Chapter 4: Getting Absorbed in This Kind of Thing?

At the Konoha Ninja Academy:

"Sasuke-kun, you…"

"Where's Iruka?"

"He's probably in the office," Sakura answered instinctively, startled by the intensity of Sasuke's expression. She had never seen him look so angry before.

*Bang!* Sasuke stormed out of the classroom, heading straight for the office.

"What's going on?" Ino asked as she returned from fetching water. "Forehead, did you upset Sasuke by hanging around him all the time?"

"How could you say that, Ino-pig! Don't accuse me!" Sakura snapped back, clearly agitated.

Shikamaru sighed and lazily chimed in, "It's probably because of that upperclassman, Yagyu Kai. Rumor has it that he's graduating early and joining the medical corps."

"What?!"

Sakura stood in stunned silence, while Kiba and Ino shouted in disbelief. Even Chōji, who rarely cared about such matters, turned his head curiously.

"But wasn't early graduation banned?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, I heard the Hokage himself came to the academy yesterday," Shikamaru responded in his usual nonchalant tone.

The classroom fell into silence. If the Hokage himself was involved, then it had to be true.

"Hey, hey, have you guys heard? Some senior student is graduating early!" Naruto burst in energetically.

Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's usual cluelessness but corrected him, "Graduating early."

"Yeah, yeah, they're all taking exams now! Oh, Iruka-sensei is here!" Naruto quickly rushed to his seat to avoid getting into trouble again.

A few seconds later, Iruka entered the classroom with Sasuke in tow. As Sasuke took his seat, Iruka looked around the room and sighed.

"Alright, I'm sure most of you have already heard. Yes, Yagyu Kai has indeed graduated early. However, he didn't take the regular graduation exam. Instead, he completed an exam designed for genin, and possibly even chunin."

"Huh?" The class gasped.

"Alright, now that's out of the way, time for your own test. Let's see how you all do," Iruka said as he began distributing the test papers.

Initially, Iruka hadn't planned on giving them this test—it was too advanced for them, and he didn't want to crush their spirits. But Sasuke had insisted on taking it, so he figured it wouldn't hurt for the whole class to see where they stood compared to someone like Kai. Maybe it would motivate them to work harder.

The classroom fell into an intense silence, save for the sound of pencils scribbling on paper. Iruka closed his eyes, not bothering to monitor for cheating. He knew none of them could achieve a perfect score on this test anyway.

Besides, watching their clumsy attempts at cheating might just irritate him enough to slam his fist on the desk. He let them struggle with the questions, confident that the test would speak for itself.

As time passed, many students began sweating nervously. The questions were far too difficult.

Sakura, known for her intellect, struggled with some of the battle scenario analysis questions. Though she managed to complete the test, it wasn't without considerable effort. Ino, noticing Sakura had finished, immediately used her Mind Transfer Technique to copy her answers.

Finally, Iruka opened his eyes. "Time's up, pass your papers forward."

"Already?" Several students groaned in frustration. Even those from prominent clans, like Shikamaru, were scratching their heads. Intelligence didn't always equate to a desire to study.

Iruka gathered the papers and began grading them on the spot. After a while, he smiled.

"The highest score goes to Haruno Sakura, with 80 points. Next is Uchiha Sasuke with 76 points. As for the rest of you… well, either you failed or you know exactly how you got your scores."

No one dared to argue.

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who seemed frustrated and eager to say something. She spoke up first.

"Sensei, is 80 enough to pass?"

Iruka smiled again. "Kai scored a perfect 100."

The class gasped in unison. Iruka continued, "And according to the Hokage, his second exam involved forcing his shadow clone to use abilities other than taijutsu."

"But that guy can't even use ninjutsu, right?" Sakura blurted out in confusion.

Sasuke clenched his fists in frustration.

A shadow clone? Even if it was only a clone, it was still a shadow clone of the Hokage. Forcing it to use more than taijutsu was no easy feat, yet that guy, who supposedly couldn't use ninjutsu, had done it.

Damn it!

What have I been doing all these years?

