Early the next morning, sporting faint dark circles under his eyes, Kaito left the house under the worried gazes of Uncle Takumi and Aunt Shu, heading to the academy.
Coincidentally, as he arrived near the school gates, he ran into Rin and Kakashi arriving together.
Rin wore a sweet smile, looking as if she had just encountered something wonderful.
No, not ‘as if’—to her, it truly was a wonderful occasion.
Kaito looked Kakashi up and down.
His messy bird’s-nest hair was combed, his short sword was strapped on straight, and his clothes were neat.
Only his walking pace was still slightly sluggish.
His mental state had basically returned to normal, which made Kaito feel much more at ease.
Unfortunately, the heavy dark circles under his eyes were not very flattering.
‘It’d be weird if they weren’t heavy.
The notifications popped up every hour until it reached forty-nine percent.
He probably stayed up all night.
I wonder if he was secretly crying in bed…
Ah, I didn’t sleep either.’ Kaito yawned and greeted them lazily, “Morning, Rin, and our great genius, Kakashi.”
Kakashi glanced at him but said nothing.
Rin replied, “Morning, Kaito.”
She wasn’t angry; in fact, there was a hint of hidden concern in her eyes as she looked at him.
“Kaito, you and Hizashi Hyuga…”
Kaito suddenly understood.
News traveled fast.
Rin also lived in the eastern alleys of Konoha Village, so she must have heard from someone that he had been ‘bullied’ by Hizashi Hyuga.
His eyes shifted to Kakashi.
Seeing the confusion in Kakashi’s eyes, Kaito immediately realized he didn’t know yet.
He smiled and said, “It’s nothing.
I just got beat up, right?
I’ll just train hard, and once I can beat him, I’ll return the favor.”
“I’m not like some people,” Kaito said in a strange tone.
“When they run into trouble, all they do is wallow in self-pity.”
As he mentioned ‘some people’, his gaze kept circling around Kakashi, making his implication wildly obvious.
Rin pouted in dissatisfaction.
“Kaito!”
‘No notification.
It’s going to be harder to correct him from here on out,’ Kaito sighed inwardly.
Facing the adorably angry Rin, he threw his hands up and laughed.
“True, after all, even if some people are completely devastated, they still have you to take good care of them.
I can’t do that.
I have to be independent and strong…”
Rin’s face flushed slightly, but she spoke seriously, “Classmates should care for each other.
Kaito, whatever conflict you have with Hizashi Hyuga, I can also…”
“Alright, alright, you should just focus on caring for our great genius.” Kaito waved his hand and took the lead, walking into the campus.
Rin furrowed her brows in displeasure, but suddenly heard a soft whisper, “Thank you, Rin.”
“Ah…” She turned her head in surprise.
Kakashi repeated, “Thank you, Rin.”
Rin was filled with relief.
“Yeah!”
…
‘Kakashi correction progress 50% Gained Free Attribute Point * 2’
Just as he stepped into the classroom, he received two lines of text, causing him to trip over his own feet.
‘What did Rin say or do this time?
She’s way more effective at provoking him than I am.’ Sighing in his heart, Kaito suddenly froze.
‘Wait, did it give me…
two points?’
He opened his attribute panel.
Free Attribute Points: 5
‘I originally had one point left.
Adding the two points from forty percent and forty-five percent makes three.
Reaching fifty percent really did give two points!’
Kaito’s spirits lifted.
Was it because fifty percent was a halfway milestone?
Or was it because the further he progressed, the harder it was to correct, thus rewarding more points?
As time passed, more students gradually filled the classroom.
A small group of them chatted, secretly pointing fingers at Kaito.
Kaito ignored them, completely engrossed in his book, until he caught sight of Obito in his peripheral vision.
He then pulled out a pen and stood it upright in the middle of his desk.
Smack!
“Ugh…
Oww!”
Obito, who had intended to slam his hand on the desk but ended up slamming it onto the upright pen, cradled his hand and let out a dragon-like howl.
This drew the side-glances of his classmates, but upon realizing it was just Obito, they turned back around, accustomed to his antics, and paid him no more mind.
Kaito looked at the pen, which had snapped in two, and said flatly, “Pay for my pen.”
Pay?!
Obito’s eyes, already wide from the pain, bulged even further.
“You bastard…”
“I didn’t use the nib.”
