Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 2 2 : Being Targeted By Kakashi

Before the fight even began, Naruto was already lost in a daydream—imagining himself defeating Sasuke in front of everyone and finally gaining their recognition.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought.

Iruka stood on the podium, his face twitching with exasperation. "Naruto! What are you laughing at? Get out here!"

While Naruto was still laughing, most of the students had already followed Iruka out of the classroom.

Realizing he was the only one left behind, Naruto's laughter abruptly cut off.

He scrambled to grab his ninja pouch and rushed out.

Iruka watched him leave with a sigh.

"Honestly… why did Lord Hokage even allow him into this class?"

This was supposed to be an elite class. Under normal circumstances, Naruto didn't qualify for entry.

But what frustrated Iruka even more was that Naruto had joined without going through any of the required assessnts.

—

Outside on the practice field, more than thirty students stood in neat rows as Iruka finished explaining the rules of the exam.

"Listen up, everyone. Each of you will draw one number. Whoever draws the sa number will be your opponent for the practical battle."

Riku stood among them, calm and composed as ever.

He reached into the box, drew a number—12—and stepped back into line without concern.

He didn't care who his opponent was.

Iruka began announcing match-ups based on the numbers drawn.

Naruto looked at the slip in his hand, then at his opponent—Kiba—and groaned. "Why'd I have to end up with you?"

Kiba grinned, clapping Naruto on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you. You won't lose too badly."

Naruto brushed Kiba's hand off with a scowl.

"Heh, Kiba, you're too full of yourself.

Honestly, I was hoping for Sasuke. He's my real opponent."

Kiba just laughed. "You always talk big. Too bad, I wanted to go up against Sasuke too."

In the middle of this chatter, Riku suddenly furrowed his brow.

His chakra sense had picked up sothing—soone.

Perched silently on a tall tree outside the academy's training grounds… was Hatake Kakashi.

Why is he here?

From his vantage point outside the field, Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed as he watched the students—specifically, Riku.

That posture… did he notice ?

Ever since the Ichiraku encounter, Kakashi couldn't shake his suspicions about the boy. There was sothing about Riku that didn't add up.

ANBU had already checked the kid's background. Completely ordinary.

But Kakashi's instincts said otherwise. So he ca in person to observe.

Riku, sensing Kakashi's presence, forced himself to relax.

I need to keep a low profile, he thought.

Was it yesterday's Body Flicker Technique that tipped him off? Dammit… what a high price to pay.

He had assud it was just a passing suspicion on Kakashi's part.

But now, seeing the jonin here—watching him so closely—Riku knew it wasn't over.

In front of the students, Iruka held up his clipboard. "Alright, we're starting the assessnt. We'll go in order of the list. The first test is throwing accuracy—shuriken or kunai. You can choose either."

Sasuke, standing nearby, smirked with pride.

"Heh, this is where the Uchiha shine. Ninja tool throwing is in our blood."

"I've been training with big brother too… I'll definitely take first place."

At this point in ti, the Uchiha clan was still intact. Sasuke's personality was a far cry from the brooding teen he'd beco later.

He was proud. Competitive. Desperate to be the best.

And he was first on the list.

Iruka glanced down, smiled, and called, "Uchiha Sasuke, you're up first."

He had a good impression of Sasuke—polite, hardworking, talented, from a well-known clan. A stark contrast to Naruto's chaos.

Sasuke stepped forward with a practiced, composed air.

He picked up five shuriken, ignoring Naruto's muttered insults behind him.

With a flick of the wrist, he launched all five in a single motion.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Five perfect strikes—dead center on the target.

The class gasped in awe.

"Whoa! That's insane!"

Even Naruto clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. "Tch… showoff. But he's good. Dammit, can I even match that?"

Ino and Sakura shrieked from the sidelines. "Sasuke is the best! So cool!"

Most of the girls looked like they were about to faint from admiration.

Naruto bit down on his jacket sleeve in frustration.

"Damn guy… even more popular than …"

Kiba furrowed his brow. "He really is strong. As expected of an Uchiha."

Even Shikamaru stayed awake long enough to nod. "Impressive."

Chōji crunched on a chip and grinned. "Well, he is the top student… and he's an Uchiha. Makes sense."

Of everyone there, the only one unfazed was Riku.

He could easily match Sasuke's level—or even surpass it.

Still, he clapped politely along with the others.

Not because he was impressed—but because he wanted to blend in.

Expression calm, Riku muttered to himself, Being watched really is uncomfortable. What's Kakashi's problem? Why's he so fixated on ?

High up in the tree, Kakashi observed Riku's subtle discomfort.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

He definitely spotted . Otherwise, he wouldn't have pulled that weird face.

Interesting. The change in his deanor is a dead giveaway. He's trying too hard to act normal.

Kakashi had seen it all in ANBU. No amateur could fool him.

Let's see what else you've got, kid.

Of course, Riku had no idea what Kakashi was really thinking.

He assud Kakashi was suspicious and keeping watch to investigate further.

So he focused on staying composed, careful not to expose anything strange.

But he had no clue that in front of a seasoned ANBU captain, his acting skills were paper-thin.

After Sasuke, none of the other students managed to get a perfect score.

One by one, they stepped forward. Most landed two or three hits, at best.

Then Iruka called out the next na.

"Riku."

Riku stepped forward, calm and unnoticed. To most of his classmates, he was just another face in the crowd.

He picked up five kunai.

"Let's just hit four," he murmured softly.

Unlike Sasuke, he didn't throw them all at once.

Instead, he calmly took aim.

With a flick of his wrist, he launched the first kunai.

Thunk!

A sharp, clean impact echoed across the practice field.