They had barely walked ten steps through the school gate.
"Ahem!"
Hearing that affected cough, Katsuki's lips curled slightly. Here it came.
"Last night, my old man suddenly came to inspect us and made Otome and me spar. The result... I lost." As Otoha spoke, tears seemed to shimmer at the corners of his eyes.
"So, how many strokes did you get?"
"Twenty... You bastard, Katsuki, I didn't get caned!" Otoha roared. Watching Katsuki dart more than ten meters away, he ground his teeth in fury, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to chase after him and beat him up. That guy had actually tricked him into admitting it.
"Ahem, Otoha, hurry up. We're still at the school gate!" Minato patted Otoha's shoulder sympathetically.
This was peak time, and a whole crowd of students nearby had their eyes wide open, staring at Otoha as though they were watching a monkey show. Even though the Fire Fan Clan crest was embroidered on Otoha's clothes, there was safety in numbers. They were only standing around to watch the excitement. No matter how overbearing the Uchiha were, they could not blame them for that...
"Bastard! That bastard! I'll make him pay in PE this afternoon."
Even while seated in the classroom, Otoha kept muttering through a taut expression. He glared resentfully at Katsuki, who was sitting with Otome. Minato, meanwhile, looked enviously toward the second row, where Katsuki, Otome, and Kushina sat together.
Soon, the class bell rang. Teacher Takashima limped into the classroom, dragging his bad leg behind him. His expression was solemn, without his usual smile.
Standing at the podium, Teacher Takashima swept his gaze across the students, lingering especially on several of his favorite pupils, such as Minato and Katsuki.
It had been more than three months since Katsuki and the others had joined this class. Like Minato, Katsuki and Kushina had become Teacher Takashima's prized students through their hard work and talent.
"We will now hold the Promotion Exam. Everyone, proceed to the training grounds." Teacher Takashima spoke in a low voice, his eyes full of reluctance. He had thought he could teach Minato, Katsuki, and the others until graduation, but plans could never keep up with change.
The moment he finished speaking, an uproar broke out.
Why had a Promotion Exam suddenly appeared? Judging by the date, there should still have been some time before it.
However, Teacher Takashima gave the students no chance to ask questions. Even Ninja Academy students learned obedience first. You could sleep through class, but once a teacher gave an order, you absolutely could not disobey it.
Only in peacetime, coupled with Naruto's special status, could someone get away with skipping class so recklessly.
At least in this era, Ninja Academy rules were extremely strict. Anyone who refused to follow them had long since been expelled.
At the training grounds, it was not just Katsuki's class. Every lower-level class was lined up, and the atmosphere was exceptionally serious. No one dared make a sound. Even the dumbest person could tell that anyone who caused trouble now would not end well.
Takashima looked over the students standing in two rows and nodded slightly before saying solemnly, "We will now begin the Promotion Exam. The test is shuriken throwing. Each set contains twenty shuriken. Anyone who hits at least three-quarters of the targets will be promoted."
All the teachers gave roughly the same explanation. Baskets of shuriken had already been brought out from the equipment room and arranged neatly at the edge of the training grounds.
This abrupt test began quickly and proceeded in an orderly fashion. No one questioned it, and no one asked anything. They merely followed orders in silence.
Still, there were clever people everywhere. Thinking back to the war against the Rain Ninja that had begun over two months ago, it had already lasted two months. Konoha's ninja had successfully driven the Rain Ninja out of the Land of Fire and launched a counteroffensive into the Land of Rain.
Could this have something to do with the war?
"Tamura, nine out of twenty. Failed."
Takashima waved his hand expressionlessly. The student named Tamura pulled nine shuriken from the wooden post with a mournful face, then stepped aside for the next person.
"Next... Minato Namikaze." Takashima quietly sighed to himself as he looked at Minato, whose brilliant smile was like the sun. He lowered his hand gently, signaling for him to begin.
Naturally, there was not the slightest surprise in the result.
"Minato Namikaze, twenty hits out of twenty. Promoted."
"Uzumaki Katsuki, twenty hits out of twenty. Promoted."
"Uchiha Otome, twenty hits out of twenty. Promoted."
The assessment ended quickly. Only five people from Katsuki's class passed, but Minato, Katsuki, Kushina, Otoha, and Otome had all passed with twenty hits out of twenty.
"Alright, everyone who passed, come over here." Three chunin wearing forehead protectors and light green flak jackets stood in the middle of the training grounds. The most powerfully built among them gave a roar, his booming voice echoing through the air.
Katsuki, Minato, and the others exchanged looks, then hurried over without a word. They formed a small group before the three chunin.
Within half a minute, sixty-three people from twelve lower-level classes had passed the assessment. Looking around, Katsuki saw that more than half came from clans. There were Hyuga with Byakugan, Inuzuka with dogs, Akimichi with conspicuous builds, and so on. Other than the few like Minato, nearly everyone here had an impressive background. Even Katsuki and Kushina were surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan.
More than a dozen training grounds became empty. The teachers led the students who had failed back to their classrooms to continue the lesson.
"Alright, little brats." The leading chunin had a lion-like nose, a broad mouth, thick curling whiskers, and a vicious-looking face. He bared his teeth in a feral grin. "I know you're all full of questions. Ask whatever you want now. Once you're done, we'll begin training."
The sixty-three students were mostly six or seven years old, with the oldest only around eight.
But children in this world generally matured early, and there was no shortage of prodigies. Especially during wartime, batches of monsters were forged one after another.
"Have all the outstanding students from the lower-level classes been gathered for some mission?" A fresh-faced boy with a pineapple-shaped ponytail raised his hand.
"Smart." The burly, bearded man glanced at the pineapple-haired boy. "That's right. We've gained a huge advantage in the war with the Land of Rain, but because we're fighting deep within their territory, our supply lines have stretched out. We lack manpower to escort supplies, so the higher-ups have decided to let little brats like you experience the atmosphere of war."
Damn!
So they really were getting involved in the Second Shinobi War. Katsuki wanted to curse out loud. Sending a bunch of Ninja Academy students to the battlefield was practically serving them up on a platter. Bullying cowards like the Grass Ninja would have been one thing, but the Rain Ninja fought in a style extremely similar to the Mist Ninja. They might not be as ruthless as the Mist Ninja, but among the smaller ninja villages, their combat strength was absolutely among the best.
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