Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 80 80 : Yakushi Kabuto - This Guy Found Me?

The ones most shocked in the classroom were undoubtedly Riku's classmates.

Shikamaru's team and Kiba's team all stared at Riku in disbelief.

They could hardly imagine that the person who had once seed so average during their ti at the Academy now radiated such an overwhelming presence.

Ino and Hinata approached. Ino boldly hugged Riku, but because of the height difference, she only reached his chin.

So, when she hugged him, it looked more like a little sister embracing her big brother.

"Riku, I missed you so much! Why haven't you co to see all this ti?"

Riku actually had plenty of ti recently, but he had been either training or ditating at ho. He simply hadn't had the ti to hang out with Ino.

Hinata added shyly, "Riku-kun… it's really nice to see you again."

Sakura, standing nearby, felt an inexplicable pang of jealousy in her chest. Damn it, Ino… Don't cling to Riku like that in front of everyone.

Ino turned to Sakura with a smug smile. "None of your business."

Seeing the two about to argue, Riku spoke calmly, "Alright, knock it off. We're in the exam hall now—try to keep it down."

Sakura and Ino exchanged glances, then turned away from each other with matching "hmphs."

Riku looked at the two of them, speechless.

Shikamaru, Chōji, Kiba, and Shino were all watching Riku curiously.

Since when did Riku beco so popular?

Back at the Academy, Riku had been a quiet, unremarkable student.

Shikamaru walked over to Naruto and asked in a low voice, "What's going on? Why is Riku on your team? And how co he's suddenly such a big deal?"

"That aura just now—was that from him? Since when did he beco so strong?"

Naruto glanced at Riku. Although he was a little envious, he still answered honestly.

"Actually, Riku was always pretending back at the Academy. He's crazy strong."

"He's even taken down a Jōnin before. Chūnin-level enemies are nothing to him. Last ti we went to the Land of Waves on a mission, we ran into a Jōnin from Kirigakure. Even Kakashi-sensei had trouble fighting him, but Riku took him down. And when that guy ca back for revenge, Riku straight-up killed him."

"There was also a guy who used Ice Release—really powerful. Sasuke and I both got defeated by him, but Riku handled both him and the Jōnin."

"Honestly, no one really knows how strong Riku is, even now. But he's definitely above Jōnin level. So if you run into him during the exam, you'd better stay out of his way."

Even though Naruto sotis thought Shikamaru and Chōji were a little slow, he never forgot that they were among the few who treated him kindly when they were kids—without prejudice.

That's why Naruto and Shikamaru still got along well.

Shikamaru was stunned. "Are you serious? That guy's stronger than a Jōnin? Do you even know what kind of monsters Jōnin are?"

He suspected Naruto didn't really understand what it ant to surpass a Jōnin.

But Naruto just rolled his eyes. "You call yourself smart and still don't get it? Even Kakashi-sensei struggled against that enemy, and Riku handled it. You still think he's not stronger than a Jōnin?"

"He can kill Jōnin-level ninja, and even has soone close to Chūnin-level with him. What rank do you think Riku really is? You think he's still Genin?"

Naruto's tone carried an unexpected sharpness.

It wasn't that Shikamaru didn't believe it—it was just hard to process.

The idea that soone so plain and unremarkable at the Academy could now possess that kind of power was staggering.

Sure, Riku had always been sowhat good-looking, but his academic performance had always been average.

Yet now, Naruto was telling him Riku might surpass Jōnin-level strength?

It was almost too much to accept.

But rembering the overwhelming aura Riku had released earlier, Shikamaru couldn't help but believe it might be true.

That thought sent a chill down his spine.

He glanced over to see Ino chattering beside Riku and thought, Did Ino already know about this? She used to spend ti with him every day—she must've known sothing.

In truth, while Ino and Hinata knew Riku was strong, even they didn't know how powerful he truly was.

Kiba and Shino were also curious about Riku.

How was he able to unleash such a terrifying aura just now?

But since they weren't very familiar with him, they didn't feel comfortable asking.

Kiba's attention, however, was still focused on Sasuke.

He had always seen Sasuke as a rival.

Unlike Naruto, Sasuke did treat Kiba like a rival too—so the two had a surprisingly solid relationship.

While everyone was still chatting, Yakushi Kabuto suddenly walked into the room.

He smiled and said, "This is the exam room. Let's keep it quiet, alright?"

Riku eyed Kabuto carefully.

Kabuto was noticeably older than the rest of them.

So of the Genin couldn't help but ask, "Are you here to take the Chūnin Exams too?"

Riku found it hard to believe—soone Kabuto's age still taking the Chūnin Exams? How weak was he?

Kabuto nodded. "This will be my seventh ti taking it."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Seven tis? That's rough. Your talent must not be all that great if you still haven't made Chūnin."

He had always believed the Chūnin Exam wasn't that hard.

Kabuto laughed lightly. "Still thinking like an Academy student, huh? The Chūnin Exam isn't anything like what you're used to in school. Passing it is a lot harder than you think."

Shikamaru didn't agree, but he didn't argue further.

Sakura, on the other hand, perked up. "If you've taken the exam seven tis, that ans you know a lot about how it works, right?"

Back in the Academy, Sakura had always been a top student, though her actual combat ability wasn't anything special.

No one had ever really trained her properly.

But she had excellent chakra control and hidden strength—if soone actually trained her seriously, her potential would be imnse.

Now that exams were involved, she was fully engaged.

anwhile, Riku continued to silently observe Kabuto.

From the corner of his eye, Kabuto noticed Riku's half-smiling gaze and suddenly felt uneasy.

Did he figure out my true identity? Impossible… maybe he's just suspicious like the others.

Kabuto forced himself to ignore Riku's gaze.

Turning to Sakura with a grin, he said, "Of course. I've got basic intel on pretty much everyone participating in this year's Chūnin Exams."

That got Sasuke and the others' attention.

What they wanted most right now was to know: who were the real powerhouses competing this year?

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