"So troublesome… we'll be eating fish for days at this rate." Shikamaru bent down and poked at the black carp in the basket.
"Naruto must've worked really hard to catch these," Shikaku murmured, running his fingers over the scar on his face. "Back in the day, I tried fishing myself. Sat there half a day without a single bite."
"This kid… if I invited him to dinner, he'd definitely refuse. I wonder if he even likes the snacks we gave him."
"Don't overthink it, Dad. That's just how Naruto is," Shikamaru drawled lazily. "You'd only make him feel pressured."
"You brat—!" Shikaku scowled.
Shikamaru stood up and sighed. "Naruto's used to being alone. Even if he looks like he doesn't care about anything, family dinners would only make him feel awkward and out of place."
Shikaku fell silent. Thinking of Naruto's past, his heart grew heavy.
The next day, the Ninja Academy graduation exam began.
The school entrance was much livelier than usual. Parents gathered in crowds, chatting noisily as they waited for their children to finish. Before the exam, teachers always had to clear them out to prevent distractions.
Naruto had arrived early. He sat on the swing under the big tree until he spotted Hinata walking past, then hopped off and walked over.
He wasn't wearing his usual orange jacket today. Instead, just a plain black T-shirt. It was too hot for the jacket, and he didn't have the courage to wear it outside anyway.
"Morning, Hinata."
"G-good morning, N-Naruto-kun."
Hinata's face flushed red instantly. She turned away, stammering in a small voice.
"Here. This is for you." Naruto pulled something from behind his back.
It was a tiny wooden carving—a chibi version of Hinata herself, lifelike and adorable, only the size of three fingers.
"N-Naruto-kun… did you make this yourself?" Hinata whispered, her eyes glued to the little carving, cheeks burning even brighter.
"Yeah. I picked up a bit of carving, so… I thought I'd give it to you."
In truth, he had mastered it long ago. In his previous life, he had studied under a master craftsman since childhood, never missing a summer or winter for fifteen long years.
Hinata accepted it with trembling hands. "Th-thank you…" she said softly.
"I remember your grades are always good, right? Then make sure you do well on the exam." With a wave, Naruto turned and left.
[Nine-Tails' Approval: 2.2%]
Sure enough, the system wasn't so easily tricked. Hinata may have turned bright red from a single wooden carving, but the system had no intention of rewarding Naruto for such cheap tactics.
Repeated tricks might work on Hinata, but not on the system.
"Looks like I'll have to put in real effort," Naruto muttered to himself.
Hinata at this age really was adorable. More shy than in the anime, dressed in a simple tracksuit, her short bob haircut framing her small face. Her voice was quiet, but she was polite to everyone. Wife-material through and through—perfect in every way.
Honestly, Naruto couldn't figure it out. What did he ever do to deserve someone like her? Why would Hinata ever like him?
The graduation exam was held in a classroom, with students waiting in a large hall until their names were called.
"Let the exams begin!"
Iruka's stern voice rang out, followed by the sharp chime of the academy bell.
The exam was short—students would be tested on one randomly selected ninjutsu from the Three Basic Techniques.
Naruto's class was first up. Within ten minutes, several students had finished already.
Only about a third managed to pass and receive a forehead protector. And even then, this was just the start—becoming a true genin required passing the test of their future jōnin instructor.
"Haruno Sakura!"
"Here!"
Naruto glanced up just in time to see a flash of pink hair dart into the exam room. Sitting right by the door, he could hear Iruka clearly.
"Clone Technique."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!"
"Very good. Excellent."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" Sakura's voice trembled with excitement.
"Clone Technique, huh?" Naruto murmured. It wasn't too difficult. To pass, one had to create a nearly flawless clone. Two clones was graded excellent. Three clones—indistinguishable from the real thing—was a perfect score.
Yesterday, Naruto had done exactly that during review: three perfect clones. Only he and Sasuke had scored full marks in the entire class.
When Sasuke's name was called, he gave Naruto a sidelong glance before entering the exam room. Naruto raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Half an hour later, it was finally Naruto's turn.
To his surprise, he drew Substitution Jutsu. Among the basics, this was considered the hardest—more difficult than Transformation or Clone Technique.
The standards were clear: speed in hand seals, and accuracy in execution. Passing wasn't hard with focus, but an excellent grade required skill.
"Whoa, someone drew Substitution!" a student shouted. Immediately, kids who had already finished—and those still waiting—rushed to the exam room doors.
"Poor Naruto, what rotten luck. Substitution almost never comes up!" Shikamaru muttered, frowning.
To most, it didn't matter what jutsu Naruto drew—failure was almost guaranteed. But after eating Naruto's fish yesterday, Shikamaru felt a pang of guilt. He resolved not to laugh, no matter how badly Naruto messed up.
This wasn't a joke. Bad karma would follow.
"Hahaha! Bet he'll screw it up again!" Ino cackled, slapping Shikamaru's back. "Remember last time? His substitution turned into some creepy half-human, half-log thing! I laughed so hard I almost passed out!"
Shikamaru just shrugged. "That's Naruto. Works hard, but still can't pull off ninjutsu properly."
The exam didn't take long. But when Iruka's voice rang out, it carried hesitation—then shock.
"Perfect score."
"Huh? Who got a perfect score?" Ino blinked and turned to Shikamaru.
"How should I know?" Shikamaru replied, looking unconcerned. "Iruka didn't say a name."
"Uzumaki Naruto—perfect score!"