Even the Dead Last Had His Spring

At eleven in the morning, the bell rang.

"Candidates, stop writing immediately and remain seated."

Beizawa rose to his feet and spoke.

The classroom instantly descended into chaos.

Fortunately, he had accumulated enough authority over the past month. Even the students who had not finished obediently put down their pens.

"Gather at the school field at nine tomorrow morning. Anyone more than fifteen minutes late will have their Combat Exam score disqualified."

Beizawa collected the papers, gave them a reminder, and left the classroom.

Tomorrow was the Combat Exam, so he needed to finish grading the papers that afternoon.

Because the Combat Exam results could be issued on the spot.

Combined with the theory exam scores, the rankings could be announced directly tomorrow. It was quite efficient.

After Beizawa left, the classroom became noisy again, filled with groans of despair.

Naruto Uzumaki sat in his seat and subconsciously looked out the window at the blue sky.

Three words surfaced in his mind: I blew it!

The Monthly Exam had been harder than he had imagined. There were several questions he had not felt confident about.

"Didn't do well?"

Shikamaru Nara noticed his expression and casually asked.

"It wasn't that I did badly, it was just... just that I didn't perform well!"

Naruto Uzumaki looked at him, clinging to a sliver of hope as he asked, "Did you think it was hard?"

"Pretty hard."

Shikamaru Nara sighed and said listlessly, "I think I barely passed. Probably only sixty points."

"Me too."

Choji Akimichi chimed in.

Naruto Uzumaki perked up, greatly comforted.

Everyone thought it was difficult. Maybe he could still take first place!

"Sasuke-kun, how did you do?"

Sakura Haruno picked up her bag and walked over to Sasuke Uchiha.

"So-so."

Sasuke Uchiha said casually, hands in his pockets.

He had already secured first place in the Combat Exam. As long as he placed in the top three on the theory exam, his overall position would basically be secure.

"Sasuke-kun, you're so modest!"

Sakura Haruno's eyes turned into hearts as she transformed into a lovestruck fool.

Naturally, she did not believe him. With Sasuke Uchiha's cool reaction, only first place would suit him.

"I have something to do. Don't follow me."

Sasuke Uchiha could not be bothered talking to her and headed out of the classroom.

He was feeling somewhat troubled over Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique today and was not in the mood.

If Beizawa had not given him hope, he would not even have wanted to say that polite remark.

"Sasu..."

Sakura Haruno raised her hand, able only to watch him walk farther and farther away.

"Uchiha men really are heartless."

Ino Yamanaka shook her head and said.

"Don't talk about Sasuke like that!"

Sakura Haruno immediately retorted, "That's not heartlessness. That's being cool!"

"You're hopeless, Sakura."

Ino Yamanaka spread her hands helplessly.

"Wait!"

Sakura Haruno suddenly realized something and asked, "Have you given up on Sasuke?"

Ino Yamanaka could not help but freeze.

Prompted by Sakura Haruno's question, she realized that she no longer felt the same infatuation toward Sasuke Uchiha as before.

Was it because she had been busy with Tree Climbing Training? Or had she developed immunity from looking at Beizawa for so long?

"It's better if you have!"

Sakura Haruno said happily, "Sasuke is definitely mine!"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Ino Yamanaka replied absentmindedly, then noticed Hinata Hyuga sitting in her seat.

She had already packed away her stationery but had not left immediately.

"Hinata."

Ino Yamanaka took the initiative and asked, "Want to go home together?"

Because of Tree Climbing Training, she had come to see Hinata Hyuga as a good friend.

"Huh?"

Hinata Hyuga froze for a moment, then said in a fluster, "I... You two go ahead."

Seeing this, Ino Yamanaka did not press her and left the classroom with Sakura Haruno.

Hinata Hyuga immediately let out a sigh of relief.

Only after the classroom had emptied out did she pick up her bag and head to Beizawa's office.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Beizawa, who was grading papers, raised his head and called out.

"B-Beizawa-sensei."

When Hinata Hyuga saw him, a faint smile naturally appeared on her face.

"Why aren't you going home?"

Beizawa set down his pen and asked.

"I... um..."

Hinata Hyuga nearly suffered a heart attack at his question, a blush appearing on her face.

She had come over out of habit to have lunch, but from the looks of it, Beizawa had not made any arrangements for lunch today.

For a moment, Hinata Hyuga felt rather embarrassed.

"Since you're here, let's eat together."

Beizawa guessed what she was thinking and said with a smile.

He truly had not expected Hinata Hyuga to come today.

After all, classes were dismissed that afternoon, and tomorrow was the Combat Exam.

"Mm!"

Hinata Hyuga's heart leaped with joy. She hurriedly took off her shoes and walked inside.

Seeing Beizawa grading papers, she sat on the sofa. Her soft, pale little feet lightly tapped against the floor in time with her mood.

Time passed until noon.

Beizawa let out a breath and set down the papers and pen.

He looked at Hinata Hyuga and found her sitting obediently on the sofa without moving, like some exquisite doll.

"Hinata, lunch is ready!"

Beizawa chuckled and called out teasingly.

Hinata Hyuga immediately snapped awake, jumped off the sofa, and stood straight.

Only after meeting Beizawa's amused expression did she realize she had been tricked.

Her little face swiftly turned red.

"Come on, let's eat."

Beizawa beckoned to her.

Hinata Hyuga suppressed the shyness in her heart and walked up to him.

Beizawa patted her head, then took her to Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

After lunch, Hinata Hyuga returned to the Hyuga Clan.

Beizawa continued his morning work, grading the papers.

By dusk, all the papers had been graded and ranked according to their scores.

Beizawa looked at Hinata Hyuga, who had taken first place, and nodded in satisfaction.

The special training over this period had not gone to waste.

Second place surprised him somewhat. It was not Sasuke Uchiha, but Sakura Haruno.

Still, it made sense. In the original story, Sakura Haruno had ranked first in theory for the entire class.

Her theory scores had played a major role in her selection for Team 7.

Besides that, there was the so-called bond between her, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha.

Beizawa's gaze moved downward, and he quickly spotted Naruto Uzumaki's name.

The good news was that he was no longer the dead last.

The bad news was that he was neither high nor low, stuck at twenty-eighth place.

How should he put it?

There was plenty of room for improvement.

Just then, three lines of text appeared before Beizawa's eyes.

[Current Mission: Help your Lifelong Rival, Naruto Uzumaki, rank among the top ten in the class in the next Monthly Exam.]

[Mission Reward: Yin Attribute.]

[Accept?]

Beizawa was somewhat surprised, but not too much.

After all, similar missions had appeared before.

What surprised him was that this time, the requirement was not second place, but tenth place.

Did the system have no confidence in Naruto Uzumaki too?

Beizawa could only marvel at that.

But from another perspective, Naruto Uzumaki was also the earliest student to begin preparing for the next ranking mission.

Ahem.

Beizawa chose to accept the mission.

With Yin Attribute, it would be even more convenient for him to master genjutsu.