Hokage, no one knows better than me how to cultivate talent.

"Shikamaru, you didn't hold back in this exam. What rank do you think you'll get?" Choji Akimichi asked, taking a break between eating meat buns.

"Hard to say, but I should be able to make it into the top ten," Nara Shikamaru replied casually.

He had been carefully controlling his grades since entering school, and never looked at the results on the bulletin board during exams. This time, however, he suddenly took it seriously and wasn't quite sure where he would rank.

"Shikamaru, I believe you can definitely get a good ranking," Akimichi Choji said earnestly.

As a friend, he knew very well how amazing Shikamaru was. They slept together and skipped classes together, but every time others failed an exam, Shikamaru would miraculously pass.

One or two times could be considered luck, but repeated occurrences would definitely indicate a problem. So, during one of his exams, Choji Akimichi kept a close eye on things and discovered that Shikamaru had done it on purpose.

"Good morning, Ino." Choji Akimichi looked up and saw Ino Yamanaka and her group walking towards him.

"Good morning, Choji." Ino Yamanaka waved to him.

"Ino, have you had breakfast yet? I have some steamed buns here, would you like one?" Choji Akimichi asked, holding up a large bag of steamed buns.

Because of their family ties, the parents of the three families often got together, and the three of them had been close since childhood and had always had a good relationship.

"You eat it yourself. I can't eat such greasy food in the morning." Yamanaka Ino quickly shook her head and added, "Choji, you should eat less. Your belly is bigger than some adults'."

She knew that Choji Akimichi was most sensitive about the word "fat," so she used a different word.

"I think it's alright. In our Akimichi clan, I'm considered to have a very slim figure," Akimichi Choji said, swallowing another bun.

"You're hopeless. If you keep eating like this, no girl will like you in the future," Yamanaka Ino advised earnestly again, adding, "Girls these days prefer guys who are a little thinner."

She actually thought that Choji Akimichi's features were quite good. Although he was a bit chubby, if he were willing to lose weight, even if he couldn't reach Sasuke's level, he would definitely look much better than he does now.

"Being thin is fashionable now, but it might not be fashionable in a few years. A chubby handsome guy like me will definitely be popular in the future," Choji Akimichi hesitated for a moment before slowly replying.

Yamanaka Ino had an expression that said, "I'm truly impressed by you."

"Naruto, Hinata, do you want some steamed buns?" Choji Akimichi asked enthusiastically when he saw Naruto and Hinata walking towards him from the other end.

"Thanks, Choji, it's delicious." Naruto unceremoniously grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth, thanking him indistinctly as he chewed.

"Thank you, I've already eaten this morning," Hinata replied softly.

"By the way, you guys are here to check on the results too, right?" Choji Akimichi asked.

"Mmm." Naruto nodded vigorously.

He's been so bored at home these past few days, he can't wait to find out what rank he got.

"Let's go together then, we're going too." Choji Akimichi extended an invitation to team up and check the results.

"Okay," Naruto readily agreed.

When the group arrived at the bulletin board, it was already surrounded by a crowd of students, and the air was filled with the sounds of students discussing grades.

"The scores of Class 1, Grade 4 are too high! The lowest score is over 70, and the rest are either over 80 or over 90. There are even two perfect scores. Wasn't their average score usually around 60 or 70?" a student said, looking puzzled.

"It seems to be the class taught by that teacher Qiushui," a student who had been substituted by Qiushui said.

"What happened to the class he was teaching?"

"It's obvious you haven't heard him lecture before. His lectures are like magic; he can subtly implant knowledge into your brain without you even realizing it."

"This must be a lie, there's no such thing as a lecture format!"

"If you don't believe me, fine. You'll find out next time he teaches your class."

When Naruto and the others heard others praising Shusui-sensei, they couldn't help but raise their chins with pride.

After some of the people looking at the results had dispersed, they finally managed to squeeze to the front of the bulletin board and peer over.

"Fifth place, great!" Yamanaka Ino spotted her ranking immediately, and more importantly, Haruno Sakura was one point below her, ranking sixth.

Sakura Haruno's face instantly turned ugly. She hadn't expected to lose to Ino Yamanaka. What made it even more painful was that she was only one point away, just one point.

Yamanaka Ino looked at Haruno Sakura with a grin.

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?" Sakura Haruno stated her condition, "I won't do anything related to Sasuke."

"Don't worry, it's not about Sasuke," Yamanaka Ino said. "It's just that I'm going out with Shizuka and the others this Saturday and Sunday. You can work for me at the flower shop for a couple of days."

Thinking about how she could go out and have fun while Sakura couldn't go out and had to help her watch the shop, Yamanaka Ino couldn't help but laugh.

Sakura Haruno remembered that she was also going out to play this Saturday and Sunday, but she was someone who could take a loss, "No problem."

Naruto Uzumaki had developed the habit of looking at the rankings from bottom to top. His eyes quickly scanned the list, and his eyes lit up: "I'm eleventh."

This result far exceeded Qiu Shui's goal of getting into the top fifteen.

"Hinata, you're number one!" Naruto looked up and saw Hinata's name prominently listed at the top of the list. He quickly turned to her and called out.

Hinata had never been first in her class in all these years of schooling, and her grades had always hovered around the teens. When she suddenly heard this news, she felt it was all a bit unreal. She had originally thought that she would be satisfied with just being able to achieve the goal set by Akisui-sensei.

"Hinata, you're amazing! You really make us girls proud." In a great mood, Yamanaka Ino walked up to her and affectionately put her arm around her shoulder. "This is the first time a girl in our class has gotten first place. How did you do it?"

"Well... it just took a little longer than usual..." Hinata wasn't used to her enthusiastic manner, her cheeks flushed slightly as she spoke softly.

"Shikamaru, you're second," Akimichi Choji said, turning to Shikamaru after first noticing that he was ranked thirteenth.

Shikamaru didn't respond, but he felt a little regretful. He had scored too high this time, and if he suddenly dropped back to 60, he would definitely be asked why.

Main Quest: The Path to Cultivating High-Quality Talent Naruto Uzumaki

[Task requirement: Ensure Naruto's score ranks in the top 15 in the end-of-month exam; this has already been exceeded.]

[Reward Obtained - Otsutsuki Bloodline (5%)]