"Alright, alright, you brats, hurry back to your seats."
Ms. Mayabi walked into the classroom with a thick stack of forms in his hand.
"Ah, are we going to have another exam? Didn't we just have one not long ago?" Seeing the thick stack of paper in his hand, the mischievous kids, led by Rito Uchiha, immediately objected.
"No, that's not it," Ms. Mayabi shook her head.
"Our second year is almost over. There is still some time before the second-year graduation exam. So, today will be the last outdoor training class. Everyone, come with me to the training room."
It's still that familiar taste, that familiar training ground.
Kadoya could even see the traces of Earth Release ninjutsu used by Orochimaru and Jiraiya on the ground.
"Ahem, this outdoor class is mainly to test the shuriken throwing skills of all the students." Ms. Mayabi raised the thick roster in her hand.
"The results of this test will be counted as part of your usual grades and included in the final score. So, whether you are usually excellent or poor, you must pay attention to this exam."
"I don't want to have to call your parents during summer vacation." After Ms. Mayabi finished speaking, she glanced at Shikaku, who was holding his head and complaining about the trouble.
Shikaku was shocked. After all, his mother scolded him and his father for being irresponsible the last time he admitted defeat, which left him with some psychological trauma.
"First, according to the student numbers when you enrolled, Rito Uchiha, you are the first, come on."
"Oh."
The leader of the trio, Rito Uchiha, walked over with an arrogant look.
He took four shurikens from the ninja tool bag on his leg. His wrist shook slightly, and then the shurikens flew out at an extremely fast speed, hitting the bullseye ten meters away!
The students let out a burst of exclamations. His two followers performed especially hard.
"A."
Mayabi glanced at the rake in the distance and then announced the score obtained by Rito Uchiha.
The highest grade score that the teacher can give to students is A+, then A, A-, B+, and so on.
It has to be said that the people of the Uchiha clan are much better at shuriken than ordinary people.
This may be a genetic issue.
The time for the outdoor training class passed little by little. Since it was not Kadoya's turn yet, he was a little bored, so he hid aside and chatted with Minato and the others.
Not only Kadoya and the others, but also the other students who had not had their turn were not so well-behaved, and they all scattered around the training ground chatting.
Kadoya noticed that Kushina was a little nervous.
He remembered that Naruto was also very bad at this; it seems that this is also hereditary.
Like the Uchiha clan, it is also a genetic problem.
"Next, Kushina Uzumaki ."
"Good luck, Kushina." Minato cheered Kushina on, thanks to Kadoya and Saiguu's encouragement. Minato began building up a relationship with Kushina much faster than in the original story.
"Okay. I will try my best!" Kushina slowly walked up.
Before Kushina Uzumaki transferred here, the Third Hokage had asked Ms. Mayabi to take care of Kushina Uzumaki and not let the students bully her.
The Third Hokage's reason was that Kushina was a war orphan from the Land of Whirlpools. She had just arrived in Konoha and was unfamiliar with the place. Kushina would live in Konoha in the future and needed to cultivate her favorability towards Konoha.
Since the Hokage-sama had greeted her in advance, Ms. Mayabi had to care more about Kushina Uzumaki for the sake of her ninja career.
So, Ms. Mayabi inserted her name in the middle. If it were in the last place, it would make Kushina feel isolated.
However, from her point of view, Kushina Uzumaki was very unqualified in shuriken throwing. Even the throwing gesture could find errors, can you have more illusions about aiming?
Ms. Mayabi sighed, another problem child.
"Since the Hokage-sama is taking special care of her, then I have no choice. I'll just give her an A+ for the score later..." She muttered to herself.
Kadoya now wants to report Ms. Mayabi to the Hokage.
Kushina looked at so many eyes around her and was a little nervous.
She also looked at Kadoya and the others, who were all cheering for her.
Kushina rubbed her eyes and tidied up her clothes.
"Ha!"
Standing in front of the target, Kushina shouted loudly and then threw her shuriken out with great force.
Although Kadoya admitted that Kushina's voice was very nice, the accuracy... was really too bad.
If Ms. Mayabi, who was standing next to the target, hadn't used the Substitution Jutsu in time, she would have been stabbed into a sieve by Kushina's shuriken.
Ms. Mayabi twitched the corner of her eye, she seemed very hesitant.
After all, the results were there, and he couldn't betray her conscience.
"...But...Kushina-san, after all, is the Hokage-sama's special concern. I can't not give face. Then I'll give her an A. This result is just so-so?" Ms. Mayabi kept finding excuses for herself.
Kadoya: "..."
Wake up to reality, Ms. Mayabi. If this continues, the future of Konoha will be ruined in the hands of you, a Chunin, you know?
Kushina became a little silent. She, who was still very excited just now, walked down with a listless look.
"Hahahaha."
The surrounding classmates all burst into laughter, after all, Kushina's shuriken throwing was really too poor. Even worse than a first-year student.
"With this level of skill, you still want to become a Hokage?"
"That's right. I'm even better than her."
Kushina's face was as red as a tomato. But she just glared at them and walked away silently.
After all, her shuriken technique was truly terrible, and without strength, anything she said would sound like an excuse.
Any rebuttal from her now would only increase the laughter directed at her. Although her personality was very outgoing, she was not as foolish as the future protagonist Naruto.
"Kushina Uzumaki, D."
Although the Third Hokage did indeed instruct teacher Mayabi to take good care of Kushina, the results were obvious to all.
So, even if Kushina were the Third Hokage's illegitimate daughter, she couldn't fake the grades.
She had no choice but to give Kushina a failing grade.
Hearing such a grade, Kushina did not express any other opinions but walked down in silence.
