Although Saiki hadn't caused any trouble himself, seeing the boys and girls in the class making a scene over him until it almost turned into a noisy fish market, the Chunin teacher finally couldn't bear it anymore and barked out a reprimand.
"Everyone, quiet down!"
Then, he cast an irritated glare at Saiki.
The Chunin teacher strongly disliked Saiki. While the kid was indeed quite good at Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, he was far from exceptional compared to Kakashi, who had graduated at five and became a Chunin at six.
Another major reason was that during the ideology-shaping courses for Konoha's children, such as The Will of Fire and Shinobi and Bonds, almost no one in the class was as dismissive and perfunctory as Saiki was.
Saiki's class was far from ordinary. Setting aside the fact that Saiki and Shizune were connected to Tsunade, the Princess of the Senju clan and one of the Sannin...
There were also Asuma Sarutobi, Kagami Hyuga, Obito Uchiha, and others, including the Ino-Shika-Cho trio whose names Saiki couldn't be bothered to remember. Which of them wasn't a scion of a major clan?
Even Kurenai Yuhi's father was a Special Jonin of the Hidden Leaf.
In this class, whether they had names or not, they either had powerful family backgrounds or excellent talent. They were all destined to become the next generation's pillars of Konoha.
Naturally, the Chunin teacher assigned to lead such a class was a die-hard loyalist of the Hokage faction. He held Hiruzen Sarutobi's brainwashing propaganda, The Will of Fire, in the absolute highest regard.
In the Chunin teacher's eyes, failing the Three Basic Jutsu was acceptable, but falling behind in the brainwashing education classes was absolutely intolerable.
Saiki, however, did the exact opposite. He learned Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and ninja basics very well, but after three years, his Will of Fire textbook remained as brand new as the day it was issued.
It wasn't out of pure arrogance. Knowing the enemy is the key to victory, so Saiki had actually read it carefully. It was just his rebellious nature that kept him from taking it to heart; he only flipped through it right before exams.
Having received a socialist education in his past life, he viewed the so-called Will of Fire as little more than a cult-like pyramid scheme. Saiki had no desire to be brainwashed into becoming a disposable tool for someone else's profit, so there was no need to take it seriously.
In the face of the Chunin teacher's disgusted glare, Saiki simply maintained his smile, his eyes perfectly calm. A guy like this wasn't worth his anger.
He was just a Chunin. If a Jonin were standing here, Saiki might have given him a bit of face.
After throwing another irritated look at Saiki, the Chunin teacher looked down at the next name.
"Next, Obito Uchiha!"
"Present!"
Hearing the teacher call his name, Obito Uchiha, who had been glaring furiously at Saiki, jumped in surprise. He shouted his response and scrambled hurriedly toward the podium.
"Hmph. Begin."
Despite belonging to the Uchiha clan, which was famous for producing geniuses, Obito was a complete dead-last. The Chunin teacher already knew exactly how he would perform, but still gave the formulaic command.
Obito didn't care about the Chunin teacher's gaze. His eyes were entirely fixed on his sweet, smiling goddess, Rin Nohara. After glancing at Saiki's indifferent expression, Obito clenched his fists, pumped himself up internally, and resolved to perform well to surpass Saiki and win his goddess's favor.
He gathered his chakra and clumsily formed the hand signs.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted. Although Obito wanted to surpass Saiki and show off to his goddess, he had vastly overestimated himself.
As the smoke cleared, what appeared beside him was a pale, twisted clone covered in messy black and white lines. It looked hollowed out and entirely lifeless, stumbling and warped—no better than Naruto's early attempts in the original story.
Even though several of Konoha's dead-lasts would eventually become the most powerful figures in the ninja world years later, it didn't change the fact that the Chunin teacher held zero expectations for him now, wearing an unsurprised expression.
"55 points!" the Chunin teacher, who didn't even deserve a name, announced coldly.
"Ahhh... Teacher... I was just too nervous just now! Let me try again... I'll definitely succeed!"
Every student had three chances. Since Obito was unwilling to accept his performance and wanted to continue, the Chunin teacher didn't say much.
It was true that you got three chances in school, but on the battlefield, a single mistake like that was enough to cost you your life.
Unsurprisingly, he exhausted his two remaining chances. Due to chakra depletion, his subsequent performances were even worse than his first. The third attempt directly turned into an indescribable, white blob of a mess.
Hahahaha!
