“Kaito…”
The Third Hokage thought carefully for a long time, vaguely recalling something.
Daiki reminded him from the side, “Komakiyama Village.”
“Oh.” The Third Hokage realized.
“It’s the child from that village.
Did he do well on this exam?”
“Very well.
His overall average jumped from fifth from the bottom of the class to fifth from the top.
He also earned enough credits to meet the graduation requirements.
This child has always worked hard, but he’s been working even harder over the past month.”
Daiki’s face was full of admiration.
Teachers in any world loved students who loved to read.
The Third Hokage was somewhat surprised.
Jumping from fifth from the bottom to fifth from the top wasn’t something that could be achieved through hard work alone.
This was the mark of a genius.
“In just one semester?”
Daiki nodded, then shook his head.
“I should say in just this past month.
Even I didn’t expect that child to improve so much.”
Saying that, he leaned close to the Third Hokage and whispered something.
The Third Hokage looked startled, then nodded.
“I see.
Good child.
How are the grades of that Hyuga boy who bullied him?”
“His average score ranks sixteenth in the class.”
“So he was surpassed by that child.” The Third Hokage smiled.
As Hokage, he wouldn’t care too much about conflicts between children.
However, this conflict had suddenly given Konoha a genius seedling with a clean background, which made him a little interested in the two children.
Mainly in Kaito.
He took the report card from Daiki’s hand and glanced over it.
The top three were all girls.
First place was Rin Nohara, second was Shizune, and third was Kurenai Yuhi.
The Third Hokage wasn’t surprised.
Girls had always dominated the academic subjects in past years, and this was especially true for the class that enrolled in the thirty-ninth year of Konoha.
There used to be Kakashi Hatake…
The Third Hokage paused and smiled helplessly.
He was getting old, even forgetting his original purpose.
He quickly scanned the list and found Kakashi’s name in the middle, making his eyes light up.
“Fifteenth place.
Not bad, not bad.”
Hearing this, Daiki knew who the Third Hokage was focusing on and couldn’t help but say, “Kakashi has also made a lot of progress in the last month, but…”
The Third Hokage tilted his head.
“But what?”
“But Kaito and him don’t seem to get along.
I often see them arguing.
It seems Kaito looks down on Kakashi’s decadence…”
“Heh.” The Third Hokage laughed it off and returned his attention to the report card.
Fourth place was his son, Asuma.
Fifth place, Kaito.
Ninjutsu Basics: 89
Introduction to Shinobi Studies: 84
Introduction to the Land of Fire’s Unique Ninja Way: 94
Ninjutsu Research Methods: 91
Study of Modern International Relations of the Five Great Nations: 90
“He’s not far from getting excellent marks in all subjects.” As the Third Hokage looked, he was a little stunned.
Asuma probably couldn’t compare to these grades, right?
Just as he was wondering, something caught the corner of his eye.
Study of the Works of Past Hokages: 12
The Third Hokage’s face instantly fell.
Twelve points?
No wonder.
This child…
I poured my heart and soul into writing those ninja insights, and you only scored a twelve?
Daiki, noticing the subtle change in his expression, hurriedly said, “Lord Hokage, Kaito didn’t take the Study of the Works of Past Hokages elective this semester.
That twelve is a carryover from his final grade last semester.”
That was the rule at the Ninja Academy.
Kaito had refreshed his grades in every subject this time, leaving only this one.
The twelve points hanging there were truly conspicuous.
The Third Hokage felt a sharp pang of frustration.
He didn’t take it…
Not taking it was even worse than doing poorly!
He let out a long breath, thinking of how Asuma complained every time he came home that the ninja experiences he wrote were long-winded and hard to understand…
These children really didn’t understand the Hokage’s love.
“Daiki,” the Third Hokage thought for a moment and said gently.
“As a teacher, you must encourage students to develop comprehensively.
Favoring certain subjects…
is absolutely unacceptable!”
Daiki trembled slightly.
“Yes!”
“Go on.
Also, I will be present to observe the practical combat exam later.”
…
Two minutes later.
Daiki stood in the classroom in front of the podium, spreading the report card flat on the desk.
A few anxious children in the front row stood on their tiptoes to look.
Daiki pressed his hands down to quiet them.
His gaze swept over Kakashi, Kaito, Hizashi Hyuga, and the others before he spoke loudly.
“The final exam results are out.
Some students’ grades are as excellent as always, some have made a lot of progress, and some didn’t do as well as they hoped.
Overall, I am satisfied.
But at the same time, I am dissatisfied!”
‘Are you bipolar, teacher?’ Kaito grumbled inwardly.
‘Why so long-winded?
Just praise me and get it over with.
Also, what rank did Kakashi get?’
“For example, Kaito…”
‘Here it comes.’ Kaito sat up straight.
“His hard work this month is obvious to everyone.
When you were playing, he was reading.
When you were sleeping, he was reading.
Even when he was going to the bathroom or eating, he was reading!
As long as you work hard, it will definitely pay off!
In this exam, Kaito’s overall average score is 84, ranking fifth in the class!”
Clap, clap, clap!
Whoosh—Not knowing who started it, the whole class gradually began to applaud, their eyes focusing on Kaito, who sat upright, looking completely unfazed by the honor.
‘He actually jumped to fifth place?
This guy is so strong.
He just wasn’t studying hard before, right?’
‘I wonder how Hizashi feels about this?’
Pierced by many gazes, Hizashi Hyuga tried hard to maintain his composure.
At first, he had been too ashamed to explain his defeat at Kaito’s hands, and later, it became impossible to explain clearly.
‘To think he even surpassed me in academic subjects…
This damn commoner…’
Tanryo cursed inwardly, ‘This guy really broke into the honors student group.
My Rin!’
“Amazing, Kaito!” Obito clapped extremely loudly.
Over the past month, he had been completely bamboozled by Kaito’s nonsense.
Kakashi turned his head and looked at Obito like he was an idiot.
Obito immediately glared back, but then he felt…
why did Kakashi looking at him like this actually make him feel a bit nostalgic and happy?
Kaito maintained the smile of an honest child.
The Third Hokage, peeking from the classroom door, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
To secretly lead the applause for himself…
this child actually had such a personality?
Not studying the Works of Past Hokages indeed made him lack maturity.
He needed some polishing.
A moment later, the applause died down.
Teacher Daiki suddenly changed his tone and said, “However, Kaito, guard against pride and impatience!
You still have a lot of room for improvement in your grades.
Especially in the elective course, Study of the Works of Past Hokages, where you only scored twelve points…”
“Teacher, don’t we only need six out of nine credits for electives?
I have enough, right?” Hearing this, Kaito couldn’t help but raise his hand to interrupt.
Daiki paused.
“Look, you’re only one subject away from getting full credits, and you have a great chance to raise your rank to the top three or even push for first place…”
“Can I just not take it?” Kaito scratched his head.
Although Kaito hadn’t taken the Study of the Works of Past Hokages, he had looked into it.
It helped Kaito solve a mystery.
During the First Hokage’s era, the difficulty of this course was about a one.
During the Second Hokage’s era, the difficulty was about a five.
But now, its difficulty was a hundred!
Why was the Third Hokage called the Professor of Shinobi?
Because he was addicted to publishing books, and they were incredibly hard to understand!
He was basically a ‘Mr.
Sarutobi-Knows-Best’!