Passed the Test

After the flames dissipated, only the battered remains of the earthen wall stood in place, its surface charred black and radiating waves of heat.

Jiraiya emerged from behind the wall. Though the Earth Style: Earth Wall had been badly damaged, it had still done its job and protected him.

"Truly... the younger generation is something else!"

Looking at the severely damaged wall, Jiraiya sighed in admiration.

Just then, he suddenly felt something tug at his waist.

Jiraiya spun around at once. Namikaze Minato was buried up to his waist in the earth, holding the two bells and looking at him.

"Teacher Jiraiya, we won."

Jiraiya gave Minato a long look. Although the compound ninjutsu just now had distracted him quite a bit, it wasn't as if just anyone could approach him from behind without making a sound—even from underground.

"I lost," Jiraiya said easily.

"You started digging your way over the moment the explosion went off, didn't you?"

"Yes." Minato smiled.

By then, Uchiha Nagi and his teammate had finally come over from the distance.

Uchiha Mikoto was still in shock. Had they really managed to take the bells from Jiraiya, a student of the Third Hokage?

And she had only made one move throughout the entire test: using a Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.

Even then, they had only managed to push Jiraiya into that position thanks to Uchiha Nagi's help with Wind Release...

As she recalled the various moments from the test, Uchiha Mikoto suddenly realized that perhaps Uchiha Nagi hadn't been lying when he said yesterday that he would look after her.

Her two teammates, both two years younger than her, were indeed far stronger than she had imagined!

Uchiha Nagi's Shurikenjutsu was especially impressive. His throwing technique left her in awe. After all, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, she was already very good at throwing weapons herself.

But she absolutely couldn't match Uchiha Nagi!

"I'll remind you all: based on your performance, you've all done well enough to pass the test. But there are only two bells, so have you decided who will take the punishment?" Jiraiya asked with a mischievous grin.

"I'll do it. It's only a punishment," Uchiha Nagi said, stretching.

"No, let me do it. I was the least useful one in this test, after all," Uchiha Mikoto quickly offered.

"Teacher Jiraiya, I think if there's a punishment, all three of us should take it together. We're a team. It wouldn't be right to single anyone out," Minato said.

Uchiha Nagi and Uchiha Mikoto exchanged a glance. They didn't say anything, which amounted to agreeing with Minato.

Jiraiya looked at the three of them, who were willing to take the punishment together, and slowly smiled.

"Haha! In that case, your punishment, as assigned by your instructor, is to go out for a meal together. But let me make this clear: no barbecue today," Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh.

"All right. Thank you, Teacher Jiraiya."

The three of them smiled.

After they had finished laughing, Jiraiya looked at them and spoke seriously.

"You're all quite good. First, Uchiha Nagi: even an elite jonin couldn't afford to dismiss your shuriken-throwing skills.

"On top of that, your chakra control is exceptionally good, and you've mastered the Three Basic Techniques. You're outstanding. You must have held back during your graduation exam, didn't you?"

Uchiha Nagi nodded.

Jiraiya looked as if he'd expected that. Otherwise, he couldn't have watched the entire test and still failed to remember Nagi's name.

Then he turned to Minato.

"Namikaze Minato, you have exceptionally sharp reflexes, and your chakra control is excellent too. You should have been capable of serving as a Genin long ago."

Finally, Jiraiya looked at Uchiha Mikoto, who seemed a little uneasy.

"Uchiha Mikoto, although your two teammates' performances left you with less time to show what you could do, your final Great Fireball Technique showed that your chakra control is excellent too. You're absolutely qualified to graduate."

Uchiha Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiraiya looked at the three of them. What pleased him most was how well they got along, especially the bond between classmates Uchiha Nagi and Minato.

The scene from earlier was still vivid in his mind. Minato must have trusted Uchiha Nagi's shuriken-throwing skills immensely.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have used his own body to block Jiraiya's view so Nagi's shuriken would go unnoticed.

After all, if Uchiha Nagi had made even the slightest mistake, Minato's life could have been in serious danger.

That level of trust had shocked Jiraiya.

"Have you decided what you want to eat?" Jiraiya asked.

"I remember there's a good dango shop," Uchiha Nagi said after a moment's thought.

The most famous place he could think of was Ichiraku Ramen, but it wouldn't open until the Hatake Kakashi and Rōran storyline began. And that was still...

Hatake Kakashi wouldn't be born for another few months!

Aside from Ichiraku Ramen, there was the Akimichi Clan's barbecue and Mitaraishi Anko's dango.

"What do you think?" Jiraiya asked Minato and Uchiha Mikoto.

Neither of them had anything in particular they wanted to eat, so they naturally didn't object to the suggestion.

"Then it's settled. Let's go to the dango shop!"

Jiraiya led the three of them toward the dango shop with great enthusiasm.

After everything was over, Uchiha Nagi and Uchiha Mikoto headed toward the clan compound together again.

On the way, Uchiha Mikoto kept glancing at Uchiha Nagi's back hesitantly, but never asked what she wanted to know.

She wanted to know whether Uchiha Nagi had awakened the Sharingan.

She knew that some members of the clan had managed to develop their throwing skills to that level, but every one of them had awakened the Sharingan.

However, she thought it might be a secret, so Uchiha Mikoto didn't feel comfortable asking him outright.

"You keep sneaking glances at me. Is something wrong?" Uchiha Nagi turned to look at Mikoto.

"N-no, nothing." Uchiha Mikoto jumped in surprise.

"Oh. If there's something on your mind, just ask. I'll answer what I can. What I can't answer... well, I obviously won't tell you," Uchiha Nagi said frankly.

"Mm, I understand."

Uchiha Mikoto wasn't upset. After all, he had been the first to volunteer to take the punishment.

She had clearly been the least impressive one in the test, yet he had still stepped up. That showed he was a good person, and she wasn't going to let little things like this bother her.

"By the way, Eri invited you to my house. Do you have time?" Uchiha Nagi suddenly remembered and asked.

"Huh? Eri?" Mikoto hesitated, but eventually agreed.

"Then, sorry for the trouble."