The next day, Kai arrived at the Academy.
The moment he entered the classroom, he saw that Naruto had already arrived.
After what happened yesterday, Naruto at least remembered who Kai was now.
Unlike Shino, Kai did not cover himself from head to toe.
People simply failed to notice him because he rarely participated in anything and never spent time with his classmates.
The moment class ended, he would head straight home.
As soon as Naruto saw him, he stood up enthusiastically and waved.
“Yo, Kai!” Kai was slightly surprised, but he still smiled and nodded in greeting.
Then he casually found a seat and sat down.
Naruto’s behavior immediately attracted the attention of the class.
Even though Naruto had always been the dead-last student, he was exceptionally good at drawing attention.
Quite a few students turned to look at Kai.
Several girls froze when they saw him properly for the first time.
Only then did they suddenly realize there was actually another handsome boy in class.
“He’s just as handsome as Sasuke!
How come I never noticed him before?” “What are you talking about?
Sasuke is still the best.
Nobody compares to him.
But… he really is pretty handsome.” The girls immediately began debating whether Kai or Sasuke looked better.
Most still favored Sasuke—not because of appearance alone, but because of his overall talent and popularity.
A few girls, however, had already rushed over to Kai before anyone else could.
One of them was Ino.
She had always cared a lot about appearances.
The reason she liked Sasuke in the first place was because he was handsome.
Now that she had discovered another boy whose looks rivaled Sasuke’s, there was no way she would ignore him.
Ino moved beside Kai, her cheeks slightly red.
“H-Hi… I’m Ino Yamanaka.
Um… how come I’ve never seen you before?” Kai frowned slightly.
“Was my presence really that weak before?” “I didn’t want attention, but saying you’ve never even seen me is a little ridiculous, isn’t it?” He felt genuinely speechless.
He only wanted to avoid trouble, not become invisible.
Yet somehow, his classmates truly had almost no impression of him.
They had spent six entire years together in the same class, and all that resulted in was: “How come I’ve never seen you before?” Looking at Ino, who seemed too embarrassed to meet his eyes, Kai smiled helplessly.
“I’m Kai.
Nice to meet you.” His lightly teasing tone only made Ino even more embarrassed.
“S-Sorry, Kai-kun.” Kai was only joking, of course.
He had no intention of blaming her.
Besides, the situation was partly his own fault anyway.
“It’s fine.
Let’s just pretend we’re meeting for the first time.” Kai smiled faintly.
The moment Ino saw his smile, her heart began pounding so hard she nearly fainted.
Girls in this world were honestly a little dramatic.
When they fell for someone, they practically looked ready to pass out from their racing heartbeat.
Just then, Shikamaru walked over.
With his usual lazy tone, he said, “You spent all your time staring at Sasuke, so it’s normal you never noticed Kai.” Shikamaru sat down beside him.
“Hey.
I’ve noticed you usually leave as soon as class ends, so we never really got acquainted.” “I’m Shikamaru.” He extended his hand.
Kai had not expected Shikamaru to have been paying attention to him all this time.
“Yeah, I’m Kai.” He shook Shikamaru’s hand.
Then again, it made sense.
With Shikamaru’s intelligence, there was no way he would fail to notice Kai’s existence.
At the very least, in terms of appearance, only Sasuke in the class could compare.
After they chatted briefly, Sasuke entered the classroom.
The instant he appeared, every girl’s attention shifted toward him.
“Ahh, Sasuke is so cool!” A swarm of girls immediately rushed toward him.
Shikamaru dropped his head onto the desk and muttered weakly, “Women are such a drag…” The moment he finished speaking, Ino shot him a glare from across Kai.
“Shikamaru, what did you just say?” Shikamaru turned his head in surprise, only now realizing that Ino had not rushed over with the other girls.
“I-I wasn’t talking about you.” Ino rolled her eyes.
“Hmph.” Although she still glanced at Sasuke occasionally, she spent far more time looking at Kai.
Previously, Sasuke had monopolized all of her attention, preventing her from noticing Kai at all.
But now that she had finally noticed him, she realized something important.
Not only was Kai just as handsome as Sasuke, but there were barely any girls around him yet.
Of course she knew which option looked more promising.
Sasuke might be great, but there were already too many girls competing for him.
Even Sakura was her rival.
In just a brief moment, Ino had already made her decision.
Nearby, Naruto watched Sakura crowd around Sasuke with a lovestruck expression.
He clenched his teeth in frustration.
“Damn it!
Sakura only has eyes for Sasuke!” “Sasuke, you jerk!
I’m never giving Sakura up to you!” With that, Naruto marched toward Sasuke’s seat.
His actions immediately drew everyone’s attention.
Even Kai looked over curiously.
Naruto jumped onto the desk in front of Sasuke and crouched there while glaring directly at him.
Sasuke glared right back without backing down.
The girls nearby were furious.
“Idiot Naruto!
Don’t glare at Sasuke like that!” “Naruto, get down already!
How dare you stare at Sasuke like that!” Kai continued watching the scene unfold.
For some reason, it all felt strangely familiar.
His memories had become blurry over the years, but he had the distinct feeling that something unforgettable was about to happen.
And sure enough— In the next moment, one of the students nearby accidentally elbowed Naruto in the back.
Naruto lost his balance and lurched forward straight toward Sasuke.
Then came the scene that made Kai’s eyes widen in shock.
The girls around them looked utterly devastated.
“AHHH!
Naruto, you idiot!
What are you doing?!” “How dare you do that to Sasuke?!” “Sasuke’s first kiss is gone!” “YOU IDIOT!” Even Kai was stunned by what he had just witnessed.
The corners of his mouth twitched.
“Those two… sure seem close.” Beside him, Shikamaru looked equally speechless.
“Naruto really is an idiot.” Ino wore the same shocked expression as Kai.
“That was… both their first kisses, right?” If this had happened before, Ino would definitely have been furious.
But strangely enough, she did not feel much anger now.
Unlike Sakura, who genuinely adored Sasuke, Ino’s feelings were partly driven by rivalry and partly by Sasuke’s appearance.
Which also meant she could move on to liking someone else surprisingly quickly.
As for Naruto and Sasuke’s accidental kiss… Kai felt certain he would remember this scene for the rest of his life.
A dark thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
“The reason Naruto keeps chasing after Sasuke later on… it can’t actually be because there’s something between them, right?” The moment that thought appeared, Kai instantly felt uncomfortable all over.
“Absolutely not.
I need to stop thinking about this before it gets cursed.” Meanwhile, both Sasuke and Naruto were still gagging in disgust from what had just happened.
Sasuke glared at Naruto with complete revulsion.
“Naruto, you idiot!
What the hell are you trying to do?!” Naruto immediately shouted back, “I should be asking you that, bastard!” The two instantly started arguing again.
With a helpless expression, Sakura hurried over and separated them.
To stop them from fighting any further, she sat directly between the two boys.
From that moment onward, Sakura became the link that balanced the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke.