Naruto: The White Spider of the Leaf

As sweet as my day off might've been, I still had a lot of work to do if I wanted to achieve anything in the future. If I wanted to keep my promise. 

Time passed and war loomed closer, my training intensified. 

My days followed a familiar rhythm, occasionally varied but mostly a repeat of my usual routines. A year and a half passed and my progress as a ninja had been notable. As of now, I've spent two years training at the academy to become a ninja and have improved significantly as compared to when I started. I learned to control my chakra enough to perform some basic stuff, though I wasn't great at it yet, and Minato, who continued to supervise my training, noted my improvements in taijutsu. It's sort of funny. The teaching I received at the academy didn't compare to what another ten-year-old kid could give me after classes. A little embarrassing for the oh, so esteemed establishment.

I certainly wasn't complaining, though.

Oh, and let's not forget my weights! Despite their small size, the weights I wore were each up to fifty kilograms now! What kind of ten-year-old would walk around with such a burden? 

A desperate one, apparently.

But hey, I digress! I'm still quite hyped about it! That's two hundred kilos added to my body weight, you know! I feel kinda accomplished saying that.

Now, on to today's events.

As a student, exams and written tests were part of my routine. The teacher's voice echoed through the classroom as he read out the scores. "Sushina Amesuchi, 35 points. Kuretsu Nonguchi, 43 points. Haruto Kamizuru, 23 points. Kenji Aburame, 60 points. Mei Uchiha, 53 points."

Murmurs of dissatisfaction spread among my classmates. "Man, the tests are getting so damn hard…"

"Tell me about it! I crammed for hours and still only got 47 points."

"You think 47 is bad? I barely hit 20…"

"The questions were ridiculous! This is graduation-level stuff!" The popular Uchiha kid I hated pouted in his seat.

"Of course you say that, Shinichi. You only got 11 points," came the retort from another classmate sitting beside him. "Some Uchiha elite you turned out to be."

Only a couple of kids laughed at that, most others seemed to ignore their interaction altogether.

I heard Uchiha Shinichi shout, "Shirokumo will probably get a single digit score, like the dumbass he is!" He pointed at me from his seat.

The class turned to me with a mix of curiosity and skepticism, probably wondering what I, the infamously worst kid in class, had done on the written exam. But it wasn't my turn just yet.

Minato, sitting in front of me, received his score with a grin. "Namikaze Minato, 100 points. As usual."

"Nice job, Minato," I said, turning to congratulate him as I raised my hand to him.

"It's nothing, really. The written tests aren't too difficult if you're diligent enough, right Shiro?" he replied with a smile, returning the high five with a loud clap.

"You bet. Those questions were a cinch," I said, leaning back in my seat with my arms crossed over my shoulders as the teacher prepared to announce the next scores. My wonderful scores.

"Shirokumo, 97 points."

I felt a surge of triumph. "Yes!" I thought, silently celebrating my high score. I was getting closer to perfect marks.

"Wha-what...?" Shinchi, who'd mocked me, now looked devastated. He had the lowest score in the class.

Sucks, don't it? Being the last in class ain't easy, chief, but I'm a veteran in that post and I'll tell you. It gets better eventually. Mhm.

Despite my poor performance in practical assessments, my theoretical knowledge was strong. Years of reading and studying had pushed me past the academy's level. Hard work, it seemed, had paid off.

Then the teacher announced, "Hyūga Yukino, 98 points."

Yukino leaped from her seat, grinning widely. "Yes!"

I slumped, shouting in disbelief with my hands grasping at my head, "No!"

Yukino's joy was palpable. "Ha! Look who lost by one point!"

"No way! How did you get 98? Your highest before was 91! Mine was better then!"

Yukino's laughter only fueled my frustration. She taunted, "Hahaha! You'd better stick to your word now, little snowflake!"

The class watched the scene with a mix of confusion and amusement. Yukino's laughter was loud and out of place, drawing the teacher's displeasure.

"Please, don't shout in the classroom. Quiet down," he said sternly.

"Uh, sorry, sensei," Yukino said, blushing as she sat down, hiding her face in her hands.

I grumbled quietly to Minato, "Great... And now I have to buy us ice cream cones for a week. How unfair is that? She's rich!"

Minato stifled a chuckle. "I like vanilla, so get me that, please."

"Yeah, yeah, gloat all you want, man!"

Slumping in my seat, I plotted my revenge against Yukino, vowing to get back at her somehow, in any way I could. Should I prank her?

The teacher cleared his throat to make an announcement. "We'll be having a transfer student join us from today onwards."

I sighed, still dwelling on my loss. But hey, regardless of that, I did still achieve an all-time high score! That's worth celebrating, right?

Thinking of my recent exploits, I've been doing pretty well for myself. I can comfortably use the fifty kilo weights now, I'm top three in my class when it comes to theory, as much as that irritates me, and I have two great friends to boot! As much as they irritate me. 

I can think of myself a bit better now, right? Can't keep a negative outlook on oneself after all. That never helps! Yeah, I think I'm pretty cool right now. Although, despite my physical strength and book smarts, my practical skills are still lagging behind.

Wait–wait a minute…

I realized with a jolt.

High physical strength... Book smarts... Not particularly good at practical stuff... High physical strength... Book smarts... Not particularly good at practical stuff... High physical strength... Book smarts... Not particularly good at practical stuff... Oh dear lord almighty...

Aren't I basically doing a Sakura build here? 

Fuck! I've even been learning about medical ninjutsu!!

My face fell as I confronted the reality of my situation.