"This child should go back to the previous grade and start over. At this rate, she won't be able to keep up with the course at all. She can't even do the most basic shuriken throwing. I don't understand what the Hokage is thinking." Teacher Mayabi sighed, then glanced at the list again.
"Kushina..." Saiguu began looking at her with a calm face.
Kushina put on a big smile.
"I'm fine. I'll practice more in the future."
Saiguu nodded. "We can all teach you."
Kadoya question. "We?"
Minato joins in. "Yeah, we will."
Kushina became a little happier. "Then it's a deal."
Time passed by bit by bit.
"Next, Minato Namikaze."
Hearing his name, Minato stood up and walked to the stage, not before giving his friend his usual warm smile.
He has trained with Kadoya many times, so he was able to pick up a few shuriken techniques that typically belong to the Uchiha.
Using it, Minato was able to score a perfect A.
"Accuracy A, Quantity B+, Destructive Power B, Overall Evaluation A."
The Uchiha trio glare at both Kadoya and Minato, recognizing Minato was using a semi-remake of the Uchiha's shuriken techniques.
Damn you Kadoya Senju and Minato Uchiha!
But they couldn't do anything about it and could only glare from the side.
"Next, Kadoya Uchiha!" Teacher Mayabi said, and Kadoya stood up.
Walking toward his spot with confidence, his blue haori with kanji for "Water" on his back wave lightly with each movement.
"Kadoya! Kadoya! I love you!"
"Go, my favorite Kadoya!"
"You're the best!"
Kadoya's fangirls erupted in cheers.
Everyone was used to it by now, and even Saiguu didn't react. She could just shut them up by activating her Byakugan. Teacher Mayabi curled her lips in displeasure, these girls, bad boy aren't good.
Kadoya clapped his palms together, forming water chakra between his hands.
"Water Style: Water Shuriken!"
He threw his water shuriken at the target; one shuriken quickly split into three, cutting the target into two, then four, then six pieces.
The water shurikens continued to fly, going through the wooden wall behind and even cutting off two trees.
Everyone: "..."
Kadoya: "..."
'Okay, maybe adding Hamon is a bit too much.' He thought, before turning to his stunned teacher and classmate.
Ms. Mayabi just stared at him for a bit before looking down at her note with a hint of envy and frustration on her face.
"Accuracy A+, Quantity A+, Destructive Power A+, Overall Evaluation A+."
This Problem Child really knows how to cause a scene.
...
Later on in Training Ground #7.
Saiguu and Minato helped Kushina with her shuriken techniques while Kadoya stood afar watching them.
He wasn't good at teaching, but good at breaking bones and making people rethink their life choices.
So Minato and Saiguu decided that they would be the ones to help Kushina.
After their training, the group returned to their home.
Exhaling deeply, four golden chains burst from Kadoya's back, Enkidu responding to his will. Infused with Hamon, the chains shimmered with a golden hue, hardening and bending to form semi-spider-like legs that lifted him off the ground.
Suspended mid-air, Kadoya formed a quick sequence of hand seals before pointing his right hand forward.
"String Style: String Shot!"
From his fingertips, five thin, white threads shot outward. A few hit the nearby bamboo stalks and stuck, but others veered off, missing completely.
Kadoya frowned. "Tch… The accuracy's garbage. And it doesn't have that sticky tension like real spider silk."
Retracting Enkidu back into his body, he landed with a soft thud and sat cross-legged, thoughtful.
Spider silk is made of protein, he mused. I could substitute that with chakra, use it as a binding agent, increase adhesion, maybe even create tensile elasticity…
Thanks to Tsunade's training, his chakra control had improved significantly. But producing something like Spider-Man's webbing without exhausting his reserves? That would take both planning and serious refinement.
At present, his mastery over String Release was still novice-level. He'd only developed two jutsu with it so far, barely enough to qualify as a specialist.
"Options are good," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, "but I really need more ways to earn system points."
...
Time passed quickly.
Life at the Ninja Academy had settled into a monotonous rhythm, uneventful and dull. For Kadoya, that meant one thing: his point growth had slowed to a crawl.
With no major incidents and his troublemaker reputation already well established, the few pranks he pulled barely earned him any Evil Points. Even the occasional fight, which used to rack up points, now gave him little more than a shrug from the system.
This grind's worse than pulling teeth…
"Kadoya!"
A familiar voice broke through his thoughts. Lazily, Kadoya cracked open one eye to see Minato jogging toward him.
Before he could complain, the blond had grabbed him by the arm, dragging him toward class with practiced efficiency. "Come on, we're already late for the new term!"
As soon as they opened the classroom door,
KRAK!
Kadoya was immediately greeted by a delicate, but brutally effective, fist slamming into his face.
His body exploded into a swirl of white flower petals, vanishing on impact.
Minato blinked, deadpan. "His substitution jutsu again…"
Kushina gasped, her expression shifting to panic. "Oh no! I- I didn't mean to hit him that hard!"
Minato waved it off with a sigh. "It's fine. You probably didn't hit him anyway. Kadoya won't mind. Besides, I doubt you could land a clean hit on him even if you tried."
That made Kushina puff up in embarrassment, her face turning the same shade as her hair. "Don't say stuff like that, you idiot Minato!" She stuck out her tongue, trying to hide her fluster.
At the back of the class, Saiguu stifled a laugh. "They really do look like a couple."
She turned her head slightly, glancing toward the window where Kadoya now sat, perched on the sill, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. A subtle smile tugged at his lips as he watched Minato and Kushina bicker.
"Indeed," he murmured, nodding. His and Saiguu's matchmaking efforts were starting to show results.