A little shorter than usual because i had to take out the usual Chinese trope of having everyone much the protagonist then get slapped in the face. Its a little overdone and knowing its a translation there will probably be more opportunities where it is more appropriate.
Also had to go back to chapter 3 to include a friendship meter instead of the love meter they had in the original
Lets go
......
"What a drag. I wonder how long it'll take to eat all these fish." Shikamaru said, bending down and fiddling with the black fish in the basket.
"Naruto must have spent a lot of time at the river to catch these fish." Shikaku said, rubbing the scar on his face, "I used to fish there in the past, but I couldn't catch anything even after half a day."
"That kid… If I invite him for a meal, he'd surely refuse. I wonder if he will like our gift."
"Don't worry about that. Naruto is just like that." Shikamaru said lazily, "Dad, you can be quite intimidating."
"You brat, what are you talking about?"
"Naruto is used to being alone. Although he seems indifferent to many things, being invited to a family dinner would only make him feel awkward and uncomfortable." Shikamaru said as he stood up.
Shikaku didn't say anything, and thinking about Naruto's life experience, he fell into a long silence.
…
The next day, the Academy Graduation Exam began.
The Academy's entrance was much more lively than usual, with many parents accompanying their children for the Graduation Exam, gathering noisily at the entrance.
Before the exam started, the area was usually cleared to prevent the parents from being too noisy and affecting the exam.
Naruto arrived at the school early, sitting on the swing under the big green tree, until he saw most of his classmates passing by and jumped down to approach the hyuga that was now his friend according to the system.
He was wearing a simple black T-shirt and light colored shorts.
"Hyuga san, good morning."
"G-good morning, Naruto san."
Hinata was startled, and her face instantly turned red. She avoided Naruto's gaze and responded in a small, stuttering voice.
"here." Naruto said, tossing out a small object from behind his back.
It was a small wooden carving, vividly depicting a chibi version of kurama. The carving was only about the size of three fingers and looked extremely cute.
"Did you make this yourself, Naruto-san?" Hinata asked in aw, but her eyes could no longer move away from the small wooden carving.
"Yeah, I happen to know a bit about carving, so... I made it."
In fact, he knew more than just a bit. Before crossing over, he had been learning wood carving to indulge his otaku heart. He had practiced diligently for 2 years through all seasons, never stopping during summer or winter breaks.
Hinata's face turned even redder as she accepted the carving and softly thanked him.
"I remember your grades are always very good, right? Then do your best in the exam." Naruto said, waving goodbye as he turned to leave.
[friendship progress... +2.2% control over nine tails chakra]
'The system is indeed not so easy to fool.'
The wooden carving could make Hinata happy, but the system seems to have noticed Naruto's attempt of cheating points.
The system made a fair judgment on Naruto's attempt to take advantage of the loophole. Although the cheap attempt at befriending Hinata was succesful, they were not what the system wanted.
'It seems I need to be more sincere in my attempts to befriend my stalker.' Naruto muttered in his heart.
At this time, Hinata was still very shy, but she's even more reserved than in the anime. She wore a tracksuit and had short hair about the same length as rock lees hair. she really was the definition of the ugly duckling becoming a swan. while Naruto was not interested in adult Hinata, he had to admit she was what one would consider beautiful.
To be honest, Naruto couldn't understand why any girl would like him, 'What did Hinata see the old Naruto?'
The Graduation Exam was held in a separate classroom. Before that, the students taking the exam would be gathered in a large classroom and wait for their names to be called.
"The exam is about to begin!"
Iruka's stern voice rang out, followed by the electronic bell of the Academy.
The exam time was short, with one of the Three Basic Techniques chosen for the content. Naruto's class was scheduled for the first session, and after ten minutes, a few students had already completed their exams.
Not many people can receive the forehead protector. It's roughly a third of them. And this is just the Graduation Exam. After all, if they want to become a real Genin, they have to pass the test of the Jonin Instructor as well.
"Haruno Sakura!"
"Present!"
Naruto caught a glimpse of a pink creature quickly running towards the adjacent classroom. He happened to be sitting by the door and could easily hear Iruka's voice.
"The Clone Technique."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!"
"Very good, excellent score."
Sakura's excited voice could be heard, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
"Clone Technique, huh?" Naruto muttered, thinking back to his own practice and finding it not too difficult.
The passing standard was to create a clone with almost no flaws, and creating two would be considered excellent. As for the perfect score, the conditions are very harsh.
For example, Naruto recalled he had seen Sasuke created three indistinguishable clones in the Clone Technique test some time ago. So it can be seen how hard it is to get perfect score.
Sasuke was called next. Before he left the classroom, he glanced at Naruto sitting by the door. Seeing this, Naruto raised an eyebrow and smiled but didn't say anything.
"tch" the Uchiha scowled and made his way towards where Iruka's voice came from.
'Honestly why did he even look over at me if all he was going to do was scowl'
Naruto knew that the only person to consistently provoke a reaction from the Uchiha was the Uzumaki Naruto from the anime, but he thought that would change now that he had taken control. Maybe its the influence from Indra's chakra... or he really is.... huh... looks like Naruto was more popular than he realized.
...
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
After about half an hour, Naruto's name was finally called.
To his surprise, Naruto drew the Body Replacement Technique, which is a more difficult Ninjutsu. Although it is also one of the basic Ninjutsu, it was a step above the Transformation Technique and Clone Technique in difficulty.
The main challenge lay in the speed of forming the hand seals. The assessment criteria for the Body Replacement Technique are speed and accuracy. Speed tested how fast one could form the hand seals, and accuracy tested the perfection of the technique.
If one put their heart into it, passing wasn't difficult, and with effort, it was possible to obtain excellent score.
Its weird that Mizuki let him draw anything other than the clone technique. Maybe he felt that it doesn't matter which subject Naruto draws, after all, based on his skill, he will fail.
Shikamaru and his group were blatantly listening for the results of the blond. Ino so she could have a good laugh. Shikamaru because he was a little worried for the blond troublemaker. Choji... well choji was honestly eating chips and had no idea what was going on.
The exam didn't take too long, and Iruka's voice, tinged with hesitation and a hint of surprise, could be heard.
"Perfect score."
"What did Iruka-sensei say? Perfect score?" Ino asked, looking at Shikamaru with a questioning gaze.
"Why ask me?" Shikamaru replied indifferently, "Iruka-sensei didn't call out the name."
"Uzumaki Naruto, perfect score!"