A string of Valor Points rolled in.
Before Kambara Sogetsu could take it all in, another cold notification sounded in his mind.
[Main Quest issued: collect a total of 100 Valor Points.] [Current Valor Point progress: 5/100] [Current Valor Points: 5.] [Quest reward: one Beginner's Gift Pack.]
Sogetsu's eyelid twitched.
One hundred points.
In other words, he had to show off like that another ninety-five times.
That was asking way too much.
In his previous life, he had been so socially anxious that his legs shook whenever he had to speak onstage.
And now he had to show off in front of the entire class every single day.
Wasn't that going to kill him?
Still, the reward was pretty tempting.
The Beginner's Gift Pack sounded like something good.
As he pondered it, a shadow suddenly fell over him.
At some point, Iruka had come to stand in front of him.
"Kambara Sogetsu."
Suppressing his anger, Iruka tried to keep his tone reasonably calm:
"Sleep all you want after class. I won't stop you."
"But during lessons, especially mine, could you please stay awake?"
Sogetsu looked up and fell silent for a moment.
Only after a long pause did he speak, his voice unhurried yet carrying an air of unfathomable wisdom:
"Sir, what you're teaching is too simple."
"I've already learned it all."
"There's no point in listening any further."
The classroom went quiet for a moment.
Then barely suppressed snickers rose all around him.
"Tch, who does he think he's fooling? He's just a bottom-of-the-class loser."
"Exactly. He sleeps through class every day and still has the nerve to say he's 'learned it all.'"
"Learned it all? In his dreams, maybe."
"If the sleep king could learn anything, pigs could fly."
"All guys like him can do is talk big."
"Ignore him. He'll still come dead last on the test later."
Sakura curled her lip and added under her breath:
"Hmph, quit showing off. You're nowhere near Sasuke-kun."
[Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1]
Sogetsu kept a straight face while silently noting his gains.
Iruka gave a cold laugh.
It wasn't as though he didn't know this boy's track record.
The sleep king. The class dunce. Last in every subject.
And a student like that dared tell him he had "learned it all"?
"Fine."
Iruka nodded, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes:
"Since you say you've learned everything, I'll give you a question."
"If you can answer it, you can sleep however you like in my class from now on. I won't interfere."
Sogetsu said nothing.
He simply raised a hand and beckoned to Iruka.
The meaning couldn't have been clearer.
Come on. Ask away.
The vein at Iruka's temple began throbbing again.
This brat was really putting on airs now?
He had only intended to ask something easy and give the boy a way out.
But that beckoning gesture had annoyed him.
He switched straight to a difficult question.
He wanted to see how long a dunce who slept every day could keep up the act.
"Listen carefully."
Iruka folded his arms and enunciated every word:
"How many hand seals does Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique require, and in what order?"
"And how is chakra molded and transformed into fire-nature chakra within the body?"
The entire class gasped.
The Great Fireball Technique was a genuine C-rank ninjutsu that even an ordinary genin might not have mastered.
And he was expected to recite the hand seal sequence and clearly explain the principles behind the chakra transformation.
That question was clearly beyond the syllabus.
Sogetsu's expression didn't change at all.
Because he didn't understand a thing.
But inwardly, he was perfectly calm.
I've got a cheat.
What's there to fear?
[A gap in the host's knowledge has been detected. Spend 5 Valor Points to redeem the "Ninja Academy Complete Answer Encyclopedia"?] [Yes / No]
Sogetsu selected "Yes" in his mind without hesitation.
Seriously, five Valor Points to turn this into an open-book exam?
That's a guaranteed win.
Besides, an answer encyclopedia was practically the textbook definition of an open-book cheat.
[Redemption successful!] [Valor Points -5. Current Valor Points: 2.] ["Ninja Academy Complete Answer Encyclopedia" loaded!]
In an instant, countless pieces of knowledge flooded his mind, as clear as if they had been etched into his bones.
Sogetsu slowly lifted his eyelids, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
The next second, he spoke.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique requires six hand seals."
"Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger."
"Chakra is molded throughout the body and gathered in the chest, then rapidly compressed and released through the throat. Fire-nature transformation is applied to produce the technique."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word came through clearly and without error.
[Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1]
After finishing, he made sure to add leisurely:
"This is merely the most basic of basics."
Everyone fell silent again.
The classroom was deathly quiet.
Iruka froze completely.
His eyes widened, his mouth hanging open for a long time.
His mind buzzed, and for a moment, he had no idea what to say.
All correct.
Not a single word wrong.
Even the chakra transformation process was explained without the slightest error.
H-how was that possible?
Wasn't this boy the infamous sleep king, the class dunce?
Clatter.
A student in the front row dropped his pen on the floor.
An even greater stir swept through the back rows as the other students stared in disbelief.
"He actually... answered it?"
"Oh my god, I didn't even understand the question."
"Since when was the sleep king this good?"
"Unbelievable."
Sakura frowned, disbelief written all over her face.
Even when she had worked through the question in her head just now, she had needed to stop and think.
Yet this boy who slept through class had answered without a second thought.
Naruto sprang straight out of his chair, his eyes shining:
"That was amazing! I didn't remember a single one of those hand seals, but you got them all right!"
Sasuke folded his arms and coldly turned his face away.
But a flicker of surprise clearly crossed his eyes.
Shikamaru propped up his chin and muttered:
"What a drag... even that question gave me a headache."
Amid the stunned silence, Sogetsu spoke calmly:
"I already told you. I train in my dreams."
"How could mere mortals like you understand?"
Iruka's face turned livid.
[Valor Points +1]
In all his years of teaching, this was the first time a student had left him speechless in front of everyone.
Was this brat just lucky, or did he actually have some skill?
No, he couldn't concede just like that.
"You just happened to have studied that question before!"
Grinding his teeth, he folded his arms, unwilling to accept defeat:
"Again!"
"How many hand seals does Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique require?"
"What is the principle behind the Shadow Clone Technique?"
"What are the five basic chakra nature transformations?"
A barrage of questions came at him like machine-gun fire.
Sogetsu didn't even bother lifting his eyelids.
With the answer encyclopedia at his disposal, how hard could the Ninja Academy's questions possibly be?
Never mind questions beyond the syllabus. Even if they brought him a paper from the Chunin Ninja Exams, he could answer it with his eyes closed.
The answers rolled off his tongue, swift and precise, without the slightest pause.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique requires forty-four hand seals."
"The Shadow Clone Technique divides chakra evenly among multiple physical clones. Each possesses an independent consciousness, allowing them to train simultaneously."
"The five basic nature transformations are fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water."
He recited the Water Release hand seals without hesitation.
He explained the principles of shadow clones with perfect clarity.
He listed the five basic nature transformations as though he knew them by heart.
One question, two questions, three questions.
Every answer was correct.
[Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1]
Apart from Sogetsu's calm voice, not a sound could be heard in the classroom.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded.
Iruka stood with his mouth open, unable to say a word.
These were all genuine questions about ninja knowledge. A few even touched on material covered in the Chunin Ninja Exams.
How could a bottom-of-the-class slacker who slept through class every day possibly get every answer right?
"What the hell..."
"Since when did this loser get so smart?"
"Don't tell me he secretly cheated?"
Someone muttered under their breath.
Cangyue finally stopped.
He slowly closed his eyes. His tone was calm, but his words struck everyone's heart like a sledgehammer:
"Let's leave it at that."
With that, he leaned back and propped up his legs.
Then he fell asleep again.
[Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1] [Valor Points +1]
Notification chimes rang out in a chorus inside his head.
With his eyes closed, the corners of Cangyue's mouth curved upward almost imperceptibly.
Showing off once felt good. Keep showing off, and the good times never stopped.
Getting those hundred Valor Points didn't seem all that hard.
Maybe it wouldn't be long before he could redeem the Beginner's Gift Pack.
My valor soared to the heavens-who could rival me!
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