Exam Passed! Ninja Forehead Protectors

In the blink of an eye, two more days passed.

The day of Shinki and Naruto's ninja graduation exam had arrived.

That morning, the two excited boys headed out together and entered the examination room.

First came the written exam, which posed no difficulty at all for Shinki.

Next came demonstrations of the Substitution Technique, Clone Technique, and Transformation Technique.

Shinki now stood before the Ninja Academy's examiners, performing the Transformation Technique.

This was his first major exam since coming to this world. No matter how good he had been at handling exams in his original world, he was incredibly nervous now.

The chief examiner gave the order. "You may begin."

Shinki formed Hand Seals with both hands.

Whoosh!

He transformed into the Third Hokage.

The examiners: Σ( ° △ °|||)︴

It had to be said, the resemblance was uncanny!

It included the wrinkles on his face and even the faint fluctuations of Chakra around him!

For a moment, the examiners suspected that Shinki's child form was a Transformation Technique performed by the Lord Hokage, and that the Third Hokage before them was the Lord Hokage's true appearance after releasing the technique!

"Lord Hokage, please don't tease us. Did you transform into a student to experience the exam?"

One of the examiners asked.

Shinki was utterly confused. In his own childish voice, he answered, "Huh? What are you talking about, examiner?"

The examiner who had just spoken: ∑(✘Д✘๑)

How embarrassing!

"All right, all right, you passed. Now hurry up and get out!"

Finally, all the examiners waved their hands and shooed Shinki out.

Shinki scratched his head. Though somewhat puzzled, he was still happy to have passed the exam!

At last,

after more than a day of exams,

Shinki, who had prepared extensively for the exam, passed!

And although Naruto wasn't much good at academic subjects, he passed as well.

All the successful ninja were now waiting for their teacher to hand out ninja registration forms and Forehead Protectors.

"We passed the ninja exam! Starting tomorrow, we'll both be real ninja!"

At the Ninja Academy, Naruto Uzumaki threw an arm around Shinki's shoulders and spoke excitedly.

"Yeah, but becoming Genin is only the beginning of our journey as ninja. We'll have to work even harder and be more careful from now on!" Shinki said.

As a transmigrator in this unfamiliar ninja world, he had to work hard and be careful!

"Why make it sound so serious? Let's go eat ramen together tonight to celebrate!"

Naruto waved his fist and shouted excitedly.

"Okay."

Seeing how happy Naruto was, Shinki nodded.

Not far from the two of them,

their classmates at the Ninja Academy were talking among themselves.

"Those two actually graduated?"

"Yeah, they were dead last for four or five years. Who would've thought they'd manage to scrape a pass!"

"What a disgrace to ninja. They must have slipped the examiners some money!"

"Don't put it so harshly. I heard their Ninjutsu scores weren't low at all!!"

"Huh? How do you know? Does someone in your family work at the school?"

"I happened to overhear two examiners talking about Shinki just now. Apparently, they said he was very talented..."

"He just happened to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. If that counts as talent, give me two or three years and I could figure it out too!"

A disgruntled ninja said, jutting out his chin.

Just then, Ino Yamanaka happened to pass by. She glanced at the ninja and said dismissively, "You? You're not as handsome as Shinki, and you don't work as hard as he does either. You wouldn't learn it even if you had a hundred years!"

"Ino, don't go too far!"

The ninja roared angrily.

"That's right, I'm talking about you. What about it? If you don't like it, hit me!"

Although Ino was a girl, she was no less imposing than the boys.

The male student raised his fist, but in the end, he didn't dare strike her.

The final exams were over. It would be bad if something happened now and delayed his graduation!

While the two were arguing, Iruka and the other teachers emerged from nearby, carrying a stack of documents and a large number of ninja Forehead Protectors!

When the candidates saw the teachers appear, they all fell silent at once!

"Everyone here is a graduate of this year's Ninja Academy class. We will now hand out your ninja registration forms and Forehead Protectors."

"Once you receive your ninja registration form, please sign it and submit it to the Hokage's Office tomorrow morning."

"Once registration is complete, you will all be true Konoha Genin!"

As Iruka-sensei spoke, he handed out the documents and Forehead Protectors one by one.

When he reached Shinki and Naruto, the usually composed Iruka-sensei's eyes filled with tears. "You two have grown up. Now you've become qualified ninja too."

With that, Iruka solemnly placed the ninja registration forms and two Forehead Protectors in Shinki and Naruto's hands.

Iruka said, "Keep working hard from now on."

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei! I, Naruto Uzumaki, am going to become Hokage someday!"

Naruto grinned broadly.

Shinki accepted his Forehead Protector and nodded too. "I've never stopped working hard."

In his memories, Iruka-sensei had treated him and Naruto, the two dead-last students, very well and had never given up on them.

And because both children were orphans, he had also taken care of them in many ways in their daily lives.

Iruka looked at the boys, who had grown a great deal over the past five or six years, and nodded in satisfaction. "Take your Forehead Protectors and head home for now. Once you've submitted your ninja registration forms tomorrow, you can wear your Forehead Protectors to the ninja orientation."

Shinki and Naruto nodded and left the Ninja Academy.

On the way, the excited Naruto chattered nonstop.

Shinki, meanwhile, remained deep in thought.

As they walked, the two arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.

The owner noticed the Forehead Protectors clutched in Naruto and Shinki's hands. He narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Shinki, Naruto, it looks like you two have become qualified Konoha Ninja. Let's celebrate properly, then. Today's ramen is on me!"

"All right!"

Naruto jumped up and shouted happily.

Shinki smiled. What could be better than a free meal?

So Shinki and Naruto ate more than ten bowls between them at the ramen shop.

Fortunately, Teuchi was a good man. He didn't say an extra word about it from beginning to end, and was simply happy for the two boys.

That evening, the happy Shinki and Naruto took a rare break from their arduous training. After filling out their ninja registration forms, they went to sleep.

Early the next morning, the two headed to the Hokage's Office to submit their ninja registration forms.

After completing their registration, Shinki and Naruto walked out of the office and let out long breaths.

Standing on the balcony of the Hokage's Office, the two could take in the entire view of Konoha as they looked ahead.

After days of reconstruction, the damage caused by Shinki's Deep Forest Emergence had been completely repaired.

Shinki looked at the rising sun on the horizon and said with a smile, "I never noticed how beautiful Konoha was before."

"Yeah! Even the air smells sweet after passing the exam!"

Naruto grinned from ear to ear.