Late at night, in the Hokage's office.
"Has Ryujiro become friends with Naruto?"
Hiruzen pondered in his office. Perhaps it was because both Ryujiro and Naruto had lost their parents at a young age that Ryujiro had grown so close to Naruto.
After all, he was just a child; there was no need to speculate so much about him.
"Sandaime-sama, Naruto has never won against Ryujiro in their sparring matches."
"I even feel like this kid is holding back his strength."
An Anbu ninja respectfully stood before Hiruzen and spoke solemnly.
Naruto's strength was inferior to Ryujiro's?
This didn't surprise Hiruzen too much. After all, Naruto had always been a laggard in school.
Although he was a laggard, Naruto was a Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. So, Hiruzen did not underestimate Naruto because of his performance in school.
"I understand. Keep an eye on them."
"Yes, Sandaime-sama."
As the words fell, the Anbu ninja disappeared in an instant.
Ryujiro... a civilian background.
Whether he's a genius or not remains to be seen.
Now he urgently needed a civilian genius like Minato back in the day.
Although he was the Hokage, he was getting old.
The pressure brought by the Uchiha clan was becoming increasingly heavy. Despite the calm appearance of the village, there were hidden undercurrents.
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During this time, Ryujiro had been immersed in his spiritual space, and everyone was more or less aware of Ryujiro's relationship with Hinata.
Compared to Ryujiro, the most popular figure in the class was still Sasuke, with only a few people paying attention to Ryujiro.
Every time Ryujiro emerged from the spiritual world, Hinata never forgot to hand him a handkerchief.
And now Naruto had become Ryujiro's shadow, he was always following behind Ryujiro.
Compared to the original Hinata, the current Hinata was much more confident.
Her strength was also rapidly increasing, and recently, she was stimulated by Ryujiro in a sparring match, even unlocking her Byakugan powers.
As Ryujiro emerged from the spiritual world, he didn't feel too tired compared to before, just a bit absent-minded.
"Ryujiro-kun."
Hinata handed him a handkerchief.
Ryujiro smiled faintly, taking the handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
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It took two months, and although the progress was not significant, Ryujiro had gained a lot of insights into swordsmanship, and his foundation in swordsmanship was extremely solid.
And now, his chakra was even more abundant. Ryujiro now possessed far greater strength compared to his peers. An average ninja might be killed in one move if they were careless against him.
Even the current Sasuke might not be a match for Ryujiro.
"All the students! Gather on the playground!"
Iruka walked into the classroom and shouted.
All the students got to the playground in confusion.
It turned out to be a surprise test this time. Ninja Academy tested students' progress in their studies every once in a while.
The test was divided into three categories: Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and Clone Jutsu.
First was clone jutsu, and the first to be tested was Sasuke, who walked up confidently and easily created three clones.
Iruka nodded in satisfaction.
"Uchiha Sasuke, pass!"
Indeed, he was from the Uchiha clan.
"Ah ah ah ah ah! Sasuke-kun is so cool!"
Ino and Sakura both swooned. These two were Sasuke's biggest fans.
Before this, the top student in the class had always been Sasuke.
Being the top student meant being the student with the highest overall grades in the class.
The only one who had always been below Sasuke was Neji.
"Next, Yamashina Natsu..."
"Akemi Mai..."
"Yamashita Yoko..."
After about a dozen people, it was finally Ryujiro's turn.
"Next, Ryujiro."
Iruka still had high expectations for Ryujiro, after all, this kid had been working hard since he knew him.
He even heard that this kid had already mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu proficiently. If that was true, then the clone jutsu would be a piece of cake for Ryujiro.
"Bang—"
With a loud noise, accompanied by smoke, five clones appeared beside Ryujiro.
Even Iruka couldn't help but inhale sharply.
Ryujiro had actually created five clones at once. He had underestimated this kid!
"Ryujiro! Excellent!"
Tsk!
Sasuke snorted disdainfully.
But he had indeed not expected that Ryujiro could create five clones at once, which added a bit of pressure to Sasuke.
Sasuke was just annoyed that another competitor for the top student position had emerged.
And he was just a civilian.
I can't lag behind a civilian like him.
"Next, Naruto!"
Naruto sniffled.
"Watch me, everyone!"
Clone jutsu!
Iruka was also somewhat surprised to see Naruto's perfect clones.
Naruto had always been a last student in the class, unable to even use the clone jutsu proficiently, but now he had successfully performed it.
Everyone present was extremely surprised.
"This guy actually passed."
"How is this possible!"
Those who had mocked Naruto for being a loser could not perform the clone jutsu proficiently themselves. It was just because of Naruto's status that they could openly ridicule him as a laggard.
The next test was Shurikenjutsu.
In daily training, Ryujiro's Shurikenjutsu was even more accurate than that of a Jonin.
Before this, Sasuke's score had always been the highest at 97. Sasuke picked up the shuriken with a cool look!
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
"99 points!"
Ha!!
99 points!
All the shuriken hit the target, with only one deviating slightly from the bullseye.
"As expected of Sasuke-kun, you're as strong as ever."
"It seems that Sasuke-kun is going to take first place again this time."
"The genius of the Uchiha clan is truly terrifying."
Hearing the surrounding discussions, Sasuke looked proud and glanced at Ryujiro.
This guy shouldn't be able to surpass me, but he's just a civilian, even if he's amazing, he can't be better than me.
Neji Hyuga also scored 97 points.
"Next, Ryujiro."
"Ryujiro-kun! You can do it!"
Hinata cheered for Ryujiro.
Compared to the seriousness of the others, Ryujiro seemed a bit lazy as he threw the shuriken casually.
"Idiot!"
"How can you expect a good score when you throw shuriken so carelessly!"
Sasuke sneered disdainfully.
But when Iruka went to check the target, he suddenly froze, took a deep breath, and announced solemnly:
"Ryujiro! Shurikenjutsu, 100 points!"