Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 23 23

Riku never answered Ino's chatter along the way—she was always the one talking.

They ran into Hinata again on the road.

Ino kept talking, while Riku and Hinata remained silent.

When they arrived at the classroom, the three of them sat in the back as usual.

Only this ti, Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba kept glancing over at them with strange expressions.

Hinata, being sensitive, noticed it imdiately.

She lowered her head slightly and whispered to Riku, "Riku-kun, I don't know why Shikamaru and the others keep staring at us..."

Riku didn't look up, his eyes calmly focused on the book in his hands. "I don't know. Maybe it's because of Ino."

Ino had been sitting next to Riku, chattering nonstop, but when she heard his response, she imdiately turned her attention to Shikamaru and the others.

Just then, Shikamaru t Chōji's and Kiba's eyes.

"What are you looking at?" Ino raised a fist and glared threateningly at the three of them.

The three boys imdiately turned around, no longer daring to look. Everyone knew Ino wasn't bluffing—she really would throw a punch.

Riku shook his head. Hinata looked at Ino with admiration. "Ino, you're amazing."

Ino bead with pride. "Of course! They're just asking for a beating."

Before long, Iruka entered the classroom.

"As I ntioned yesterday," he said, "today we'll be conducting the assessnt for ninja throwing skills. This test will count toward your final grades."

Groans and complaints rippled through the class.

Typical student behavior—unless they were particularly strong, no one enjoyed taking exams.

Iruka narrowed his eyes and glared at them. "Hurry to the practice field. No matter what, it's in your best interest to be at your best."

Naruto groaned, cradling his head in his hands. "Why do we have to do this kind of test? Throwing is my worst skill..."

Kiba, who was seated behind him, smirked and teased, "Like changing the test would make a difference for you."

At this stage, Naruto struggled with everything except taijutsu. Kiba's jab hit a sore spot.

Naruto straightened up indignantly. "I know more than just ninja throwing!"

"Oh yeah?" Kiba leaned closer with a grin. "Like what?"

Naruto hesitated, completely blanking. He couldn't think of anything. Other than taijutsu class, he really wasn't good at much.

Kiba burst out laughing. "Thought so."

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He stood up abruptly. "Kiba! If you've got guts, co fight one-on-one!"

Kiba stood up too, about to accept the challenge, but Iruka cut in with a sharp yell. "Do you two want to fail this assessnt? Get to the practice field. Now."

Neither Naruto nor Kiba wanted to get a zero, so they quickly backed down and ran to the training ground.

Riku, Hinata, and Ino followed the rest of the class to the practice field.

They lined up in the crowd. Riku looked calm as always.

Hinata and Ino stood nearby—one in front, one behind.

Ino, as usual, couldn't keep quiet.

"Riku-kun, how many points are you aiming for this ti?"

"Oh right, last ti you got eight points. Are you going for nine now? You hit the first four, but missed the last one. That felt kinda fake, honestly."

Riku had no desire to respond. Still, he didn't exactly ignore her either.

Hinata, standing behind Riku, kept her head down, clearly flustered just being this close to him.

Ino, unfazed by the silence, kept smiling. "Co on, tell !"

Riku sighed. "Can you worry about yourself? You're the one at the bottom of the class. Shouldn't you be more concerned about your own score? You're from a prestigious clan—aren't you worried your grades will embarrass your family?"

He had hoped the jab would get her to quiet down. But instead of getting flustered, Ino grinned confidently. "Relax. My dad doesn't care about grades. As long as I learn the clan's secret techniques, I'm good."

"He doesn't care about anything else."

Riku was at a loss. "You really don't feel any sha, huh? Aren't you worried people will say you're a spoiled clan kid who can't do anything?"

Then again, it wasn't uncommon for kids from prominent clans to struggle in school.

Uchiha Obito had been like that too.

Still, being born into a powerful bloodline gave you advantages others couldn't match. Once your potential awakened, ordinary students could hardly keep up.

Riku sighed inwardly. "You really don't care at all, do you?"

Ino just shrugged. "Why should I? Most of the stuff we learn in class is basic. As long as I learn what my dad teaches , I'll be fine."

Riku chuckled. "You can't even handle the basics."

Ino smirked. "That's because I don't want to. If I actually tried, I'd be at the top of the class."

Riku didn't bother responding.

Hinata quietly agreed—Ino probably could be strong if she took things seriously.

But being number one? That was a stretch. Besides Sasuke, there were other strong students in the class—Kiba, Shino, even Hinata herself when she put in the effort.

And of course, Riku.

Riku scoffed. "Would it kill you to go one day without bragging?"

Ino didn't fully understand what he ant, but she could tell it wasn't a complint.

"Don't underestimate , Riku-kun!"

Riku smirked and ignored her.

Ino puffed up in frustration, cheeks slightly red—almost cute, if Riku had bothered to look.

"Hmph! Just wait—I'll blow you away with my score!"

anwhile, Shikamaru and Chōji were still watching them curiously from a distance.

They couldn't hear the conversation, but the way Riku, Hinata, and Ino interacted had caught their attention.

Soon enough, it was Ino's turn.

She was determined to show off in front of Riku.

She wasn't planning to hold back.

She threw five shuriken—and all five hit the bullseye.

Iruka was stunned. "Whoa… Ino, your improvent is incredible."

Ino smiled proudly. As she stepped off the platform, she glanced at Riku and raised her fist at him playfully, as if to say, See that?

Riku remained completely unfazed.

The whole class was shocked.

Ino, who was usually dead last, had just gotten a perfect score.

Riku stepped up next.

He rembered why he had deliberately underperford last ti.

Now, he picked up five kunai and narrowed his eyes.

One by one, he threw them.

Each kunai hit its mark—none missed the target, but they didn't all hit dead center either.

Iruka furrowed his brow slightly. "Hmm… it feels like Riku's performance dipped a bit."

Still, he gave his assessnt. "7.5 points."

Looking at Riku, he added, "You'll need to work a bit harder. You've slipped a little since the last test."

Riku nodded without argunt.

As he walked back, so of the students chuckled quietly.

They didn't even know what they were laughing at—just that kids always laugh when soone gets scolded by a teacher.