Graduating Together

In the Yamanaka Clan, Yamanaka Tohru told Yamanaka Inoichi about the Healing Talisman. Clan leaders were no fools, and after hearing him out, Inoichi naturally understood how much profit the talisman could bring to the Yamanaka Clan.

Among the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, the Nara Clan was responsible for keeping Konoha's medical system running smoothly, so it supplied most of the medicinal herbs used within the village.

The profits from supplying a great ninja village with medicinal herbs were enormous. In the original story, this was why Shikamaru could use Explosive Tags so freely.

The Akimichi Clan was said to have drawn inspiration from its own secret medicines when inventing Ration Pills, and it received a share of the profits from their sales.

The Yamanaka Clan, by contrast, had no business of its own and received no dividends. Most of the clan's expenses were covered by its ninjas taking on missions.

The Healing Talisman Yamanaka Tohru had developed gave Inoichi hope that his clan could improve its living conditions. Inoichi confirmed the details several times and had Tohru make a talisman on the spot.

A few days later, Inoichi and Tohru were summoned by the Hokage.

At the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage and Jiraiya waited for the two of them to arrive.

The Third Hokage had received Jiraiya's report the day before: Yamanaka Tohru had developed the Healing Talisman, which the village had been researching for some time.

The Third Hokage knew the talisman's value. If it could be mass-produced, it would have a huge impact on Konoha's coming war and greatly improve the survival rate of Konoha's ninjas.

When Tohru and Inoichi arrived at the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage got straight to the point. "Tohru, can you mass-produce the Healing Talismans?"

Tohru shook his head. Even if he worked without sleep, he could only make a limited number each day.

"How many can you make in a day?" the Third Hokage asked.

"Thirty at most," Tohru replied after a moment's thought.

The Third Hokage nodded. Tohru's estimate wasn't far from Jiraiya's. According to the intelligence Jiraiya had just gathered from the Sand Shinobi, they were currently embroiled in some unknown internal strife and wouldn't start a war anytime soon.

At a rate of thirty talismans a day, Konoha would have a considerable stockpile by the time war began. The Third Hokage was satisfied with that.

"Inoichi, I'm sure you understand the value of the Healing Talisman. It's of great importance to both the village and the Yamanaka Clan. As the clan leader, tell me what you think," the Third Hokage said after a moment's silence.

"Lord Hokage, the village can purchase the jade for the Yamanaka Clan. The clan will make and sell the Healing Talismans itself, and give the village thirty percent of the proceeds from each one sold." Inoichi knew very well that control of the sales had to remain in his clan's hands.

The two men then haggled over the terms. In the end, they agreed that Konoha would provide the materials for making the talismans, while the Yamanaka Clan would give the village forty percent of the proceeds from each one sold.

Both sides were satisfied with the result. Tohru's assignment also changed: instead of working as a Medical Ninja at Konoha Hospital, he would make Healing Talismans. It was worth mentioning that this was a B-Rank Mission.

For the next month or so, Tohru spent his time making Healing Talismans at the Third Training Ground. Under Kakashi's guidance, Uzuki Yugao also began to get the hang of swordsmanship.

Yugao's performance couldn't compare to that of a super-genius like Kakashi, but she was still much better than an ordinary person.

Over the month or so that Kakashi spent teaching Yugao, he noticed many flaws in his own fundamentals. Hatake Sakumo had pointed them out before, but Kakashi hadn't taken them to heart. Only after noticing them for himself did he understand how serious they were. As a result, Kakashi was no longer so reluctant to teach Yugao.

"Kakashi, want to go to the Academy today?" Tohru asked.

"Go to the Academy? Why?" Kakashi glanced at him.

"Rin and Obito are graduating. Didn't you know?"

Kakashi shook his head. Actually, Tohru hadn't known either until just now. He'd sensed it while making a Healing Talisman in Sage Mode.

"Then, want to go watch?" Kakashi asked.