Seeing Obito's ridiculous display, the classroom erupted into various sounds of mockery. Faced with the ridicule and having completely lost face in front of his goddess, Obito hung his head in deep shame like a salted fish that had lost all its dreams.
Obito's performance also successfully amused Saiki, instantly washing away the slight annoyance brought on by the Chunin teacher.
Blackening makes you ten times stronger, while redemption makes you nine times weaker. It was just too absurd. If he didn't know the future, even Saiki wouldn't believe that this Obito would be the guy who caused the Nine-Tails incident, started the Fourth Great Ninja War, and became the second Sage of Six Paths.
Saiki had considered whether he should just kill Obito before he turned evil, but ultimately, he abandoned the idea.
Without Obito, there would just be some Uchiha An or Uchiha Kei. As long as he couldn't kill Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu, altering minor historical events wouldn't change the grand trajectory of history.
Letting Obito live meant that Saiki, as a transmigrator, could at least predict the future and seize the initiative.
There was a very good reason why Obito loved Rin Nohara. Seeing Obito return to his seat completely dejected, Rin, with purple paint on her cheeks, offered a sweet smile and gently encouraged him, "It's okay, Obito. It doesn't matter that you failed. I've seen how hard you've been working."
"Rin!"
Receiving Rin's encouragement, Obito was instantly revived to full health, looking at her with teary, grateful eyes.
Then, catching sight of Saiki, who maintained his perennial, harmless smile, Obito felt it was a direct taunt. Gritting his teeth in anger, he vowed, "Rin, I'll work harder. One day, I'll surpass that bastard Saiki."
Seeing Obito act like this, Rin sighed helplessly, "Obito, you shouldn't talk about Saiki-kun like that. You work hard, but Saiki-kun works very hard too."
His goddess was speaking up for Saiki again. While Obito felt utterly deflated, his hatred toward Saiki continued to grow heavier.
Just as Rin said, Saiki was indeed working very hard. He looked harmless sitting there, but hidden inside his desk, several pairs of hands were currently familiarizing themselves with and practicing various hand signs.
Because of the Flower-Flower Fruit, Saiki could easily multitask. Controlling several extra arms to weave hand signs was no problem for him at all.
Robin from One Piece could instantaneously control thousands of arms to perform delicate tasks like needlework.
Therefore, Saiki controlling a few arms to weave signs was absolute child's play.
Itachi Uchiha in the original series could weave six signs a second. The current Saiki wasn't far behind; whether in speed or accuracy, Saiki was already incredibly formidable.
Of course, Saiki, who never forgot to train even during class, was completely unaware that these precocious girls were currently drawing massive aggro toward him. It wasn't just Obito—even Hiruzen Sarutobi's idiot son, Asuma Sarutobi, looked at Saiki with deep hostility, all because Kurenai Yuhi would occasionally steal glances his way.
Soon, it was Shizune and Genhai's turn. Though their talents were only average, they still passed easily with scores in the seventies and eighties.
By the time the testing concluded, it was time for the noon dismissal.
"Alright, everyone quiet down. Today, Obito Uchiha, Shin Inuzuka, and a few others failed the test. Those who barely passed by a stroke of luck shouldn't get too ahead of themselves either."
"The graduation exam is in one week. I expect everyone to intensify their practice. If you still fail, you will be held back for remedial classes."
After the Chunin teacher finished, some students breathed a sigh of relief, while others grew even more tense. For someone like Obito, failing to graduate would be an unbearable humiliation.
"That's all for this morning. You are dismissed!"
The Chunin teacher said as he gathered his documents. After the students stood up and bowed, the teacher nodded and left the room. Boom! The classroom immediately descended into chaos.
"Saiki-kun, um... I brought an extra bento today. Would you like to eat together?"
Saiki had only just started clearing his desk when a girl sitting in front of him turned around, her face flushed red as she asked.
The moment she spoke, she immediately drew the attention of the other girls. Another little girl at a nearby desk chimed in, "Saiki-chan, I brought extra food too!"
"Saiki-chan!" Saiki didn't even want to comment on the nickname. Led by these two, the other girls quickly started pulling out their own lunch boxes.
Looking at this flock of little girls, Saiki felt helpless. It wasn't like he was a bento street vendor.
He wanted Shizune to act as a shield, but she was a shy girl—she stood no chance against these proactive, enthusiastic classmates.
However, Saiki underestimated Shizune. The aggressiveness of these girls actually hardened Shizune's resolve. The pavilion nearest the water enjoys the moonlight first—she had to strike first and secure her advantage.
