章節 8: Chapter 8 Perfect Graduation
"What a drag. I wonder how long it'll take to eat all these fish." Shikamaru said, bending down and fiddling with the black fish in the basket.
"Naruto must have spent a lot of time at the river to catch these fish." Shikaku said, rubbing the scar on his face, "I used to fish there in the past, but I didn't catch anything even after half a day."
"That kid… If I invite him for a meal, he'd surely refuse. I wonder if he liked our gift."
"Don't worry about that. Naruto is just like that." Shikamaru said lazily, "Dad, you can be quite intimidating."
"You brat, what are you talking about?"
"Naruto is used to being alone. Although he seems indifferent to many things, being invited to a family dinner would only make him feel awkward and uncomfortable." Shikamaru said as he stood up.
Shikaku didn't say anything, and thinking about Naruto's life experience, he fell into a long silence.
…
The next day, the Academy Graduation Exam began.
The Academy's entrance was much more lively than usual, with many parents accompanying their children for the Graduation Exam, gathering noisily at the entrance.
Before the exam started, the area was usually cleared to prevent the parents from being too noisy and affecting the exam.
Naruto arrived at the school early, sitting on the swing under the big green tree, until he saw Hinata passing by and jumped down to approach her.
He wasn't wearing his usual orange jacket today, but a simple black T-shirt. The cotton jacket was too hot, and he still didn't have the courage to wear it out.
"Hinata, good morning."
"G-good morning, Naruto-kun."
Hinata was startled, and her face instantly turned red. She avoided Naruto's gaze and responded in a small, stuttering voice.
"This is for you." Naruto said, taking out a small object from behind his back.
It was a small wooden carving, vividly depicting a chibi version of Hinata. The carving was only about the size of three fingers and looked extremely cute.
"Did you make this yourself, Naruto-kun?" Hinata blushed, but her eyes could no longer move away from the small wooden carving.
"Yeah, I happen to know a bit about carving, so... I made it for you."
In fact, he knew more than just a bit. Before crossing over, he had been learning wood carving from his master since he could remember. He had practiced diligently for fifteen years through all seasons, never stopping during summer or winter breaks.
Hinata's face turned even redder as she accepted the carving and softly thanked him.
"I remember your grades are always very good, right? Then do your best in the exam." Naruto said, waving goodbye as he turned to leave.
[Kyubi's approval 2.2%]
'The system is indeed not so easy to fool.'
The wooden carving could make Hinata blush deeply, but the system seems to have noticed Naruto's attempt of cheating points.
The system made a fair judgment on Naruto's attempt to take advantage of the loophole. Although the repetitive actions are effective on Hinata, they were not on the system.
'It seems I need to be more sincere.' Naruto muttered in his heart.
At this time, Hinata was still very cute, but she's even more reserved than in the anime. She wore a tracksuit and had short hair that reached her ears.
Although she speaks in a soft voice, she is very polite to others and has all the attributes of a perfect wife. She is a perfect young lady in every aspect.
To be honest, Naruto couldn't understand why such a girl would like him, 'What did Hinata see in me?'
The Graduation Exam was held in a separate classroom. Before that, the students taking the exam would be gathered in a large classroom and wait for their names to be called.
"The exam begins!"
Iruka's stern voice rang out, followed by the electronic bell of the Academy.
The exam time was short, with one of the Three Basic Techniques chosen for the content. Naruto's class was scheduled for the first session, and after ten minutes, a few students had already completed their exams.
Not many people can receive the forehead protector. It's roughly a third of them. And this is just the Graduation Exam. After all, if they want to become a real Genin, they have to pass the test of the Jonin Instructor as well.
"Haruno Sakura!"
"Present!"
Naruto caught a glimpse of a pink figure quickly ran towards the adjacent classroom. He happened to be sitting by the door and could easily hear Iruka's voice.
"The Clone Technique."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!"
"Very good, excellent score."
Sakura's excited voice could be heard, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
"Clone Technique, huh?" Naruto muttered, thinking back to his own practice and finding it not too difficult.
The passing standard was to create a clone with almost no flaws, and creating two would be considered excellent. As for the perfect score, the conditions are very harsh.
For example, Naruto recalled he had seen Sasuke created three indistinguishable clones in the Clone Technique test some time ago. So it can be seen how hard it is to get perfect score.
