Naruto: Drop System

As time passed, the exam soon began.

When the test papers were handed out, Yagyu couldn't help but mentally complain while answering the questions.

"This world is really warped!"

In terms of technology, they already had electric lights and refrigerators. Scientists had even created computers, yet nobles still traveled by horse-drawn carriages.

The televisions in this world were chakra-powered, used by the Five Kage for long-distance communication.

What's even more absurd is that the children in this world not only understood love at such a young age, but even the subjects taught at the Ninja Academy included chemistry.

Yes, chemistry was part of the academic curriculum at the Ninja Academy, along with history.

When Yagyu first saw the textbooks, he was stunned.

No wonder the geniuses during wartime were on the battlefield by the age of five or six. Kakashi even became an all-around jonin at just twelve years old.

The world is so twisted that if you're not a genius or don't have a cheat ability, you'd feel utterly powerless.

Fortunately, Yagyu was one of those with a cheat ability.

With the help of his shadow clones and his mature thinking, Yagyu consistently scored perfect marks in his cultural studies.

These questions posed no difficulty for him.

Throughout the morning, the Ninja Academy was unusually quiet. Only during breaks did the noise return.

As school was about to end, parents started gathering at the gates.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the exam, the students rushed out of the school.

Some students looked for familiar faces in the crowd and either ran into their parents' arms or held their hands and left together.

Other students excitedly ran home by themselves.

But there were also students who looked on with envy.

These were the children who had lost their families in the Nine-Tails incident or had no idea who their parents were—orphans.

Naruto was among the envious ones, hiding inside the school, too afraid to come out.

Every time he appeared in a crowd, the looks of hatred and disgust from the villagers made him feel like he was suffocating.

He couldn't understand why people treated him that way.

Or, more accurately...

What had he done wrong to deserve such treatment?

In the entire school, only Yagyu and the teachers like Iruka knew the reason.

But Yagyu wouldn't tell Naruto—in fact, he didn't dare.

Yagyu was warm and kind to everyone, even somewhat calculated before his cheat ability awakened.

However, there were two people he deliberately kept his distance from: Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha.

Their identities were too special, and getting too close to them could spell trouble.

If he got too friendly with them, he might even attract the attention of certain powerful figures.

Even now, with his cheat ability awakened, Yagyu still kept his distance from them.

After saying goodbye to Ino and Sakura, Yagyu returned home. He first had lunch, then dispelled the shadow clones he'd maintained all morning, set his alarm, and took a nap.

In the afternoon, the exams continued.

Just like the small tests before, the first section was shuriken throwing.

This was the only area that had previously been somewhat challenging for Yagyu.

Of course, that was before.

Now, Yagyu could hit every target dead center with precision.

After all, he had shadow clones to help him cheat.

Unsurprisingly, Yagyu scored a perfect mark.

However, many students from ninja families also achieved perfect scores.

Their parents were ninjas, so they often received extra training at home.

Unlike the boring academic subjects, they were highly enthusiastic about cool techniques like shuriken throwing.

In the context of Yagyu's previous world, they were like students who excelled in one subject while struggling in others.

Naruto was also a classic case of a student who struggled in academics.

His cultural studies scores were dismal. If the graduation exam hadn't focused on other skills, and if cultural studies had been the main focus, Naruto might never have graduated.

After the shuriken throwing test ended, the next section, just like in the small tests, was a taijutsu sparring match.

The students formed a circle, either standing or sitting, watching as Iruka stood in the center of the open space.

"When I call your name, come forward. First group… Kiba Inuzuka vs. Yuta Koizumi."

As soon as Iruka spoke, Kiba, who now had his ninja dog, Akamaru, excitedly placed his dog down and eagerly stepped forward.

In contrast, Yuta Koizumi looked somewhat scared.

It was clear that he lacked confidence in his fighting ability.

As expected, Yuta was easily defeated by Kiba, who had been playing and training with his ninja dog since childhood and was skilled in combat.

One by one, names were called out by Iruka.

Both boys and girls fought, though interestingly, the matches were always boy vs. boy or girl vs. girl.

It was obvious that Iruka had deliberately arranged the matches this way.

In Yagyu's eyes, these first-year exams were rather childish.

They seemed no different from playing house.

However, Yagyu didn't go as far as Itachi Uchiha, who sent only a shadow clone to school.

That was because Yagyu's shadow clones didn't have the same "special ability" as his real body.

After all, who knew if Iruka might spring a surprise test, causing Yagyu to miss out on an opportunity to earn valuable loot?

In the past six months, Yagyu had sparred with his classmates numerous times, and each time he won.

However, despite his victories, he hadn't seen that familiar golden glow he had hoped for.

It was clear that his cheat ability didn't always drop rewards after defeating opponents, and the drop rate was quite low.

That time with Naruto had just been a stroke of incredible luck.

Perhaps that single stroke of luck had exhausted Yagyu's fortune.

"Seventh group… Yagyu vs. Sasuke Uchiha."

After another group finished, Yagyu finally heard his name called.

When he heard his opponent's name, his eyes lit up with excitement and joy.

After half a year, he finally had the chance to face off against the second main character. It seemed Iruka had arranged the matches based on the results of their previous small tests.

With great anticipation, Yagyu stood up.

Sasuke, surrounded by his fan club, also stood up.

"Go, Yagyu! You've got to win!"

"Yagyu, make sure to give Sasuke a good beating!"

"…"

"Go, Sasuke! Sasuke will definitely win!"

"Who should I cheer for? Both Sasuke and Yagyu are so cute!"

"…"

The duel between two of the most popular students instantly fired up the atmosphere.

The boys who were close to Yagyu or disliked Sasuke's cool demeanor cheered Yagyu on.

The girls either supported Yagyu, cheered for Sasuke, or were torn, unable to decide who to root for.

The loudest voice, of course, belonged to Ino, who cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her cheers.

The more reserved Sakura and the shy Hinata silently cheered for Yagyu in their hearts.

Seeing the super popular Yagyu and Sasuke, Naruto could only look on enviously.

However, Naruto didn't resent Yagyu, as he had noticed that Yagyu was one of the few in the class who didn't seem to dislike him.

As for his feelings toward Sasuke, maybe it was destiny. Unlike in the original story, Sakura hadn't fallen for Sasuke, and Naruto hadn't developed a crush on Sakura either.

It was clear—Naruto and Sasuke were the real love story, and Sakura was just an exception.