Konoha Notes.

Chapter 483 The Silent Answer

Chapter 483 The Silent Answer

Silence is the most complex thing in the world.

It can envelop fear, permeate confusion, settle despair, or simply be a silent contemplation.

When outward expression seems superfluous, silence becomes the most appropriate expression.

A silence filled the classroom in Irukaban. Most people hadn't spoken much since returning from training. Some stared blankly at their desks, while others repeatedly flipped through their notebooks.

Naruto disliked the silence and couldn't help but break it.

"Why is everyone so gloomy? It's like they're all on their period."

In an instant, almost all eyes were on them.

"What—what's wrong, isn't it?"

Shikamaru thought that Naruto probably heard the word somewhere and used it randomly without understanding its meaning.

He then asked, "Naruto, do you know what menstruation is?"

Feeling scrutinized by so many eyes, Naruto was a little uncertain: "Wait, isn't it just when my mood suddenly turns really bad?"

Shikamaru let out a soft "uh": "That makes sense, doesn't it?

The boys nodded as if they understood, then turned back to their own rooms.

At their age, they do have limited knowledge of professional knowledge about these kinds of bodily changes, and since it seemed to explain the current gloomy atmosphere, they accepted the explanation.

"That's not why." Although some people disagreed.

But ultimately, there aren't many.

The girls' reactions were much more complex.

"They're completely different things!"

"Naruto, what nonsense are you talking about? We're not there yet—"

"Really, how can you just say things like that so casually—"

Shikamaru became somewhat interested; he didn't care who was who or how strong they were.

Anyway, he didn't plan to go to the training ground to get beaten up.

"The school probably hasn't taught these things yet, Naruto, where did you hear this from?"

"It was Shuji who told me!" Naruto said. "He said Sasuke often has his period."

Shikamaru's lips twitched uncontrollably. He quickly lowered his head, buried his face in his arms, and his shoulders began to shrug suspiciously.

The girls were initially stunned for a moment.

"Naruto! Do you even know what you're saying?!"

"That's incredibly rude!"

"Sasuke-kun is—"

But amidst the outcry, some people developed trust because of the words of the important adults.

"If it was Lord Shuji who said it—"

"Could it be that Sasuke-kun—really—"

Several pairs of eyes unconsciously drifted toward the empty seat.

Iruka led Sasuke and Gaara in; Sasuke's arm was already wrapped in bandages.

As for Gaara, he was completely unharmed, but this man who controlled sandstorms and explosions in the sky did not receive much attention.

The girls' reactions made many boys realize that "period" might not be what Naruto meant.

So, together with the girls, they focused their attention on Sasuke, wanting to find out what was going on.

Sasuke was already used to the attention he received and planned to return to his seat.

"Sasuke-kun! How's your hand?"

"Does it still hurt?"

"Did the medical instructor say it was serious?"

Sakura, Ino, and the rest of the fan club gathered around.

Iruka quickly stepped in front of Sasuke: "Everyone, please don't push. Let Sasuke go back to his seat and rest. He needs quiet and space when he's injured."

He was worried that these emotionally charged girls would cause Sasuke further harm.

But soon, the homeroom teacher noticed that their focus of attention was a bit strange.

Sasuke felt a chill as these gazes scanned his throat, chest, and other sensitive areas, and he took a step back warily.

Just then, Fu somehow appeared behind Sasuke. The green-haired girl stood on tiptoe, tilted her head, and tried to observe something.

Sasuke reacted almost instantly. He took a step to the left, avoiding Fu's gaze.

"What are you going to do, Fu?"

Fu didn't answer, but instead took two or three steps to Gaara's side and whispered in the red-haired boy's ear.

Gaara's blue-green eyes widened after hearing this, and he looked at Sasuke in surprise: "Shuji said that?"

Mr. Shuji — what did that man say again?

Sasuke couldn't understand what embarrassing things he didn't want others to know that his classmates hadn't seen.

Sasuke stood there, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Was it because he lost the fight? Or was it something else?

