Graduation

Time flew by, slipping away unnoticed. In the blink of an eye, countless yesterdays had passed, and everyone had grown up without realizing it.

Hyuga Matsuba had finally completed his studies and graduated. The Susanoo incident had already become a matter from five years ago.

Hatake Sakumo had sent people to search countless times, yet they had never uncovered any detailed information about Uchiha Ryo.

Everything made sense. The organization Uchiha Ryo had joined was Root. There, no ninja records were kept; the moment one entered, everything was wiped clean.

The Uchiha Clan would not find any trace of Uchiha Ryo either. There must once have been records, but they would certainly now show that no such person existed.

The matter dragged on, and in order to give everyone an explanation, Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately made the Uchiha Clan take the blame.

Danzo had wiped away every connection between himself and the whole matter, but Hyuga Matsuba did not know about it. Even if he had heard, he would not have found it surprising.

The ambiguous little stories between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō were far too numerous to tell. No matter what happened, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never blame Danzo.

But after this incident, Danzo restrained himself considerably and no longer kept his eyes on Hyuga Matsuba.

Even if Danzo came looking for Hyuga Matsuba now, he would not be afraid.

Things were different now. If Danzo came knocking, Hyuga Matsuba would make sure he paid dearly.

Objectively speaking, at his current level, he could defeat everyone in Konoha. Even Madara Uchiha would have to bow before him.

This was not merely Hyuga Matsuba being confident. It was practically arrogance. Even the Sage of Six Paths himself was beneath his notice.

Enough, enough. Bragging time was over. Still, taking on an entire village by himself would not be a problem.

He now possessed as much Chakra as a Tailed Beast, along with incredibly powerful techniques. Even if Madara Uchiha came, he might not be Hyuga Matsuba's match.

After training for so long, the speed at which his strength had improved was simply astonishing.

In terms of Chakra quality and purity, among all the Tailed Beasts, perhaps only the Nine-Tails surpassed him. Even Gyuki would lose to Hyuga Matsuba.

As for taijutsu, Hyuga Matsuba was the undisputed strongest at this point in time. That was an objective statement. He had already mastered every Tenseigan technique with great proficiency.

Moreover, when the Chakra of Hyuga Matsuba's Tenseigan circulated, it produced a blue color rather than turning green—a blue slightly deeper than ordinary Chakra.

That was something worth being happy about. Otherwise, if his whole body started glowing green, anyone looking from afar might think he was some kind of green-shelled turtle.

Otsutsuki Toneri's Tenseigan Chakra Mode was a color somewhere between blue and green, unlike Hyuga Matsuba's.

Once he activated Tenseigan Chakra Mode, Hyuga Matsuba could even become a formidable figure at the Six Paths Level. That meant he could barely count as someone at the Six Paths Level, right?

Thus, at this stage, Hyuga Matsuba saw no opponent at all. Even if the Sage of Six Paths himself appeared, he would not be afraid.

There was also a technique called Takama-ga-hara. Once used, it could render him immune to all harm, which was why he dared to be so arrogant.

But Takama-ga-hara was not an evasive technique. It nullified other people's attacks. Even if Otsutsuki Kaguya used her most powerful move against him, Hyuga Matsuba would emerge unscathed. It was that absurdly powerful.

With a technique upgraded to such a level, its consumption naturally increased as well. With his current amount of Chakra, he could not maintain that monstrous state for very long.

Hyuga Matsuba felt that he was already invincible beneath the heavens. How lonely invincibility was.

In truth, if he really encountered an opponent at the Six Paths Level, Hyuga Matsuba still would not necessarily win. His techniques were impressive, but he still fell short in other areas. For instance, he still could not use Ryujin Jakka.

As time passed, Hyuga Matsuba also entered the Lottery several times. But it seemed that all his luck had been spent on Ryujin Jakka. The best thing he had drawn in recent years was only a bottle of Evolution Fluid; the rest were not worth mentioning.

Still, he was very happy, because the Evolution Fluid was quite useful. He could give it to Mikoto and help her through her ordeal.

If he bought it from the Shop, it was priced at four hundred thousand. He would have to save up for a long time to afford it.

His birthday was coming soon, which meant he would gain another Lottery chance. Maybe his luck would improve this time.

It was not only Hyuga Matsuba who had changed. The two girls had also made considerable progress.

Mikoto's Sharingan had already evolved into the Three Tomoe form, putting her strength at the Jonin level. Kushina was the same, and in certain respects, she was even stronger than Mikoto.

These three children were surely the strongest children in the world now. With strength like theirs, they had nothing to do at school every day. What the school taught was of little use to them anymore.

The three of them were finally about to graduate. Today was their final exam, and the true beginning of their path as ninja. If they passed smoothly, the students could officially become ninja and fulfill their dreams.

Students who failed could only choose to repeat their studies. Of course, they could also give up on becoming ninja and do something else.

The three entered the examination room together, where the teacher had already been waiting for quite some time.

After briefly greeting the teacher, everyone returned to their seats.

The teacher fell silent as well, his expression solemn. No one in the entire classroom spoke.

The whole class gradually arrived, and the teacher cleared his throat.

"Time passes so quickly. We have known each other for five years now. Though one may see a friend off for a thousand miles, parting must come in the end. I used to call you little brats and troublemakers, but now, my heart is filled with reluctance to part with you." Tears had already welled up in the teacher's eyes.

"Heh, an old man like you, crying and sniffling. Where are you going to put that old face?" Nawaki curled his lip.

"You little brat, what are you muttering down there? Which of your dog eyes saw me crying? Get out of here as soon as you're done!" The teacher was embarrassed and angry.

"Teacher, we love you too. We will think of you often." Yamanaka Inoichi smiled and spoke the words in all the students' hearts.

The teacher said nothing more, and neither did anyone else. Someone who did not know better might have thought they were playing a game of statues. The room remained silent.

"As a teacher, I don't want any of you students to pass this exam." Ueno Juri's voice trembled.

Not long ago, two countries had begun a war, and the surrounding nations also wanted to take advantage of the situation. Yet the war had never erupted on a large scale, as everyone remained cautious.

So graduation was not necessarily good news. Perhaps after graduating, some of them would head to the battlefield and die for their country.

Although the teacher had never witnessed the brutal scenes of the battlefield firsthand, he had lived through a Ninja World War. The circumstances back then had been cruel enough.

That had been during his childhood. He had watched hero after hero return, while the village itself became devastated and ruined. Many people had lost their homes and families because of it.

As a teacher, he did not want these children to understand the cruelty of the world.

"Even though I don't want to part with you either, how can you treat us like this?" Nawaki was a little angry.

"Uh, I suppose I went a little too far. You all need to do your best on this exam." The teacher rubbed his nose.