Kakashi's Early Graduation

After that, few of the other students could cause Shuichi any trouble in the practical combat classes.

Everyone knew Shuichi liked to defend at the start, so many of them would rush in, throw a flurry of punches and kicks, and then get knocked down.

After his match with Kakashi, Shuichi found it even easier to deal with these students, who had no real structure to their attacks. Still, Might Guy and Uchiha Obito were worth mentioning.

Of the two, Guy's physical prowess put the most pressure on Shuichi. His strength was even greater than Kakashi's.

At present, his taijutsu posed no threat at all. His moves were broad and wide-open, completely unstructured. He was simply a straightforward boy.

Although Uchiha Obito seemed to get thoroughly beaten by Kakashi and Shuichi, Shuichi could tell after a brief exchange that Obito possessed considerable talent.

And that was indeed the case. Against ordinary students, he could always rely on his physical advantages to win easily.

Sure enough, Konoha wouldn't choose someone utterly worthless. They must consider multiple criteria when assessing a person's potential. Obito comes from the Uchiha Clan—once he awakens the Sharingan, he probably won't be much worse than Kakashi.

Looking across the original work, the Konoha Ninja Academy might not have allowed every genius to show their worth, but it had certainly never mistaken a genius for trash.

Time flew by. A month later, most students had begun to grow accustomed to the practical combat assessments and were no longer as excited as they had been at the beginning.

Shuichi began training in ninjutsu himself. With the semester now halfway through, he had already mastered the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques. As long as he finished learning the theoretical material, he would meet the standards for graduation.

During the break, Shuichi and Kakashi had sparred quite often, though they usually stopped at the right point. As long as Kakashi could not quickly beat Shuichi until he was utterly unable to resist, Shuichi could always capitalize on his superior stamina.

That day, at Training Ground No. 23 in Konoha, Shuichi and his friends were playing marbles as usual. At the same time, he showed the children an acrobatic marble-spinning performance.

Just as they were all having fun, Kakashi walked over with a solemn expression.

"Shuichi, I have something to tell all of you. I plan to apply for early graduation when the next semester begins."

The cheers around them came to an abrupt stop. Shuichi's acrobatic motion paused as well, and the marble spinning through the air slowly fell to the ground.

"Kakashi, you're applying to graduate so soon? We've only been in school for a year."

"Yeah, isn't graduating now too early? Being a ninja sounds really dangerous!"

Yūhi Kurenai, Ishikawa Tatsuki, and the others found it hard to believe. Even though children from major clans began receiving clan training at a very young age, they had never heard of a student graduating before turning six.

"I've already decided. There is nothing left for me to learn at the Ninja Academy." Kakashi's expression did not change, as though he had already made up his mind.

The air fell silent for a moment before Shuichi spoke. "Since you've made your decision, all we can do is wish you well. I think you've already considered the consequences."

Recently, Shuichi had been wondering whether Kakashi would still graduate at the age of five. In the original work, Kakashi had no opponents at the Ninja Academy, so he had felt that studying there was completely meaningless.

But now, Shuichi was someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Logically, Kakashi should not have graduated this early.

Although the same was true for Shuichi now—there was nothing left for him to learn at the Ninja Academy—he still cherished this period of study.

Perhaps once the war began in the future, everyone would spend less and less time together. Many of his classmates might even die directly on the battlefield.

But on second thought, Kakashi's father was still alive. It had been the same in the original work: White Fang had still agreed to let Kakashi graduate. Perhaps his family had already made arrangements for him, unlike Shuichi, an orphan.

"What do you plan to do after graduating? Start taking missions right away?"

"Yeah. My father has already arranged it. I'll join a Genin squad directly when the time comes." Kakashi confirmed Shuichi's guess.

"All right. Since your father has already arranged everything, we won't try to stop you. He definitely knows more than we do." Thinking that Kakashi might become a Chunin as early as next year, Shuichi felt that White Fang must have made good arrangements for him.

In Konoha Year 42, as soon as the second semester began, the Ninja Academy students learned an explosive piece of news: five-year-old Hatake Kakashi would complete his graduation examination in three days.

At present, he was taking the Ninja Academy's theory tests every day. On the final day, he only needed to demonstrate basic ninjutsu such as the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques to graduate.

Once the news spread, the students had every kind of reaction imaginable. Many upperclassmen felt like trash, while some lowerclassmen marveled at the fact that someone their own age was already so amazing.

No one knew what Kakashi's future would hold, but he was certainly drawing a great deal of attention now. Even people in the village had heard the news, and the villagers all discussed it among themselves. As expected of Konoha's White Fang's son.

The final ninjutsu demonstration posed no challenge to Kakashi either. In a large classroom at the Ninja Academy, under the watchful eyes of three Ninja Teachers, Kakashi skillfully formed hand seals and cast his ninjutsu, leaving even the experienced teachers unable to find a single fault.

"Congratulations, Kakashi. From today onward, you are a Genin." Sanada Shiku handed the Konoha Forehead Protector to Kakashi and spoke with some emotion.

He did not actually approve of graduating at such a young age, but Kakashi was from a clan family, and his father was a powerhouse like Konoha's White Fang. As a Ninja Academy teacher, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

When Kakashi emerged from the school with the forehead protector in hand, many students from Shuichi's class immediately gathered around him.

Many looked at Kakashi with envy. While they were still suffering through the study of theoretical foundations, one of their classmates had already become a ninja.

"Since you've graduated, work hard! There are still many days ahead. Once we all become ninjas, we may even fight side by side." Shuichi was the first to congratulate Kakashi.

"Thanks, Shuichi. If you graduate early and don't know how to arrange things, I can talk to my father. It shouldn't be a problem to get you into a Genin squad." Kakashi knew Shuichi's ability. He could graduate early as well.

"Haha, maybe I'm not ready to become a ninja yet."

Just like in his previous life, even the hottest news would quickly fade after a few days. Not long after everyone had envied Kakashi for graduating early, they were dragged back into intense study once more.

Just as Kakashi had said, Shuichi now possessed the strength to graduate early as well. He began considering whether he should arrange some training for himself, such as Chakra control exercises like Tree Climbing and Water Walking.

Once he thought of it, he acted on it. After school that day, Shuichi went to a small forest within the village. He decided to find a short tree and begin trying.