Assessment (Please Bookmark)

Uchiha Kiyoshi's chakra reserves allowed him to practice even the least chakra-consuming Transformation Technique only six times.

This troubled Uchiha Kiyoshi as well. Chakra reserves really did limit too many things.

After six attempts, Uchiha Kiyoshi could barely control his transformed appearance, though the details were still somewhat blurry.

Still, Uchiha Kiyoshi was not discouraged. It was not like he could not learn it; what he lacked was merely proficiency. As long as he kept at it, he would eventually be able to master it perfectly.

Unable to practice the Three Basic Techniques any longer, Uchiha Kiyoshi took out Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu and began reading.

With the medical foundation from his previous life, combined with several years of prior study, Uchiha Kiyoshi already had a certain understanding of Medical Ninjutsu.

Now, he merely had to wait for his chakra reserves to increase before he could begin practicing.

As for chakra control, Uchiha Kiyoshi had not paid attention to that aspect since extracting chakra. However, according to the book's introduction, his chakra control might truly be insufficient.

But with so little chakra, he could not carry out training like Tree Climbing and Water Walking.

Such training consumed a great deal of chakra. A single session would use up half of his chakra.

That was why Uchiha Kiyoshi had never practiced it. Though he had some other ideas, there was still no way around the issue of chakra.

Uchiha Kiyoshi was truly being constrained by his chakra now and could only hope that it would increase soon.

He also needed to find a way to control Physical Energy as soon as possible. If he could successfully nourish his body, perhaps his physical condition would improve considerably. That might accelerate the growth of his chakra as well, right?

After borrowing the book, Uchiha Kiyoshi no longer needed to visit the Archives every day. Once he had exhausted his chakra, he began studying the contents of Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu.

The next day, Uchiha Kiyoshi got up early. He remembered that there was an exam today.

After making himself breakfast and setting aside lunch in a bento, Uchiha Kiyoshi finished eating and headed to the Ninja Academy with it.

Did I forget something yesterday? Right, Nawaki. Sitting beside me should draw the Third Hokage's attention. No matter how special he is, an Uchiha interacting with the young master of the Senju Clan is bound to attract notice. Even if I did not initiate it.

Fortunately, he had not done anything unusual yesterday. It seemed that he would have to research certain things in secret from now on, or at least not directly in the yard.

Research that did not require a location, or was purely theoretical, should be done indoors whenever possible. That way, even if someone was watching him, they would not know what he was doing.

It would be best to have an excuse too. Hmm! Reading was a pretty good reason.

Uchiha Kiyoshi had planned out how he would conceal things in the future.

It was that simple. Only by doing this could he hide things under the eyes of other ninjas. Otherwise, going too far would alert others.

The Uchiha Clan lived in the bustling center of the village, so Uchiha Kiyoshi's home was not far from the Ninja Academy. He arrived after walking for around twenty minutes.

After entering the classroom, Uchiha Kiyoshi sat at his desk and considered the exam.

So, how much should I reveal during this exam?

Uchiha Kiyoshi thought of another troublesome issue.

After careful consideration, Uchiha Kiyoshi decided that he would reveal what he ought to reveal during theory classes. Of course, he still needed to make some careless mistakes, losing a few points each time to give people the impression that he was rather absentminded.

Once practical classes began in the future, he would continue maintaining his persona and specialize in defensive tactics. If he learned Medical Ninjutsu by then, he would incorporate it into his tactical system as well.

Hmm... I'm tough, and I can heal myself too. How about that? Despair, why don't you?

Nawaki arrived rather late today, and judging from his face, he had probably been beaten up.

How could Uchiha Kiyoshi tell from his face?

Just look at his eye—it was still swollen! There was a bruise on his nose too, not to mention the way he walked.

Of course, with someone's treatment, his injuries had definitely been stabilized. The pain might still linger, and the external signs had been left behind as well.

Uchiha Kiyoshi did not know why Nawaki had been beaten, but he could guess that Tsunade had done it. It was best not to get involved.

Although they shared the same profession, he was still from the Uchiha Clan. Tsunade definitely had some opinions about him. Besides, had he not heard that colleagues were natural rivals?

