Experience was the best teacher. Takasaki stopped overthinking it and formed Hand Seals again. Only then did he realize he was no longer using both hands—he was making the seals with just one.
His chakra efficiency had improved enough that he could form the Clone Technique's seals with one hand.
The next second.
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
Four clouds of smoke appeared around Takasaki in quick succession.
Before, the most he could manage with the Clone Technique was two clones. Now, he could make four!
"I can actually make four clones at once?"
Yesterday, he'd been the dead last at the Ninja Academy. Now, first thing in the morning, he could make four clones at once. Even Takasaki himself was caught off guard.
The Ninja Academy graduation exam required students to create one normal clone in order to pass.
Countless students had failed and been held back because their clones either looked weak and sickly or couldn't move like the original.
Takasaki had just created four normal clones at once—far more than enough to meet the requirement.
He stopped thinking about it. His stomach was rumbling with hunger, and he didn't have the energy to dwell on anything else.
After such an exhausting training session, it was torture not to have a hearty breakfast and replenish his strength.
Yesterday, Hinata had treated him to skewers, and Neji had treated him to barbecue.
Barbecue was delicious, but eating it two meals in a row got old.
Still, he was poor. He was lucky to have food at all, so he couldn't afford to be picky.
Besides, Takasaki was curious about Konoha's Ichiraku Ramen. It was one of the village's signature dishes, after all.
On his way to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Takasaki passed the Hyuga Clan Mansion and saw Hinata coming out of the gate. He greeted her. "Good morning, Hinata."
"Good morning, Takasaki. What a coincidence!"
Of course, running into Takasaki wasn't a coincidence. She'd been waiting by her front gate for quite a while.
When she spotted him approaching from a distance, though, she didn't know why her heart suddenly started pounding. She ducked back inside, waited until he was passing her house, then pretended she'd just stepped out and bumped into him by chance.
That way, it wouldn't seem so deliberate.
Otherwise, it would be far too embarrassing.
But this carefully plotted plan was completely out of character for Hinata. She felt guilty, as if Takasaki might see right through her. Nervously, she tried to distract him by changing the subject. "Takasaki, have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet."
"Let's go get ramen together. Uncle Teuchi's shop is open. It's my treat!"
"Sure."
Takasaki agreed without hesitation.
Even so, he couldn't help feeling a little puzzled.
He had a vague sense that Hinata was being unusually friendly toward him.
Why?
Was it only because he'd demonstrated the Three Body Technique at the Hyuga Estate yesterday?
And according to what Neji had said last night, what was the real reason Hinata had gotten stronger?
He decided to wait until Hinata had paid for the ramen, then ask her about it.
Naruto was hanging around near the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, stopping classmates on their way to school and trying to win them over. He hoped one of them would help him cheat during that day's final written exam.
When he saw Takasaki approaching in the distance, Naruto simply waved. He had no intention of stopping to chat; he was busy looking for someone to help him cheat on the upcoming exam.
Takasaki was a dead last himself. He couldn't help Naruto.
But when Naruto noticed Hinata walking beside Takasaki, his eyes lit up.
It was obvious Takasaki had thought of the same thing as him: he wanted to win Hinata over so she'd help him cheat on the exam.
The important thing was, Takasaki seemed to have succeeded.
Then—
When Naruto saw Takasaki and Hinata chatting as they entered Ichiraku Ramen Shop, each ordering a bowl of ramen, and Hinata even paying for them, his expression turned puzzled.
"Strange. I could've sworn Hinata told me she didn't like ramen. Why is she willing to eat it with Takasaki?"
Naruto suddenly understood.
"Hinata must've realized I was only inviting her to ramen so I could get close to her and ask her to help me cheat. She didn't want to, so she used not liking ramen as an excuse to turn me down."
"But Takasaki succeeded."
Naruto felt a deep sense of defeat.
The stubborn, never-give-up spirit in his bones flared up. "I don't know how Takasaki convinced Hinata, but if he can find a classmate willing to help him cheat, then I definitely can too!"
"Even among dead lasts, there are stronger and weaker ones. I'm definitely better than Takasaki!"
Full of determination, Naruto continued searching for a classmate who would help him cheat.
Meanwhile.
At Takasaki's old house.
Sakura Haruno was still posing in front of the old wooden door as she waited.
She'd waited from half past six until half past seven.
The streets had gone from quiet, with only the cleaning lady sweeping, to busy, with every shop now open.
Students heading to the Ninja Academy had passed her in wave after wave.
Impatient by nature, she'd had more than enough. She muttered, "What's taking Takasaki so long to leave? Dead last through and through—he can't even get to his last day of class on time. If I weren't trying to get him to write my name in his diary a few more times, I'd never wait around for him. Sasuke's the only one worth waiting for."
After grumbling to vent her frustration, Sakura felt a little better.
If she waited any longer, she'd miss the exam, never mind go hungry.
She figured she needed to do something.
Sakura stopped posing and went to the old wooden window. She gently knocked a few times, doing her best to keep her voice warm and calm as she called, "Takasaki."
No one answered.
Sakura called a few more times, but still got no response.
She began to lose patience. "Could that dead last know I'm waiting for him and be making me wait on purpose? That's so mean."
If Naruto had treated her like this, she would've stormed inside and punched him.
But she needed Takasaki to write in his diary so she could get stronger. If she offended him, he might write something critical about her in it, and that could have some unpleasant effect.
Then again—
If Takasaki really did write something critical about her in his diary, what effect would it have?
Sakura set the question aside for now.
She pushed the window open and leaned in to look around. "What's Takasaki doing in there?"
The first piece of furniture she saw was an old wooden table, covered in scratches.
There was also an old wardrobe and a pitted, uneven floor.
The walls had been given only a quick coat of white paint. Takasaki's house didn't even have fluorescent lights—just a low-wattage screw-in bulb on the ceiling.
The shabby furnishings made Sakura frown. "He's really poor. Even the wiring's exposed... Wait, where is Takasaki?"
She couldn't see him on the wooden bed.
There weren't even sheets or blankets, just a few bare boards stacked together.
Only then did Sakura notice that Takasaki's wooden table was completely bare, and the open wardrobe had no clothes in it either.
She called loudly several times. "Takasaki!"
Still, no one answered.
"Did I wait here for nothing?" Sakura suddenly had a thought. "Did Takasaki move away?"
"That can't be right. His parents are both dead, and this is the only rundown house he has. He doesn't have any relatives in Konoha who could take him in. Where would he move? He wouldn't have anywhere to stay."
"He's so poor that he couldn't even afford the cheapest inn."
No matter how she looked at it, Sakura couldn't believe it. She hurried to the wooden front door and knocked hard.
The door boomed under her fists. She called out seven or eight times in a row, but no one answered.
At last, Sakura's temper got the better of her. Forgetting all about acting ladylike, she raised her leg and kicked Takasaki's door in a fit of exasperation. "This is so frustrating!"
Before you continue