Class 4-A.
Jiraiya, Inuzuka Kiba, and the others gathered together, discussing the topic of early graduation with high spirits and glowing faces, as if failing to participate in the graduation exam would leave them with lifelong regrets.
Heroes or bums, the examination hall is where we settle it!
"I already went to find Teacher Osaka to register for the exam this morning. If even I can't graduate early, there probably aren't many people in the class who can."
"Hearing you say that really pisses me off."
Watanabe sat alone in the rear corner, gazing out the window with lingering melancholy, completely out of tune with the lively atmosphere of the class.
It was the first afternoon without Tsunade; he missed her, oh how he missed her.
Watanabe only regretted not discovering Tsunade's feelings sooner. Facing a Tsunade who liked him so much, he used to only spar and compete with her—what an absolute bloodbath of a loss!
It was an even bigger loss than missing out on a hundred million.
Who knew how many years and months it would be until he saw Tsunade again. This era lacked mobile phones and the internet, so trying to maintain ties with Tsunade was as hard as ascending to the heavens.
After fretting for a long time, Watanabe shifted his gaze from the outside scenery back to his classmates.
Fellow classmates, regardless of whether you pass the exam, I wish you all a bright future. As for me... I'll just safely graduate normally.
Watanabe thought to himself.
This was also the advice Tsunade had given him before she left. Once he graduated from the academy, he would officially become a shinobi, running around to execute village missions and having almost no time to train. Therefore, for him, who was right in the middle of a growth period, staying at the academy had more pros than cons.
He would quietly hide his clumsiness, waiting for the moment to arrive before soaring straight into the sky and stunning everyone.
Watanabe had roughly skimmed through the scroll Tsunade gave him. It contained several thousand ninjutsu of all sizes, such as Multiple Shadow Clone, Water Severing Wave, and Water Dragon Bullet. Wanting to learn them all would definitely require putting in a solid period of hard work.
Over the past three months, Watanabe's chakra value had grown from the initial 20 to 21,552. His chakra volume was already extremely massive. Aside from special ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God that heavily tested space-time talent, ordinary types of ninjutsu were very fast for him to learn.
"I just received a temporary piece of news."
Osaka Rukawa abruptly stormed through the door, scanning everyone with a serious expression. "Lord Hokage will personally be present to observe this graduation exam and select a few of the most outstanding examinees to take on as disciples. I hope some of you can seize this opportunity!"
"What? Lord Hokage is going to take on disciples!"
Everyone was taken aback, shocked by this news.
There was no need to mention how heavy the weight of a Hokage's disciple was; those who knew, knew.
Tobirama had taken on many disciples back then, and every single one who survived had now become a core high-ranking member of Konoha. To put it bluntly, as long as one could become a Hokage's disciple, their future prospects would boundlessly limitless.
This is getting interesting...
Orochimaru stuck out his tongue to lick his lips, raring to go.
Even someone as reticent as him showed a reaction, let alone the others.
"Lord Hokage's disciple—just thinking about it is exciting!"
"I've got to make a big splash in the graduation exam and make Lord Hokage look at me in a new light."
"Teacher Osaka, I want to take the graduation exam!"
"..."
Almost everyone had their fighting spirit ignited by Osaka Rukawa, and many classmates who hadn't decided whether to graduate that morning were now scrambling to sign up with him.
The chance to be taken as a disciple by the Hokage was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; no one wanted to miss it.
Even Watanabe, who had made up his mind to keep a low profile, fell into hesitation.
Aside from Tsunade, is the Hokage going to take other disciples too?
Watanabe's heart stirred. It was impossible for it not to stir. If he was also taken as a disciple by the Third, he could continue to see Tsunade every day and accompany her for closed-door special training.
Watanabe even imagined the expression of pleasant surprise on Tsunade's face when he appeared before her.
Very soon, Watanabe made up his decision and spoke up. "Teacher Osaka, I'm signing up for the exam too."
The classroom fell into a brief moment of silence.
Everyone cast their gazes toward Watanabe one after another, then shifted them away.
The relationship between Watanabe and Tsunade had long been made public in the class. Who knew how many boys envied his good luck in actually winning over Konoha's brightest pearl.
However, luck was luck, while strength was an entirely different matter.
"With Watanabe's level, let alone gaining Lord Hokage's approval, he probably won't even pass the graduation exam."
"I really don't understand what Tsunade saw in him. Can being handsome be used as a meal ticket?"
Everyone had different thoughts, and their impression of Watanabe was still stuck at three months ago.
Mainly because Watanabe usually only interacted with Tsunade, intentionally ignoring even the girls who tried to get close to him, leaving practically no one who really understood him.
"Alright."
Osaka Rukawa nodded calmly, holding no prejudice against Watanabe as he registered him.
"The graduation exam is divided into three stages: a written test, an illusion test, and a combat test."
Osaka Rukawa began explaining the precautions for the exam. There were a total of forty-four people in the whole class. Aside from Tsunade who had walked the VIP channel, the remaining forty-three people had all completed their registration.
"As long as the total score of the three test stages reaches one hundred and eighty points, you meet the graduation qualifications. As for how to become Lord Hokage's disciple, I can't say for sure. After all, Lord Hokage has his own considerations for taking disciples. In short, the more outstanding your results, the more advantageous it will definitely be for you, directly affecting your squad assignments after graduation..."
That afternoon, Osaka Rukawa gave no more lectures, earnestly admonishing the students over and over again.
The graduation exam would be held in five days, and the school gave five days of early vacation for this purpose, leaving plenty of preparation time for the examinees.
For many people, once this vacation started, it lasted a lifetime.
That night when Watanabe returned home, he immediately took out the scroll Tsunade had given him to practice. Since he had decided to graduate early, he would definitely go all out. It was time for him to do something for Tsunade.
Graduation is not hard; what's hard is how to gain the Third's approval.
Getting a high score on the written cultural test is no problem at all, and the illusion test is even less of a problem for me. Only the combat test is pretty dicey...
Watanabe had good self-awareness. With his taijutsu level, if an opponent of Inuzuka Kiba's caliber casually showed up in actual combat, they could tangle with him for the better part of the day. Such a performance would never catch the Third's eye.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique—as long as my chakra is sufficient, I can churn out over a thousand shadow clones in one go... What a coincidence, my ton-loads of chakra just happen to be extremely massive!
Watanabe set his sights on the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique first, feeling that this ninjutsu was tailor-made for him. He simply had nowhere to use his twenty-thousand-plus chakra value.
Just as Tsunade said, if taijutsu won't cut it, make up for it with ninjutsu; learn as many ninjutsu as you can. By the day of the combat test, just relying on ninjutsu to forcefully stack them up will be enough to bury any opponent!
Watanabe was full of confidence. His powerful defense already rendered him invincible; he only lacked offensive means.
On the contrary, he hoped they would match him against an ultimate, formidable opponent so that, if worst came to worst, he could pull out the Mutual Multiplication Paper Bomb Technique and put on a grand, spectacular fireworks display right in front of the Third.
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