"It seemed the Otsutsuki bloodline had begun to transform my body." Shigure then headed for the Ninja Academy, following the memories in his mind.
It was easy enough for Shigure to enter the Ninja Academy.
When he arrived, he took the only remaining seat. The graduation exam had already begun.
"Hey, Shigure. I heard you were in the hospital. How have you been?"
Shigure turned his head toward his desk mate. She was a neat and tidy girl with bright red hair and a cute face. Her eyes were as milky white as her skin.
It was clear she was from the Hyuga Clan.
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Shigure then ignored the girl.
Shigure secretly activated his White Rinnegan, allowing him to clearly see the chakra flowing through the bodies of the dozens of students in the classroom.
These people's chakra is much weaker than the Third Hokage's. Then again, they're all kids.
But Shigure did spot a few kids who seemed different. Their chakra flow was slightly unusual.
After deactivating his White Rinnegan, Shigure realized that the people he had been observing were from the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan. No wonder their chakra flow had seemed familiar.
"Next, we'll begin the graduation exam. The test is the same as always: I'll randomly choose one of the Three Body Techniques. If you pass, you'll be allowed to graduate. I'll now call out the names of those taking the exam, one by one."
"First, Hinata Kurenai!"
A shy red-haired girl walked past Shigure.
Hinata Kurenai? So that's her name.
"Your test is the Transformation Technique! Transform into me. Begin!"
Hinata Kurenai formed Hand Seals. With a puff of smoke, she transformed into an exact copy of the examiner.
Shigure had naturally already activated his White Rinnegan. He memorized the Hand Seals for the Transformation Technique and the chakra flow throughout her body.
Just as I thought. That energy inside the body is chakra. You release chakra by forming Hand Seals? Hinata Kurenai doesn't seem to be using her chakra quite right, and she's wasting a little, but aside from that, the transformation is flawless. She should pass.
Shigure had also mastered the Transformation Technique from the Three Body Techniques in an instant with his Sharingan.
As expected, the examiner announced that Hinata Kurenai had passed.
The examiner continued calling out the names of other students, and Shigure easily mastered the Three Body Techniques as well.
The examiner called out another name.
"Uchiha Wei!" A black-haired boy walked up to the examiner.
He looked extremely arrogant and even gestured at Shigure.
The provocation was obvious, and everyone turned to look at Shigure.
Shigure, however, had his head down on his desk, sleeping.
That guy actually dares to ignore Uchiha Wei. I can already tell he's going to get beaten up again!
Uchiha Shigure, that dead last, might not even pass, and he's already acting so arrogant!
Quite a few students held their breath for Shigure.
"Your test is the Clone Technique. Begin!" The examiner seemed not to have noticed what was going on in the classroom; he was focused entirely on the exam.
Uchiha Wei successfully created a clone and passed the test with flying colors.
Shigure seemed to be asleep, but he was actually using his White Rinnegan to observe the flow of chakra in Uchiha Wei's body.
This guy doesn't seem to have much talent. He has a bit more chakra than the others, but he wastes too much when using it, and his release is far from perfect. His clone lasted only a second before disappearing. What a disappointment!
Shigure said it out loud in front of everyone.
"Huh?!"
His pretty desk mate, Hinata Kurenai, couldn't understand why Shigure, who used to be the class dead last, had suddenly become so bold. How could he openly insult Uchiha Wei in front of the entire class?
Uchiha Wei's expression changed instantly, and the atmosphere in the classroom turned strange.
"Haha! That's a joke!" Uchiha Wei laughed in anger as he looked at Shigure. "The Clone Technique is just a ninjutsu used to confuse people! What does 'perfect' even mean? Are you saying you can use it perfectly?"
"Uchiha Wei, you passed. Go back to your seat for now. Uchiha Shigure, since you're so confident, why don't you perform all the Clone Techniques?" The examiner was clearly a little displeased with Shigure and wanted to put him on the spot.
To his surprise, Shigure agreed right away.
"Then I'll start with the Substitution Technique!" Shigure walked to the front of the classroom with an easy confidence and formed an exceptionally precise Hand Seal. With a poof, he instantly turned into a log, while his real body appeared in his seat.
"When did he—?!"
"Examiner, I'm finished with the Substitution Technique!" Shigure then lay down on his desk, ready to go back to sleep.
"Nonsense! Even if I let you pass the Substitution Technique, that's all you've demonstrated!" Uchiha Wei immediately protested.
"That's enough. I'm announcing that Shigure has passed!" The examiner shook his head and announced the result.
Uchiha Wei was baffled and confused. He couldn't understand why the examiner had declared Shigure a pass just like that.
That guy! Uchiha Wei glared at Shigure, who didn't seem to care about him at all, and vowed to get even.
"This is so frustrating!" After class, Uchiha Wei went straight to find the examiner.
"Uchiha Wei? I knew you'd come looking for me. Don't agree with the result?"
"Yeah!" Uchiha Wei said. "Teacher, what happened?"
"It wasn't what it looked like. When I announced the exam, Shigure had already used the Clone Technique and the Transformation Technique, disguising his real body. He used a clone to take the test, and the clone used the Substitution Technique to turn into a log. Then he dispelled the clone, and his real body returned to normal."
"That sounds confusing!" Uchiha Wei said, struggling to understand.
"Exactly. Think about it: you can't even understand what he did, but he already managed to pull it off. You're about the same age, aren't you? That's what makes him so frightening! He performed all three techniques in an instant. Even I didn't see when he formed the Hand Seals!"
"But how can he control the Clone Technique? Isn't it just a basic ninjutsu for confusing the enemy?" Uchiha Wei still refused to give up.
"Exactly. What he used wasn't the Clone Technique. It was the Shadow Clone!" Once the examiner had finished speaking, Uchiha Wei said in frustration, "How is that possible? Shadow Clone Jutsu is a B-rank ninjutsu! How does he know it?!"
"Uchiha Wei, how would I know? Go ask him yourself." The examiner, already impatient, replied curtly.