One Punch

The classroom was empty.

No one was around.

Only the rustling sound of Haruno Sakura writing could be heard. Iruka and Mizuki sat in front, watching Sakura diligently write.

Sakura answered the questions without a hint of hesitation. She scanned through all of them before starting to write, with no pauses or delays throughout the entire process.

Iruka watched Haruno Sakura quickly finish her test, his expression calm, showing no surprise.

He had observed Sakura's every move these past few days. Coupled with her already excellent grades, academics were something Sakura could easily master.

"I'm done, Teacher Iruka."

Fifty minutes passed. Haruno Sakura put down her pencil, looking at her completed test paper with satisfaction.

"Good. This afternoon, there will be a physical fitness test and practical combat training. Remember not to eat too much."

Whoosh!

Ten rings.

Whoosh!

Ten rings!

Iruka recorded Sakura's shuriken test results while sighing as he watched the girl throwing shuriken not far away.

Becoming a ninja wasn't as wonderful as people imagined.

Even a child, as soon as they wore the forehead protector, their hands would be stained with blood. If their own blood wasn't stained, then their blood would stain others' hands.

Plink~

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office, smoking a cigarette and watching the young girl undergoing the promotion exam.

His thoughts differed from Iruka's. Konoha needed fresh blood now, just like during the previous Ninja Wars. The younger generation needed a sufficiently dazzling figure to stand in everyone's sight.

Having experienced the Third Great Ninja War and the Nine-Tails' attack, Konoha was showing a gap in talent.

Right now, only he, an old man, was barely holding Konoha together...

He wanted to cultivate someone capable of carrying the burden for Konoha before he retired.

"Shuriken throw, perfect score."

Iruka put down the score sheet he was holding. Honestly, this level of shuriken accuracy was sufficient even for the graduation exams.

"Next, the cross-country obstacle course."

"Perfect score."

"Next, the 500-meter sprint."

"Perfect score."

"Next, the 10-kilometer endurance run."

"Perfect score."

Huff~

Haruno Sakura panted lightly, standing on the training ground and looking at her opponent.

The opponent had black hair, a bandage wrapped around their forehead, pure white eyes, and a calm expression.

Neji Hyuga.

The genius of the Hyuga clan.

Was the difficulty of the first-year promotion this high?

"Form the hand seals for confrontation."

As Iruka commanded, Haruno Sakura and Neji Hyuga placed their respective fingers in front of their chests.

Thus, the hand seals for confrontation were completed.

"You're already tired, you can't possibly be my opponent."

Neji Hyuga looked at the opponent in front of him and spoke calmly.

Honestly, when Iruka approached him, he was a bit bewildered.

A first-year ninja academy student wanted to advance to the second year early?

Why would they look for him for that?

Couldn't they just find any second-year student?

Was finding him to be the opponent for this first-year student a sign of looking down on him, or did they not want the first-year student to advance at all?

But Iruka offered no further explanation, merely instructing him to defeat the first-year student.

"Who can say for sure if someone is your opponent or not?"

Sakura pulled a red hair tie from her pocket, tied back her slightly long pink hair, and then looked intently at Neji Hyuga.

She signaled for him to make the first move.

Letting her make the first move?

Did this brat look down on him?

Neji Hyuga felt a surge of shame and indignation. Since when did a junior from the first year become so arrogant?

Neji Hyuga attacked.

Neji Hyuga was down.

His pure white eyes gazed at the clear blue sky, and he could hardly believe what had just happened.

He had charged forward, attempting to use the Byakugan to unleash a pressure point attack on the seemingly frail young girl before him. Who knew that she dodged the first strike and then landed a punch on his chest?

And then there was no "then."

He was sent flying straight out with a single punch.

Was this the strength a six-year-old girl should possess?

Thankfully, thankfully, she didn't cripple him with that punch...

Sakura looked at her fist with lingering fear. To show respect for the genius of the Hyuga clan, she had used her superhuman strength.

Who knew this guy couldn't take a hit and was sent flying with just one punch? If she hadn't held back at the end, who knew if he wouldn't have been crippled?

Silence fell over the arena; no one could believe that the genius of the Hyuga clan had been defeated so easily with a single punch.

Hiruzen Sarutobi in the teachers' office rubbed his eyes. What had he just seen?

He seemed to see the shadow of his own disciple in that little girl.

It was exactly the same...

She was practically a miniature Tsunade, which reminded the sixty-three-year-old man of the Tsunade who used to love climbing walls everywhere.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura!"

As Iruka announced the match result, Haruno Sakura walked up to Neji Hyuga and extended her hand.

"Thank you for going easy on me, senpai."

Looking at the smiling Haruno Sakura before him, Neji Hyuga silently offered his palm.

Pulling Neji Hyuga up with a firm grip, Haruno Sakura happily walked over to Iruka, looking at him expectantly:

"Iruka-sensei, does this mean I've passed?"

"Your physical fitness and combat skills have been assessed, but for academics, we'll have to wait until tomorrow for the results."

Iruka helplessly patted Sakura's head, looking at the eager little girl before him, and sighed inwardly.

I'm truly powerless, Hokage...

Spring turned to autumn, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed since Haruno Sakura's exam to jump from the first year to the second.

Haruno Sakura was now seven years old, and her academic progress had reached the fourth grade.

However, even so, she was still kept in her original class by Iruka.

It could be said that from the second year onwards, her studies were all self-taught. Except for a few questions she didn't understand, which she would ask Iruka, she basically studied alone.

And with Haruno Sakura hiding nothing, her reputation as a genius slowly spread.

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!"

As Iruka announced the result of the match, the little girls surrounding the combat arena all cheered.

"Sasuke is so cool!"

"Lord Sasuke is invincible!"

"Look at me, Sasuke!!"

The blond kid, defeated by Sasuke, looked at the black-haired boy before him with unconcealed dissatisfaction:

"You just wait! I'll defeat you someday!"

Uchiha Sasuke ignored the defeated Uzumaki Naruto and the adoring fans cheering for him. Instead, he cast his gaze towards the classroom.

He knew there was a girl inside who was quietly reading a book.

She no longer participated in these practical combat exercises because no one was her opponent. You could only see her during physical training