FWF Chapter 60 The Responsibilities of Teachers
Chapter 60 The Responsibilities of Teachers
As winter fades and spring arrives, Konoha Village is enveloped in a soft, new green. With the end of the cherry blossom season, the tender leaves on the branches grow ever more lush, and the days grow warmer day by day.
Today was a rare weekend, with no training missions or classes scheduled. Iruka walked down the street, heading towards the village's stationery store to buy some ninja tools and teaching materials.
As a teacher at the ninja academy, he has now spent a year with his class of kids, his first cohort. To be honest, this year with them has been even more enjoyable than he had imagined.
First, there are a few troublesome students in the class. Choji, for example, secretly stuffs snacks into his mouth when the teacher isn't looking. Whenever Iruka calls on him, you can always see him frantically swallowing his food.
In physical training class, Choji displayed an unexpected "cowardice." Whenever sparring practice began, he would always find various excuses to avoid it.
At first, Iruka thought the boy was timid and afraid of fighting. But as he spent more time with him, he gradually realized that this was not the case. Rather, the chubby boy was too kind, so kind that he didn't want to hurt any of his classmates, even during training.
Another student who gave Iruka a headache was Shikamaru. This guy, who always lazily slumped over his desk, seemed to have no enthusiasm for anything.
In class, he would always find a comfortable position to doze off, and during exams, he set an astonishing record of "zero points." Every time Iruka saw Shikamaru hand in a blank test paper, he couldn't help but sigh.
However, as Iruka learned more about the Nara family's characteristics, he began to doubt whether the child was truly as "incompetent" as he appeared. The Nara family was renowned for its wisdom; how could they possibly raise a fool?
With this question in mind, Iruka decided to take the test alone. He secretly approached Shikamaru, without telling anyone else, and simply gave him a test paper and enough time to answer the questions.
The result astonished Iruka—a perfect score! When Iruka asked why, the deer lazily explained, "I was just too lazy to write it down; those questions were too easy for me."
Ya is always restless and impulsive, like he has a rabbit in his arms. He can't sit still and often daydreams in class. Occasionally, he will skip class to play with stray dogs.
Ino is alright, but she's too flamboyant. Occasionally, she'll glare at someone angrily for a long time if they interrupt her.
As for Sakura… Iruka always felt a little uncertain. The child was quiet, diligently taking notes in class and trying her best to keep up in taijutsu class, but her gaze always lingered on Uchiha Satsuki. There were emotions hidden in her eyes that Iruka couldn't understand.
Hinata is the epitome of a well-behaved student, always sitting upright, her notes neatly written, even her handwriting delicate and careful. She's just too introverted; when called upon to answer questions, her voice is barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz, but you can tell she's trying hard to overcome it.
Uchiha Satsuki—the daughter of the Uchiha clan head—possesses terrifyingly high talent, but her personality is too arrogant. If classmates try to talk to her, they'll usually be met with a cold glance before she turns back to continue chatting with Naruto.
Throughout the entire classroom, only when facing Naruto Uzumaki would the icy demeanor in her eyes completely melt away. She even became so clingy, following Naruto everywhere he went.
The last one... Iruka's expression became complicated, and the image of Naruto Uzumaki's blond hair appeared in his mind.
Rumors about him never ceased in the village; the talk of a "fox demon" was like a persistent ailment, always creeping into people's ears unexpectedly.
At first, Iruka really didn't know how to face this child. Reason told him that the sins of the Nine-Tails shouldn't be blamed on a child, but he just couldn't get over that hurdle in his heart, as if there was an invisible knot blocking his way.
Later, he gradually came to understand Naruto's situation. Every time the boy went out, he would encounter the villagers' evasive gazes and hear their whispers, which were deliberately lowered but could still be clearly heard.
Although Iruka's own childhood was lonely, he had never experienced the feeling of being hated by almost the entire village—a loneliness that even the sunlight avoided.
But Naruto didn't seem to care at all.
He ignored all the unfriendly stares and veiled criticisms. He arrived at the classroom on time every day with his schoolbag and greeted the teachers respectfully. As a student, he was actually very easy for the teachers to manage and could even be considered outstanding.
Gifted with exceptional talent and strength far surpassing his peers, Iruka was only slightly worried during his first sparring session with Satsuki, but afterwards he never displayed the slightest arrogance in class.
Unlike Zuo Yue, who was cold to everyone, he could chat with anyone who spoke to him without prejudice. He also always showed respect to his teacher.
As a result, Iruka felt somewhat guilty. He knew perfectly well that the rumors shouldn't affect his opinion of the child, yet in the initial days, he still paid him unnecessary attention, unlike his natural behavior towards other students.
Thinking about all this, and looking at Naruto's perpetually cheerful demeanor, as if he had never suffered any grievances, Iruka's guilt deepened even further.
Soon, the stationery store's sign appeared on the street corner. Iruka pushed open the door and entered, but before he could even greet the shop owner, his gaze was drawn to a familiar figure in the distance.
"Naruto?!"