"Mom, I'm back," Kaito called out as he pushed open the front door.
"Welcome home! Looks like you worked up a sweat again. Go clean up first, then come here; I have some things to ask you." Sinai had already prepared clean clothes for Kaito and looked at her son, noticing the sweat soaking his shirt.
Sinai had grown accustomed to Kaito's return at this hour every day, with his body always drenched from training.
"Alright." Kaito took the clean clothes and headed towards the bathroom.
Not long after, Kaito emerged, using a towel to rub his wet, short hair dry.
Sinai gazed at her son, eyes sparkling. Though he looked rather ordinary on most days, it was only because he didn't pay attention to his appearance. But just out of the bath, it was easy to see that he would grow into a very handsome young man—even more attractive than his father had been.
"Is something wrong?" Kaito asked, looking at his mother. She had mentioned wanting to speak with him, but now she seemed lost in thought.
Snapping out of her reverie, Sinai smiled and said, "Didn't you recently take your midterm evaluation? I want to know how it went."
"The evaluation?" Kaito paused before nodding. "It went alright, I guess."
Of course—parents cared about their children's grades no matter the world, be it in the ninja world or not.
The midterm evaluation for first-year students wasn't very complicated, mainly focusing on some basic knowledge and simple physical assessments. Kaito figured he had probably gotten full marks.
"Alright…that's good to hear," Sinai said, content. She didn't probe further, unaware that by "okay," Kaito actually meant perfect scores across the board.
The next day, when Iruka announced the results, Kaito's predictions were confirmed. He had indeed achieved full marks. Due to Kaito's exemplary performance in the physical assessments, the benchmark for others had been significantly elevated, making many of the other students' scores seem disappointing by comparison.
"Congratulations, Kaito! Keep up the hard work," Iruka said as he handed back the exam papers. Then, turning to the entire class, he added, "Everyone, try to learn from Kaito's dedication!"
"Yeah, learn how to sleep sitting up!"
Voices erupted throughout the class. Several students seemed unwilling to accept Kaito's success, as his presence in class was often understated, known more for sitting quietly or dozing off than anything else.
Uchiha Sasuke glared at Kaito, gritting his teeth. He wasn't angry at Kaito's success—he was angry with himself for falling behind. How could he hope to chase after his brother's footsteps if he couldn't even be the best in his class? More importantly, how could he earn his brother's praise if he continued like this? It was unacceptable.
Not only had this guy who spent class time sleeping surpassed him, but even that pink-haired girl, Sakura, managed to rank higher. As the son of the Uchiha clan's leader and with an exceptional older brother, Sasuke simply couldn't accept falling short.
Yamanaka Ino also eyed Kaito with renewed interest. Although they greeted each other daily, their interactions never went beyond that. Kaito never sought her out, and eventually, Ino stopped paying much attention to him. However, the exam results made her see him in a different light.
She never imagined that the quiet, seemingly inconspicuous Kaito would turn out to be so exceptional. Listening to the discussions around her, Ino heard the voices of disbelief mixed with admiration—Kaito had scored full marks, widening the gap between him and the runner-up. It was impressive, to say the least.
Though most girls still found Sasuke the most handsome, Kaito, with his academic excellence, now seemed to have narrowed the gap considerably.
"Haha, Kaito, you're amazing!" Naruto called out openly, his enthusiasm unrestrained as Kaito returned to his seat.
"Naruto! We're in class—no shouting! And Kaito's achievement doesn't make you any less last in theory," Iruka scolded, clearly annoyed. Though other students had murmured among themselves, Naruto's outburst was just too much, as if he didn't care that a teacher was present.
Naruto scratched his head, glancing down at his scores, feeling slightly dejected.
Kaito took a look at Naruto's scores. Naruto still scored well in physical activities, meaning he wasn't dead last overall. However, once ninjutsu became part of the evaluations, and with the high weight placed on it, Naruto would inevitably become the dead last if things remained the same.
"Keep working hard, Naruto. I believe in you," Kaito said after some thought.
"Hehe, I know! After all, I'm the guy who's going to become Hokage!" Naruto grinned widely, enthusiasm once again igniting in his eyes.
"What a drag," Shikamaru groaned. He had been dozing off nearby but had woken up due to Naruto's loud declaration.
"Hey! You're not much better than me! You only barely passed!" Naruto retorted, turning towards Shikamaru, who, despite Kaito's encouragement, he still found annoying.
Yawning, Shikamaru glanced at Kaito, noticing many of their classmates' eyes drifting in Kaito's direction. He sighed, muttering, "Top scorer…just a hassle."
Although Shikamaru intentionally kept his theory scores in the average range, he almost didn't pass the physical tests, the culprit being none other than Kaito himself, whose high performance raised the standards for passing. The top scorer was a new source of trouble, and he sat right next to him. Shikamaru dreaded the thought of what might happen when class ended.
And he was right to worry. As soon as the bell rang, the space around Kaito, typically empty, was now packed. Kaito wasn't as striking as Sasuke, but his refined looks coupled with his excellence had attracted plenty of attention.
Naruto, pushed out of the crowd, looked bewildered. What was he supposed to do now?
Shikamaru, on the other hand, had expected this and immediately vacated his seat as soon as class ended. Spotting Naruto, who had also been squeezed out, Shikamaru gave himself credit for his foresight.
"You got pushed out too, huh?" Naruto said, pointing at Shikamaru.
"Not even close." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Haha, come on, admit it! I didn't expect Kaito to be so popular!" Naruto said, starting to see Shikamaru in a better light since they seemed to share the same predicament.
"This is such a drag…maybe I should change seats," Shikamaru muttered, watching the scene unfold.
As for Kaito, who was surrounded, this was a new experience for him—in both lives, he'd never dealt with such attention. Initially, he felt overwhelmed, but soon, finding it tiresome, he frowned slightly. Then, he recalled how Sasuke had handled similar situations—just ignoring everyone and behaving as if they weren't there. Kaito decided to give it a try.
Thus, he simply ignored the crowd, focusing on the book in his hand as if he were alone.
The noise around him gradually quieted. Finally, were they leaving?
Raising his head, Kaito saw that the area around him was still packed, but directly in front of him now stood… Uchiha Sasuke. Everyone else had likely stopped making a commotion upon seeing him approach. The face-off between the most popular boy, Sasuke, and the "handsome top scorer" had drawn their rapt attention.