Winning over Uzumaki Kushina was no easy task.
Mediocre people did not deserve the favor of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. After gaining Uzumaki Kushina's goodwill, he would still need to display his talent and let the important figures see his value.
Otherwise, all kinds of accidents would coincidentally befall Gojo Yoru. At best, they would merely separate him from Uzumaki Kushina; at worst, he might simply disappear for good.
After all, the Nine-Tails was the strongest Tailed Beast, currently the Ninja World's most powerful strategic weapon. Konoha needed to bind Uzumaki Kushina to Konoha with the shackles of bonds, and the quality of that shackle had to be up to standard.
Namikaze Minato from the Original Work fit that standard!
However, Namikaze Minato only gained Uzumaki Kushina's favor after graduating, during the Cloud Ninja Incident.
If Gojo Yoru wanted to win over Uzumaki Kushina during his time at the Ninja Academy, then he needed to demonstrate his talent while still there.
So before Uzumaki Kushina enrolled as a "transfer student," Gojo Yoru had to possess a certain level of strength, as well as something that could amaze certain people.
Then, what year had Uzumaki Kushina entered Konoha?
Gojo Yoru did not know.
But based on information revealed in the TV anime, along with his observations from the previous semester, Gojo Yoru could make a rough deduction.
First of all, Uzumaki Kushina definitely had not transferred into the school during first or second grade.
Children of six or seven were still too short, with baby fat all over their faces. They completely did not match his impression of the young Uzumaki Kushina.
Besides, if Gojo Yoru remembered correctly, in the Original Work, some guy whom Uzumaki Kushina had beaten badly went to ask his older brother, who was already a ninja, to help him get revenge. In the end, Uzumaki Kushina defeated him as well and knocked him flat.
If they were in the same year, then the possibility of Uzumaki Kushina transferring over in third grade was also very low.
Barring surprises, it should have been after third grade. Whether it was fourth, fifth, or sixth grade, he did not know.
Before Uzumaki Kushina appeared, Gojo Yoru still had at least three years to grow.
His pen-spinning motion paused slightly. Another flash of inspiration seemed to cross Gojo Yoru's mind, and he could not help closing his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
It was not until the bell rang and the teacher entered the classroom that Gojo Yoru opened his eyes again and resumed his studies seriously.
The average adult male in his previous life had roughly thirty-six trillion cells in his body.
Children with Chakra in this world, however, possessed one hundred and thirty trillion cells.
Thus, the children in this world matured to an outrageous degree. At five or six, they already understood romance; at seven or eight, they might go to war. Even in times of peace, they saw blood by the age of twelve.
Likewise, the knowledge taught at this age was equally absurd.
There was language and history, medicine and chemistry, as well as codebreaking and more...
Those subjects had shattered Gojo Yoru's arrogance last semester, and they were also one of the reasons he had felt so much pressure.
If he had not been a transmigrator with a decent background, starting to learn ninja basics only at six would not have given him much of an advantage in this world.
Therefore, before he possessed the strength to protect himself, Gojo Yoru did not dare relax for even a moment.
Whether it was academic classes or practical combat classes, he did not want to lose to anyone. He wanted to keep winning and remain first place forever.
March 20th, Konoha Year 31, afternoon.
Thud—
A dull, heavy sound, like a sandbag taking a powerful blow, erupted across the training field assigned to First Grade Class One.
The crowd standing in a circle suddenly scattered.
A figure flew out from the middle of the circle, crashing heavily onto the ground and unable to rise again.
Seeing this, Chunin Teacher Yuya, who stood beside a man in a white coat, immediately announced, "The battle is over. The winner is Gojo Yoru."
The Medical Ninja beside him, who served as the Final Exam proctor and was also responsible for protecting the students' safety, immediately went over to examine the student's body before using Medical Ninjutsu to treat him.
Meanwhile, many of the students standing nearby still wore bewildered expressions.
"Wh-what just happened?"
"Didn't Teacher Yuya just announce the start? How did Yusuke suddenly get sent flying?"
"It was Body Flicker! Gojo's Body Flicker was so fast!"
"Yoru-kun got stronger again. In first grade, Minato-kun is probably the only one who can fight him now."
"How did this guy's body even grow? Last year, he was only half a head taller than us, and now he's a whole head taller! Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a fifth- or sixth-grade student. How are we supposed to beat someone like him? This is too unfair!"
"He's tall, fast, and strong. No wonder even the upperclassmen don't dare provoke him!"
"You can't even see him. If I get matched against Gojo in the future, I might as well surrender."
"..."
The discussions were quiet. Both boys and girls secretly sized up Gojo Yoru, who stood with his hands in his pockets, their eyes full of fear.
A head taller than them and expressionless, Gojo Yoru looked like an invincible Demon King at that moment, seemingly radiating a dark aura from head to toe.
After forming the Seal of Reconciliation with Yusuke, who had caught his breath after treatment but was still trembling slightly in terror, Gojo Yoru left the school without so much as a greeting or a backward glance.
Yuya did not stop him.
If Gojo Yoru had simply defeated Yusuke and walked away without looking back, Yuya would have been deeply worried and might have considered applying to the Hokage to arrange a psychologist for Gojo Yoru.
But after kicking Yusuke away, Gojo Yoru had not left immediately. He had remained where he was, waited for the result, and only left after completing the Seal of Reconciliation with Yusuke.
In the eyes of his peers, Gojo Yoru was a cold and ruthless Demon King.
In the eyes of adults like Yuya, he was merely an awkward little boy who was not good at expressing himself.
Perhaps Gojo Yoru was even feeling guilty now for failing to control his strength earlier.
Today was the third-semester Final Exam for first through fifth grades. In a few days, it would be sixth grade's graduation assessment.
The sixth grade graduation assessment had different questions every year. Those who passed graduated.
The third-semester Final Exam for first through fifth grades was also known as the Annual Grade Exam.
Once this exam ended, the results would be posted on the bulletin board at the start of the new school year.
At the same time, based on the combined results of all three semesters, five students would be selected from every class across the five grades as examples for all students.
These examples were also called—Top Students.
Although the final taijutsu assessment had not yet ended, the students of Class One all knew who the Top Student would be.
Among this year's new students, there were no members of the Uchiha Clan or the Hyuga Clan.
Those two powerful clans controlled important departments and had the privilege of training their own younger generations.
The members they sent to school were either ordinary clan members whom even their own clans did not think highly of, or descendants of the clan's upper echelons—"hostages" deliberately sent to reassure the Hokage and Konoha's leadership.
Only when those higher-ups' descendants received an education in the Will of Fire would the higher-ups feel at ease.
Of course, those two powerful clans would occasionally send a few geniuses to the Ninja Academy to make their presence known. They would first demonstrate their talent and strength, then quickly graduate early, letting peers their age experience the gap between themselves and the great clans.
Unfortunately, this cohort had no such geniuses.
However, in Yuya's eyes, whether it was Gojo Yoru or Namikaze Minato, aside from lacking powerful Kekkei Genkai, neither of them was any less talented than the members of those great clans and Great Ninja Clans.
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