic Kata. Perform 200 punches, kicks, and rolls ]

[ Reward: Basic Academy Taijutsu ]

[ Failure: None. ]

[ Action Required: Confirm acceptance or declination of class skill. ]

----------------------------------------

A few minutes later, Iruka returned to the infirmary, accompanied by the school nurse, who was a retired medical ninja. They were discussing Naruto's condition as they entered.

"So, I don't think Naruto is suffering from any form of brain damage..." Iruka's voice trailed off as he and the nurse stopped dead in their tracks, staring in disbelief. Naruto was on the floor, rolling back and forth energetically.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Iruka asked, trying to make sense of the scene.

"Rolls," Naruto replied matter-of-factly, pausing his rolling to switch to pushups.

"Why?"

"To learn the academy Taijutsu," Naruto stated, as if it were the most obvious answer, pushing up and down with determination.

Iruka turned to the nurse.

"He clearly has brain damage."