For This Opportunity, I Endured for Three Years

The aftershocks of Kakashi's graduation were even more intense than anyone had imagined.

It was like a boulder crashing into a still lake, the ripples it stirred throwing the entire Ninja Academy into an uproar.

The students in his year were fine; they had all seen Kakashi's strength. But the children in other grades couldn't take it.

Especially the older students. They had been following the usual curriculum when they suddenly discovered that the cocky little white-haired brat had actually passed the graduation assessment, received a ninja forehead protector, and become a real ninja. To those clan prodigies who normally thought highly of themselves, it was undoubtedly a silent mockery.

The very next day, someone submitted an application for early graduation as well.

With someone taking the lead, followers sprang up like mushrooms after rain. Before long, the office was packed with students submitting applications, every face brimming with the confidence of "I can do it too."

Obito, who had been sprawled across his desk, overheard Rin discussing it with her friends. Remembering the way Rin had looked at Kakashi, his blood immediately began to boil.

"I want to graduate early too!"

Uchiha Obito slammed his palm onto his desk, his eyes blazing behind his goggles.

That slap drew the attention of everyone else in the classroom, and quite a few looked at him in surprise.

Obito relished those looks. He rose to his feet and pointed at himself. "If Kakashi can do it, then I, an elite of the Uchiha clan, can definitely do it too!"

"Obito, you haven't even mastered the Clone Technique yet..."

Rin softly reminded him from the side, concern written across her face.

"That was just an accident! I'll definitely pass this time!"

Obito's confidence was through the roof, and he could not hear a word of advice.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Aoba raised his head and glanced at the idiot. Even after being classmates for over a year, he still found it hard to believe that this guy would one day become one of the Shinobi World's bosses.

All he could say was that the Second Hokage's research on the Uchiha was still the most authoritative.

When Obito slapped his application form onto Araki-sensei's desk, Araki-sensei merely gave him an expressionless glance and coldly asked, "Have you thought this through?"

"Y-Yes, I have."

Obito tried hard to control his expression.

In truth, after entering the teacher's office, some of the reason that had been swept away by his excitement had returned. But when he recalled the declaration he had made in front of so many classmates, he could not bring himself to slink back in embarrassment. He could only grit his teeth and hand over the application.

"Mm, fine."

Araki-sensei glanced at the application form, nodded, and put it away.

Huh?

Wait, that was it?

Obito was a little dumbfounded.

He had thought Araki-sensei might reject his application, but he had not expected the teacher to accept it so readily.

"Is there anything else?"

"N-No."

"Then go back to class as usual. You'll be notified in advance of the assessment date."

"...Okay. Then I'll head back first, sensei."

A week later, the school held assessments specifically for those who had applied for early graduation.

Reality swiftly gave everyone a resounding slap across the face.

After the first round of theoretical examinations, more than half were eliminated.

Uchiha Obito was among them.

The papers were graded on the spot.

Outside the examination hall, Obito stood there with bloodshot eyes, clutching his score sheet.

His theory score was a miserable twenty points. He had not even earned half of the total score.

"Why do they even test math and physics?! Don't ninjas just need to know ninjutsu?!"

Obito wailed outside the examination hall, his miserable cries so piercing that even passing dogs gave him a wide berth.

Although Obito failed the first round, none of those who remained passed the following assessments either.

In other words, every applicant for early graduation had been wiped out.

Early graduation was far harder than normal graduation. Even after normal graduation, students still needed to be led by a chūnin or higher-ranked ninja, and those who proved unfit would be sent back to the Ninja Academy to continue studying.

Reality gave these hot-blooded little brats another resounding slap across the face.

Because he had ranked dead last in the theory examination, Uchiha Obito was summoned to Araki-sensei's office and scolded for half the day.

After this incident, Hatake Kakashi's reputation as a genius was no longer limited to students in his own year. It spread through all of Konohagakure as though it had grown wings.

A genius ninja who graduated at five years old—though he was only a genin, he was simply too dazzling. So dazzling that he caught the attention of the Intelligence Divisions of other ninja villages, and his name was added to their assassination lists.

For Aoba, however, the trouble was only just beginning.

"Aoba, come demonstrate the Substitution Technique for everyone."

Araki-sensei stood at the podium, his gaze falling on Aoba.

Aoba sighed inwardly, rose from his seat, and formed hand seals without expression.

Poof!

After a puff of white smoke, Aoba vanished from where he stood, and a jacket fell onto the desk.

Clap clap clap!

A wave of astonished exclamations and applause rose from around the room.

"Huh? That jacket looks familiar."

Obito narrowed his eyes. Then he noticed that he felt a little chilly, immediately realized what had happened, and flew into a rage. "Ah! You bastard, Aoba! That's my jacket!"

Only then did everyone realize that Aoba had used Obito's jacket to demonstrate the substitution.

Amid a burst of laughter, Obito stormed over indignantly and retrieved his clothes.

"Wow, that was amazing! I never noticed before, but Aoba is really good too!"

"He usually looks so lazy. Who would've thought he was this capable?"

"When do you think he'll apply for early graduation?"

The murmurs were neither too loud nor too quiet, drifting neatly into Aoba's ears.

Back in his seat, he propped his chin on one hand and looked toward the podium, utterly unresponsive to the discussion around him.

"What a pain..."

Aoba sighed. Being constantly dragged out to give demonstrations made him feel like a monkey on display.

Fortunately, those dull days did not last long. A new notice was posted on the bulletin board.

"Battlefield First Aid and Basic Medical Ninjutsu Course?"

Standing before the bulletin board, Aoba's eyes brightened slightly behind his sunglasses.

The notice stated that, in response to the increasingly tense situation at the borders, the village had decided to select a group of students from the Ninja Academy with medical aptitude and establish a special Experimental Class. Veteran medical ninjas from Konoha Hospital would teach it.

"Tch, isn't that something only girls would study?"

"Exactly. Real ninjas should charge into battle!"

"..."

Listening to the childish remarks around him, Aoba stroked his chin, a barely noticeable curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Heh heh, medical ninjas. Isn't this the opportunity I've been waiting for?"

Medical Ninjutsu!

He had endured for three years just to wait for this opportunity.

All so he could gain access to the medical system in a reasonable way.

Medical ninjas served as support within a squad. They did not need to charge into the front lines like other ninjas, so it was relatively safe.

Of course, that was not the main point. More importantly, it gave him a legitimate reason to enter Konoha Hospital or the Medical Corps, where he could come into contact with wounded patients or bloodline-limit ninjas.

That would be of great help to his research into Chakra Nature Transformation and Kekkei Genkai.

Otherwise, even purchasing medicinal herbs and medical equipment as an ordinary civilian had drawn scrutiny from the Anbu.

As for those who dug a basement beneath their own homes and set up isolation barriers, they were practically grinding the readers' intelligence into the dirt.