Class Assignments

They wouldn't pay any attention to a child like Shangguan Yue, who didn't have a single clan crest on him.

Wasn't he just a civilian? Konoha was full of them now, all cannon fodder. Compared to them, the children of other clans were far more worth noticing.

Whether it was to continue clan ties or build future team bonds, they would always choose from among them first.

Bonds were very important.

Now that the God-Slaying Art had fused into a Kekkei Genkai, even Shangguan Yue's most basic spiritual probe had evolved completely.

Where his heart turned and his thoughts reached, every stir of wind and grass nearby would register in his mental network, and the cost had dropped considerably.

He could use his spiritual energy as a tool and chakra as fuel. His spiritual energy was inexhaustible—truly inexhaustible.

Why is everyone staring at me? Whatever. I should keep a low profile and hold something back.

Over this period, Shangguan Yue had grown stronger just by eating, thanks to his Devour passive. And that was without even mentioning the Senju-style Taijutsu Tsunade had taught him: Diamond Style.

Diamond Style Taijutsu had given rise to Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Fist, Heavenly Foot, and other Taijutsu techniques.

It was designed to develop physical strength and improve the body's synchronization with chakra. Once mastered, it allowed the user to perform Nintaijutsu directly.

The strongest known Nintaijutsu was the Raikage faction's Lightning Release Armor in Kumogakure, Land of Lightning, along with the techniques derived from it.

During this time, under Tsunade's brutal training, Shangguan Yue's body had grown stronger by leaps and bounds. If Tsunade hadn't decided she'd gone too far and refused to increase the intensity any further—

Shangguan Yue could have gotten even stronger. Unfortunately, the woman was afraid of hurting him and wouldn't let him continue.

Back to the present, Shangguan Yue and Nawaki began gradually picking up speed, while the others were already too exhausted to sprint.

Shangguan Yue and Nawaki soon began overtaking the others, until they caught up with Uchiha Fugaku.

"Hey, who's that? Do you know him?"

"Huh? Who? I don't know him!"

"Hahaha, I don't know him either. Where'd this little nobody come from?"

Shangguan Yue and Nawaki traded quips as they sped off again. Uchiha Fugaku's face turned livid. He tried to chase after them, but his exhausted body wouldn't let him pick up speed.

This was, after all, a world of ninja. Physical strength wasn't the most important thing. Without chakra to bolster it, even a body stronger than an ordinary person's had its limits.

In the end, Shangguan Yue lapped Uchiha Fugaku several times. Nawaki grinned smugly and made faces at him.

Uchiha Fugaku eventually collapsed from exhaustion. No matter how unwilling he was to accept it, there was nothing he could do. Shangguan Yue looked down at him.

"Useless."

Afterward, he went with Nawaki to remove their weights. Uchiha Fugaku's face flushed red, his eyes wide as if they were about to turn red, too.

The teacher saw that all the students had collapsed, with only Shangguan Yue and Senju Nawaki still standing. He formed hand seals and murmured, "Multi Shadow Clone Technique."

A whole crowd of clones appeared. They went onto the field, carried the children over, and set them down in front of him.

"What a mess. Forget it." He pointed at one of the clones. "Go get someone from the medical team to treat them."

Shangguan Yue and Nawaki came over. Hearing that, Shangguan Yue called out,

"Teacher, there's no need. I know a medical technique. Let me do it."

"You... All right, give it a try."

Shangguan Yue made a Shadow Clone. He still couldn't use the Multi Shadow Clone Technique; he was still lacking the chakra control and density required for an A-rank technique.

Shangguan Yue crouched down, his hands glowing green. "Self-Healing Technique." Soon, the children who had passed out from running came to.

"Ugh, where am I? Huh?! Why are there so many teachers?"

One child jumped in fright at all the Multi Shadow Clones. Once the teacher saw that Shangguan Yue really could do it, all the clones vanished in puffs of white smoke.

When everyone was able to stand again, the teacher clapped his hands. "Kids, the assessment is over. I'm going to read out the names of those who failed. Everyone else passed."

"Inoue Matsuda, Matsushita Sae..."

They were mostly civilian children. After the names had been read, those who'd failed left in tears. Their reluctance and despair were truly hard to bear.

"Why? Why did I fail? I can work hard, even if it takes me longer. Does that mean I can't get into the school?"

"Kid, you can go home and keep training your body. Come back next year.

"But the world of ninja is cruel. Your body is too weak. Becoming a ninja might even put a strain on it.

"So it's not that we don't want you. We're thinking of your lives.

"Kids, my name is Sarutobi Hinai. I'll be waiting for you here. Keep climbing, and come see me."

"Fine, you just wait! Even if I lose my life, I'll become that brief moment of splendor!"

Sarutobi Hinai led the students who'd passed into the Ninja Academy. "Next, we'll divide you into classes..."

Shangguan Yue listened to the order of the class assignments and compared it with the students present.

"I didn't expect it. They really are assigning classes based on strength. But Class A is pretty much what I expected."

"Class A: Shangguan Yue, Senju Nawaki... Uchiha Fugaku... Hyuga Hiashi, Hizashi Hyuga..."

"Class B..."

"Class C..."

"Class E..."

"I've never heard of anyone in Classes B, C, or E. They're probably just some random cannon fodder."

After the class assignments, Shangguan Yue and the others followed Sarutobi Hinai to the first classroom, the one with the most impressive setup.

"Hello, everyone. I'll be your teacher for the six years you attend the Ninja Academy. My name is Sarutobi Hinai, and I'm a Jonin.

"Come up and introduce yourselves. You can start."

Sarutobi Hinai pointed at Shangguan Yue, signaling for him to come up.