Sasuke Uchiha's assessment came to an end. Although he hadn't shown off all the shuriken techniques he'd mastered, his excellent combat instincts and skillful Fire Release Ninjutsu still earned him the approval of Hyuga Hiashi and Nara Shikaku.
Fugaku's attitude was cold, but that didn't stop him from giving his son a high score.
Feeling that he'd done reasonably well, Sasuke headed toward the edge of the field and looked at Naruto Uzumaki, who was about to take his turn. Naruto was his old rival. Ever since they'd met, the two had been competing with each other. Karin Senju had given an impressive performance earlier and even outshone Naruto in the shuriken assessment, but in Sasuke's eyes, Naruto had always been his one and only opponent.
"Naruto, did you see that? This is what I'm capable of now. Can you match it?"
Young Sasuke looked at Naruto proudly, hoping to see a hint of nervousness on his face. But to his disappointment, Naruto looked perfectly calm as he walked out of the crowd and into the field.
The practical assessment followed the results of the shuriken test, with students ranked from best to worst. In the first test, Naruto had placed third.
Iruka didn't even need to remind him. Naruto had already walked onto the field on his own.
"Next up for the assessment is Naruto Uzumaki."
Though Naruto had already walked into the field by himself, Iruka announced the examinee's name as usual. That step couldn't be skipped. After all, this was a public examination, and due process had to be observed.
Naruto's entrance drew plenty of attention. The Uzumaki surname was simply too unusual. Everyone who knew Naruto knew he was the Hokage's son. Even those who didn't know him couldn't help paying attention when they heard the