Second Pillar

Of course, Naruto would never explain something like that to them. Right now, the most important thing was earning more Experience Points.

"N-Naruto."

A timid voice came from the other side. It was very soft, carrying a hint of shyness, yet it sounded especially pleasant.

Naruto did not need to guess who was speaking. It was little Hinata, with her hime cut.

"HInata, you're here."

Naruto turned to look. Hinata came into view, her little face flushed red. Her shy, fair, adorable face made Naruto want to pinch her cheeks.

[Experience Points +1]

The Experience Points notification appeared. Naruto's happy expression paused slightly before he frowned.

That was because the Experience Orb around Hinata had shrunk to the size of a ping-pong ball. If it kept getting smaller, he did not know whether something unexpected might happen.

To be safe, Naruto decided not to interact with Hinata for now. He would wait until he figured out exactly how Experience Points worked before deciding what to do.

So Naruto put away his smile, turned around, and hurried toward the school. Within moments, he vanished through the school gates.

"Huh?"

Hinata was somewhat at a loss when she saw this, having no idea what had happened.

Sakura and Ino beside her were also a little confused. They did not understand why Naruto had suddenly left when everything had been fine.

However, they could not be bothered to think about it. They quickly headed toward the school, leaving only Hinata standing there in conflicted silence, wondering whether she had done something wrong.

Inside the Ninja Academy.

Naruto walked through the school corridor, his eyes constantly scanning the classrooms and observing the students inside. Unfortunately, none of them had any Experience Orbs around them, which disappointed him somewhat.

However.

The moment he entered the classroom, several Experience Orbs appeared clearly before his eyes, some large and some small.

The people who possessed these Experience Orbs were the plot characters from the anime, such as Kiba Inuzuka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Shino Aburame, Sasuke, and the others.

Among them, Sasuke's Experience Orb was the largest. It was even slightly bigger than Sakura's and Hinata's, making his importance obvious.

Just as I thought. I finally understand. Naruto silently confirmed that only plot characters had Experience Orbs around them, and he finally had a clear grasp of the situation.

Now, only two questions remained before him: would anything happen after an Experience Orb disappeared, and could Experience Orbs be replenished? Those were the issues Naruto needed to face.

But there was no rush for that. Earning Experience Points was the priority right now, so he strode toward Sasuke and quickly arrived beside him.

"Need something?" Sasuke asked coolly, his arms crossed.

As the strongest student in the class, Sasuke did not care much about his classmates. None of them were qualified to be his opponent, so he spoke with an aloof, pretentious air.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that tone and said with a half-smile, "Can't I sit here if I don't need something? Does your family own the school?"

"You..."

Sasuke choked on his words. His cold, aloof demeanor was shattered by a single sentence.

[Experience Points +1]

"See? You can't say anything now, can you? You've got no argument," Naruto muttered.

"Hmph! I can't be bothered talking to you, dead last," Sasuke replied, continuing to put on his aloof act.

"Dead last?"

Naruto smiled. Back then, he had deliberately hidden his abilities, so others saw him as dead last. But his Three-Body Technique, hand seals, taijutsu, and chakra had long since reached a very high level.

Now that he also had the Saiyan Bloodline, beating Sasuke would be like beating a child. There was no pressure at all. Of course, Naruto could not be bothered explaining, because his goal was Experience Points.

So he continued with a smile, "What's wrong with being dead last? It's still better than being a pretentious Second Pillar like you."

"Pretentious Second Pillar?!"

Sasuke's face turned green when he heard that. Ever since Naruto had explained the meaning of that phrase last time, he had sworn never to hear it again.

Calling him Second Pillar was bad enough, but pretentious Second Pillar? That was infuriating. Sasuke glared at Naruto gloomily.

"Shut up, you dead last."

[Experience Points +1]

"I won't shut up. I'll call you Second Pillar—Second Pillar who failed at acting pretentious," Naruto shot back without hesitation.

"What? Second Pillar who failed at acting pretentious?"

Sasuke was so angry he wanted to hit someone. In just that short time, it had been upgraded to Second Pillar who failed at acting pretentious. This was truly infuriating.

Fuming, Sasuke retaliated without backing down. "Dead last. Dead last who can't even beat girls."

[Experience Points +1]

"Oh?"

Naruto raised his eyebrows. In the original story, Sasuke had been a stubborn, edgy brat who refused to listen to reason. Yet now he had improved. Naruto did not care about that, though. Earning Experience Points was what mattered.

His Experience Points had already exceeded ten, meaning he could exchange them for another drop of Saiyan Blood. Delighted, he could not help but continue provoking Sasuke.

"You're amazing. You can beat girls. As a man, you even fight women. Do you think that's something to be proud of?"

"Gah?!"

Sasuke was speechless. Although he felt Naruto's logic was somewhat twisted, why did it feel like Naruto was right?

Sasuke wanted to refute him, but he could not think of a reason for the moment, so he changed the subject. "As a member of the Uchiha Clan, my excellence is beyond anything you can imagine."

[Experience Points +1]

[Experience Points +1]

Several Experience Points notifications appeared in succession. Naruto glanced around the classroom and saw Experience Points appearing around several people. Even Sakura and Ino, who had just entered, had them as well.

Clearly, his interaction with Sasuke had triggered a chain reaction and earned him even more Experience Points. This gave Naruto greater confidence, and he continued.

"Since you think you're better than me, carve a wooden sculpture for me. Like this one."

Naruto took a wooden sculpture from his pocket. It was modeled after Hinata and looked vivid and lifelike.

In his previous life, he had worked in carving and painting, and his skills in those fields had been exceptional. Over the years, thanks to practicing delicate chakra control, he had carved and painted every day, reaching a profoundly accomplished level.

Using a wooden sculpture to provoke Sasuke, a complete amateur, was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

So when Naruto told Sasuke to carve a wooden sculpture, Sasuke was stunned. For a long while, he could not say a word.

[Experience Points +1]

[Experience Points +1]

"Naruto, did you carve this? It looks so real." Ino walked over and looked at the sculpture in Naruto's hand, her eyes gleaming with amazement.

"It really is so lifelike. It's practically identical. If she saw it, she'd definitely be surprised."

Sakura also leaned over, admiring the wooden sculpture's vivid portrayal of Hinata's shy appearance.

The surrounding classmates also ran over to look. While marveling at it, they also provided Naruto with Experience Points.

[Experience Points +1]

[Experience Points +1]

Only Sasuke remained silent where he was, his face burning with embarrassment. He could not help it; he did not know the first thing about wood carving.