The Dust Settles

In the afternoon, the entire graduating class was incredibly lively, and even students from other grades came to the area where the graduating class was located to watch their combat matches.

Because there were too many classes, although the Training Ground for many classes were relatively close together, there were still a few classes that were quite far apart, making it difficult for Yichen and Ikura to keep track of everything. So the two approached the teacher and suggested that the practical training sessions for each class be arranged in nearby locations.

Due to time constraints, multiple matches were taking place simultaneously in several venues.

So dozens of graduating classes, totaling over a thousand students, gathered around several nearby Training Ground. Surrounding these graduating students were even more students from other grades watching. Perhaps the teachers wanted to motivate the students in this way, so no one stopped them.

The three adjacent Training Ground, with dozens of battles at a time, soon began under the arrangement of the instructors.

To effectively showcase the students' abilities, the teachers arranged for them to face opponents from other classes with similar rankings. Each student was given two matches, allowing Yichen and Ikura to clearly observe each individual's combat skills.

Yichen and Ikura had transformed into two lower-grade students. They sat on a tree, overlooking the battle not far away. There were quite a few people like them watching the spectacle from the sidelines, so their actions didn't seem out of place.

Unlike in the morning, the two now had an additional thick stack of answer sheets in addition to everyone's materials—the answers the students had written during the morning's theory class.

Yichen had already reviewed Ogura Saki's answer sheet, and the results satisfied Yichen greatly. The little girl had found several possible methods to Wind Release: Breakthrough her physical limits, including Chakra Fusion.

Furthermore, Ogura Saki has already begun working towards this goal. While Yichen unintentionally prepared for Chakra Fusion later on by developing Water Release Ninjutsu, Ogura Saki is clearly working towards this objective.

From Ogura Saki's answer sheet, Yichen knew that she had originally tried to Wind Release: Breakthrough her limits through excessive physical training, but failed. She concluded that this path might be feasible, but it was not suitable for her, because those who could take this path also needed talent.

This surprised Yichen. Having read the original work, Yichen knew that only the three thick-browed men of Konoha had truly succeeded on this path. This path indeed required talent; it wasn't something that could be achieved simply through strong willpower. The ability to withstand constant training that Wind Release: Breakthrough one's limits was itself a talent.

Therefore, Yichen's second spot was decided.

The matches between the Ninja Academy students are actually not very interesting, because at this stage, most students do not know C-rank Ninjutsu, and even the Three Basic Jutsu are basically unusable in actual combat.

Therefore, everyone uses Taijutsu in battle. At this stage, students who are good at swordsmanship or have a better physique will have a significant advantage.

However, neither Yichen nor Ikura came for those two types of ninjas. This basically determined that today's competition would not be one where the stronger the ninja, the more attention they would receive.

In the morning, Yichen and Ikura spent a lot of time with the Regular Class. In addition, when reviewing the papers at noon, the Regular Class' papers made up the majority, so Yichen and Yi Cang spent far less time paying attention to the Advanced Class than with the Regular Class. However, in the afternoon's practical class, Yichen and Ikura focused their attention mainly on the Advanced Class.

The students in the Regular Class were simply too poor. After only one or two rounds, Yichen and his friends knew what would happen next.

Although the students in the Advanced Class are still young, their skills and basic abilities far surpass those of the Regular Class during combat.

Yichen only paid a little attention to the performances of Matsutani Shinya, Ogura Saki, and Nakada Tatsunori, whom he and Ikura valued; there were basically no outstanding individuals among the other students in the Regular Class.

Even among the three, only Ogura Saki's hidden weapons were somewhat skillful; the other two performed the same as the others, failing to arouse Yichen and the others' interest.

However, among the Advanced Class, there were quite a few who caught Yichen and Ikura's eye. For example, a student named Haraguchi Hampei, whom Ikura had selected from the materials last night, seemed to have very experienced combat skills. His fighting style was indeed the same as what Ikura had imagined, and it was quite compatible with him.

And so, Ikura secured the second spot.

Of the remaining students, Ikura didn't find anyone he liked. Although many students in the Advanced Class had shown promise, Ikura said none of them appealed to him. In the end, Ikura chose the student who wasn't good at fighting but had a talent for Sealing Jutsu: Shimoyama Tamaki.

On the contrary, Yichen, although he did not find a student who was a good fit for him, took a liking to an agile student.

This student not only lacked the talent for Water Release, but his talent for Ninjutsu was also average. However, he displayed extraordinary speed, and in both battles, he relied on his superior speed to hold his own against his opponents.

This person's Takuya, a student in the Advanced Class. His grades are average, but he is severely unbalanced in his Advanced Class. His Ninjutsu talent is ridiculously poor for a student in the Advanced Class. He hasn't even mastered all Three Basic Jutsu. His only strength is speed.

With this, Yichen's new batch of disciples has been selected. The three disciples are: Matsutani Shinya, male, whose father is Chunin and mother is a commoner; Ogura Saki, female, whose father is Genin and mother is a commoner; Takuya, male, whose parents are both commoners.