"Um, what's wrong, everyone?" Iruka finally couldn't help but ask. "Is something wrong with Sasuke?"

Several girls opened their mouths as if they wanted to say something, but were immediately covered by the people next to them.

Fu ran to Hinata's side again. She leaned close to the Hyuga clan's eldest daughter and whispered a few words in her ear.

Hinata's face turned bright red instantly, from her cheeks all the way to her ears.

She shook her head vigorously: "No! No! You can't—you can't use eye rolls for that kind of thing!"

The girl, who was usually soft-spoken, gave a resolute refusal at this moment.

The students immediately realized what Fu wanted Hinata to do.

Then all sorts of sounds erupted at the same time.

"Fu! What are you thinking about?!"

"How could I let Hinata do that kind of thing!"

"Sasuke—no matter what, you can't—"

"Perhaps there's some special reason—"

Although she was the one being criticized, Fu didn't seem to care. She tapped her head and stuck out her tongue: "Sorry, but I was just too curious."

Sasuke's face was ashen. He looked at the person most likely to tell him the truth.

"Sakura, what happened?"

Sakura Haruno, who always acted warmly and proactively in front of him, now had a wandering gaze and dared not meet his eyes.

Ino.

The blonde girl chuckled dryly, her eyes darting around. "Ahaha—no, it's nothing. Sasuke-kun, you should focus on recovering from your injuries. Nothing else matters—"

Iruka, observing this bizarre scene, said, "If anyone has any misunderstandings, it's best to speak up directly. As companions, honest communication is the most important thing."

At this moment, a few boys seemed to want to speak up and explain what had happened.

But the girls started scanning them with terrifying eyes, and their suddenly dark and oppressive gazes made the boys swallow their words.

Naruto wanted to explain the situation directly.

But Ino and Sakura had already arrived in front of him.

"Naruto, that's enough." Ino put her hands on her hips.

"Don't hurt Sasuke-kun anymore." Sakura clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles cracked.

Faced with the girls who were eager to try their luck, Naruto swallowed his words.

Silence fell over the classroom once again.

The boys looked at each other, and the girls exchanged glances. With just one joint action, they had already understood what everyone wanted to protect.

Sasuke's patience was wearing thin. He finally pinned his hopes on Gaara.

The red-haired boy had just heard the truth from Fu, and he was clearly not intimidated by the girls' stares like other boys.

Gaara caught his gaze but shook his head: "This is your classmates protecting you, Sasuke."

"I cannot let this sentiment go to waste."

Protecting? What are they protecting? They don't even know what they're protecting!

Sasuke's eyes were on the verge of turning red when, for the first time, he felt how exhilarating it would be to use the Sharingan's genjutsu to pry open these people's minds and see what was going on.

But he ultimately held back.

Mr. Shuji————

He had to find out what strange rumors that man had been spreading about him this time.

When he gets to the lab building, he'll definitely ask them directly!

Having made up his mind, Sasuke stopped trying to get answers from his classmates who had clearly reached a strange consensus, and instead chose to return to his seat under their gazes.

After Gaara returned to his seat, the girls seemed to have completed some important task, and they all breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their respective places.

Iruka, having had absolutely no effect, stood before the podium, sensing that the classroom seemed to have returned to calm, but this was only on the surface; the real, deeper issue was...

The person who caused the problem —

It must be Naruto!

In his mind, Professor Umino made a firm conclusion. Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, based on past experience, this inexplicable chaos was most likely related to Naruto Uzumaki.

"Alright." Iruka clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "I'll give a brief summary of the practical demonstration in this afternoon's special training course."

"First of all, don't be discouraged by the strength of the senior students or those in the special training program. Everyone grows at a different rate and has different strengths."

"It cannot be generalized."

"Recognizing the gap is a driving force, not a shackle. Do you understand?"

The students responded in varying degrees.

"Also, the teacher has some news to announce."

