But the condition for early graduation was that the two of them had to work together and hold out for ten minutes against a team of Chunin.
"Teacher Ikkaku, the two of us aren't even ninja yet. We have to hold out for ten minutes against three Chunin instructors? Are you serious?" Minato Namikaze found it hard to believe.
He had applied for early graduation half a year ago. Back then, he'd only had to fight one Genin. He'd known the requirements for early graduation were strict, but this was ridiculous.
Teacher Ikkaku shook his head and gave a wry smile. "You two are both the most popular kids in Konoha. It's not just Konoha—your reputations as geniuses are probably known across the entire Shinobi World."
"This wasn't my idea, either. The Lord Third ordered me to do it." Teacher Ikkaku finally revealed the truth.
"The Lord Third?" Qingyun nodded. "I see. Lord Hokage wants to put us through a proper test."
"Since that's the case, we'll accept." Qingyun nodded, showing no fear at all.
Minato felt a little uneasy. He was strong, but not strong enough to take on three Chunin.
"I can hold off one Chunin, but the other two..." Minato trailed off awkwardly.
"Don't worry. Just hold off that one. Once I've beaten the other two, I'll come help you."
"What!? He plans to beat all three Chunin!" Ikkaku couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"You only need to hold out for ten minutes," Ikkaku said, thinking he might not have explained himself clearly. He repeated the conditions.
To his surprise, Qingyun smiled. "Since the Lord Third wants to test us, I'll show him the strength I've been hiding! Otherwise, I'd feel like I'd let Lord Hokage down!"
"I have to graduate early! Then I'll become a Genin!" Qingyun was brimming with determination. At that moment, no one could talk him out of it.
"It looks like Qingyun is serious. Don't worry, Teacher Ikkaku. I've fought Qingyun before, and I could tell he wasn't using his full strength. That's why I agreed to graduate alongside him," Minato said honestly.
Teacher Ikkaku was stunned, too. He thought it over, then said, "All right. That's fine. We were going to have you fight them anyway. So, are you ready?"
Qingyun and Minato didn't need to prepare. They went straight to the training ground, where three Chunin were already waiting.
What surprised Qingyun was that there were three other people there as well, in addition to the Chunin.
"That chakra is incredible!" Qingyun could see chakra, and he could feel that each of the three had an astonishing amount.
The man standing in the middle wore a Hokage hat and cloak. A short beard dotted his chin, and he had a pipe in his mouth.
"Lord Lord Third!" Everyone bowed to the Lord Third.
One of the two people beside him had gray hair and wore a Konoha jōnin uniform. The other had a head of silver hair and a bump on his nose.
"This is Hatake Sakumo. And this is my student, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya," Hiruzen Sarutobi introduced them warmly.
"Now, you two introduce yourselves," Hiruzen said, looking at Qingyun and Minato.
"My name is Minato Namikaze."
"My name is Qingyun."
Minato and Qingyun politely bowed to the two instructors. Qingyun knew that both of them were legendary figures in Konoha!
Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of the Leaf, was said to have terrifyingly powerful swordsmanship. The other man had taught Minato, Nagato, and Naruto in the original story. They were all legendary figures.
"Very well. It won't be easy for you two to graduate early. You'll have to work together against three Chunin. If you can last ten minutes without giving up or falling, you'll pass."
"Once you pass, there'll be an enormous reward waiting for you," Jiraiya said with a smile.
Jiraiya didn't seem lecherous at all at this point. He was still a handsome young man.
"Relax, children. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Just act as if we aren't here and do your best," Hatake Sakumo comforted them kindly.
Minato was a little nervous, but Qingyun wasn't. All he felt was anticipation for the fight.
"Good!" Hiruzen was pleased to see Qingyun brimming with fighting spirit. It reminded him of his younger self.
"All right, then. Take your places!" the Lord Third shouted.
The three Chunin immediately leaped into the arena.
Their identities were obvious: one was from the Yamanaka clan, one from the Akimichi clan, and one from the Nara clan.
"Ino-Shika-Cho!" Minato was a little nervous.
"Those three are Ino-Shika-Cho. They must work together exceptionally well. Qingyun, do you have a strategy?" Minato asked.
"Remember what we agreed on? You hold one of them off, and I'll take out the other two, then come help you," Qingyun said. "You take the Nara one. Watch out for his Shadow Possession Technique."
Qingyun didn't want to get caught by the technique during the fight. If that happened, Minato would never beat the other two Chunin.
"Ready? Three! Two! One! Begin!" Jiraiya was the referee this time, and he announced the start of the match without delay.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio immediately began working together seamlessly.
"Shadow Possession Technique!" The Nara ninja used his technique at once, trying to restrain both of them and end the match right there.
But it wasn't that easy. As soon as the Nara ninja used his technique, Minato's kunai came flying at him.
With no choice, the Nara ninja dodged it.
"Teacher, I'm your opponent." Minato had already anticipated where the Nara ninja would land. He had secretly thrown an Explosive Tag there ahead of time.
"Human Bullet Tank!" Seeing the Nara ninja engage Minato, the Akimichi ninja charged straight at Qingyun.
"Kid, give up! No matter how much of a genius you are, you can't beat the three of us," the Yamanaka ninja said.
The Yamanaka ninja was the only woman among them. As she spoke, she moved behind Qingyun and threw a kunai at him.
Now Qingyun was caught between the Human Bullet Tank coming at him from the front and the incoming kunai from behind.
At this critical moment, Qingyun immediately leaped into the air and made a graceful turn.
Then Qingyun quickly formed Hand Seals and aimed at the Yamanaka ninja. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Before you continue