Sasuke was called next. Before he left the classroom, he glanced at Naruto sitting by the door. Seeing this, Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
After about half an hour, Naruto's name was finally called.
To his surprise, Naruto drew the Body Replacement Technique, which is a more difficult Ninjutsu. Although it is also one of the basic Ninjutsu, it was a step above the Transformation Technique and Clone Technique in difficulty.
The main challenge lay in the speed of forming the hand seals. The assessment criteria for the Body Replacement Technique are speed and accuracy. Speed tested how fast one could form the hand seals, and accuracy tested the perfection of the technique.
If one put their heart into it, passing wasn't difficult, and with effort, it was possible to obtain excellent score.
"Hey? Someone drew the Body Replacement Technique!" Someone in the class shouted, and all of a sudden, those who had taken the exam and those waiting for their turn all gathered around the doors of the examination classroom.
"What kind of bad luck did Naruto have? He actually drew the Body Replacement Technique, which we rarely see?" Shikamaru mumbled, frowning slightly.
Everyone felt that it doesn't matter which subject Naruto draws, after all, based on his skill, he will fail.
However, after eating the fish Naruto had caught yesterday, Shikamaru suddenly felt a sense of guilt. He vowed not to laugh no matter how funny it was, feeling it would be wrong to do so.
This wasn't a joke, as it could affect his karma.
"Hahaha! I hope that guy doesn't transform into something weird!" Ino laughed gleefully while slapping Shikamaru's back.
"Remember the last time he did the Body Replacement Technique? He turned into a half-human, half-log thing. It had me laughing so hard I almost couldn't breathe!"
Shikamaru didn't react and just shrugged, "That's what Naruto is like. He tries so hard but still can't perform the technique properly."
The exam didn't take too long, and Iruka's voice, tinged with hesitation and a hint of surprise, could be heard.
"Perfect score."
"What did Iruka-sensei said? Perfect score?" Ino asked, looking at Shikamaru with a questioning gaze.
"Why ask me?" Shikamaru replied indifferently, "Iruka-sensei didn't call out the name."
"Uzumaki Naruto, perfect score!"
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章節 9: Chapter 9 Dreams
"Perfect score? Amazing." Sakura muttered, stunned for a moment, "Naruto seems different from before."
Ino was completely dumbfounded, thinking to herself, 'Today is really strange. How come that last-place guy become so powerful now?'
"Tsk, that guy" Inuzuka Kiba muttered and walked away with the white puppy on his head.
As a member of the truancy trio, Kiba was thankful that Naruto's poor grades kept him from being the worst in the class.
Sasuke, after watching for a while, also turned away, his eyes reflecting the lush trees at the end of the corridor, showing his usual indifferent demeanor.
"Sa...Sasuke-kun, since we graduated, can we have a meal together?" A girl who had just emerged from the corridor's corner asked as she nervously clutched her forehead protector. It was obvious that she had just passed the exam.
"I have things to do, find someone else." Sasuke said coldly. He was a proud person who did not allow himself to stagnate, so he intended to go back and redouble his training.
The hatred for his clan's extermination drove him to live, and aside from that, he had no interest in anything else, so without hesitation, he refused the girl.
Sakura, in the crowd, watched the scene of the girl being rejected by Sasuke at the end of the corridor, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions. Suddenly, a hand slapped her shoulder, startling her.
"Ino, what are you doing?"
"Hehe, stop looking. Sasuke-kun won't go on a date with you alone." Ino said as she looked at Sakura smugly.
For some reason, Naruto's annoying face flashed through her mind, and his vile voice echoed in her ears.
"Sasuke doesn't like women! Wo! Men!"
"Ah!!!! Damn it!" Ino suddenly squatted on the ground with her head in her hands, her face twisted in pain.
After passing the Graduation Exam successfully, Naruto's life was back on track. During the three-day break, Naruto was lazily lying at home for two days.
Naturally, he did not meet Konohamaru.
On the last day of the break, as Naruto was dozing off, the sunlight filtered through the window onto him, making him feel warm and cozy.
Suddenly, a dazzling light made Naruto frown and he opened his eyes directly.
An Anbu's member wearing an animal mask was squatting on the tree outside the window, his cold eyes visible through the holes in the mask, his voice emotionless.
