Chapter 15: Practice

The next day, after the weekend break, Kaito's shadow clone went to school as usual, heading straight to his seat. In class, he was one of the quiet ones, practically invisible, and sat next to Uzumaki Naruto. Usually, no one bothered with him.

Kaito preferred it this way, spending his time quietly absorbing all kinds of knowledge. He still hadn't finished reading all of the textbooks assigned by the school. Once he finished, he planned to ask Iruka-sensei for additional books related to ninja skills.

Being a ninja teacher, Iruka was sure to have insights into plenty of useful resources, even those that weren't part of the standard curriculum.

"Good morning, Kaito!"

Suddenly, Kaito heard someone call out to him, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around and saw Ino waving at him with a bright smile.

"Good morning, Ino," Kaito nodded at her and smiled in return. While he preferred being unnoticed, it still felt nice to have someone acknowledge him.

The students around were a bit surprised. Since when did these two become so friendly? While they were puzzled, they didn't bother doing anything extra about it.

Kaito made his way to his seat and sat down. He glanced at the empty seat next to him, sighing a bit. If Naruto wasn't late so often, he'd probably say good morning too.

But knowing Naruto, who was often late, Kaito couldn't expect him to arrive before he did. As expected, today Naruto came running in just as the bell rang, panting heavily—clearly having overslept again.

"Morning," Kaito said without looking up from his book, only glancing up briefly once Naruto settled into his seat. It wasn't that Kaito didn't want to look up, but for now, this approach worked best.

"Morning!" Naruto replied cheerfully. It really wasn't often that anyone greeted him like this. In fact, Naruto always wanted to get closer to Kaito, but seeing how focused Kaito was on his studies every day, he didn't want to disturb him over trivial matters.

The lessons for the day began, progressing smoothly. Kaito had already learned all of this material on his own but still paid partial attention during class. Whenever he came across an explanation that differed from his own understanding, he shifted focus from his own studies to listen more closely, even making notes if the interpretation was better than his own.

This kind of growth was essential on the road to becoming stronger. Although Kaito knew a lot about the original story and was familiar with many advanced jutsu, those were still beyond his current reach.

What Kaito needed to do now was build a solid foundation, filling the gap so that when the time was right, all of his accumulated potential could bring him unimaginable growth.

The morning lessons soon ended, and it was time for outdoor activities. These activities were usually supervised by Iruka, so Kaito closed his book and stood up from his seat. As he did, Naruto also got up to follow him, only to notice that Kaito was heading in a different direction.

"Hey, Kaito, where are you going? The activities are that way," Naruto asked in confusion, trailing behind.

"I'm just going to the restroom. You go ahead." Kaito answered, feeling a bit troubled. If Naruto kept following him, there was no way to do the hand-off with his real body. He needed to find an isolated spot to dispel the shadow clone.

"Oh, alright." Naruto scratched his head before going on, and Kaito sighed in relief.

Finally, after arriving at the restroom and confirming that no one else was there, Kaito dispelled the shadow clone, dissolving into a puff of white smoke.

Very soon, Kaito's real body, after finding a hidden route, climbed back into the academy. He felt in good shape today.

It turned out that real-world practice is indeed the ultimate truth. Even after using up the shadow clone, there was still some chakra left. Originally, Kaito had wanted to come over sooner, but after realizing that he had a faint odor from training earlier, he returned home, freshened up, and then hurried back.

At this moment, Kaito also received all the memories from his shadow clone for the day. Among them, he recalled seeing Ino and sensed how the shadow clone had felt when she greeted him. Naturally, what the shadow clone felt was the same as what he would feel—it was just another version of himself, after all.

With a cheerful mood, Kaito headed toward the area for outdoor activities. His shadow clone experiment had gone really well.

As for Ino, Kaito didn't have any thoughts in that direction—at least not now. After all, he was mentally over twenty years old, and looking at six-year-old Ino was like looking at a child. There was simply no room for other thoughts.

Besides, back in his past life, he was a "Blue Archive" player—he wasn't a lolicon by any means.

Regarding whether his trained body could still endure the outdoor activities after all the exertion earlier?

For Kaito, these school activities were practically like taking a break. It was hardly challenging at all.

"Kaito, you're finally back! What took you so long?" Naruto exclaimed upon seeing Kaito return.

"Hmm, a bit of an upset stomach," Kaito muttered, turning his head away. He obviously wasn't going to tell Naruto the real reason. Once he got used to the hand-off process, it would definitely be much quicker.

"If you're not feeling well, you should rest more." Suddenly, Ino appeared out of nowhere.

"Yeah, I know," Kaito nodded.

"Good, as long as you know," Ino said with satisfaction. Seeing her friends calling her over, she quickly ran off.

Naruto looked enviously at Kaito at that moment.

"Don't be jealous of me," Kaito said, observing the other students. "Actually, a lot of people in this class don't have any ill will toward you; you just haven't approached them yet."

"Really?" Naruto scratched his head and looked around at his classmates. Even though Kaito said this, Naruto still felt unsure.

Kaito sighed. They might not harbor ill will, but they weren't actively friendly either. It was likely that their parents had told them not to get too close to Naruto—an understandable precaution.

If Kaito didn't know the plot beforehand, would he let his own child associate with Naruto?

The answer was evident, and it was understandable.

However, Kaito noticed a familiar lazy figure and, after some thought, said, "Take that guy, for example."

"Him? Isn't he always sleeping in class?" Naruto noticed the boy too. Since they sat nearby, he was quite familiar with the sight.

"Yeah, you should try talking to him," Kaito nodded. Shikamaru, with his sharp mind, understood things better than most.

That's why Shikamaru wouldn't harbor any particular prejudices against Naruto. However, due to his laid-back nature, Shikamaru wouldn't make any effort to initiate interactions. Naruto would need to take the initiative himself.

From what Kaito vaguely remembered, Shikamaru originally bonded with Naruto because they often got detention together for sleeping during class. Their relationship had always been good, although Naruto himself never seemed to realize that.

And once Naruto befriended Shikamaru, Choji wouldn't be a problem either. Choji would be even easier to connect with. Sasuke was a bit more challenging, while Shino was quiet, but approachable once someone reached out. Kiba wasn't too bad either.

So as long as Naruto chose his targets well, making friends should be quite achievable.

As for Kaito himself, well... He was something of a socially anxious person. What did he need so many friends for, anyway?

Having given Naruto some advice, Kaito then busied himself with his own activities. Though the school's outdoor activities felt like a break, there was still plenty he could do during that time. Time was too precious to be wasted.