Two-Person Third Squad

Under the watch of the Third Hokage, several teachers, and many classmates, the ninjutsu exam officially began.

Everyone lined up and came forward one by one to demonstrate.

Some people properly showed off the one of the Three Body Techniques they had mastered best.

Some demonstrated the Clone Technique and Transformation Jutsu; fewer people used the Substitution Technique, probably because they hadn't prepared a substitute item in advance.

Some performed all three techniques in sequence, immediately earning looks of admiration from their classmates.

Some might not have had strong enough nerves; facing the Third Hokage made them too nervous, and when they tried the Clone Technique, they produced a mess—a limp, unidentified creature flopping onto the ground.

This sparked roaring laughter from the students below, filling the large General Classroom with a cheerful atmosphere.

Even the Hokage himself, pipe in mouth, joined in the chuckling. When dealing with the village's children, he always came across as approachable, making it hard to connect him with the man known as the Shinobi Hero.

Someone might have been affected by the classmate who failed before them, their mind a little scrambled. The Transformation Jutsu they performed with hand seals was riddled with flaws, obviously a fake at first glance.

Higashino Makoto recognized this person—it was his same-batch classmate, Umino Iruka.

He didn't know what Iruka's grades had been like before, but the way he acted today was clearly due to nervousness, influenced by the environment. The more he wanted to do well, the more things went wrong. There was no way he'd pass like this.

No wonder he was still playing dumb at the academy after the Nine-Tails' Rampage, trying to get attention. It's a good thing he could still become such an excellent Ninja Academy Teacher later on.

So some people don't have high combat talent, but that doesn't mean they lack other abilities. Iruka was probably that type. Since he wasn't a genius himself, he paid extra attention and showed patience toward those seemingly slow students.

Unlike certain teachers, like Funano Dahai, who only liked brilliant seedlings like Itachi and never looked twice at the dead-lasts, even finding them annoying.

When it was Uzuki Yugao's turn, this girl wasn't the type to be easily intimidated. She calmly stepped up, properly performed all three techniques, and did so almost perfectly.

After training under Higashino Makoto's lead for a few years, if she couldn't even do this, he'd have beaten her into a pig's head long ago.

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

With a soft "poof," an identical copy of himself appeared beside him, matching every detail of his hair and clothing without a single difference.

At the same time, the original formed hand seals and transformed into the appearance of their homeroom teacher, Inoue Kuroiwa, also perfectly executed—impossible to tell apart by looks alone.

Then, the clone Higashino Makoto raised a hand and threw a shuriken at the original. The original, transformed into Teacher Inoue, burst into a cloud of white smoke, and a blackboard eraser fell from the air. The clone caught it in hand and placed it back into the chalk tray.

"Whoa! That's amazing! How... how did he do that? I don't get it at all!" The students below didn't understand, but they were thoroughly impressed.

Even the examining teachers looked baffled—clearly, they hadn't figured it out either.

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

The clone even caught the eraser. Was the clone actually the original? When did they switch places?"

"Oh ho ho, what a splendid performance, Makoto. I never thought the basic Three Body Techniques could be used like this. Even I've gained some inspiration."

The Third Hokage nodded happily. With his strength and insight, he naturally wouldn't be fooled like those chunin teachers.

Then he explained to the examining teachers, "Higashino Makoto switched places with his clone the moment it raised its hand to make a move."

Another examining teacher said in surprise, "How is that possible? If it was the Body Flicker Technique, we should have noticed."

The Hokage tapped his head with a finger. "It was Genjutsu. The clone's raised hand and attack were just to draw everyone's attention. The original used a simple Genjutsu to deceive your vision, so you overlooked the crucial moment of the switch."

"Is that so? Amazing. We completely didn't notice the Genjutsu's effect."

The Third Hokage didn't keep discussing it with the examining teachers. Instead, he spoke kindly to Higashino Makoto, "Makoto, your talent hasn't disappointed me. Good, good. Alright, you may step down."

"You flatter me, Lord Hokage."

Higashino Makoto bowed again, left the stage, and gave his spot to the next examinee.

Actually, this trick of his was borrowed from his friend Shisui's future Combat Style. How did Uchiha Shisui earn the nickname Body Flicker Shisui?

He would split into a bunch of ordinary clones that could move but had no real attacking power, then use his superior Body Flicker Technique and Genjutsu to freely swap positions among the clones.

Every clone, when attacking you, could at any moment become the original stabbing you with a blade. Without enough eyesight and skill, you couldn't tell them apart.

The Kirigakure Ninja were so traumatized by this that Shisui earned his Catchy Titles from them.

You have to know that Ao had the Byakugan back then, but he still got beaten so badly he couldn't find his bearings.

So Kakashi was right—ninja combat is all about one word: deception.

Even those gods who could barely be called ninja would get tricked if they weren't careful.

Madara Uchiha was fooled by Hashirama Senju's Wood Clone.

And Kaguya Otsutsuki was even more embarrassing—a single Reverse Harem Technique left her completely dumbfounded.

After the exam ended, some were happy, some were disappointed.

But Higashino Makoto felt that those who didn't pass shouldn't lose heart. This was actually a good thing—graduating later meant they could just miss the war.

"Makoto, from now on, you are an official Konoha Ninja. I hope you'll keep working hard and grow into a reliable force to protect the village."

"I will, Lord Hokage."

Taking the forehead protector from the Third Hokage, Higashino Makoto thought for a moment, then tied it around his forehead, just like Uzuki Yugao had.

This thing was just an ID badge. As for its protective effect on a ninja? It was basically optional.

But it also has a hidden function for certifying a strong person—for example, what if you slashed a horizontal line across it?

Higashino Makoto thought it over and decided not to do anything that thrilling. He was afraid the Hokage, being advanced in age, might get so angry on the spot that something unfortunate would happen.

That afternoon, after a brief graduation ceremony, they received their Graduation Certificates from the Third Hokage, who then announced that they had officially graduated from the academy and become proud Konoha Genin.

The Ninja Registration Certificates, once photos were attached, were kept by the village as classified documents.

They contained the students' basic personal information and Ninja ID Numbers.

Uzuki Yugao's Ninja ID Number was 012161.

Higashino Makoto's was the adjacent 012160.

The Graduation Certificates had no photos, only a paragraph of explanatory text, and were not classified; they were kept by the students.

After all this, the successfully graduated students immediately returned to their respective classes to await the class assignments. The next step would be up to their Leading Jonin.

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

"That's not up to us." Though Higashino Makoto said that, he felt it was highly likely they'd be in the same squad. On the surface, the Hokage's class assignments were based on balancing strength, but the real focus was on bonds.

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

"Yeah!" The Little Girl flashed a Great Victory sign at Higashino Makoto, then noticed something was off: "Huh? Why is it just the two of us? Aren't there supposed to be three?"

Higashino Makoto scratched his head, a bad feeling creeping in. No way, he thought darkly. Did some powerful clan set me up? I already unlocked Two Tomoe for Shisui, and they're still not satisfied? They want to use me as Mangekyo fodder?

Truly an inherently evil clan. If that's the case, I won't wait until Itachi Uchiha grows up—I'll take matters into my own hands right now, old man that I am...