"Captain Shuji will be visiting the Ninja Academy frequently in the coming period. He will be waiting for everyone in his office. Any student can go to him with any questions."

This news indeed provoked an even bigger reaction.

"Really? Lord Shuji is coming to stay at the school permanently?"

"Can I ask any question?"

"Great! I actually have a lot of things I'd like to ask you!"

Iruka breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the classroom, which had come alive again, and then announced that school was over.

"Oh, right, Choji, Naruto, Shikamaru, you guys stay behind and help the teacher move some equipment."

He called out the names of several boys.

The three followed Iruka out of the classroom and into the relatively quiet corridor.

Iruka stopped, turned around, looked at Naruto, and cut straight to the point: "Alright, Naruto, now tell me, what exactly happened in the classroom just now?"

Naruto said, "Everyone reacted so strongly because Shuji mentioned that Sasuke often has his period. Why can't we just say that when he's just in a bad mood? —"

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Iruka was initially confused before realizing what he meant and yelled at Naruto, "You misunderstood Captain Shuji's words, Naruto!"

"How could the captain possibly get such basic knowledge as menstruation wrong?"

Naruto shook his head emphatically, "No! I'm not mistaken! It was Shuji-nii who told me!"

His unwavering conviction caused Iruka to waver slightly. Could it really be that Sasuke has some problem? No, impossible—but, after all, he's from the Uchiha clan—

Shikamaru, a slight smile still on his face, leaned against the corridor wall: "What exactly did Lord Shuji say, Naruto? Do you really remember?"

Just then, footsteps came from the direction of the stairs.

Shuji walked down the corridor and saw four people gathered there. He went over to them.

"What? What did I say?"

Naruto looked a little aggrieved: "Shuji-nii, you're the one who told me about menstruation, right?"

Shuji recalled for a moment.

It seems to have happened after the Five Kage Summit two years ago. I was standing by the river in a daze when Naruto came and bothered me, and I blurted out a few words.

So he nodded frankly: "Two years ago, right? Yes, I explained the concept of menstruation to you."

Iruka gasped, "It's actually true?!"

Shikamaru stopped laughing, his face showing disbelief: "Feed—feed—really—?"

Choji was still trying to understand the situation. He took out a bag of biscuits, started chewing, and decided not to think about it anymore.

Shuji was a little confused, but didn't pay much attention. He turned to Naruto and asked, "You're moving to your new house today, right, Naruto?"

"? Did Brother Shuji find out again?" Naruto exclaimed happily. "Dad said the house isn't big enough right now, so the Third Hokage helped him find a place to move into. We're going there today."

Xiu Si nodded: "He's probably quite busy today, so I came to help out and also paid a visit. I hope you don't mind?"

"Busy?" Naruto was puzzled. Minato always arrived at the door in time to greet him and seemed to have nothing to do. What could he be busy with?

But the thought of hosting guests at home still pleased him. Naruto grinned and said, "Of course! After all, I always go to Shuji-nii's house."

Iruka shifted his attention away from Sasuke and asked, "New home, which side is Naruto moving to?"

"It's not far from where we were before. Is Iruka-sensei coming along too?"

He suddenly realized that he could invite his friends.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru and Choji: "Shikamaru, Choji, are you coming too? I asked Dad to cook lots of dishes."

"And Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and Fu—"

He started counting on his fingers.

Choji patted his stomach: "Any snacks?"

"I'll go buy it in a bit!"

Shikamaru thought for a moment. There shouldn't be anything special going on at home today, if Mom has cooked dinner—but it's okay if it's only for a little while.

"Okay." He finally nodded.

Naruto was eager to go back immediately: "We need to prepare something else."

Iruka smiled helplessly at his excited expression. He turned to Shuji: "Captain Shuji, I'll—"

He wanted to refuse.

"Let's go together, you're alone anyway," Shuuji said.

Iruka was speechless: "Captain—sometimes when he speaks—"

Shuji watched him silently.

Iruka bowed his head: "Yes—"

Sometimes, this captain really goes too far.

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