One Year

"At the beginning of man, his nature is good. Their natures are similar, but their habits become different..."

Naruto recited softly, not quite understanding the meaning, but finding it catchy, and unconsciously finished reciting it.

Following the main text were detailed annotations of this Three Character Classic.

Children of this age are at their most curious.

Simple and easy-to-understand life principles, the story of Meng's mother moving three times, these stories that happened in another world were full of fun in the eyes of young Naruto, and he quickly immersed himself in the book.

Unconsciously, Naruto turned the book to the last page.

Then, a gentle voice sounded in Naruto's ear.

"The lesson is over, the quiz begins. There are a total of twenty questions, five points each. Please listen to the questions."

"Question 1: Please briefly describe the story of Meng's mother moving three times."

Hearing this, Naruto smiled confidently: "So simple, I just finished reading it. This sentence says that during the Warring States period, Mencius's mother moved three times in order to provide Mencius with a good learning environment. Once Mencius played truant, Meng's mother broke the loom to educate Mencius."

"Question 2: Please explain the meaning of 'If a child does not study, it is not appropriate. If young, one does not learn, what will one be when old?'"

"It is very wrong for children not to study hard. If a person does not study hard when he is young, he will not understand the principles of being a person or have knowledge when he is old, so it will be difficult to achieve anything when he is old."

...

The quiz ended quickly, and Naruto answered all the questions correctly in the end.

"Congratulations on getting a perfect score, Naruto Uzumaki. You are such a smart child. As a special reward, you get two hours of entertainment time. Combine work with rest, please keep up the good work."

After speaking, Naruto discovered that the blank space in front of him had changed, and a television had appeared.

"Hahaha, I, Naruto Uzumaki, am still very smart." Naruto couldn't help but become proud after being praised.

Then, the proud Naruto discovered that the television turned on and began to play the cartoon Black Cat Sheriff.

Naruto quickly shifted his attention over.

Although it was his first time watching television, Naruto quickly became immersed in it, and began to watch it with relish, and in the end even began to sing along with the melody on the television: "Ah ah Black Cat Sheriff..."

...

The next day, early morning.

Naruto groggily opened his eyes and found that there were no interesting books or television in the room.

"It was a dream." Naruto muttered with some disappointment.

Then, he remembered what the Third Hokage had told him yesterday, that he could now go out normally.

"Now that it's been explained, maybe I can find friends starting today." Naruto thought excitedly, hurriedly ran into the bathroom to wash up, put on his clothes, and ran out of the room.

However, reality poured a bucket of cold water on Naruto.

Those adults would indeed no longer attack Naruto, nor would they say he was the Demon Fox in front of him, they adopted a way that made Naruto feel even colder.

They directly ignored his existence.

No matter what he said, no one responded, only looking at him with indifferent eyes, even treating him as air.

If Naruto wanted to do anything, people's indifference would turn into vigilance.

After receiving the Third Hokage's warning, they indeed dared not shout and kill Naruto anymore, but if it was just ordinary pushing and shoving, no one could stop it.

Faced with this suffocating atmosphere, the young and simple Naruto also felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart.

After this day, Naruto rarely went out again.

He found that even if he wasn't sleeping, as long as he relaxed his mind, he could go to that magical place.

No one would give him cold shoulders there. He could learn interesting knowledge from those books. After answering the quiz questions correctly, he would be praised. He could also watch cartoons that were more interesting than books.

Since that's the case, why bother going out and making people dislike him?

It makes Naruto unhappy, and everyone else is unhappy, so it's better to stay at home.

Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

During this year, Naruto's life has undergone considerable changes.

He no longer stays at home all day long. Although he still doesn't go out during the day, he will go out for a walk at night when there are fewer people, exercising his body while completing the physical education class arranged in his timetable.

Naruto knows that as a child, he must exercise more to grow taller.

After finishing physical education class, it's mostly late at night.

At this time, Naruto would go to the Shopping Street and sneak into the closed shops to take some daily necessities, food, or clothing and supplies that he needed.

For Naruto, who has excellent natural physical qualities, this is not a difficult task.

Of course, he pays for it.

Although no one knows he took it, people must learn to respect and love themselves.

It's not that he doesn't have money to buy these things, it's just that no one sells them to him, so he can only do this.

Then, Naruto, who forcibly bought the things he needed, would go home and cook for himself.

After learning the book Dietary Balance and Nutrition, Naruto knew that eating instant noodles and drinking milk that he didn't know if it was expired or not all day long was unhealthy.

Unbalanced nutritional development can lead to slow physical development, and like not exercising, it can become a factor that prevents people from growing taller.

Through the cooking methods learned from the Complete Chinese Cookbook, these ingredients that Naruto bought back would be made into some convenient but nutritious and delicious foods.

At first, Naruto would ruin the food due to lack of experience, but now, after a period of proficiency, such situations no longer occur.

After eating, Naruto would lie in bed and sleep.

At this time, he would enter that magical space.

His body is dormant, using this to restore energy, but his spirit is still active freely.

Here, he can continue to study, or he can entertain himself, watch TV or some novels that were rewarded to him after he completed his studies, or play a game console loaded with various games.

A year later, Naruto still has no friends, but he doesn't feel lonely.

His every day is very fulfilling.

For Naruto, every day is full of unknowns and is brand new.

However, while Naruto thought so, there were others who didn't think the same.

It was that time of the month again to deliver living expenses. The Third Hokage put down the envelope containing Naruto's living expenses, glanced at Naruto who was sitting quietly not far away, facing the window in a daze, not even noticing his entrance, and hesitated to speak.

-----------

This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/

To read the full translation, as well as more than 180+ fanfic and original translations or request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/

You can also join the RandomTranslator community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua

-----------