At eleven o'clock in the morning, the bell rang.
"Examinees, stop writing immediately and remain seated."
Kitazawa stood up and gave the order.
The classroom instantly descended into chaos.
Fortunately, over the past month he had built up enough authority that even the students who were still working obediently put down their pens.
"Tomorrow at 9 a.m., assemble on the school field. Anyone more than fifteen minutes late will have their practical‑exam score voided."
Collecting the answer sheets, Kitazawa offered a final reminder and left the room.
Tomorrow was the practical exam, so he had to finish grading the written papers this afternoon.
Because the practical results are announced on the spot, adding them to the written scores means the class ranking can be published immediately tomorrow—very efficient.
As soon as Kitazawa left, the room became noisy again, full of groans.
Uzumaki Naruto, still in his seat, glanced reflexively out the window at the blue sky.
Three words flashed through his mind: I blew it!
The monthly test had been harder than he expected; several questions had stumped him.
"Didn't go well?" Nara Shikamaru noticed his expression and asked casually.
"It's not that it went badly, it's just… I didn't perform my best!"
Naruto looked at him, clinging to a sliver of hope. "Did you find it hard?"
"Pretty tough," Shikamaru sighed wearily. "I figure I barely passed—about sixty points."
"Same here," Akimichi Chōji chimed in.
Naruto's spirits lifted; he felt comforted.
If everyone thought it was hard, maybe he could still be first!
"Sasuke‑kun, how did you do?" Haruno Sakura hoisted her bag and approached Uchiha Sasuke.
"Average," Sasuke replied off‑handedly, hands in pockets.
He was already confident of taking first in the practical exam; as long as he placed top three in theory, his overall rank was secure.
"Sasuke‑kun, you're so modest!" Sakura's eyes turned into hearts.
Of course she didn't believe him; with Sasuke's cool demeanor, only first place suited him.
"I've got something to do—don't follow me," Sasuke said, heading out of the room. He was annoyed today over the Great Fireball Technique and in no mood to chat. If Kitazawa hadn't given him hope, he wouldn't even have offered that polite line.
"Sa‑…" Sakura reached out, only to watch him disappear down the corridor.
"Uchiha men really are heartless," Yamanaka Ino remarked, shaking her head.
"Don't say that about Sasuke!" Sakura shot back. "That's not heartless— that's cool!"
"You're hopeless, Sakura," Ino said, hands raised in surrender.
"Wait!" Sakura suddenly realized something. "Have you given up on Sasuke?"
Ino froze. Sakura's question made her notice she no longer felt the same fangirl rush toward Sasuke. Was she too busy with tree‑climbing practice? Or had constant exposure to Kitazawa built up an immunity?
"Giving up is even better!" Sakura exclaimed. "That means Sasuke is definitely mine!"
"Sure, sure," Ino humored her, then spotted Hyūga Hinata still at her desk. Hinata had packed her things but hadn't left.
"Hinata," Ino called, "want to walk home together?" After tree‑climbing practice, she now considered Hinata a good friend.
"Eh?" Hinata started, flustered. "I… you two go ahead."
Seeing this, Ino didn't press and left with Sakura.
Hinata let out a quiet sigh of relief.
When the room was empty, she picked up her bag and went to Kitazawa's office.
Knock knock.
"Come in," Kitazawa said, looking up from grading.
"Ki‑Kitazawa‑sensei," Hinata greeted, a faint smile on her face.
"Why aren't you heading home?" Kitazawa set down his pen.
"I… um…" Hinata almost had heart palpitations at the question, a blush rising. She had come by habit to have lunch, but it looked as though Kitazawa had no lunch plans today, and she felt awkward.
"Since you're here, let's eat together," Kitazawa said, guessing her thoughts with a smile. He truly hadn't expected her to show up—after all, the afternoon was free and tomorrow was the practical exam.
"Okay!" Hinata replied, delighted, quickly taking off her shoes and stepping inside. Seeing him busy grading, she sat quietly on the sofa, her pale feet lightly tapping the floor in time with her excitement.
Noon arrived.
Kitazawa breathed out, set down papers and pen, and looked at Hinata—she was sitting obediently like a delicate doll.
His gaze lingered on her snow‑white legs. If she wore white stockings… No, no—don't even think of it, that's a crime! He banished the thought. Simple reason: he preferred older women.
"Hinata, lunchtime!" Kitazawa chuckled teasingly.
Hinata snapped out of her daze, jumped to her feet, then, meeting his half‑smiling eyes, realized she'd been fooled. Her cheeks reddened.
"Let's go eat," Kitazawa beckoned. Hinata suppressed her shyness and stepped up beside him. Patting her head, he took her to Ichiraku Ramen.
After the meal, Hinata returned to the Hyūga compound, and Kitazawa resumed grading.
By dusk, every paper was marked and ranked. Seeing Hinata in first place, he nodded in satisfaction—all that special training had paid off.
Second place was a mild surprise: not Uchiha Sasuke but Haruno Sakura. Still, it made sense—Sakura had been top of the class in theory in the original story, which was a big reason she made Team 7, along with her so‑called bonds with Naruto and Sasuke.
Scrolling further, Kitazawa soon found Naruto's name. Good news: no longer dead last. Bad news: smack in the middle—28th place.
How to put it? Lots of room to improve.
Just then, three lines of text materialized before Kitazawa's eyes:
[Current mission: Help your lifelong rival, Uzumaki Naruto, place in the top ten of the class on the next monthly exam.]
[Reward: Yin Affinity.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa was a bit surprised, but not much—similar missions had appeared before.
What caught him off guard was that this time the goal wasn't second place, just tenth. Even the system had low expectations for Naruto?
Kitazawa couldn't help laughing. On the other hand, Naruto was the first student already preparing for the next ranking mission. Ahem.
Kitazawa chose to accept. With a Yin Affinity, mastering genjutsu would become far easier.
~~~
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