The room grew brighter as the chirping of cicadas and sparrows drifted in from outside the window. Summer had arrived.
There's no need to explain Naruto's academic foundation. It was, to put it mildly, extremely poor and practically nonexistent. His main feature was his unlimited, untapped potential. So, even with extra tutoring, improving his grades would be a nearly impossible task.
Thankfully, Hinata's patience seemed to be endless. There were times when even Naruto himself felt he was too stupid, constantly failing to understand the concepts, but Hinata always maintained her gentle and shy smile, continuing to try her best to explain things to him.
"Sorry, Hinata. Am I being too stupid?"
Hinata shook her head. "No, Naruto-kun, I've never thought of it that way…"
"Really?"
"Well… I-I've always envied you, Naruto-kun…"
"You envy me? For what?"
Hinata thought about it for a moment, her face blushing as she whispered, "Naruto-kun is always so optimistic and cheerful, completely full of energy. No matter what others think of him or say about him, he never gets discouraged. Even when faced with everyone's ridicule, he doesn't seem to care. Even when facing a genius like Sasuke, he never, ever admits defeat."
Naruto looked at Hinata's small, earnest face, opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped. "Hinata, I'm not as great as you say, and it's not that I don't care about other people's opinions, but… I can't really explain it. I just have to prove myself and show those who look down on me what I'm made of."
Hinata smiled gently. "So, this is what makes Naruto-kun so powerful…"
Looking at the girl's bright smile, Naruto's heart moved slightly. "Hinata, this seems to be the first time you've spoken so much…"
Hinata's face turned an even deeper shade of red, and she lowered her head and whispered rapidly. Naruto almost didn't hear it. "Because… this is what I've always wanted to say to you, Naruto-kun. You may not remember, but when I was being bullied by a group of bad kids, it was you, Naruto-kun, who stood up and saved me…"
Naruto stroked his chin, trying to recall the memory. "Hmm… I did?"
Hinata smiled. "Of course. Since… since then, I have always paid attention to you, Naruto-kun. Your strength, your optimism, your hard work, and your never-give-up attitude are all things that encourage me…"
To a more sensitive person, Hinata's words would have sounded like a heartfelt confession. But Naruto wasn't moved in that way at all. Instead, he crossed his arms and puffed out his chest with pride. "Really? Hey, it seems I'm still pretty awesome after all!"
Hinata nodded gently. "Yes, of course…"
Naruto suddenly felt a surge of confidence, and an idea sparked in his mind.
"Ah! I almost forgot about that!" He suddenly remembered the first ability he had obtained yesterday…
[Knowledge Absorption]
As long as he entered a state of full concentration, he could greatly improve his understanding and grasp of any knowledge!
Hinata tilted her small head. "What is it?"
Naruto patted his chest with confidence. "Hinata, I'm about to go full blast from now on! Don't be scared by me!"
Hinata nodded, even though she didn't quite understand what he was talking about. "Hmm… okay."
And it was true. Once Naruto entered a state of full concentration, with the help of the [Knowledge Absorption] effect, his understanding of Hinata's explanations instantly improved by several levels. Not only were the concepts no longer obscure, but he could even start to apply them to other situations. This made Hinata both surprised and incredibly happy.
The morning passed quietly as the two of them were completely absorbed in their tutoring session.
Hinata glanced out the window. The sun was at its highest point in the sky. She said in a slight panic, "Naruto-kun, I… I only took half a day off. It's time for me to go back."
"You asked for leave? Isn't today the weekend?"
Hinata said helplessly, "Yes, I asked my father for leave… because…"
"Anyways, I have a lot of my own training to complete this afternoon, so I'm afraid I won't be able to continue tutoring you."
"If I get another chance, I'll be sure to tell you in advance, Naruto-kun."
Even someone as careless as Naruto could understand the situation at this point. He scratched his head and laughed dryly. "That's right, I can't just be thinking about myself. Hinata needs to practice hard too! But… are you just going to leave like this? I haven't even had a chance to express my gratitude yet!"
Hinata stood up and walked to the door. She blushed, looked back with a smile, and waved to Naruto. "No… that's not necessary, Naruto-kun. I've already received the best thank you gift."
She said her goodbyes and turned away, her face still bright red. Soon, the sound of her hurried footsteps could be heard as she rushed downstairs. She seemed very embarrassed, like a little rabbit running away.
Naruto looked out the window at the girl running downstairs, holding her sun hat with her hands. He was a little confused for a moment.
"Hinata… what a strange person, but… besides Iruka-sensei, she's the second person who's been so kind to me…"
Although Naruto was a bit thick-skinned, he knew very well who was good to him.
"Well, when we get back to school, I have to properly express my gratitude to Hinata!"
[Congratulations to the host! After a morning of remedial lessons, all of your academic subjects have improved to a certain extent!]
Naruto grinned. Without the System even telling him, he could feel that he seemed to have understood a lot of new knowledge. Hinata's patient explanations, coupled with his own focused attention and the support of the [Knowledge Absorption] ability—and of course, his own hard work—this one morning of tutoring was equivalent to half a year's study!
Of course, before this, he hadn't learned much in half a year anyway.
**Current Proficiency in Cultural Subjects:**
* Physics (48/100)
* Chemistry (39/100)
* Mathematics (40/100)
* Literature (52/100)
* History (46/100)
* Calligraphy (58/100)
* Biology (52/100)
* Ninja Ethics (44/100)
* Ninja Strategy (52/100)
Naruto checked his current attributes. All his academic subjects had jumped by 20 or 30 points from where they started. It could be said that he had been reborn and made tremendous progress! Almost all his courses had gained an additional 10 to 20 points!
To be honest, even if the exams started right now, Naruto's academic performance wouldn't place him in the top ten, but at least he would be at the lower-middle level. He was no longer the dead last he had been before.
Naruto stretched his body. Fortunately, the System had been reasonable. It hadn't caused any trouble during the tutoring session this morning and hadn't launched a single lightning baptism warning. Obviously, it also understood the necessity of making up for his academic shortcomings.
Naruto stretched his body again. Although he hadn't done any physical training, this cultural studies session was more torturous for him than learning the clone technique three hundred times. One was physical exhaustion, and the other was mental.
Naruto saw the sun at its highest point, and the System immediately prompted him that it was time for lunch. He immediately prepared a sumptuous meal for himself and devoured it, thinking to himself that he should invite Hinata to dinner next time.
[Host, you have completed your cultural studies for this morning. Please proceed to the ninja training grounds in Konoha Village this afternoon to begin your taijutsu training!]
"Taijutsu?" Naruto didn't refuse and nodded obediently. After cleaning up the mess, he changed into clothes suitable for training and headed towards Konoha's ninja training ground.
Before he even got there, he suddenly heard a terrifying sound.
*Thump, thump, thump—*
*Thump, thump, thump!*
"What is that? An earthquake?!"
Naruto parted the bushes and took a peek. He saw a guy with a watermelon-shaped haircut and thick eyebrows, punching, kicking, and gritting his teeth as he madly attacked a wooden stake! It was like he was burning his own blood and life force!
"Whoa, what a scary guy! Is it really necessary to work so hard?"
[The host's Taijutsu training is very simple. All he needs to do is work a little harder than Rock Lee, who is right in front of him!]
Naruto's jaw dropped. "??? So you just want me to die?!"