Matsutani Shinya made the decision last night, while Ogura Saki and Takuya were selected today, and the other people that Yichen originally had his eye on were not selected.

Ikura chose three disciples: Nakada Tatsunori, male, skilled in Earth Release; Haraguchi Hampei, male, with outstanding Ninjutsu talent, similar to Ikura himself; and Shimoyama Tamaki, female, with Sealing Jutsu talent.

Another person of the same type as Haraguchi Hampei, whom Ikura originally selected, was not chosen because of their poor performance. In the end, only Shimoyama Tamaki Ikura included because there was really no one else to choose from.

After selecting his disciples, Yichen did not leave immediately. Instead, under Ikura's astonished gaze, he used the Light-Weight Rock Technique and the Camouflage Jutsu to walk back and forth across the Training Ground several times.

Unfortunately, there was no second Tomoko this time, and no one discovered Yichen's existence.

Yichen returned to Ikura's side with some regret, and then said to him, "Let's go back."

Ikura nodded, and after a while, Ikura said, "This year's graduates still have some time before graduation. Do you think it would be alright if we selected a few of them to graduate early?"

Yichen was taken aback. Graduate early? That wasn't impossible. After all, they had already learned everything they needed to learn, and graduating early would allow them to enter the cultivation plan he had arranged.

But graduating early might be too conspicuous. After thinking about it, Yichen didn't care anymore. Anyway, they had already made a show of it once when selecting people.

The next day, the six people selected by Yichen and Ikura participated in the graduation assessment ahead of schedule at the teacher's request.

Six spots are available: three for the Advanced Class: Haraguchi Hampei, Shimoyama Tamaki, and Takuya; and three for the Regular Class: Nakada Tatsunori, Ogura Saki, and Matsutani Shinya.

Of the six, only Haraguchi Hampei, who was chosen by Ikura, was recognized as a genius by everyone. The others were not considered by everyone before the teacher announced the results.

Although Yichen had a precedent, and students from Regular Class had a chance to be selected, no one expected that Regular Class would account for half of the spots this time. Moreover, for Yichen, students from Regular Class made up two-thirds of the total.

To everyone's astonishment once again, Matsutani Shinya, a student who lacked any ambition and had been giving up, was actually chosen by Yichen.

When the teacher announced the results, Matsutani Shinya and Nakada Tatsunori, who were in the same class, looked at each other in disbelief. However, Nakada Tatsunori was excited, while Matsutani Shinya was completely dumbfounded.

Of the six, Takuya and Shimoyama Tamaki were equally surprised.

Shimoyama Tamaki was surprised because, although she had been chosen, it was Ikura who had chosen her instead of Yichen. As Sealing Jutsu enthusiast, she was aware of Yichen's contributions to the village's Barrier Team and knew that Yichen was the village's top Sealing Jutsu master.

Surprisingly, it was Ikura who chose to take her as his apprentice. I had never heard of Lord Ikura's achievements in Sealing Jutsu. This made her both excited and puzzled.

Takuya's thoughts were completely different; he was nothing but excited. Born into a commoner family, his cultivation relied entirely on talent, but he didn't know how to utilize that talent. More than anyone else, he longed for a mentor.

Ogura Saki felt differently from the others; the little girl was more excited because her teacher had told her about Yichen's special attention to her after school the day before.

So Ogura Saki's biggest feeling at this moment is that her efforts have finally been recognized by others, and she finally has the opportunity to change her fate and Wind Release: Breakthrough her own limits.

Among the group, the most composed on the surface was Haraguchi Hampei. Haraguchi Hampei was one of the top students in this year's graduating class, so everyone thought it was normal for him to be selected.

Although he probably won't be the top student this year, he still stands out from the other five.

In truth, Haraguchi Hampei also breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Yichen usually didn't choose disciples based on their overall strength, but rather on whether they were a good fit for them.

So my chances of being selected are actually about the same as everyone else's.

Most of those selected were very excited, while those who weren't selected were extremely disappointed. Although Yichen hadn't witnessed this, he could guess what was going on.

However, there was one thing that Yichen hadn't expected.

After Yichen and Ikura finished selecting their disciples, five or six Jonin to visit Yichen one after another. They all inquired about Yichen's method of selecting disciples and his guidance plan after accepting them.

Yichen realized that they also wanted to take on apprentices. Then Yichen patiently helped them come up with ideas. Fortunately, the previous information was still in Yichen's hands, and Yichen helped them conduct a detailed analysis.

The Ninja Academy was in an uproar afterward, as eight more Jonin, following Yichen and Ikura, expressed their desire to select disciples.

Each Jonin three disciples, totaling 24 spots, which sparked a frenzy at the Ninja Academy.

However, these things are no longer relevant to Yichen. Today, Yichen and Ikura are going to meet with their respective disciples.