Amidst the questioning of Teacher Yinsui, the class quickly came to an end without much reaction, as if everything went according to everyone's expectations.

On the surface, Araki didn't leave much of an impression and seemed disinterested in everything, but in reality, he listened attentively to everyone's "dreams."

Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you shall prevail in a hundred battles.

Of course, Araki's intention in understanding these circumstances was not to antagonize the students in his class, but rather to have a basic understanding to better handle any future situations with ease.

At the same time, at this current point in time, Araki also realized that the course of history in Konoha Village had changed.

Having traversed three years to arrive at this point, he had no desire to stir up trouble. He simply hoped to steadily improve his strength. Once he fully mastered Mokuton (Wood Release), it would mean he had attained a certain level of self-defense capability.

However...

This didn't mean Araki would come forward just because he had mastered Mokuton. As someone who understood the history and background of the Naruto world, he knew that various significant events would continue to unfold in Konoha Village and the ninja world. Behind these events, there were formidable beings with great power.

A slight misstep could cost him his life. At the very least, he felt he shouldn't willingly put himself in a passive situation.

Ignorance often breeds fearlessness.

Someone like Araki, who understood the subsequent events, approached matters with even greater caution.

Ring, ring, ring...

Accompanied by the sound of the dismissal bell, another day of classes came to an end.

As usual, Araki didn't be the first one to leave the classroom. Doing so would attract attention if he did it for too long. It was best to blend in with the crowd and appear completely ordinary.

After waiting for a while inside the classroom, Araki immediately noticed something unusual. Normally, many students would leave the classroom at this time, but they didn't. Instead, they gathered around Kushina.

Is it starting already?

Araki's brow furrowed slightly. Based on what he had seen in Naruto, the students in the class might start causing trouble for Kushina now.

Araki didn't want such a situation to occur.

If he had no connection with Kushina in the past, he could simply ignore everything that happened.

But...

Now, Kushina was living in his house.

They could be considered roommates.

This created some bonds between the two of them.

Apart from that, Kushina's attitude towards him was quite friendly, which made Araki feel a bit uneasy.

Actually, Araki hoped that Kushina would be more aggressive in her approach towards him.

Be a bit more unreasonable.

That way, when faced with situations concerning Kushina, he could simply pretend not to have seen them.

"Kushina, hello, my name is Inoichi Yamanaka!"

"Choza Akimichi."

"I'm Shikaku Nara!"

"..."

The students gathered around Kushina one after another, each wearing a friendly expression. Almost all of them came to make friends.

"Hmm?"

After seeing the scene in front of him, Araki was slightly surprised at first, but then he quickly understood.

Due to the change in Kushina's "dream," the story in this place had already deviated. Even if he tried to keep a low profile, he was like a butterfly flapping its wings, causing the butterfly effect in the ninja world.

In the original story, as an outsider who came to this village, Kushina's somewhat arrogant words had stirred up dissatisfaction among many people. Coupled with her somewhat rough handling, her relationship with her classmates was not good.

But now, at this moment, Kushina had a different expression. She expressed her desire to make friends with everyone, and naturally, the students here were willing to be friends with such a lovely girl.

That's good.

Araki nodded subtly.

This would save a lot of unnecessary trouble and alleviate his concerns.

Then, Araki stood up, grabbed his backpack, and walked towards the classroom door.

He was ready to leave.

At that moment, Kushina's gaze immediately focused on Araki. She wanted to catch up to him, but there were too many students surrounding her, making it impossible for her to leave.

She was a new student, and everyone who gathered around here introduced themselves, but she didn't remember any of their names. She felt lost in this situation and couldn't just leave too hastily.

Before she could react, Araki had already left the classroom.

"Oh dear, really..."

Kushina muttered to herself in her heart, knowing that she couldn't catch up to Araki anymore. She decided not to dwell on it and patiently interacted with the students present. After all, they would be classmates in the future.

...

Araki threw his backpack back into the room and went to train in the forest.

Today's events gave him great inspiration.

In the past three years, he had tried to integrate himself into the village of Konoha as much as possible, appearing ordinary and avoiding any trouble.

He originally thought he could quietly accumulate strength like this.

After all, the Second Great Ninja War was already more than halfway over. The battles between Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hanzo had ended, and the reputation of the three Konoha Sannin had spread throughout the ninja world. The war was coming to an end, and the village would soon enter a rare period of peace.

But Kushina's sudden appearance seemed like a warning bell to him.

Many things wouldn't develop as he had anticipated. Change often happens faster than planned, and without strong power, there would not be enough capability to handle unexpected situations.

In these three years...

Araki had never slackened a single day.

But now he understood that it wasn't enough. He had to train even harder and further increase the speed of his strength growth.

Thinking of this...

Araki delved deeper into the forest and started running at high speed.

His body was agile, and he moved incredibly fast, capable of performing incredible actions without using chakra.

...

On the other side.

After dealing with the relationships between her classmates, Kushina slowly walked back to her residence.

"That annoying Araki! He just left me behind!"

Kushina clenched her small fists and said angrily. Although she spoke that way, she didn't actually harbor any dislike for Araki in her heart.

Not long after, she returned to her place.

Vaguely, she saw a figure standing at the door.

"Araki?"

A flicker of doubt appeared in Kushina's eyes as she asked tentatively. After asking the question, she already had the answer in her heart. The person in front of her was definitely not Araki, as Araki wasn't that tall.