Three Basic Techniques Exam

"Almost there!" Naruto patted his chest. "I'm in great shape today. I'm sure I'll get a good score!"

Hinata nodded gently and said softly, "I... I'm ready too."

Qiushui nodded. "Keep warming up."

"Okay!" The two turned around and walked back.

Time ticked by, second by second.

More and more people gathered on the training ground.

With five minutes left before the exam, a figure came running over, panting heavily.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Iruka hurried over to Qiushui, braced his hands on his knees, and panted. A thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead, and his chest heaved. He had clearly rushed to get there.

"It's fine," Qiushui said, waving a hand. "The exam hasn't started yet."

When the exam time arrived, Qiushui stood up, swept his gaze over the students lined up, and announced, "The Clone Technique exam begins now."

He and Iruka sat down behind the table. Two score sheets lay on its surface, with several pens beside them.

The first student stepped forward.

Hand Seals.

With a bang, a clone appeared at their side.

Qiushui took a look and recorded the score in his notebook. Iruka also wrote something on his own sheet.

The next seven or eight students were all about the same level. Their Clone Technique performances were middling. The clones looked vaguely human, but their expressions were blurry and their details rough. With a hundred points as the maximum, most scores hovered in the low seventies.

Some students breathed a sigh of relief when they got their scores, while others frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with their performance.

Sakura Haruno stepped forward.

Her movements were crisp and swift, and she formed the Hand Seals at remarkable speed. With a bang, a clone appeared beside her. Its expression, build, and appearance were exactly like hers.

"Sakura Haruno, ninety-five points," Qiushui announced.

A murmur of amazement rose from below.

Ino Yamanaka followed right after.

She formed the Hand Seals just as cleanly, and her clone was just as perfect. After competing with Sakura Haruno for so long, she wasn't about to let herself slip up on an occasion like this.

"Ino Yamanaka, ninety-five points."

Ino lifted her chin slightly and raised an eyebrow at Sakura Haruno.

Next was Shikamaru Nara.

He sauntered forward lazily and formed the seals as if he couldn't care less. In truth, his clone was every bit as good as Sakura Haruno's and Ino Yamanaka's.

"Shikamaru Nara, ninety-five points."

Shikamaru yawned and returned to the line.

Iruka was taken aback. Didn't Shikamaru only ever score sixty points on exams?

Choji Akimichi and Inuzuka Kiba took their turns as well, and both earned scores above ninety.

"Next, Uchiha Sasuke," Qiushui called.

Uchiha Sasuke stepped forward and took his place at the designated spot. His hands formed the seals so quickly they were almost impossible to follow.

His clone matched him perfectly, from its expression and stance to the tiniest details of its features. For an instant, it was even hard to tell which one was the real Sasuke and which was the clone.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Qiushui wrote down his score on the sheet and said, "Full marks."

"Sasuke is amazing!"

Sakura Haruno was the first to lead the applause.

"Sasuke is so cool!"

Ino Yamanaka wasn't about to be outdone, and she shouted even louder than Sakura.

They exchanged a glance, and sparks seemed to fly between them.

Sasuke walked back to the line without expression, as if none of it had anything to do with him.

Next, Hyuga Hinata stepped forward.

She reached the designated spot, took a deep breath, and formed the Hand Seals with gentle yet precise movements.

Bang.

A clone appeared.

It was identical to Hinata. Her slightly bowed head, softly pursed lips, even the curve of her eyelashes—all were replicated down to the last detail.

"Hyuga Hinata." Qiushui nodded with satisfaction. "Full marks."

A wave of surprised voices rose from below.

"Hinata got full marks too?"

"Didn't she used to get around eighty?"

"How did she improve so much..."

Hearing the students talking around her, Hinata's face reddened slightly. She hurried back to the line with small steps.

Qiushui watched her go, unsurprised.

Hinata's chakra control was the best in the class. That had never been in doubt.

Her only problem was her personality.

She got nervous too easily and was too afraid of making mistakes. Whenever an exam came around, she underperformed. Those scores around eighty hadn't reflected her true ability at all.

But after a month of training every morning, tackling those exercises day after day, and working hard alongside Naruto, her personality had changed a little.

On top of that, her chakra control was even more precise than before. It would have been strange if she hadn't gotten full marks.

The line kept moving.

One student after another.

Soon, only one person remained.

"Last one." Qiushui glanced at the list. "Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto Uzumaki took a deep breath, walked to the designated spot, and stopped.

The crowd below had fallen strangely quiet.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on him. Their gazes held neither hope nor mockery, only a tension that was hard to put into words.

No one expected him to do well with the Clone Technique. They just hoped it wouldn't turn out like before, when he'd made a limp, shapeless blob.

Naruto raised his hands and formed the seals.

Bang!

A cloud of white smoke burst out.

As it cleared, a clone appeared beside him.

It stood ramrod straight.

Its expression was still a little stiff, and its details weren't very refined. It couldn't compare with the other students' clones, but it was undeniably human-shaped.

A human-shaped figure that could stand upright.

Not the limp blob he'd made before.

For a second, the crowd fell silent.

Then someone let out a quiet "Wow."

Qiushui looked at Naruto, then at the plain but finally normal clone. He recorded the score in his notebook and said, "Naruto Uzumaki, sixty-five points."

Naruto froze when he heard the score. It was the first time he'd ever passed a Clone Technique exam since enrolling.

"Naruto!" a voice called from the crowd. "Nice work!"

"I can't believe you passed the Clone Technique exam!"

"That's amazing, Naruto!"

"You've improved so much!"

The praise poured in one after another like a rising tide.

Going by the score alone, sixty-five points didn't rank Naruto anywhere near the top of the group. Plenty of students had scored ninety, ninety-five, or even full marks, yet none of them had received this kind of praise.

But without comparison, there was no sting. Naruto's previous clones had been so terrible that everyone expected so little of him that all he had to do was avoid a total disaster.

Listening to the praise around him, Naruto grinned until his eyes narrowed into slits. He scratched his head, a little embarrassed, but he couldn't hide how proud he was.

"Qiushui, it looks like you really are suited to being a teacher!" Iruka turned to him and said with a sigh.

Iruka knew better than anyone what Naruto's clones used to look like.