Obito was stunned for a moment.
Thinking about it, he felt a lingering fear and even a faint sense of gratitude.
“Thanks, I’ll pay…
Wait, no!
Don’t try to change the subject, you bastard!
We agreed to fight yesterday, where were you?”
“You still have the mood to fight me?”
“…Huh?”
“Rin and Kakashi came to school holding hands this morning, didn’t you know?” Kaito lowered his voice.
“…What?!”
“What do you mean ‘what’?
I saw it with my own eyes.”
“Impossible.
Rin is just helping him as a member of the ‘Help Kakashi Cheer Up’ squad.
Holding hands…” Obito shook his head repeatedly.
“Just look at Kakashi.”
Obito froze and turned his head, his mouth falling slightly open.
He had made a beeline for Kaito the moment he entered the classroom and hadn’t noticed that Kakashi was different today, having returned to his usual show-off appearance.
“What else besides love could make him change so drastically?” Kaito chuckled.
“Hurry up and keep an eye on them.
This is all the help I can give you.”
“You’re…
not lying to me?”
“How could I dare?”
“I bet you wouldn’t dare.” With a low snort, Obito marched aggressively toward Kakashi.
Kaito smiled.
‘I’ll fool you to death, you gullible fool…’ Eh?
Obito actually turned back around!
Did he realize he was being tricked?
“Thanks,” Obito whispered.
Kaito was dumbfounded.
“Ah, no problem, no problem.”
‘Am I taking this too far?’ He reflected on his actions, turning his head only to meet the burning glare of Hizashi Hyuga, who had just entered the classroom…
‘Tsk, I really am taking it too far.’
…
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, June of Konoha Year 41 came to an end.
After being ‘bullied’ by Hizashi Hyuga, Kaito played the role of a hardworking bookworm in front of everyone except a select few like Obito, Rin, and Kakashi.
Every day, he was either reading or training.
And he truly was working hard.
Although the knowledge taught at the Ninja Academy was very basic, Kaito, fortunate enough to be exposed to real ninja knowledge, immersed himself in it.
At the very least, he had to raise his grades to handle the exams.
Having survived nine years of compulsory education, followed by seven years of higher education—the kind where you can’t find a good job if you don’t study, and still might not find one even if you do—his ability to handle exams was definitely superior to his classmates, and perhaps even to any student in the entire ninja world.
In the final academic exams that had just concluded, he couldn’t guarantee excellent marks in every subject, but getting a ‘good’ in all of them was certainly not an issue.
Therefore, on the morning of June 30th, Kaito uncharacteristically wasn’t reading.
Instead, he sat in his seat, constantly smoothing out his hair.
He wanted to welcome Daiki-sensei’s praise and his classmates’ shock with the most handsome hairstyle possible.
For a transmigrator, not showing off was like dressing up with nowhere to go.
Teachers’ Office.
Daiki checked the report cards several times.
Wearing a gratified smile, he was just about to head to the classroom when someone suddenly walked into the office, causing him to freeze.
He hurriedly bowed in greeting, “Lord Third Hokage!”
The Third Hokage smiled gently.
“No need to be surprised.
Am I such an incompetent principal of the Ninja Academy that it’s strange for me to come take a look?”
“No, no, no.” Daiki quickly shook his head.
“For you to take time out of your busy schedule…”
The Third Hokage raised a hand, interrupting the flattery.
“Daiki, you teach the third year.
Are those the report cards in your hand?
How are the third-year students’ grades this term?
Are there any children who have made particularly significant progress?”
In truth, ever since he heard ‘Obito’s answer’ a month ago, he had been paying extra attention to Kakashi.
Over the past month, from his outward appearance, Kakashi had indeed cheered up quite a bit.
He felt that he had failed to withstand the constraints and pressures from all sides back then, and thus felt guilty toward the White Fang.
Therefore, his main purpose for coming this time was to personally check on Kakashi’s current situation.
“As for those who made particularly significant progress, yes, there is one.” Daiki glanced at the report cards and nodded affirmatively.
“Oh?
Which child?” the Third Hokage asked with a smile.
‘Kakashi really has cheered up, hasn’t he.’
“Kaito!”
“Oh?
Kaka…
Kaito?”
The Third Hokage was taken aback.
Not Kakashi?
The name Kaito…
he didn’t seem to have any impression of it.