"First place in this ranking goes to..."
Umino Iruka deliberately stretched out the vowels in his words.
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
In response, he heard Sasuke's trademark indifferent tone.
Sasuke calmly crossed his arms, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted, as if he expected this result.
"Hmph."
That small sound made Haruno Sakura, Sasuke's devoted admirer, almost jump with excitement:
"Ahhh! Just as expected from Sasuke—he's so cool!"
"So handsome!"
Her cries were filled with endless admiration, her face flushed with excitement.
"Ahhh, Ino, did you hear that? Sasuke got first place!"
Sakura excitedly pulled Ino toward her.
"I know, I know—no need to rub it in. I'm such a fool..."
Ino yanked her hand away with disgust.
When she was younger, she also thought Sasuke was cute, but now that she'd grown up, he wasn't as appealing anymore.
Besides, someone else had caught her interest—someone far more intriguing than Sasuke.
"Second place goes to..."
"Third place goes to..."
Iruka's voice continued announcing the rankings.
Finally, with a tone of resignation, he called out the bottom two names:
"Thirty-second, Yue Shinomiya!"
"Thirty-third, Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto had been listening carefully, his heart sinking with each name.
When the final ranking was announced, his face lit up with delight.
"Huh? Yue, you ranked higher than me this time!"
Before the exam, they had made a bet—whoever ranked lower had to buy the other ramen from Ichiraku.
"Sigh... Because of you, I won't get to enjoy my Ichiraku ramen again..."
His eyes drifted to the small frog-shaped coin purse beside him, now almost empty of change.
But Naruto was someone who kept his promises, even when broke.
"Let's go get some ramen after school."
There was a hint of optimism in Naruto's words.
Then he added something that made the mood a little bittersweet:
"But I only have enough for one bowl... just leave me some soup, okay?"
He gently nudged Yue Shinomiya, who sat next to him.
Yue always had a lazy, listless expression.
Only when Naruto nudged her did she slowly seem to return to reality.
"You can have it. I'm not hungry."
Her voice was soft and she lay her head back on the desk.
"Hey, Yue, come on! I promised you."
Seeing how persistent Naruto was, Yue replied:
"If you really care, just protect me from now on."
Naruto clenched his fist at once and looked at her with resolve.
"You're my friend. Of course I'll protect you!"
Then curiosity crossed his face:
"But now that I think about it, Yue, you've said that a few times before. Is someone trying to hurt you?"
"Don't worry. I'll help you no matter what."
Yue gave a complicated sigh.
"Not yet... but maybe in the future."
Naruto scratched his head in confusion:
"The future? How would you know what's going to happen, Yue?"
But Yue's heart was already heavy:
Of course I know... I'm a time traveler.
From the Fourth Great Ninja War started by Uchiha Obito to the later Infinite Tsukuyomi—
Even though that's still far off, Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha during the Chūnin Exams will unfold in just a few months.
Every one of those events is a deadly crisis.
Each disaster is a direct threat to my life.
Why is my life so cursed?
Yue sighed silently. It had been twelve years since she traveled back in time.
She had no cheat system. Her skills were painfully average.
Every time there was a ranking, she and Naruto took turns fighting for last place.
But even in Hokage lore, the "tail of the crane" often turns out to be the fiercest.
Obito and Might Guy were both at the bottom of the class.
Yet look at how they turned out.
Obito achieved pseudo-immortality and became the Sage of Six Paths.
Guy opened all Eight Inner Gates and became a legend of pure strength.
Naruto—his greatness speaks for itself.
Even though the Nine-Tails' chakra interferes with Naruto's ninjutsu, he's a real genius.
As for Yue—nothing special.
At this rate, she wasn't even sure if she'd pass the ninja exam.
So sticking with Naruto seemed like the smartest choice.
She had always had a good impression of him—since childhood, for nearly ten years now.
If Naruto really meant to protect her—
With the power of Six Paths Naruto—
Let the whole ninja world come at me.
Who would dare to hurt me?
Who can hurt me?
I'm already on level three...
No—this is destiny.
I'm Naruto's best friend!
"Hey! You two, listen up!" Iruka's voice rang out sternly.
"Every time we have exams, you're at the bottom of the list. If you keep slacking off like this, you'll still have energy to daydream?"
Naruto felt the stare and gave an awkward, sheepish smile.
He quickly straightened up, pretending to pay attention.
Meanwhile, Yue stayed sprawled across the desk, ignoring the world.
The atmosphere screamed I've given up on life.
Just when Yue was about to drift off into dreamland...
A strange sound echoed in her head:
[Ding]
[Ninja Chat Group loading complete]
[You have been assigned as the group owner]
The news hit her like a lightning bolt, instantly banishing her drowsiness.
Yue sat bolt upright, eyes wide in disbelief.
Naruto looked at her in surprise.
"Huh? Yue, what's going on? You suddenly seem super hyped!"
Yue's face lit up with joy and excitement.
"Naruto, I have great news—I've been saved!"
"Hahaha, it's finally here—my cheat!"
She laughed with hope and conviction.
Naruto was a bit confused by the word "cheat", but seeing her face, he knew it was something good.
"Congrats, Yue! Looks like your luck is finally turning."
"Just you wait, Naruto. As long as I'm around, nobody's gonna mess with you!"
With that, Yue couldn't wait to lie back down and start exploring this mysterious "chat module."
"A group chat? Let's see what you've got."
A transparent, futuristic screen appeared in front of her—visible only to her eyes.
After fiddling with it for a few minutes, she got the hang of it—and was shocked.
No way… even chat apps can cross worlds now?
This chat group resembled modern social networks but could break the limits of time and space—connecting people from different timelines.
She imagined the hilarious scene of Uchiha Obito seeing Rin in the chat.
Or Madaras from different eras clashing in a virtual "ideology war."
But she wasn't worried—after all, as the group leader, she had special privileges.
For example, group members couldn't hurt her. She was invincible.
She also had admin powers—like kicking people out.
Nice.
[Group Chat Level: 1]
[Current Members: 1]
[Group Owner: Yue Shinomiya (Timeline: Konoha, Year 60)]
[Remaining invitations: 1]
Can you really call it a group chat with just one person?
She needed to bring in new members fast—and she was excited to put her Recruitment Plan into action.