Not noticing Kurenai's reaction, otherwise Obito definitely wouldn't have continued the topic. His attention caught by the words "exam practice," he looked at Seiryū in confusion and asked, "Exam practice? What does that mean?"
So the reason Seiryū and Kurenai's grades were so excellent was... exam practice?
He became curious.
He wanted to improve his grades too!
Seiryū answered honestly, "A student's essentials. Three years of mock exams, five years of entrance exams... ah, I'm going off track. In short, it's a great thing that helps you raise your scores!"
Seiryū was genuinely worried about his sister Kurenai.
How could someone who ranked first on the test have a silly sister who only scored average?
Unacceptable.
Kurenai had to keep up with him.
The Third Great Ninja War was like a sword hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment. Don't be fooled by how Kurenai survived all the way to the Boruto era in the original story.
But now things were different.
Because of his appearance, the butterfly effect had already started. Who knew how the future would change? The stronger Kurenai became, the safer she would be.
"…" Kurenai, who had been secretly eavesdropping with her ears perked up, shivered again after hearing Seiryū's words.
She thought to herself, if she hadn't asked Seiryū how to raise her grades back then, maybe she wouldn't have to endure this kind of hell now.
Every day after school, she had to do exam practice. A lot of it.
Her grades had gone up, but the suffering behind it... only she truly understood.
Obito was a brave soul, willingly stepping into hell.
She was deeply moved!
"That…" Obito's eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands together awkwardly and said, "Seiryū, can you let me see this exam practice too? I want to improve my grades…"
Seiryū purposely showed a troubled expression. "Those questions... were all carefully written by me, word by word..."
Obito immediately understood. He waved his hand generously. "Don't worry, I'm not someone who takes advantage of others. Learning advanced Ninjutsu costs money, so something that can raise grades should too. Just tell me, how much?"
"As expected of the prestigious Uchiha Clan, so generous!" Seiryū gave him a thumbs-up and praised him sincerely.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's nothing too expensive. How about the price of a C-rank Ninjutsu scroll? We're classmates, so I'll give you the friendship price!"
Ordinary civilians also had ways to learn Ninjutsu. They could borrow scrolls from the library or hire private tutors, all of which cost money.
Of course, only C-rank and above required payment. E-rank and D-rank were the most basic and could be borrowed freely from the library.
Without money, you couldn't do anything. Seiryū felt that making money should start from a young age.
Obito thought about it and felt it wasn't expensive at all. "Okay!"
He still had plenty of inheritance left from his parents. Let alone a C-rank scroll, even a B-rank would be fine.
Seiryū wouldn't scam him. Especially since the results were obvious.
They were all around the same age, same intelligence level. He refused to believe he would fall behind just because of method!
A paying customer had arrived, and Seiryū greeted him with a big smile. "I'll organize the questions and bring them tomorrow. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"
Obito thanked him sincerely. "Then I'll leave it to you!"
"Hmm…" Kurenai rested her chin in her hand as she watched the grateful Obito. Her eyes flickered with pity, admiration, and confusion.
Someone actually paid money for that?
Was life going too well for him?
So weird.
Seiryū, Kakashi, Asuma, and... oh, also Guy. None of their actions made any sense.
Now Obito too.
Was she really just behind the times?
But... but… she still felt this wasn't normal behavior...
At that moment, Asuma also leaned over. He had heard the conversation between Seiryū and Obito and couldn't help but speak up. "You had something like this and didn't share? I knew it. How else could your grades be so high? So there was a trick!"
He, the dignified son of the Hokage...
His written exam score was only fourth. That didn't make sense.
His family had hired plenty of private tutors, and yet he still couldn't beat Seiryū, Kakashi, and Kurenai.
Wasn't that embarrassing?
And how would he get Kurenai's attention like this?
"Asuma, you want it too?" Seiryū's eyes lit up. This guy had money. The Hokage's son, after all.
Still smiling, Seiryū was like a walking advertisement. "You're already in fourth place without exam practice. If you train seriously, you might even surpass me and take first!"
"No, I'll rely on myself!" Asuma's eyes kept drifting toward Kurenai. Seeing that she was also looking at him—though... he couldn't read her expression.
But he still puffed out his chest and declared confidently, "Next time on the written exam, I'll beat you and take first place!"
"…If you don't want it, then why join the conversation?" What a waste of a sales pitch.
Seiryū's tone changed instantly. He said indifferently, "Then go study. I believe in you."
"Hmph!" Asuma twitched at the corner of his mouth. Too realistic. His tone changed faster than a Transformation Jutsu.
With a displeased snort, he said, "You might be first in written exams, but the practical class this afternoon is another story. I'll be number one there!"
For nearly a month, every time he wanted to talk or get close to Kurenai, Seiryū would interrupt and watch him closely.
It made him furious.
What made him even angrier was how popular Seiryū was. The girls really liked him. Even though he was the Hokage's son, he didn't get that kind of treatment. So what if he was handsome? So what if he got first place?
He had to win back his pride. This afternoon's practical class would be his chance to defeat Seiryū.
Written exams meant nothing. Looks meant nothing. A ninja proved himself with strength. He would show the other girls, and Kurenai too.
He, Asuma Sarutobi, was the strongest!!
Seiryū: "Oh."
"Just you wait!" Asuma took a deep breath and clenched his fists.
Too infuriating. He swore he would surpass Seiryū in the practical class this afternoon.
With a snort, he turned and returned to his seat.
"Oh right, we have practical class this afternoon…" When the practical class was mentioned, Obito seemed a little less confident. He already knew what it would be—ninja tool throwing. "Seiryū, are you confident?"
Seiryū sighed. "Not really. I'm not very hands-on. Especially with throwing ninja tools, I miss the target a lot. It's really hard…"
"Same here. I also miss the target when I train at home. Guess it's just something you improve through constant practice…" Obito sympathized.
But he also secretly felt relieved. So Seiryū didn't know everything after all. He gained a little confidence again and became determined to perform well this afternoon to catch Rin's attention!!
Seiryū kept sighing. "Yeah, yeah."
Obito encouraged him, "Just try your best this afternoon. I believe you won't do too badly!"
Seiryū nodded. "I'll try."
"…" Listening to their conversation, Kurenai opened her mouth but didn't know what to say...
The "missing the target" Seiryū referred to and the "missing the target" Obito mentioned were completely different things.
Missing the bullseye counts as missing the target? Is that how you describe it?
Seiryū was too much of a bully!!
(To be continued.)
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