"Sure!" Tohru hadn't seen Rin and Obito in a long time.

"Yugao, we're going to the Ninja Academy to watch our classmates' graduation exams. Want to come?" Tohru asked her.

"Big brother Tohru, I'll pass. I want to keep training."

After all his efforts lately, Tohru had finally gotten Yugao to call him "big brother." He'd been delighted for a long time afterward.

Tohru and Kakashi went to the Ninja Academy together and arrived just as Yūhi Kurenai was taking her turn. Since Kurenai had older family members to teach her, she had no trouble passing the Genin exam.

Mitaraishi Anko, Sarutobi Asuma, and Shiranui Genma all passed their exams afterward.

"Next, Might Guy!"

Before Guy even took the stage, the students around him were already snickering. He was the typical class dead last: his ninjutsu ranked last, he couldn't use genjutsu at all, and only his Taijutsu was decent.

In peacetime, the Ninja Academy's graduation exam usually focused on the Three Body Technique. But with war about to break out, Konoha needed a new batch of Genin—or, to put it bluntly, new cannon fodder—to send to the battlefield.

Guy had managed to stay at the Academy thanks to the Third Hokage making an exception for him. And because the principal knew how specially the Third Hokage treated Guy, he had placed him in the elite class.

Unlike the regular classes, the students in the elite class were all expected to grow into pillars of Konoha. Each graduate from the class would be assigned an Elite Jonin as a mentor.

With war about to break out, the Academy teachers were free to decide the subjects for the graduation exams. Guy's exam was in his strongest subject, Taijutsu, and like everyone else, he passed.

"Next, Uchiha Obito. Uchiha Obito, are you here?"

The examiner's deliberate repetition made the students laugh even harder. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, Obito was in the elite class too. But his grades were only slightly better than Guy's, and he had another bad habit: he was always late. He was widely known as Konoha's "King of Tardiness"!

Obito's exam subject was the Clone Technique, a jutsu the Uchiha Clan learned from a young age. He passed with ease.

Rin came after him. Like Sakura in the original story, she excelled at chakra control, so a subject like the Clone Technique was naturally no challenge for her.

By the time the last student had finished the exam, every student in the elite class had graduated. After a long speech from the Academy teachers, the Forehead Protectors were handed out. From that moment on, Obito and the others officially became Konoha Genin.

"Rin, Obito! Over here!" Tohru called out to them.

"Damn you, Kakashi! Stuck-up Tohru! I graduated too!" Obito shouted at the two of them, just as hotheaded as ever.

"Kakashi, Tohru, what are you doing here?" Rin asked.

"We were bored, so we came to watch your graduation exams," Tohru answered.

The four of them were chatting when some students nearby recognized the two of them.

"Are those Kakashi and Yamanaka Tohru?"

Kakashi and Tohru had become role models for the students at the Ninja Academy. Kakashi was Konoha's youngest Chunin, while Tohru was a Medical Ninja on par with Tsunade.

"Kakashi, Obito, Rin, looks like we've got trouble. I don't want to deal with all these students. You're graduating today, so I'll treat you to barbecue. Meet me at the Barbecue Restaurant beside the Third Training Ground." As soon as he finished speaking, Tohru activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode and fled with a Lightning Body Flicker.

Kakashi did the same and took off with a Lightning Body Flicker. Obito and Rin exchanged a glance, then broke through the crowd and ran toward the restaurant.

A word about the reviews: last night, a reader said I deleted their review. I really didn't. I've never deleted reviews, whether they praised or criticized me. I'm also confused about why I can see reviews in the backend but they don't show up on the page. Also, three or four readers asked for more updates yesterday. Before writing this book, I'd only drafted an outline of a little over 20,000 words. I haven't written any chapters in advance. I have a day job, and 6,000 words a day is my limit. I even wrote this chapter, which I posted before 7 p.m., secretly at the office. I hope you'll understand.