Uchiha Kiyoshi did not ask, and Nawaki did not say anything. It would be embarrassing if he brought it up himself, and he knew that much.

Whether he was trying to change the subject or had genuinely remembered it, Nawaki looked worried as he asked Uchiha Kiyoshi.

"What if I mess up today's exam? I will not get expelled if I fail, right?"

Nawaki seemed to have thought of the punishment he would face for doing poorly. His face had gone pale.

Uchiha Kiyoshi casually reassured him, "Not that bad. This is only to assess everyone's current level. A poor score does not matter much. Just do not mess up after you have formally learned the material."

Before long, Uemura Naoki entered the classroom, announced the exam rules, and then the test began.

Other than the final question, none of the paper was particularly difficult. Uchiha Kiyoshi finished quickly, handed in his paper early, and left.

Uchiha Kiyoshi took his book outside and sat down to read.

But to Nawaki, Uchiha Kiyoshi's actions were no different from a bolt from the blue.

"I'm not even halfway done, and you already handed yours in? Are we even taking the same test? And as my deskmate, shouldn't you at least let me copy a little?

"I just had not decided whether to copy yours yet, and you did not even give me the chance?"

Nawaki was practically going mad.

At that moment, he finally understood why Uchiha Kiyoshi had called this the best seat.

The guy already knew everything, so naturally he would slack off during class. A seat where the teacher would not notice was obviously ideal, and sitting here would not affect the teacher either.

Nawaki was on the verge of tears. He had thought Uchiha Kiyoshi simply did not want to study properly!

But it turned out that he was actually a top student? So I was the only terrible student here?

Nawaki did not stop to think that Uchiha Kiyoshi was always reading whenever he had free time. How could his grades possibly be bad?

Naturally, Uchiha Kiyoshi had no idea what Nawaki was thinking.

At the moment, Uchiha Kiyoshi was intently studying Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu.

However, Uchiha Kiyoshi felt uncomfortable reading the same book all the time. It would be better to alternate between books, so he decided to find time to borrow Introduction to Sealing Jutsu as well.

Unfortunately, that would cost another thousand ryo—a kunai's worth.

He needed to find an opportunity to make some money, preferably without delaying his training.

Soon, the hour and a half allotted for the test was over. Uemura Naoki collected the papers, left the classroom, and returned to his office to grade them.

There were not many students in the class, so he should be able to finish grading them all and calculate the rankings within an hour.

That hour was rather irritating for Uchiha Kiyoshi.

Yes, irritating.

After returning to his seat, Nawaki kept saying that Uchiha Kiyoshi was disloyal and whatnot. Since he had not let Nawaki copy, it was apparently all his fault.

Uchiha Kiyoshi was speechless. Nawaki had not said he wanted to copy before, and cheating in the Chunin Exams was one thing—that tested the ability to gather intelligence, and the questions really were rather difficult.

But on a normal Ninja Academy exam, if Nawaki copied his answers and got caught, Tsunade would probably beat the crap out of him. Uchiha Kiyoshi likely would not have an easy time either.

Ugh! How did I end up with a deskmate like this?

Uemura Naoki was quite efficient. It had not even been an hour; after just forty minutes, he returned to the classroom and handed out the score sheets.

"This test was out of one hundred points. The highest score was Uchiha Kiyoshi's: ninety-eight points! Everyone should learn from Kiyoshi."

Nawaki was stunned. A big shot had been sitting right beside him all along?

Before, he had suspected that Uchiha Kiyoshi might not have gotten every answer right. But seeing this now, the guy was definitely a big shot!

"Kiyoshi, how did you score ninety-eight? I only got forty. And it looked like you were the only one who got the last essay question right. That's incredible, isn't it?"

Uchiha Kiyoshi calmly began showing off.

"It was nothing. I skipped one multiple-choice question and lost two points, so that made ninety-eight."

"Gasp..."

Nawaki sucked in a sharp breath.

So this was how high scores were earned!

Please bookmark!!!

School started today, so I have to take online classes. I will try to maintain regular updates and see whether I can keep up ten thousand words a day.

Hmm! How about some recommendation votes?