Because Naruto's grades at the Ninja Academy were always exceptionally high, he had long since come to know many of the academy's ninja instructors. As a result, Naruto recognized Ebisu-sensei at a single glance.
Ebisu-sensei thought to himself:
"Is that the Nine-Tailed brat?"
Seeing the look of disgust on Ebisu-sensei's face, Naruto thought to himself:
"Is it that look again?"
Naruto's gaze instantly dimmed, and his hands and feet suddenly felt much heavier. But quickly, Naruto gritted his teeth and pumped himself up inwardly:
"Hmph, no matter what other people think, I'll definitely prove myself and make everyone see my worth!"
Then, shifting his train of thought, Naruto mused:
"Whatever, at least I know the reason now. Because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox exists inside me, everyone hates me. There's nothing to be done about that; after all, when I lost control last time, I almost sent Iruka-sensei packing. So what I need to do now is work hard to become strong, and let them know that I'm not their enemy, but a member of the Hidden Leaf Village. Yes... that's right."
Naruto raised his head, gazed upward, and took a deep breath, as if exhaling all the gloom within him. At that moment, sunlight streamed through the window onto Naruto's face, reflecting his resolute expression, while his determined eyes gleamed with an indomitable light.
Then, frowning with a hint of displeasure, Ebisu-sensei said:
"Naruto, you're always so reckless!"
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly, quickly picked up the documents and handed them to Ebisu-sensei, then prepared to bolt away in a flash.
A flash of aversion crossed Ebisu-sensei's eyes. He shook his head slightly, picked up the last piece of paperwork from the floor, and turned to look at the Third Hokage inside the office.
After apologizing to Ebisu-sensei, Naruto turned to leave, but the child who had just fallen to the ground grabbed onto Naruto's thigh, refusing to let him go.
Naruto quickly muttered:
"Seriously, why is everything going wrong today!"
Complaining as he spoke, Naruto tried to quicken his pace to run home. The wind whipped at the hem of his jacket, and a lingering look of depression remained on his face as he thought:
"I hope everything starts getting better tomorrow."
Yet the child gripped the cuff of Naruto's trousers tightly, giving him no chance to break away.
"You're not allowed to leave! You haven't finished talking things through with me yet!"
The child clung tightly to Naruto's lower leg, his little face flushed red.
Resigned, Naruto stopped in his tracks, looked down at the stubborn little fellow, and said:
"Kiddo, let go of me first, okay?"
Instead, the child turned his head away and said:
"I won't! Not unless you promise to have a proper talk with me."
Unable whether to laugh or cry, Naruto could only coax him patiently:
"Fine, fine, I promise. Just let go first."
No matter how Naruto tried to reason with him, the child refused to let go. Without another word, Naruto threw a punch straight at the child's head.
"Ow!"
Taking the brunt of Naruto's punch, the child let out a yelp, released his grip on Naruto's leg, and clutched his head with tears welling in his eyes as he cried:
"You actually hit me!"
Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto said with a stern expression:
"Who told you to be so unreasonable and keep pestering me?"
Biting his lip with a wronged expression, the child still glared stubbornly at Naruto and said:
"I don't care! You hit me, so you have to take responsibility!"
Seeing this scene, Ebisu-sensei's jaw dropped in sheer disbelief.
With wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth, Ebisu-sensei nearly dropped the documents in his hands all over again.
"That brat Naruto is actually this violent!"
Ebisu-sensei thought to himself in shock.
Pulling himself together, Ebisu-sensei stepped forward, preparing to put an end to this farce.
The Third Hokage said helplessly:
"This fellow Konohamaru has already ambushed me twenty times today. He really doesn't know when to give up!"
The Third Hokage shook his head, a trace of indulgent fondness playing on his lips.
Looking over at the Third Hokage in astonishment, Ebisu-sensei said:
"Third Hokage, this child is your..."
With a smile, the Third Hokage replied to Ebisu-sensei:
"I know. This is my grandson, Konohamaru. You don't need to make such a fuss, Ebisu."
Once Ebisu-sensei snapped back to reality, he completely disregarded what the Third Hokage had just said about not making a fuss. Charging ahead with his usual brisk efficiency, he shouted at the top of his lungs toward Naruto:
"Naruto, do you have any idea who you just hit? Huh? He is the grandson of the Third Hokage, Young Master Sarutobi Konohamaru!"
Ebisu-sensei's voice turned somewhat shrill from excitement, his face a mask of tension and anxiety.
Hearing this, Naruto froze on the spot, his eyes wide and his mouth formed into an "O" shape.
"What? He's the Third Hokage's grandson? I'm in big trouble now!"
Naruto inwardly bewailed his fate.
By now, Konohamaru had also stopped crying and was looking smugly at Naruto, as if to say:
"Let's see how you get out of this!"
With a bored tone, Naruto retorted:
"I don't care who he is. If he grabs my leg and blocks my way, I'll give him a good beating."
Naruto crossed his arms across his chest, looking completely unconcerned.
As it turned out, Naruto's earlier display of feigned panic had just been him playing around to tease the others.
Stomping his foot in rage at Naruto's words, Ebisu-sensei said:
"You impudent kid, causing such a huge mess—let's see how you clean this up!"
Naruto curled his lip and said:
"Hmph, well, I already hit him anyway, so what can you do!"
Clutching his head in both hands, Ebisu-sensei wailed:
"Good grief, is there no justice left in the world?"
Ebisu-sensei's face flushed crimson, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
At that moment, the Third Hokage let out a chuckle and said:
"Haha, Ebisu, don't get so worked up. It's just a bit of roughhousing between kids."
Staring at the Third Hokage in shock, Ebisu-sensei said:
"Third Hokage, this..."
Waving a hand dismissively, the Third Hokage said:
"It's fine. Let them settle it themselves."
Hearing his grandfather say this, Konohamaru was displeased and protested:
"Grandpa, he hit me! We can't just let it go like this!"
Patting Konohamaru on the head, the Third Hokage asked:
"Then what do you want to do?"
With a sly roll of his eyes, Konohamaru said:
"I want to challenge him to a duel! If I win, he has to apologize to me!"
Hearing this, Naruto puffed out his chest and said:
"Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you!"
Turning back to the Third Hokage, Ebisu-sensei said:
"Third Hokage, look at him..."
Ebisu-sensei's face was etched with anxiety and helplessness, his brow tightly furrowed.