Sasuke realized how foolish he had been. All this time, he had been complacent with his accomplishments at the academy, while Kai had already advanced far beyond them. Even though they were separated by a year, it felt like Kai was miles ahead.

The rest of the class was equally speechless. In Neji's class, a similar scene unfolded as they too heard about Kai's achievements. If there had been any lingering thoughts of "I could do that too," they quickly disappeared after hearing about the difficulty of the chunin-level exam and Kai's perfect score.

"The Hokage has said that if any of you can achieve the same, you too will be allowed to skip classes and focus on your training or studies," Iruka said.

…

"Well, starting today, you can come here during the day to study with the medical corps," said Kitayama Suika, after reviewing the paperwork. Her expression was a mix of curiosity and surprise.

Graduating early? The Third Hokage had gone out of his way to create a special system for this child, and the boy himself seemed… rather peculiar.

"So, what do you want to study?" she asked.

"Medical knowledge," Kai replied. He knew he had no understanding of medical techniques yet, and asking to observe surgeries right off the bat would likely cause Kitayama to raise complaints with the Hokage. He didn't want to antagonize his teachers.

"Good choice. Theory is the foundation of all ninjutsu. You're not like most kids who come in wanting to skip ahead and learn advanced techniques right away," Kitayama said approvingly as she adjusted her glasses. She disappeared into her office briefly and returned with a book.

"This is a foundational medical text. You can take it with you. Even though you may not be able to perform medical ninjutsu, there's no harm in expanding your knowledge."

Kai accepted the book and bowed deeply in thanks. The author's name on the cover stood out: "Tsunade."

After class was dismissed, Kai took the book and left the building. As he ran through the village, he eagerly read through its contents, completely absorbed. Far from finding it dull, he found the knowledge fascinating.

Boring? Not at all.

For Kai, boredom came from not understanding or learning effectively. Thanks to the mysterious "light orb" within him, his learning abilities had been greatly enhanced, allowing him to grasp concepts quickly even while multitasking.

Every book he read felt like a cleansing experience, and it was this exhilaration that kept him in the library for hours at a time. Unfortunately, the academy's library had a limited selection, and he had already exhausted its offerings. Now, Kai was once again enjoying the thrill of learning.

*Thud!*

Turning a corner, Kai bumped into someone.

"Sorry, sorry! I was so engrossed in my book that I didn't see you!" Kai apologized quickly, ignoring the slight pain from the collision.

Standing before him was a silver-haired ninja with his forehead protector worn at an angle and a mask covering his face. He was holding a book of his own, and his single visible eye squinted as he looked at Kai.

"Kid, you wouldn't happen to be reading something… inappropriate, would you?" the ninja asked suspiciously.

"This is a masterpiece by one of the Legendary Sannin. The writing is brilliant!" Kai exclaimed.

"One of the Sannin? Wait a minute…"

The ninja's eye widened as he curiously leaned over to get a look at the cover of Kai's book. His confusion turned to shock as he saw the title.

"Medical Foundations. Author: Tsunade."

Unbelievable!

This kid is completely absorbed in a medical textbook? And here I thought he was reading something from the same series as *Make-Out Paradise*. You're something else, kid!

The ninja—Kakashi Hatake—was momentarily stunned. He had expected something entirely different. But seeing the boy's serious demeanor, Kakashi realized he had judged too quickly.

At twelve years old, this kid was clearly not at the age for more… mature reading material.

I need to clean up my thoughts! Kakashi silently scolded himself. On the outside, he gave a nod of approval.

"Not bad. Keep studying hard, and you'll grow into a fine ninja. Just… try not to get too distracted by books while running."

"Yes, sir!" Kai replied with another bow before running off again, book still in hand.

Kakashi watched him go, his eyes filled with bewilderment. Even his mask couldn't hide his expression.

Is there really someone so absorbed in studying?

I've seen it all now.

"Hey, Kakashi! Fancy meeting you here! How about a youthful, fiery challenge?" A familiar voice called out from behind.

"I've got to study. Maybe next time!" Kakashi replied, doing his best to ignore the green beast of Konoha.

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