The Same Underachiever, Why Takasaki Succeeded

Practice makes perfect. Takasaki stopped overthinking and formed the hand seals again, only to realize that this time, he wasn't using both hands—he was using just one.

The increased efficiency in his chakra usage allowed him to perform the seals for the Clone Technique with a single hand.

The next second.

Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!

Four clouds of smoke appeared in rapid succession around Takasaki.

Previously, Takasaki's limit for the Clone Technique was two clones, but now, he could manifest four!

I can actually manifest four clones at once?

Yesterday, he was still the dead last of the Ninja Academy, yet this morning, he could manifest four clones in one go. Even Takasaki himself was caught off guard by this turn of events.

For the Ninja Academy graduation exam, the requirement for the Clone Technique was to manifest one normal clone to pass.

He didn't know how many students had failed the exam and been held back because their clones were either sickly or lacked the mobility of the original.

He had manifested four normal clones at once, far exceeding the requirements for the exam.

Takasaki didn't dwell on it further, as his stomach was growling with hunger, leaving him no energy to keep thinking.

Training so hard without eating a hearty breakfast to replenish his strength was truly grueling.

Yesterday, he had been treated to skewers by Lady Hinata and then to barbecue by Neji.

Barbecue was delicious, but eating it for two meals in a row made it easy to get tired of.

Still, as someone who was poor, he was just glad to have something to eat and couldn't afford to be picky.

At the same time, Konoha's Ichiraku Ramen also piqued Takasaki's interest; after all, it was a signature delicacy of Konoha.

On his way to Ichiraku Ramen, Takasaki passed by the Hyuga Clan Mansion and saw Hinata just stepping out of the gate. He greeted her, "Good morning, Hinata."

"Good morning, Takasaki-kun, what a coincidence!"

Of course, it wasn't a coincidence; she had been waiting at her gate for a long time.

But when she saw Takasaki walking toward her from afar, she didn't know why, but she suddenly felt nervous. She retreated back inside the gate and timed it perfectly so that when Takasaki passed her house, she could pretend to have just stepped out and run into him.

That way, it wouldn't seem so deliberate.

Otherwise, it would be far too embarrassing.

However, this long-planned approach was completely contrary to Hinata's usual behavior. She felt very insecure, as if she were afraid Takasaki would see through her, and in her nervousness, she subconsciously tried to distract him by changing the subject: "Takasaki-kun, have you had breakfast yet?"

"Not yet."

"Let's go get some ramen together. Uncle Teuchi's shop is already open, and it's my treat!"

"Sure."

Takasaki agreed naturally.

Agreement aside, Takasaki still had some lingering doubts.

He had a faint feeling that Hinata was being a bit too friendly toward him.

Why was that?

Could it really just be because he had demonstrated the Three Body Technique at the Hyuga Estate yesterday?

And, according to what Neji said last night, what was the real reason Hinata had become stronger?

He decided to wait until Hinata paid for the ramen before asking her the reason.

Naruto was currently lurking near Ichiraku Ramen, trying to get close to classmates heading to school, hoping one of them would be willing to help him cheat during today's final written exam.

Seeing Takasaki walking over from a distance, Naruto just waved a greeting without any intention of going over to talk; he was too busy looking for other students to help him cheat on the upcoming test.

Takasaki was a dead last himself and couldn't help him.

However, Naruto's eyes lit up when he saw Hinata walking beside Takasaki.

It was clear that Takasaki must have been thinking the same thing as him—trying to win Hinata over to help with the exam cheating.

The key was that Takasaki seemed to have succeeded.

Immediately after.

When Naruto saw Takasaki and Hinata chatting all the way into the ramen shop, ordering two bowls of ramen, and Hinata even paying for it herself, Naruto's expression turned puzzled:

"Strange, I clearly remember Hinata telling me before that she didn't like ramen. Why is she willing to eat it when she's with Takasaki?"

Naruto suddenly realized the reason.

"Hinata must have realized earlier that when I invited her to eat ramen, I was actually trying to get close to her so she would help me cheat on the exam, but she didn't want to, so she used the excuse of not liking ramen to reject me."

"But Takasaki succeeded."

Naruto felt a deep sense of frustration.

The unyielding spirit deep in his bones was ignited at this moment: "Although I don't know how Takasaki convinced Hinata, if he can find a classmate willing to help him cheat, I definitely can too!"

"Even among the dead lasts, there are differences in strength. I must be stronger than Takasaki!"

Naruto, full of fighting spirit, continued his search for a classmate willing to help him cheat.

On the other side.

At the old Takasaki family residence.

Sakura Haruno was still striking a pose in front of the weathered wooden door, waiting.

From 6:30 to 7:30.

From when the cold streets were occupied only by the cleaning lady, until now, when all the shops had opened for business.

Batches of students heading to the Ninja Academy passed by her one after another.

Already impatient by nature, she finally lost her cool and muttered under her breath:

"That guy Takasaki, why hasn't he left yet? A dead last is a dead last; he's dragging his feet even on the very last day of class. If it weren't for getting him to write my name in his diary a few more times, I wouldn't bother waiting for him. Only Sasuke is worth waiting for."

After venting her frustration with a few curses, Sakura Haruno's mood stabilized slightly.

If she kept waiting, she wouldn't just be hungry—she'd likely miss the exam entirely.

She decided it was time to do something.

Sakura Haruno stopped posing and walked over to the old wooden window of Takasaki's house. She reached out to knock gently on the wood, calling out in a tone she tried to keep gentle and calm: "Takasaki."

There was no response.

Sakura Haruno called out a few more times, but still, there was no answer.

Sakura Haruno grew impatient: "Could this dead last be intentionally keeping me waiting because he knows I'm here? How infuriating."

If it were Naruto treating her this way, she would have already stormed into the house and punched him.

The problem was that she needed Takasaki to write in his diary to become stronger. If she offended him and he happened to write something critical about her, there might be some negative consequences.

Then again.

If Takasaki really did write something critical about her in his diary, what kind of effect would it have on her?

Sakura Haruno decided not to dwell on that for now.

She pushed the wooden window open and leaned her head in to peer inside: "What on earth is Takasaki doing?"

The first piece of furniture that met her eyes was an old wooden table covered in scratches.

There was also an old wardrobe and a floor full of dents and pits.

The walls were simply coated with a layer of white paint, and Takasaki's house didn't even have fluorescent lights; there was only a low-wattage bulb hanging from the ceiling.

The decor was so shabby that Sakura Haruno couldn't help but frown: "He's so poor, even the wiring is exposed... Wait, where is Takasaki?"

There was no sign of Takasaki on the wooden bed.

There weren't even any sheets or covers, just a few bare wooden boards stacked together.

It was then that Sakura Haruno noticed the wooden table was completely empty, and the open wardrobe contained no clothes.

She shouted a few times: "Takasaki!"

Still, no one answered her.

"Don't tell me I've been waiting for nothing." A thought suddenly occurred to Sakura Haruno: "Could Takasaki have moved?"

"That's impossible. Takasaki's parents are both dead, and he only has this one dilapidated house. He has no relatives in the Leaf Village who could take him in. Where could he possibly move to? He has nowhere else to live."

"He's so poor that even if he moved to the cheapest inn, he wouldn't be able to afford the room rate."

No matter how she looked at it, Sakura Haruno felt it was impossible. She took a few quick steps to the wooden door and knocked urgently.

The door thudded loudly under her strikes. She called out seven or eight times, but no one responded.

By the end, Sakura Haruno's temper flared. Forgetting to maintain her ladylike image, she grew exasperated and raised her leg to kick the door hard: "I'm so mad!"

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