"Sasuke."
On the field, Shinji called out Sasuke's name.
"Sasuke! So cool!"
"Sasuke! I love you!"
Sasuke, with his hands in his pockets, walked onto the open ground amidst cheers, facing Shinji and the other teachers.
"Tch, arrogant Sasuke." Naruto mumbled, crossing his arms, clearly displeased.
"That's right, this Sasuke is really arrogant." Kiba, beside him, also shot Sasuke an annoyed glance.
Why did all the girls in the class treat him so differently?
"Sasuke, let's start with Shurikenjutsu." Shinji nodded and said to Sasuke.
"Yes." Sasuke responded, then pulled out a few shuriken and swiftly threw them towards the wooden target.
Thud—Thud—
On the wooden target more than twenty meters away, three shuriken were deeply embedded in the bullseye.
Upon seeing this, Iruka and another teacher looked at Sasuke in surprise, as it was quite difficult for someone his age to achieve perfect accuracy and power simultaneously in shurikenjutsu.
"Sasuke, Shurikenjutsu eight points." Shinji picked up the score sheet, writing as he spoke.
"Shinji, don't be so strict. Sasuke, Shurikenjutsu ten points." Iruka, beside him, gave Sasuke a perfect score, speaking to Shinji.
"Indeed, Sasuke's Shurikenjutsu is very good." The other teacher also chimed in.
Shinji chuckled lightly, offering no explanation.
As Sasuke's teacher, he could observe the issues with his throwing technique.
Sasuke looked at the shuriken in the bullseye, thinking he should ask his brother for some extra lessons when he got back.
"Next, Naruto." Shinji continued to call out the name of the next student to be assessed.
'Throwing isn't my strong suit, I'll just try to maintain my usual training scores.' Naruto thought to himself as he stepped forward.
He greeted Shinji and the other two teachers, then turned to face the target not far away.
Naruto, familiar with the process, took out a few kunai and quickly threw them at the target.
Thud... Thud...
A series of continuous thudding sounds echoed.
Iruka glanced at the kunai on the target, looking at Naruto with a hint of surprise.
"This kid isn't bad either."
"Naruto, Shurikenjutsu seven points." Shinji announced the score first.
"Nine points."
"Nine points."
Iruka and the other teacher once again announced the same score.
Naruto, pleased with his good score, happily returned to his spot and generously declared to Sasuke, "Sasuke, I concede this round."
Sasuke's lips twitched. Among those who trained together, Naruto's throwing had never been particularly good. But for Naruto to concede in this kind of competition was not what he wanted.
"Naruto, you're amazing."
As soon as Naruto stood still, he heard a mosquito-like voice beside him.
Turning his head, he saw Hinata standing next to Ino, her face flushed.
Naruto said, "Yo, Hinata! Good luck with your test later too!"
"Yes, Naruto-kun." Being spoken to so boisterously by Naruto, Hinata felt as if all eyes were on her. She felt like she was about to faint.
Ino, seeing this, secretly curled the corner of her lips. This gossip was sweet, it's just that Naruto's dense head was hopeless.
—
In the classroom, Shinji held everyone's score sheets.
"Excellent, our class's scores this time are the highest in the entire first year." Shinji said as he distributed the printed score sheet list in order.
"Awesome! I'm first place!" Naruto jumped up upon seeing the score sheet.
All the classmates in the room turned their heads to look. Naruto getting first place was beyond everyone's expectations.
Shikamaru, beside him, helplessly said, "Naruto, why don't you take a good look?"
Naruto, who was still happy, looked at Shikamaru with a bewildered expression. "Huh? What's wrong?"
"You and Sasuke are both first place, it's just that Sasuke's name is below yours." Shikamaru held up the score sheet and pointed to Sasuke's name on it.
"In terms of total score, you two are the same, so..." Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders at this point.
Naruto, after taking a closer look, saw that Sasuke's score was indeed the same as his. He asked Shinji, who was at the podium, "Sensei! Why are there two first places?"
Shinji said leisurely, "Naruto, although your practical combat score is much higher than Sasuke's, you are very poor in the written exams. So, your overall scores are actually quite similar."
This was something Shinji was quite helpless about. He had already made Naruto do written assignments frequently. But this boy seemed to be forever unable to overcome it. His written scores were only barely above passing. Otherwise, perhaps Naruto might not have even made it into the top three.
Shinji said with a light chuckle, "Alright, everyone did well this time, but don't get complacent. If anyone's score is lower than this time in the next final exam, I think it's very necessary for that student to repeat the year, or be rewarded with a special gift package of assignments."
The students felt a chill run down their spines.
Repeat the year!
If that happened to them, they would definitely be laughed at.
Absolutely not!
Naruto's face turned pale. If he failed the written assignments next time, wouldn't that mean he might have to repeat the year?
—
During training at night, Naruto stayed by Shinji's side.
"Sensei! I've learned Rasengan, what else can I learn now?"
Shinji looked at Naruto and asked, "What do you want to learn?"
Shinji wanted to indirectly see if Naruto was aware of his shortcomings.
Naruto rubbed his chin, carefully thinking about his techniques. "Hmm, for offense I have Rasengan, and Shadow Clone can also provide tactical interference."
"That's it!"
As if he had thought of something, Naruto slammed his fist into his palm and shouted loudly.
"Sensei, I want to learn Sasuke's Body Flicker Technique!"
Shinji nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this. "Not bad, you know how to understand your own weaknesses."
Currently, Naruto had a weakness in speed. Perhaps if he removed his weights, he might be a bit faster. However, Shinji did not intend to let Naruto remove them.
At present, removing these weights would not significantly boost Naruto. If he could reach Lee's daily weight training from the original story, then Naruto, at that time, would absolutely dominate in both physical strength and speed.
It's just unclear if Naruto could learn his father's Flying Thunder God. He might have to try it later.
Shinji nodded. "Then I'll teach you the Body Flicker Technique."