Two-Person Third Squad

Under the watchful eyes of the Third Hokage, several teachers, and a crowd of students, the ninjutsu exam officially began.

Everyone lined up and took turns stepping forward to demonstrate their skills.

Some students dutifully showed whichever of the Three Body Techniques they had mastered best.

Some demonstrated the Clone Technique and Transformation Jutsu. Fewer tried the Substitution Technique, probably because they hadn't prepared any props in advance.

Some performed all three techniques in turn, immediately earning admiring looks from their classmates.

One student may not have had the strongest nerves. Facing the Third Hokage, he was so tense that his attempt at the Clone Technique went badly wrong. All that appeared on the ground was a limp, unidentifiable creature.

The students below burst into laughter, and the vast General Classroom was suddenly filled with cheerful air.

Even the Hokage puffed on his pipe and chuckled along. When dealing with the village's children, he always seemed so approachable that it was hard to connect him with the powerful man known as the Shinobi Hero.

Another student may have been rattled by the earlier failure and lost his focus. The Transformation Jutsu he performed after forming the hand seals was full of flaws; anyone could tell at a glance that it was a fake.

Higashino Makoto recognized him. He was his classmate, Umino Iruka.

Makoto didn't know how Iruka had done in the past, but it was obvious he was nervous today and had been affected by the atmosphere. The harder he tried to do well, the more mistakes he made. There was no way he'd graduate like this.

No wonder he'd still been playing the fool at school to attract attention after the Nine-Tails' Rampage. It was impressive that he'd later become such an excellent Ninja Academy teacher.

So, not being gifted in combat didn't mean someone lacked other talents. Iruka was probably one of those people. Since he wasn't a genius himself, he paid particular attention to students who seemed a little slow and was especially patient with them.

Unlike certain teachers, such as Funano Dahai, who only liked dazzling talents like Itachi and looked down on, or even disliked, the dead last.

When it was Uzuki Yugao's turn, she didn't seem like the kind of girl who could be easily intimidated. She walked onto the stage calmly and performed all three techniques properly, almost perfectly.

After training behind Higashino Makoto for several years, if she couldn't even do that, he would've beaten her into a pulp long ago.

When it was Makoto's turn, he first bowed respectfully to the Hokage and the teachers, just like the other students, then quickly and properly formed the hand seals.

With a soft poof, an exact copy of him appeared beside him, down to the smallest details of his hair and clothes.

At the same time, the original formed another set of hand seals and transformed into his teacher, Inoue Kuroiwa. That was flawless too; there was no way to tell the difference by appearance alone.

Then the clone, Higashino Makoto, raised his hand and flung a shuriken at the original. The original, disguised as Teacher Inoue, burst into a cloud of white smoke, and an eraser fell from the air. The clone caught it and put it back in the chalk tray.

"Whoa! That's amazing! So... how did he do that? I can't make heads or tails of it!" The students below couldn't understand what they'd seen, but they were deeply impressed.

Even the teachers overseeing the exam looked bewildered. Clearly, they hadn't figured it out either.

Inoue Kuroiwa murmured, "How is that possible? The Clone Technique only creates an illusion. It's not a Shadow Clone. How could it throw a real shuriken?

"The clone even caught the eraser. Could the clone be the real one? When did they switch places?"

"Oh-ho-ho! What a splendid display, Makoto. I never imagined the basic Three Body Techniques could be used like that. Even I learned something from it."

The Third Hokage nodded happily. With his skill and keen eye, he naturally wasn't fooled like the Chunin teachers.

Then he explained to the examiners, "The moment Higashino Makoto's clone raised its hand, he had already switched places with the original."

Another examiner exclaimed, "How is that possible? We should've noticed if he used the Body Flicker Technique."

The Hokage tapped a finger against his head. "It was Genjutsu. The real clone's attack was only meant to draw everyone's attention. The original used a simple illusion to deceive your eyes, so you overlooked the crucial detail of the switch."

"So that's what happened. Truly impressive. We didn't notice the effects of the Genjutsu at all."

The Third Hokage didn't bother arguing further with the examiners. Instead, he turned to Makoto with a kind smile. "Makoto, your talent hasn't disappointed me. Well done. All right, you may step down."

"You're too kind, Hokage."

Makoto bowed again, then stepped off the stage and made way for the next candidate.

Actually, he'd borrowed this trick from the fighting style his friend Shisui would use in the future. How had Uchiha Shisui gotten the nickname Body Flicker Shisui?

He created a whole crowd of ordinary clones that could move but couldn't deal real damage, then used his superb Body Flicker Technique and Genjutsu to switch places freely among them.

Any clone attacking you could turn into the real one and stab you at any moment. Without a keen eye and real skill, there was no way to tell them apart.

Kirigakure Ninja had even been left with a psychological scar from getting stabbed by him, which was how Shisui earned his fearsome reputation among them.

Ao had a Byakugan back then, but he still got beaten so badly he didn't know which way was up.

So Kakashi was right. A ninja's battles came down to one word: deception.

Even those immortals who could hardly be called ninja could be caught off guard and fooled.

Madara Uchiha had been tricked by Hashirama Senju's Wood Clone.

Kaguya Otsutsuki had it even worse. One Reverse Harem Technique had left her completely dumbfounded.

After the exam, some people were happy and others were disappointed.

But Higashino Makoto thought those who hadn't graduated didn't need to lose heart. It was actually a good thing: graduating later meant they could miss the war.

"Makoto, from now on, you're an official Konoha ninja. I hope you'll keep working hard and grow into a reliable force that can protect the village."

"I will, Hokage."

Makoto took the headband from the Third Hokage and thought for a moment before tying it around his forehead, just like Uzuki Yugao had.

The thing was basically an ID card. As for whether it protected a ninja? That was mostly beside the point.

But it also served as a subtle mark of strength. For instance, what if you slashed a line across it?

Makoto thought about it, but in the end he didn't dare do anything that provocative. He was afraid the Hokage was old enough that the shock might give him some kind of fit right there on the spot.

That afternoon, after a brief graduation ceremony, they received their Graduation Certificates from the Third Hokage. They were then officially declared graduates of the Academy and proud Konoha Genin.

After a photo was attached, each Ninja Registration Certificate was handed over to the village for safekeeping. They were classified as confidential.

Each one contained the student's basic personal information and ninja identification number.

Uzuki Yugao's Ninja Registration Certificate number was 012161.

Higashino Makoto's number was the one right before hers: 012160.

The Graduation Certificate had no photo, only a brief description. It wasn't confidential, so the students kept it.

After all that, the students who had graduated returned to their respective classes to await their assignments. Next came the team Jonin's responsibility.

Uzuki Yugao began to worry. "Makoto, we'll be assigned to the same team, right? We will, won't we? I don't want to team up with anyone else."

"That's not up to us." Though Higashino Makoto said that, he figured there was a good chance they'd end up on the same team. Officially, the Hokage assigned teams to balance their strength, but in reality, the main consideration was bonds.

Just then, Inoue Kuroiwa read out, "Third Squad: Higashino Makoto and Uzuki Yugao."

"Yay!" The girl gave Higashino Makoto a big victory sign, then realized something was off. "Huh? Why is it just the two of us? Aren't there supposed to be three people?"

Makoto scratched his head, sensing trouble. He thought to himself, No way. Is some clan trying to screw me over? I even got Shisui his Two Tomoe, and they're still not satisfied? Do they have to use me as Mangekyo fodder?

They really are an evil clan by nature. If that's what's happening, I won't wait for Uchiha Itachi to grow up. I'll personally...