Chương 25: Chapter 25: Midterm Examination
"Mom, I'm home." Natsuro announced as he pushed open the door.
"Oh, you're back. You're covered in sweat again. Go wash up first; I have a few questions to ask you." Shinai said, already preparing his clean clothes and noticing his sweaty state.
Shinai had grown accustomed to Natsuro coming home at this hour, always drenched in sweat.
"Okay." Natsuro responded, taking the clean clothes and heading towards the bathroom.
Soon after, he emerged from the bathroom, drying his damp hair with a towel.
He looked at her son with bright eyes. Though he seemed ordinary most of the time, his appearance right after a bath revealed that he would definitely be quite handsome when he grew up, even more so than his father.
"Is there something you need?" Natsuro asked, seeing that his mother had something on her mind.
Shinai snapped out of her thoughts, smiling as she said, "Since the midterm exams just took place, I wanted to ask how you did."
"Oh, the exams? I think I did well." Natsuro replied, realizing that parents in any world would naturally be concerned about their children's grades. Even in the ninja world, it was no exception.
However, the midterm exams for the first-year students were quite basic, covering fundamental knowledge and physical tests. Natsuro estimated that he should have scored full marks.
"Just doing well? That's good to hear." Shinai said, not delving into details, not expecting Natsuro's "well" to be full marks.
The next day, when Iruka announced the results, he had gotten a perfect score, as expected.
Moreover, he had set the bar high for the physical aspect, making the scores of others look quite poor in comparison.
"Congratulations, Natsuro! Keep up the good work." Iruka said, handing him his paper. He then addressed the class, "Everyone should learn from Natsuro."
"Learn from him sleeping in class?"
The students began to murmur, with many feeling discontented. Natsuro's performance in school was quite transparent, with his fame mainly coming from his habit of sleeping in class...
Sasuke Uchiha stared at Natsuro with clenched teeth, not resenting his excellence, but blaming himself for falling behind. How could he catch up to his brother now? More importantly, he wouldn't get praise from his brother. This was frustrating!
Furthermore, it wasn't just that sleepy guy; that pink-haired girl, who was practically invisible, had also outperformed him. As a member of the distinguished Uchiha clan, and the son of the clan leader, and having an outstanding older brother, how could he be so mediocre?
Sasuke continued to gnash his teeth.
In reality, Sakura's overall score exceeding Sasuke's was primarily due to Natsuro. His high scoring in physical education skewed the scoring standards, making Sasuke's score look less impressive despite being much higher than Sakura's in that area. Meanwhile, Sakura's theoretical knowledge had made up for the difference, resulting in this outcome.
Ino observed Natsuro, who had scored first yet remained so indifferent. Although she greeted him every day, their interactions never went beyond that. He hadn't actively sought out Ino so she had stopped paying much attention to him.
Ino had not expected Natsuro, who seemed like a minor character, to be so outstanding. Listening to the discussions around, she was impressed by his perfect score and how he had pulled significantly ahead of the second place. Although Natsuro wasn't as handsome as Sasuke in the eyes of most girls, he had closed the gap considerably.
"Ha ha, Natsuro, you're amazing!" Naruto exclaimed loudly as he saw Natsuro returning.
"Quiet, Naruto! We're in class. And Natsuro's achievements aren't your concern—your theoretical knowledge is at the bottom!" Iruka roared, irritated by Naruto's loudness. Didn't he see that even if the others were discussing, they were doing it quietly?
Naruto scratched his head, feeling a bit down after seeing his own score. Natsuro glanced at Naruto's score. Despite his low position, Naruto's physical education score was still better than a few others. If the focus shifted to ninjutsu, which had the highest weight, Naruto might still end up being at the bottom.
"Hang in there, Naruto. I believe you can do it." he encouraged.
"Hehe, I believe so too. After all, I'm going to be the next Hokage!" Naruto said, beaming with confidence.
"Such a nuisance." Shikamaru, who had been lying next to him, was disturbed by Naruto's loudness. He sighed, reflecting on the situation.
"Hey, you're not doing any better! You just barely passed!" Naruto retorted angrily, still feeling discontented despite Natsuro's earlier words.
Shikamaru yawned and glanced at Natsuro, noticing that many eyes were now on him. He couldn't help but feel that being in first place was indeed troublesome. It was hard enough to handle his theoretical knowledge, but the physical education part...
Shikamaru was struggling to pass in physical education, largely due to Natsuro's influence. It was troublesome that the person causing these issues was now right next to him. Shikamaru couldn't even imagine what it would be like if it were after class.
As expected, when the class ended, Natsuro's once-empty area was now crowded with people. Although he wasn't as handsome as Sasuke, he was still quite attractive and excelled academically.
Naruto, who was squeezed out, was left dumbfounded. What should he do now?
Shikamaru, having anticipated this, had already left his seat. Seeing Naruto being pushed aside, he was glad for his decision.
"Ah, you got squeezed out too!" Naruto pointed at Shikamaru.
"I didn't." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Ha ha, you can't deny it. Didn't expect Natsuro to be so popular." Naruto said, finding Shikamaru's experience relatable and suddenly feeling more amiable towards him.
"Troublesome. Maybe I should change seats." Shikamaru mused.
As for Natsuro, surrounded by people for the first time in both his past and present lives, he was a bit at a loss. Feeling the growing inconvenience, he frowned and remembered how Sasuke dealt with similar situations in the original story—by ignoring everyone.
He decided to follow that approach too. He ignored everyone and focused on the book in his hands.
Suddenly, the noise around him quieted down. Had they finally left?
He looked up to see that, though still surrounded, the person in front of him was... Sasuke Uchiha. It seemed that the crowd had quieted down to witness this encounter. The most handsome boy and the top student were about to face off, and the onlookers were buzzing with anticipation.
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