Reaching out to rub Shizune's small head as her cheeks puffed up bright red with frustration, Saiki said with a smile, "Everyone is so enthusiastic! Shizune and I made some bentos too, let's all eat together!"
These girls were only eight or nine years old. Saiki had absolutely zero interest in lolis, but since it was about cultivating relationships from a young age, he wouldn't let their good intentions go to waste.
Under the shade of a tree on the school playground, the air was filled with joyful laughter as a group of girls crowded around Saiki.
"Saiki-kun, try this. My mom made this tempura."
"Okay, okay... mm, it tastes great."
"Saiki-kun, try my fish sushi too!"
"Mm, your mothers are amazing cooks! Everything is delicious!"
As the girls held out their lunches one by one, Saiki didn't hesitate to take bite after bite. He was a massive glutton; he had these little girls to thank for feeding him over the past three years.
"Saiki-kun, you really are amazing! To be able to eat so much... Saiki-kun, do you want to try my own cooking?"
Looking into the sparkling eyes of the girl named Hanayu, Saiki smiled warmly. "Mm, I'm looking forward to it! But right now, we should focus on our studies."
Sigh!
Thinking about the bentos these girls made themselves brought a mix of sorrow and tears!
Once, Saiki had taken just a single bite of something that looked visually stunning, but it tasted like chewing on literal wax. He had almost thrown up on the spot.
To distract the girls, Saiki pulled out his own lunch box. His portion size was enough to feed several adult manual laborers, and it was packed entirely with highly nutritious meats.
"Come, take a look at my Braised Lion's Head meatballs, Braised Wild Boar hocks, and massive pork chops!"
"Wow!"
As Saiki opened his oversized container, it revealed a bounty of Chinese delicacies. A mouthwatering aroma wafted through the air, and the girls' eyes instantly lit up.
The reason these girls loved eating with Saiki was twofold: one, they thirsted after his body; two, Saiki's cooking skills were genuinely phenomenal.
In his past life, Saiki had lived alone out in the world, and his mother had forced him to learn various skills from a young age. To improve his quality of life, Saiki had honed his culinary skills, mastering almost every common Chinese home-cooked dish.
And after arriving in this world, since Tsunade was a cash-cow who knew nothing but gambling, Shizune handled all the daily chores, while the cooking naturally fell onto Saiki's shoulders.
Sitting right next to Saiki, Kurenai Yuhi reached out with her chopsticks and snatched a meatball. Other girls, like Rin Nohara, followed suit.
"Mmm-mm, Saiki, you're amazing! This is so delicious!"
Kurenai stuffed the meat into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out adorably. Her beautiful big eyes narrowed into crescents as she spoke with an expression of pure bliss.
In a rare moment of a united front, the other girls smiled and praised him too, "Mm-hmm, it's true! It's true! Saiki-kun is incredible!"
Looking at Kurenai's cute puffed cheeks, Rin's sweet, smiling face, and the other girls echoing their enjoyment, dark lines appeared on Saiki's forehead.
Hey, hey, hey... phrasing it like that is begging to be misunderstood, okay?!
Complaining wildly in his mind, Saiki helplessly picked up a pork chop and placed it into Shizune's bento box.
In truth, the food in Shizune's box had also been cooked by Saiki. It was the exact same meal, just a smaller portion, but her little pout was already deep enough to hang a vinegar bottle from.
"Dammit! That fucking bastard! Just like Kakashi Hatake, everyone with the name Saiki is just an annoying prick!"
In the distance, watching his ultimate goddess Rin circling Saiki with a blissful smile on her face, Obito Uchiha looked down at the food in his own box and let out the tragic wail of a defeated dog.
"Seriously, he's way too arrogant!"
Asuma Sarutobi, who was hanging out with Genma Shiranui and Ebisu, glared at his own food and spat out the words in deep displeasure.
As the son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Asuma's family was incredibly wealthy, and the food his mother Biwako prepared for him was excellent. He should have been the center of attention, yet no girls flocked to him.
To these brats of Konoha, any guy who was surrounded by girls and wildly popular was inherently an enemy.
Toward the jealousy of these little boys, Saiki just chuckled inwardly!
He couldn't help it; these little girls were entirely visual creatures. Although he had eaten the Flower-Flower Fruit and didn't possess any magical "Playboy Aura," his face alone completely outclassed the rest of them. Even when Kakashi Hatake was still at the Academy carrying his title of "genius," he couldn't surpass Saiki's level of popularity with the girls.