Full Marks for Graduation

"It's troublesome, so many fish. I don't know how long it will take to eat all of them," Shikamaru bent down and fiddled with the black fish in the basket. 

"Naruto must have worked hard by the river to catch all these fish," Nara Shikaku rubbed the scar on his face and said, "I tried fishing once, sat there for hours, but didn't catch a thing." 

"This kid, if I invited him to dinner, he'd probably refuse. I wonder if he likes that token of appreciation," Shikamaru replied lazily. 

"Don't worry about it, that's just Naruto for you," Shikaku muttered. 

"You're giving people pressure, old man," Shikamaru said. 

"What are you talking about, you brat?!" Shikaku said angrily. 

"Naruto is used to being alone. Even though it seems like he doesn't care about many things, when it comes to family gatherings, he probably feels awkward and uncomfortable," Shikamaru stood up and said. 

Shikaku fell silent, thinking about Naruto's background. 

The next day, the Ninja Academy graduation exam began. 

The school entrance was livelier than usual, with most of the parents accompanying their children for the graduation exam, gathering in front of the school gate. 

Before the exam began, there was a general clearing of the area to prevent the parents from causing distractions during the exam. 

Naruto arrived early and sat on a swing under a big tree, waiting until he saw Hinata walking by, then jumped down and walked over to her. 

Today, he wasn't wearing his usual orange jacket but a plain black t-shirt. It was too hot for the jacket, and he still didn't have the courage to wear it outside. 

"Good morning, Hinata." 

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, startled, her face immediately turning red as she avoided looking at Naruto and responded in a soft, stammering voice. 

"I made this for you," Naruto said, pulling out a small object from behind him. 

It was a small wooden carving, intricately shaped like a chibi version of Hinata. The carving was only the size of three fingers, making it look especially cute. 

"Did you make this, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, her face even redder, unable to take her eyes off the wooden figure. 

"Yeah, I know a bit about carving, so... I thought I'd make one for you," he replied. 

He didn't just know a bit about carving; before he was reincarnated, he had been learning wood carving since he could remember, apprenticing under a master during every holiday for years. 

Hinata's face grew even redder as she accepted the carving, whispering a soft thank you. 

"I remember you're always good with your studies, Hinata. Make sure to do your best on the exam," Naruto said, waving as he turned and walked away. 

[Kurama's Approval 2.2%] 

The system wasn't that easily tricked; a small wooden carving could make Hinata blush, but the system seemed to have caught on to Naruto's method of grinding points. 

It judged Naruto's attempt to cheat, saying that while it worked on Hinata, it wasn't effective on the system. 

"Guess I have to be more genuine," Naruto thought to himself. 

At this time, Hinata was still quite cute, even more so than in the anime. She was more reserved, wearing a one-piece sports outfit with short hair that reached her ears. 

Although her voice was soft, she was polite to everyone, the perfect lady with a "wife" attribute turned up to the maximum. 

To be honest, Naruto couldn't understand why someone like Hinata would like him. What was it that Hinata saw in him? 

The graduation exam was being held in a classroom, and before it began, the students were gathered in a large room waiting for their names to be called. 

"Start the exam!" 

Iruka's serious voice rang out, and the school's bell rang in sync. 

The exam was short; it consisted of performing one of the basic jutsus. Naruto's class happened to be the first group to take the exam. Ten minutes in, several students were already finished. 

Only a few students received their forehead protectors, about one-third of the class. But this was just the graduation exam; to become a full-fledged genin, they would need to pass their team leader's test as well. 

"Haruno Sakura!" 

"Here!" 

Naruto caught sight of a flash of pink as Sakura rushed into the neighboring classroom, and he could easily hear Iruka's voice from the door. 

"Clone Jutsu." 

"Yes, Iruka-sensei!" 

"Good, excellent." 

Sakura's excited voice could be heard: "Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" 

"Clone Jutsu?" Naruto muttered to himself, recalling the technique. It didn't seem difficult. 

The passing standard was to create a clone that was almost flawless, and two clones would be considered excellent. For full marks, the requirements were much stricter. 

For example, Naruto had created three clones in the revision exam yesterday, which were nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. Only two people in the class scored full marks: Sasuke and Naruto. 

Sasuke's name was called, and before he left the classroom, he glanced at Naruto, who was sitting by the door. Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. 

"Naruto Uzumaki!" 

About half an hour later, Naruto was finally called. 

Surprisingly, he drew the Substitution Jutsu. This technique was more difficult than the Clone or Transformation Jutsu, even though it was one of the basic ninja techniques. Its difficulty lay in the speed of the hand seals. 

The exam's standard was twofold: speed and accuracy. Speed tested how quickly you could form the seals, and accuracy was about the precision with which the technique was executed. 

It wasn't hard to pass if you put in the effort, and with enough practice, you could even do well. 

"Hey? Someone drew Substitution Jutsu?" A voice rang out from the class. Suddenly, those who had already taken their exams and those still waiting for their turn gathered around the door to the exam room. 

"Naruto's unlucky, huh? He got the rare Substitution Jutsu?" Shikamaru muttered, furrowing his brow. 

It didn't really matter which technique Naruto got; he would still fail. 

But after eating the fish Naruto caught, Shikamaru felt a bit guilty. He silently promised not to laugh, no matter what happened. 

"Hahaha! I hope that guy doesn't turn out something weird again!" Ino laughed, slapping Shikamaru on the back. 

"Do you remember the last time he used Substitution Jutsu? He turned into a half-human, half-wooden log thing, I was laughing so hard I almost choked!" 

Shikamaru didn't react much, shrugging and saying, "That's just Naruto for you. No matter how hard he tries, he can't perform the jutsu." 

The exam didn't take long, and after a slight hesitation, Iruka's voice rang out, almost with some uncertainty. 

"Full marks." 

"Full marks?!" Ino looked at Shikamaru, asking with wide eyes. 

"I don't know," Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly, "Iruka-sensei didn't call out the name." 

"Naruto Uzumaki, full marks!"

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