Shuichi's Potential

After mooching off Kurenai's lunches for nearly three months, Shuichi was starting to feel a little embarrassed himself. He planned to think of a way during the break to see if he could find another way to make money.

The first semester's final exams arrived as scheduled, beginning with the hand seal test.

Sanada Tomohisa did not have the students take the test in front of the whole class at the podium. Considering that the children might perform poorly due to nervousness, he chose a small room in the Ninja Academy and had the students enter one by one for testing.

"Horse, Goat, Monkey, Ox, Tiger, Rooster, Rat..."

Since he was only doing it for the teacher, Shuichi went all out this time, forming the seals the teacher called out with his fastest reactions.

"Good, very good, Shuichi. Your proficiency has already reached a level that most graduates can't attain!" Sanada Tomohisa knew that Shuichi was a genius, but he was still astonished by the test results. The difference between him and the students tested before him was simply too great.

The following written exams had quite a lot of questions, but Shuichi had maintained a strong curiosity about the Naruto World throughout the semester. Interest was the best teacher, and these basic knowledge points posed no difficulty for him at all.

Even on several open-ended questions, he repeatedly considered his wording and chose the most appropriate viewpoints to write down.

Ninjas were indeed astonishingly efficient. The day after the exams, and the day before the month-long break began, Sanada Tomohisa had already compiled all the students' results.

"First place, Takeda Shuichi. Hand seal test, full marks; chakra theory, full marks; History of the Land of Fire, full marks..."

"Second place, Hatake Kakashi. Hand seal test, full marks; chakra theory, full marks; History of the Land of Fire, full marks..."

"Third place, Nohara Rin. Hand seal test, 90 points; chakra theory, full marks; History of the Land of Fire, full marks..."

"Fourth place, Nara Shikafū..."

"Fifth place, Yūhi Kurenai..."

"Sixth place, Sarutobi Asuma..."

"Thirty-fifth place, Might Guy..."

"Thirty-sixth place, Uchiha Obito..."

Seeing the last two places, Shuichi could not help feeling curious. Could the dead-last students of Konoha's Ninja Academy get some kind of buff? All he could say was that ninjas still depended on strength for now. In this war-torn era, academic prodigies could not bring their value into play.

The students from the major clans were all somewhat surprised, and quite a few gazes turned toward Shuichi.

Hatake Kakashi looked at Shuichi with disbelief in his eyes, the image of that figure from three months before enrollment surfacing in his mind.

Kakashi knew that he was already considered very diligent. Much of his understanding of basic knowledge and chakra had been personally taught to him by his father, White Fang.

Since both he and Takeda Shuichi had received full marks, it could only mean that Shuichi not only matched him in hand seal proficiency, but that the teacher also considered Shuichi's theoretical insights superior.

Not only Kakashi, but the students from all the major clans remembered the name Takeda Shuichi. This commoner student, without clan guidance, had directly surpassed White Fang's son in the first semester.

Although none of them found it completely unbelievable yet, Shuichi's appearance could be said to have already begun influencing Konoha's future.

With so many people watching him, Shuichi was not flustered in the slightest. He even grinned at some of those looking his way. As for Hatake Kakashi, he directly stuck out his tongue at him, though it was hard to say whether that expression was meant as mockery.

"..." Hatake Kakashi said nothing. He was already prepared to apologize to his father at home for failing to take first place, and to mention Shuichi as well. In the coming semesters, he was ready to work even harder.

Shuichi did not know that the young Kakashi was proud to a degree he could not understand. At that moment, he cheerfully discussed their grades with Ishikawa Tatsuki and Yūhi Kurenai, and planned to prepare some new ninja games for them to play together during the break.

"Alright, students. I know you are all looking forward to the break, but please do not forget to review what you learned this semester. See you next semester."

Quite a few students had been waiting a long time for those words from the teacher. Upon hearing them, they cheered and ran straight out of the classroom. Shuichi, Ishikawa Tatsuki, and Kurenai slowly left the Ninja Academy while chatting about their vacation plans.

"Kurenai, the games we usually play can train a ninja's basic qualities. What do you think? Want to come play with us during the break? You can bring any other friends you have along too." As for his meal ticket, Shuichi intended to keep in touch with her. He also hoped that having more people play would make the games more interesting.

"Mm... My family probably has some arrangements for me, but if I have time, I'll come find you in the afternoon."

"Alright. We're usually around Training Ground 23. See you later, then." After bidding Kurenai farewell, Shuichi headed home with Ishikawa Tatsuki.

After leaving the classroom, Sanada Tomohisa returned to his office, picked up the report he had prepared and the semester's grade sheets, then left the Ninja Academy and headed straight for the Hokage Building.

After reporting to the ninja guards at the entrance, he waited downstairs for the Hokage to receive him. Before long, one of the ninjas came over and informed him that he could go directly to the office. The Third Lord was already waiting for him.

After going up to the second floor and knocking on the door, Sanada Tomohisa heard a response from inside. He opened the door and saw the Third Hokage seated behind his desk, ready to report on the Ninja Academy's situation that semester.

"Third Lord, the final exam results for this semester are out. Please have a look."

"You've worked hard, Tomohisa. What do you think of this year's students?" The Third Hokage worked while smoking. Seeing the stacks upon stacks of documents on his desk, it was easy to imagine that postwar Konoha had no shortage of matters to handle.

"To be honest, the students in this Elite Class have the highest potential of recent years. Many students from the major clans are more outstanding than those of previous years. Here are the grade sheets and my report. Please have a look."

Sanada Tomohisa's report was extremely concise, totaling only a little over one page. The Third Hokage finished reading it at once. Then he picked up the grade sheet, looked it over, and finally asked in some surprise:

"Takeda? Is he Kenta's son? His talent and potential are this outstanding?"

"Yes. He displayed extremely high physical aptitude during the pre-enrollment test. And in the final theory exam, I even felt that he was far superior to Hatake Kakashi. He has his own unique insights into many theories, and quite a few of his answers even gave me some inspiration." Sanada Tomohisa not only selected several of Shuichi's outstanding answers from his exam paper, but also told the Third Hokage about the wisdom Shuichi displayed through his usual questions.

"Phew... What do you think this child's future will be like?" The Third Hokage took a drag of his cigarette and asked in an apparently casual manner.

"We can focus on observing him over the next two years. White Fang's son is also exceptionally talented, but compared to Takeda Shuichi, I think his personality is too arrogant. Once they begin studying chakra next year, if Shuichi continues to perform like this, I believe that in the future, he will not lose to Jonin Namikaze."

"Alright, I understand. These other children are all excellent prospects as well. I'll have to trouble you to take good care of them in the future."

"It is my duty. Third Lord, I will take my leave."

After Sanada Tomohisa left, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned an Anbu to his side and gave him a few instructions.

"Yes!" The Anbu quickly departed using the Body Flicker Technique.