Three Basic Techniques Exam (Seeking Follow-ups)

"That's about enough!" Naruto patted his chest. "I'm in top form today; I'm definitely going to get a great score!"

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

Qiushui nodded and said, "Keep warming up."

"Yes!" The two turned around and headed back.

Time ticked away, second by second.

The number of people on the training ground grew steadily.

Five minutes before the exam was set to begin, a figure came running over, panting heavily.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Iruka jogged all the way over, rushing up to Qiushui before bracing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. A thin layer of sweat hung on his forehead, and his chest heaved; it was clear he had hurried here.

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

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

He and Iruka sat down behind a table, where two record sheets were spread out with several pens placed to the side.

The first student stepped forward.

They formed the hand seals.

With a poof, a clone appeared at their side.

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

For the next seven or eight students, the skill levels were about the same. Their Clone Technique was performed in a standard, unremarkable fashion; the clones were recognizable as human shapes, but their expressions were blurry and the details were rough. Out of a hundred points, they mostly hovered around the seventy-point mark.

Some let out a sigh of relief after receiving their scores, while others frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with their performance.

Sakura Haruno stepped forward.

Her movements were clean and crisp, and her hand seals were extremely fast. With a poof, a clone appeared at her side, its expression, build, and appearance identical to her own.

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

A small murmur of amazement rippled through the crowd.

Ino Yamanaka followed right after.

It was the same clean, crisp hand seals and the same perfect clone. Having competed with Sakura for so long, she naturally wouldn't drop the ball on an occasion like this.

"Ino Yamanaka, ninety-five points."

Ino lifted her chin slightly and arched an eyebrow at Sakura.

Next was Shikamaru Nara.

He walked up lazily and formed the seals casually. It looked indifferent, but in reality, his clone was just as good as those of Sakura and Ino.

"Shikamaru Nara, ninety-five points."

Shikamaru yawned and returned to the line.

Iruka was stunned by this scene; he remembered that Shikamaru usually only aimed for sixty points on every exam.

Choji Akimichi and Kiba Inuzuka also took their turns one after another, both achieving high scores of over ninety.

"Next, Uchiha Sasuke," Qiushui called out.

Uchiha Sasuke stepped forward and stood in the designated spot. He formed the hand seals with movements so fast they were almost impossible to track.

The clone he produced was identical to Sasuke himself in every way—from his expression and posture to the subtle nuances of his features. For a split second, it was impossible to tell which was the real body and which was the clone.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Qiushui said, writing the score on the sheet. "Perfect score."

"Sasuke is so amazing!"

Sakura Haruno was the first to lead the applause.

"Sasuke is so cool!"

Ino Yamanaka refused to be outdone, her voice even louder than Sakura's.

The two girls locked eyes, and sparks seemed to fly in the air between them.

Sasuke walked back to the line with an expressionless face, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Next, Hinata Hyuga stepped forward.

She walked to the designated spot, took a deep breath, and formed the hand seals with movements that were gentle yet precise.

Poof.

The clone appeared.

The clone was exactly like Hinata—the posture of her head slightly bowed, her lips gently pursed, even the curve of her eyelashes was perfectly matched.

"Hinata Hyuga," Qiushui said, nodding in satisfaction. "Perfect score."

A wave of astonishment erupted from the crowd.

"Hinata got a perfect score too?"

"Didn't she usually score around eighty?"

"How did she improve so much..."

Hearing the whispers around her, Hinata blushed slightly and trotted back to the line.

Qiushui watched her retreating figure, feeling no surprise at all.

Hinata's chakra control had always been the best in the class; there was never any suspense about that from the very beginning.

Her only problem was her personality.

She was too prone to nervousness and too afraid of making mistakes, causing her to underperform whenever an exam arrived. Those previous scores of eighty were never a true reflection of her ability.

But after a month of training every morning, facing those problems daily, and working hard alongside Naruto, her personality had indeed changed just a little.

Coupled with chakra control that was even more precise than before, it would have been strange if she hadn't achieved a perfect score.

The line continued.

One after another.

Soon, only the last person remained.

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

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

The crowd below was unusually quiet.

Every gaze was fixed upon him. There was no anticipation in those eyes, nor was there mockery; there was only an indescribable, indefinable tension.

They didn't ask for his Clone Technique to be excellent, only that it wouldn't be that limp, shapeless blob from before.

Naruto raised his hands and formed the seals.

Poof!

A burst of white smoke exploded.

The smoke cleared.

A clone appeared at his side.

It stood perfectly upright.

Although its expression was still a bit stiff, the details weren't quite refined, and it couldn't compare to the clones of the other students, the clone was undeniably in the shape of a human.

A human shape that could stand straight.

It was not that limp, shapeless thing from before.

The crowd was silent for a second.

Then, someone let out a soft "Wow."

Qiushui looked at the Naruto before him, then at the clone—ordinary, yet finally normal—and recorded the score in his notebook. "Naruto Uzumaki, sixty-five points."

Hearing the number, Naruto froze for a moment. This was the first time he had passed a Clone Technique exam since enrolling.

"Naruto!" a voice called out from the crowd. "Well done!"

"I never expected your Clone Technique to actually pass!"

"That's amazing, Naruto!"

"What a huge improvement!"

The praises rose and fell, surging toward him like a tide.

If one looked solely at the score, sixty-five points wouldn't even rank among this group. There were plenty of people who had scored ninety, ninety-five, or a perfect score, yet none of them had received such praise.

But without comparison, there is no pain. Naruto's previous clones had been so abysmal that everyone's expectations for him had been low enough that they only hoped he wouldn't be too outrageous.

Listening to the surrounding praise, Naruto grinned until his eyes narrowed into slits. He scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed, but mostly unable to hide his pride.

"Qiushui, it seems you really are suited to be a teacher!" Iruka turned his head to look at Qiushui, sighing with emotion.

He knew better than anyone what Naruto's Clone Technique used to look like.