An Easy Graduation

Early the next morning, Yu and Sasuke arrived at the Ninja Academy.

The Ninja Academy was unusually lively today. Besides the students taking the graduation exam, many parents were waiting to hear how their children had done.

The exam requirements had been announced long ago: anyone who could skillfully perform the Three Body Technique would pass, become a Konoha Genin, and receive a Konoha Forehead Protector.

Of the more than four hundred students at the Ninja Academy, only a few had chosen to forgo the graduation exam. Most had gathered on the training field. Naturally, the first order of business was for the Third Hokage, the academy's honorary principal, to address and instruct Konoha's new generation.

Wherever they were held, leadership speeches were always tedious and long. The same few points were repeated over and over, leaving many students impatient, but not one of them dared to show it. After all, the speaker on the stage was the Hokage of Konoha, regarded by most shinobi as the strongest ninja.

Only after a string of miscellaneous activities did the graduation exam finally begin.

Yu found it a little strange that he hadn't seen Naruto after arriving at the Ninja Academy. He wasn't worried that anything had happened to Naruto. Anyone in Konoha could get into trouble, but Naruto wouldn't, because Hiruzen Sarutobi was always keeping an eye on him.

I wonder if Naruto will still manage to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Yu thought as he waited in line for his exam.

Because of Yu, Naruto had changed a great deal. He was no longer the hot-blooded, idiotic fool from the anime, so no one could trick him into stealing the Scroll of Seals. That part of the story had already changed.

Forget it. Whatever happens from here on, I'm strong enough now to weather a few storms. Yu figured that as long as he had strength, it didn't matter how much the story changed.

Yu knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi had played a key role in the story of Naruto stealing the Scroll of Seals.

The Scroll of Seals was guarded personally by Hiruzen Sarutobi. There was no way to steal it without getting past him. Hiruzen Sarutobi was said to be the most powerful ninja in the entire Shinobi World, so stealing the scroll right under his nose was all but impossible. That meant Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately given it to Naruto.

So even if Naruto doesn't steal the Scroll of Seals, Hiruzen Sarutobi will still give him the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

The thought came to Yu, and it seemed highly likely.

That's the inevitability of history. Even if some of the details change, the final outcome stays the same...

As Yu was thinking about all this, it was his turn to take the exam.

When he entered the classroom, he saw Iruka and Mizuki, the Konoha Chunin teachers in charge of the exam.

Both of them had substantial roles in Naruto, and both were important.

Iruka was Naruto's life mentor. Because of Iruka, Naruto had dreamed of becoming Hokage. Meanwhile, Mizuki was the one who helped Naruto obtain the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

There wasn't much to say about Iruka. He was an ordinary Chunin teacher at the Ninja Academy—though if Yu had to add a label, he was a "really good" teacher.

Mizuki was different. He was also just an ordinary Chunin teacher, with little strength, but he had joined Orochimaru's ranks. He wasn't exactly clever, yet he'd still dared to target Konoha's Scroll of Seals.

Of course, it was also possible that Mizuki had done it at Orochimaru's urging. Orochimaru was very interested in ninjutsu, after all, and Konoha's Scroll of Seals contained powerful forbidden techniques.

The Art of Immortality, the Curse Mark, the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu... At the thought of Orochimaru, these things came to Yu's mind. Orochimaru was an extremely capable ninja scientist. If he had the chance, Yu would have loved to sit down with him and discuss their academic interests.

At that moment, someone had had enough.

"Yu Uchiha, please perform the Clone Technique," Iruka said. He knew a little about Yu, but only that Yu was very talented in academics. He didn't know much else.

Iruka's words snapped Yu out of his scrutiny of Mizuki.

Still, Yu gave Mizuki a friendly smile, which left him confused. He and Yu had never had any connection at all; they'd barely even crossed paths at the Ninja Academy.

Could it be...

For a moment, Mizuki entertained an absurd thought: that Yu knew his true identity. But he quickly pushed it aside. How could a child know that he had defected to Orochimaru?

Maybe this kid doesn't even know who Orochimaru is, Mizuki reasoned, calming himself down.

Yu didn't waste any time. He formed a hand seal, and two clouds of smoke appeared beside him. Less than a second later, three identical versions of Yu stood in the classroom.

Iruka and Mizuki, the examiners, stared at Yu's clones in a daze. Neither of them could tell which one was the clone and which was the original, proving that Yu had mastered the Clone Technique.

"Excellent. Congratulations, Yu Uchiha. You've passed the graduation exam."

Iruka then stood up, picked up a Forehead Protector from the desk, and walked over to Yu, solemnly holding it out to him.

"Take this Forehead Protector, and you'll be a Konoha Genin from now on," Iruka told Yu.

Yu took a deep breath and accepted the Forehead Protector from Iruka. A small surge of excitement rose in him at that moment.

After receiving the Forehead Protector, Yu tied it around his forehead and immediately felt that he looked a little more handsome.

"Thank you," Yu said to Iruka.

Iruka smiled, then said, "There are a few more things you need to know. Go wait in the large classroom."

After leaving the exam room, Yu went to a mirror in the hallway and looked at the Forehead Protector on his forehead. It made him feel like he was finally a real ninja.

The Forehead Protector was also a symbol of a ninja's identity, representing another social class in this world.

"Honestly, I do look pretty cool," Yu said, admiring himself.

"Next comes team assignment. I wonder what kind of teammates I'll get."

It was something worth thinking about. For quite a long time, he would have to spend every day with his teammates, so he hoped to get two capable ones—especially capable thinkers.

Strength could be trained, but there was no fixing a problem with someone's brain.