"Hokage-sama wants to see you."
After saying this, without giving Naruto a chance to react, the Anbu's member vanished instantly.
Naruto stared at the ceiling for several minutes, confirming that someone had indeed been there, 'But where did he go?'
"Go…"
"The sun is so warm and comfortable, just like soaking in hot spring water."
"Hot spring."
Even breaths sounded as Naruto fell asleep again.
When he woke up, it was already dark.
There was no light in the room. A dark figure was sitting at the desk, flipping through Naruto's training plan. In the dim light, the rustling pages sound quietly, suddenly stopping after a while.
"Ah, you're awake." An old and familiar voice sounded, with a hint of gentleness and kindness.
When the light came on, the room was directly illuminated.
The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was sitting at the desk, and he turned his head to look at Naruto with a smile. On the desk were Naruto's brand new forehead protector, diary, and recipe book.
"Hokage-sama." Naruto, groggy from sleep, rubbed his eyes and called out.
"Didn't you call me Grandpa Hokage before?" Hiruzen was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily, "What's wrong? Now that you're a Shinobi, you're becoming distant?"
"Hehe." Naruto scratched his head a little embarrassedly, "I am already a qualified Shinobi now, so it is not appropriate to call you that."
Hearing this, Hiruzen smiled and let it go, then asked, "Did you forget something today?"
"Something?" Naruto looked puzzled. After thinking for a long time, he finally remembered that an Anbu seemed to have come and asked him to go see the Hokage.
"Ah! I forgot!"
"You little rascal!" Hiruzen sighed helplessly, "But it's normal for you to rest."
"Hokage-sama, is there something you want to talk to me about?" Naruto asked.
"Well, it's not really something important." Hiruzen said, "I wanted to ask about your dreams for the future."
"My dream is take it easy." Naruto said without thinking.
"Take it easy?" Hiruzen was puzzled.
"It means living a stable and relaxed life," Naruto explained.
"Have young people become like this now? I guess I'm out of touch with the times." Hiruzen said self-deprecatingly.
"But Naruto, wasn't your dream to become the Hokage?"
"What is life like after becoming Hokage? Are you happy?" Naruto asked.
"Well," Hiruzen coughed and said, "I'm usually quite busy, and sometimes, Konohamaru would complain that I can't spend time with him."
"But in order to protect the village and its people, this responsibility drives me forward, even to the point of risking my life for the village at any time. I think I am probably happy."
"Well, that's is the life of the Hokage-sama. It sounds tough." Naruto said, sitting cross-legged on the bed, "But I don't want to live such a hard life. I don't want to be looked at with strange eyes anymore."
"For someone like me, even to have a fresh meal, I have to consider whether the store owner will sell me the vegetables. Even if I become the Hokage, nothing will change."
"Naruto, if you become the Hokage, the people in the village will definitely respect and love you." Hiruzen tried to persuade.
"But Hokage-sama, I'm doing pretty well now." Naruto said, holding his head. "If I don't make mistakes and slowly become an ordinary person, everyone will forget their hatred towards me."
"Although I don't know why so many people are hostile to me, I think by becoming a Shinobi, I probably won't have to deal with such looks anymore."
Hiruzen wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat, and he didn't have the courage to say them out loud. He knew that it was his negligence that caused a child to become what he is now.
Rome wasn't built in a day. Naruto is an optimistic person by nature, and it is obvious that he has become like this because of the hostility he has suffered over the years.
If he wanted to change Naruto's attitude, he may need to guide him slowly in the future.
"Naruto, if the enemy breaks into the village in the future and wants to harm the people you care about, what will you do then?" Hiruzen asked.
Naruto thought about it, and after thinking for a moment, he looked at Hiruzen and said seriously.
"I don't know."
…
Hiruzen left without saying more.
Naruto sat at the desk where Hiruzen had been, touching the forehead protector, his gaze gradually turning indifferent. Although this system appeared to be a 'take it easy' system, it was actually a competitive one.
Naruto could take it easy, but his strength would continuously grow. If there's a more relaxed way to become stronger, why not take it easy?
Take it easy yourself, and let others compete.
In this terrifying world where strength reigns supreme, having no power means being at the mercy of others.
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