Feasibility Report on Instant-Killing Taijutsu Ninjas (Part 2)

This battle could still be called an instant kill.

"Aizawa-sensei..."

"Ah, right!"

Only after Hagoromo's reminder did Aizawa Chunin snap out of it. He quickly entered the training ground, and after checking him over, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Might Guy had merely lost consciousness; his life was not in danger.

Hagoromo had held back in that final strike. He could not possibly be ruthless toward his companions.

"Hagoromo-kun, I don't know when you mastered such a powerful Lightning Release, but I have to remind you that this kind of technique isn't meant to be used on comrades." Aizawa Ayumu first called for the Medical Team, then warned Hagoromo.

"I understand, Aizawa-sensei." Hagoromo humbly accepted the lesson. This was his first time displaying his strength, so it had been difficult not to overdo it. Otherwise, Guy would not have passed out.

The Medical Team came over again and carried Might Guy away.

"Graduation Exam, second round, first match. The winner is Kamishiro Hagoromo!" Aizawa-sensei announced.

When Hagoromo returned to the other students, everyone instinctively kept their distance from him.

He could only smile bitterly to himself. It seemed he had been too heavy-handed today. He had knocked out two opponents in a row. Kurenai was one thing, but Might Guy in particular had looked too miserable to bear watching, and his injuries likely would not heal anytime soon.

"Hagoromo, weren't you way too hard on Guy?!"

The moment Hagoromo returned, Obito rushed over. As expected of one half of the Dead Last Duo—even though he himself had been beaten black and blue, Obito immediately stood up for Guy.

"Let's go check on Guy first."

Rin was already standing beside Guy as Medical Ninja treated his wounds.

"Guy looks awful, but his injuries aren't actually serious. They're all external injuries, and he'll recover after resting for a few days," Rin said. She had already received formal training as a Medical Ninja, so she could assess Guy's condition.

"It's all Hagoromo's fault. He hit way too hard," Obito repeated.

"Sorry. I didn't hold back enough on the final blow," Hagoromo quickly said. He had indeed been somewhat careless, focused only on fighting Guy with his true strength without considering how much the other boy could take.

"But going all out is how you respect an opponent. Do I need to hold back when I fight you, Obito?" Hagoromo countered. Looking at the matter objectively, he did feel sorry for injuring Guy, but his actions themselves could not really be considered wrong.

"I..."

What Hagoromo said was easy enough to understand. After all, no one wanted their opponent to treat them halfheartedly.

"I can take you down with thirty percent of my real strength," or "I'll go all out from here on." Which one would you rather hear?

Obito could understand that too.

"When will Guy wake up?"

"He's fine. He'll regain consciousness within an hour. Still, it's rare to see someone beat their opponent this badly in a Graduation Exam," said one of the Medical Ninja treating Guy's injuries.

"..." Hagoromo felt even more awkward.

After the second round ended, thanks to Hagoromo and Guy taking each other out, the four-person group was left with only Hagoromo and Rin. By then, the two of them had already made it into the top eight of the class.

Then, in the third match of the third round, Hagoromo faced Nohara Rin again after fighting Might Guy.

"Don't forget what you just said. Going all out is how you respect your opponent."

Rin said this to Hagoromo in the training ground.

This was what they called Instant Karma. Over there, Uchiha Obito was Glaring Like a Tiger at him. If Hagoromo hit as hard as he had in the previous round, Dead Last-kun would surely charge right over.

So Hagoromo decisively raised his hand and said to the chunin instructor, "Teacher Shimokawa, I used up all my Chakra fighting Might Guy, so I forfeit this round."

"You..." Aizawa-sensei had been about to reprimand Hagoromo, but then he felt that Hagoromo might actually be telling the truth this time. During his fight with Might Guy, Hagoromo had used a powerful Lightning Release. Ninja capable of Chakra nature transformation at his age were exceedingly rare. Perhaps that Lightning Release really had drained all of Hagoromo's Chakra.

"Understood." He nodded at Hagoromo, accepting his choice to forfeit, then announced loudly, "Graduation Exam, third round. Kamishiro Hagoromo forfeits. Nohara Rin wins by default!"

In truth, Hagoromo was certain that his performance in the previous two matches was already enough for him to graduate, so there was no need to fight Rin. Ignoring Rin's stare, he quickly left the training ground.

Had his Chakra been depleted? Of course not. He still had plenty of Chakra left. Since he had no basis for comparison, Hagoromo could not determine exactly where his Chakra reserves stood, but judging by his physical condition and spiritual energy, they could not be too poor.

And that was indeed the case. Hagoromo's Chakra reserves were excellent among those his age, though only excellent. They could not compare to the extraordinary gifts of the Senju or Uzumaki clans.

However, he had another Chakra-related advantage: precise Chakra control. Normally, some Chakra was wasted when using ninjutsu, but Hagoromo was different. With his precise control, compared to an ordinary ninja using the same ninjutsu, he could save 30% to 60% of his Chakra.

Compared to A-rank skills or S-rank talents, this bug-like brain was Hagoromo's true foundation for surviving in the Naruto World.

In the fourth round of the Graduation Exam, Nohara Rin's good fortune finally ran out, and she was defeated in the following battle.

Hagoromo's prediction had not been wrong. The pass rate for this practical assessment among First Class students was high. Even Uchiha Obito graduated successfully, let alone Kamishiro Hagoromo.

That meant they had all graduated, and it also meant that the real war had arrived. Before long, they would be heading to the battlefield.

Unlike the way classes were formed during peacetime, wartime combat squads would not be made up entirely of rookies. Ninja Academy graduates would instead be assigned to other teams that were short on personnel.

Thus, among the assigned combat groups, some had two people, some had one, but there were almost no three-person groups.

For example, Rin and Obito were assigned together, which meant they would be added to a two-man squad. Hagoromo and Guy, meanwhile, were each assigned alone, meaning they would separately be added to three-man squads.

However, Hagoromo had miscalculated. Nearly all the newly graduated students would head to the battlefield, but he was not included in that "nearly." He was neither assigned to any frontline squad nor sent to war. He had to stay obediently in Konoha.