"So troublesome. I don't know how long it'll take to eat all these fish." Shikamaru bent down, poking the black carp in the basket.
"Naruto must have worked hard by the river to catch all these," Shikaku said, rubbing the scar on his face. "Back in the day, I tried fishing too. Spent half a day and never caught a thing."
"This kid... if I invited him to dinner, he'd probably refuse. I wonder if he even liked that thank-you gift."
"Don't worry about it. That's just how Naruto is." Shikamaru spoke lazily. "Dad, you'd only pressure him."
"What did you just say? Brat!"
"Naruto's used to being alone. Sometimes it looks like he doesn't care about anything, but stuff like family dinners would only make him feel awkward and uncomfortable." Shikamaru straightened up.
Shikaku didn't reply. Thinking of Naruto's background, he fell into long silence.
The next day, the Ninja Academy graduation exams began.
The school gates were busier than usual, crowded with parents who had come to accompany their children.
Before the exams started, the grounds were always cleared, so parents wouldn't disturb the test.
Naruto had arrived early. He sat on the swing beneath the big tree until he spotted Hinata passing by. He hopped down and walked toward her.
This time he wasn't wearing his orange jacket, but a plain black T-shirt. It was too hot for the cotton coat, and he still didn't have the courage to wear it out.
"Morning, Hinata."
"G-good morning, Naruto-kun."
Hinata jumped, face turning scarlet, avoiding his eyes as she stammered her reply.
"This is for you." Naruto pulled something from behind his back.
It was a tiny wooden carving — a chibi version of Hinata, carved so vividly it almost looked alive. The little sculpture was only three fingers tall, adorably cute.
"Did... did you carve this yourself?" Hinata asked, face flushed, unable to look away from it.
"Yeah. I know a little, so... I wanted to give it to you."
In truth, he more than knew a little. Back in his previous life, he had studied woodcarving from childhood, practicing through fifteen years of spring and winter breaks without pause.
Hinata's face grew redder. She took the carving with both hands, whispering thanks.
"I remember your grades are always good, right, Hinata? Do your best on the exam." With that, Naruto waved and turned away.
[Nine-Tails' recognition +2.2%]
Of course, the System wasn't that easy to trick. A wooden carving might make Hinata blush, but the System clearly noticed his attempts to "farm points."
The panel judged fairly: repeating the same gestures might work on Hinata, but not on the System.
"Looks like I'll have to put in real effort," Naruto muttered.
At this age, Hinata was so cute. Even more shy than in the anime. Wearing her one-piece tracksuit, small build, and short hair just past her ears.
Her voice was soft, but she was always polite. A perfect lady-in-training, wife-like traits at their peak — flawless in every way.
Honestly, Naruto couldn't figure it out. How could someone like her like someone like him? What did Hinata even see in him?
The graduation exam was held in a separate classroom, with candidates waiting together in a large hall until their names were called.
"Begin the exam!"
Iruka's serious voice rang out, followed by the electronic school bell.
The test was simple: one of the Three Basic Techniques would be drawn at random. Naruto's class was scheduled first. In just ten minutes, several students had already finished.
Only about a third earned forehead protectors. And even then, graduation was only the start — becoming true genin required passing their jonin instructor's trial.
"Haruno Sakura!"
"Here!"
Naruto caught a glimpse of pink hair rushing past toward the exam room next door. From his seat near the door, he could hear Iruka's voice clearly.
"Clone Technique."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!"
"Good. Excellent."
Sakura's excited voice followed: "Thank you, Iruka-sensei!"
"Clone Technique, huh?" Naruto murmured, recalling it carefully. It wasn't too hard.
The standard for passing was one nearly flawless clone. Two was excellent. For a perfect score, the bar was much higher.
Like yesterday, when Naruto produced three clones indistinguishable from the original. Only two students in the whole class had earned perfect marks — Sasuke and Naruto.
When Sasuke's name was called, he glanced at Naruto before stepping into the room. Naruto raised a brow but said nothing.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Half an hour later, his turn finally came.
To his surprise, he drew the Substitution Technique. Harder than the other two basics. While it was still considered fundamental, its difficulty was a step higher.
The key was hand seal speed and precision. Speed tested how fast you could weave them. Precision tested how perfectly you could execute the jutsu.
Passing with effort wasn't hard. Excellence required skill.
"Eh? Someone drew Substitution!" a sharp-eared student shouted. At once, everyone gathered at the exam room doors to watch.
"Talk about bad luck. Dead-last actually drew the hardest one?" Shikamaru muttered, brows furrowed.
Naruto's reputation was the same no matter which technique he pulled — failure.
But Shikamaru remembered the fish he'd eaten yesterday, and guilt tugged at him. He promised himself he wouldn't laugh, no matter what happened.
This wasn't a joke. Karma would come back to bite.
"Hahaha! Hope he doesn't make something weird again!" Ino laughed gloatingly, slapping Shikamaru's back.
"Remember last time? His Substitution turned into some creepy half-human, half-log thing. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt!"
Shikamaru only shrugged.
"That's Naruto for you. Works so hard, but still can't use ninjutsu."
The test didn't take long. Soon, Iruka's hesitant voice came.
"Perfect score."
"What? Who?" Ino stared at Shikamaru, baffled.
"How should I know?" Shikamaru said, deadpan. "Iruka-sensei didn't say a name."
"Uzumaki Naruto, perfect score!"
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