"I’m home," Tōma called as he slid the door open.
"Welcome back. You’re drenched again," his mother, Fujimoto Sana, sighed warmly as she handed him a fresh towel and set of clothes. "Take a quick shower. I’ve got something to ask you afterward."
Sana had long grown used to her son returning at the same exact time every day, soaked in sweat as if he’d sprinted through a summer storm.
"Got it," Tōma said, heading straight for the bathroom.
A few minutes later he stepped out, toweling his short hair dry. Sana’s eyes glimmered.When he wasn’t sweaty and disheveled, her son’s features sharpened in a way she rarely noticed. He’d grow into a handsome young man someday—much better-looking than his father ever was.
"What did you want to talk about?" Tōma asked. Sana had said she wanted to ask something, yet now just stood there smiling.
"Your midterm evaluation," she answered. "How did it go?"
"Oh, that. Should be fine," he said casually.
Sana didn’t press further; she assumed "fine" meant "passing."She had no idea he actually meant perfect.
The next morning, Iruka stepped into class and began distributing the graded exams.
"As expected, Fujimoto Tōma—full marks. Excellent work," he said, handing over Tōma’s sheet. Then he faced the class. "Everyone should learn from his example. Consistent effort pays off."
"Learn what, sleeping while sitting upright?" someone muttered.
Several students grumbled. Tōma’s low profile at school gave people the false impression that he was lazy. His only memorable trait was... well, dozing off in perfect posture.
Across the room, Uchiha Sasuke’s jaw clenched.He wasn’t angry at Tōma—he was furious at himself.
How did I fall behind this much? How am I supposed to catch up to my brother like this? At this rate... I won’t even earn his praise.
And to make matters worse, the pink-haired girl who barely spoke—Haruno Sakura—had somehow beaten him in overall score.
Sasuke, the heir of the Uchiha clan, losing to her?!He grit his teeth so hard his head hurt.
Ino Yamanaka peeked over as well, tilting her head.She greeted Tōma almost every day, but she’d never thought much about him. Quiet boy. Never caused trouble. Barely noticeable.
Yet now...Full marks.By a huge margin.
He wasn’t as striking as Sasuke, but he definitely wasn’t unpleasant to look at. And now he was a top student on top of that.
Her view of him shifted ever so slightly.
Then—
"Haha! Tōma, you’re amazing!" Naruto hollered the moment Tōma returned to his seat.
"Uzumaki Naruto! We are in class! Stop shouting! And Tōma’s score is his, not yours—your theory grade is at the bottom!" Iruka snapped.
Naruto scratched his head, looked down at his paper, and wilted.
Tōma glanced at his friend’s score. Naruto’s physical abilities pulled him out of dead-last territory, but once ninjutsu classes began, theory would matter far more. If he kept this pace, he’d become the infamous class dunce.
"Keep trying, Naruto. You’ll get there," Tōma said.
Naruto brightened instantly. "Yeah! I’m gonna be Hokage, after all!"
"Troublesome..." Nara Shikamaru groaned from his desk, awakened against his will. His theoretical score was intentionally only barely passing, but his physical score... well...
He shot a sideways glance at Tōma, who had unintentionally raised the grading curve high enough to nearly fail him.
"Such a drag. And now he’s popular, too," Shikamaru muttered.
When the bell rang, the inevitable happened.
The empty space around Tōma’s desk vanished under a wave of curious classmates. Questions, compliments, chatter—it all crashed into him at once.
Naruto was pushed completely out of the crowd.Shikamaru preemptively escaped the moment class ended.
"Oh wow—Tōma’s really popular now," Naruto muttered.
"No surprise there," Shikamaru yawned. "He’s smart, good-looking, and now he’s top of the year. Total hassle."
In the center of the crowd, Tōma felt his patience thinning.He had never been swarmed like this—neither in this life nor the last.
This is way too much... Should I just do what Sasuke does? Pretend none of them exist?
He opened a book and calmly read, ignoring every student around him.
A hush fell.
"Finally," Tōma thought. "They’re leaving."
He lifted his gaze—and froze.
The crowd hadn’t left.They had simply parted.
Standing in front of him was Uchiha Sasuke, eyes sharp and unreadable.Everyone leaned forward, breath held.
The genius of the Uchiha.The new genius of the year.
The collision between them drew the entire room’s attention.
And Tōma realized with quiet dread...
This was about to become extremely troublesome.