Nawaki crouched on the ground with a look of utter despair. Copying the test questions a hundred times was enough to make him lose all hope.
Shin gave him a sympathetic look. Yes, Shin swore it was sympathy, not gloating.
"Next, we'll have the practical test. First up is kunai throwing."
Teacher Tanaka announced, then glanced at Nawaki.
"Nawaki, what are you still crouching there for? Do you want another hundred lines?"
Nawaki immediately stood up and looked at Teacher Tanaka as if he were a demon.
Shin walked over and patted Nawaki on the shoulder, shaking his head. "Sacrifices have to be made. There's nothing we can do, Nawaki. You have to understand."
Nawaki looked at Shin reproachfully. A hundred times! How was he supposed to understand?
"Let's begin the test. Uzumaki Shin, you're first."
Teacher Tanaka called out to Shin.
"I'm first? I hit the jackpot."
Shin smiled faintly, took a kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch, and stood less than fifteen meters from the target. That was the distance Teacher Tanaka had specified.
The students were all young, so if the target were too far away, they might not even be able to throw their kunai that far.
In an instant, the kunai flew from Shin's hand and struck the target with a thud.
"Nine points. Not bad—you almost got a perfect score." Teacher Tanaka nodded in satisfaction.
"Hmph, is that all you can do?"
A disdainful voice reached Shin's ears. He knew it was that guy, Uzumaki Kai, without even looking.
Shin turned toward Uzumaki Kai.
"Uzumaki Kai, what did you just say? I didn't hear you. Say it again."
Uzumaki Kai looked at Shin, a flicker of fear in his eyes. When they were children, Shin had beaten him so badly that he broke one of his legs, and Kai still feared him.
Uzumaki Kai wasn't even sure whether he hated Shin more than he feared him, or feared him more than he hated him.
Seeing Kai shut his mouth, Shin gave a soft snort and went over to Kushina.
"Why'd you only get nine points?" Kushina asked him quietly.
"I just didn't want to stand out too much. Nine points is still good," Shin said with a smile. He knew his own strength; there was no need to show it off.
He was still a young dragon and had to keep a low profile. One day, he would become a mighty dragon soaring through the heavens.
After the kunai-throwing test ended, four students in the class had scored a perfect ten: Mikoto, Nawaki, Namikaze Minato, and that guy Uzumaki Kai.
"Just looking at that guy's smug, boastful expression makes me mad."
Kushina stared at Uzumaki Kai, clenching her little fists. If he dared come over, she'd send him flying with one punch.
"Don't worry about him," Shin said with a warm smile.
That was what he said, but Shin was actually thinking about sneaking up on Kai and teaching him a lesson, just to stop him from strutting around so much.
After the kunai-throwing test came the practical test. The students were divided into pairs and had to fight one-on-one.
"I'll announce the pairings now. Uzumaki Shin and Senju Nawaki; Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto; Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga; Uzumaki Kai and Namikaze Minato..."
"Are you trying to make brothers fight each other? Teacher Tanaka, that's cruel."
Shin looked at Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga with a pained expression, though his eyes were full of anticipation.
"I wouldn't mind being paired with you," Hyuga Hiashi said blandly, his face expressionless.
"Tsk, I don't want to be paired with a stone face."
Hyuga Hiashi's expression hardly ever changed. He always looked serious and expressionless, which was why Shin called him a stone face.
"Shin, since we're paired up, what do you think I should do?" Nawaki asked, glaring at Shin through gritted teeth.
"Nawaki, out of pocket money? How about I treat you to barbecue? Just deliberately lose this match to me."
Shin smiled at Nawaki.
"And Nawaki, you don't want Tsunade finding out you cheated on this exam, do you?"
Threats and temptation worked instantly. Nawaki gave in, while Hyuga Hiashi, standing nearby, couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth. Teacher, there's something fishy going on over here.
The practical test began. Since Shin had already bribed Nawaki, their fight ended quickly.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me for real?" Nawaki rubbed his stomach. It hurt so much he could barely get back up.
"Obviously I had to hit you hard. Otherwise, people might get suspicious." Shin walked over and pulled Nawaki to his feet.
Then he went to watch the other fights. Kushina and Mikoto were evenly matched, though Kushina wasn't using her full strength.
At this point, hardly anyone knew any ninjutsu, so the Uzumaki Clan and the Senju Clan had an advantage in fights thanks to their physical prowess.
You could tell from the fight between Uzumaki Kai and Namikaze Minato. Minato was being chased around by Kai.
The Sage Body could take a beating. Minato had punched Kai several times, but Kai was fine. Then Kai took a punch from Minato and hit him back once, hard enough to make Minato suffer.
In the end, the fight between Uzumaki Kai and Namikaze Minato ended in Kai's victory.
Shin shook his head. That was the advantage of having a Kekkei Genkai. This world was unfair to begin with.
But that was only true for now. Kai could rely on his strong constitution to bully Minato at this point, but in the future, he probably wouldn't stand a chance against him.
"Um, Namikaze Minato, are you all right?" Uzumaki Akiko came over to Minato and asked with concern.
"Thanks for asking, Uzumaki Akiko. I'm fine," Namikaze Minato replied with a smile. Even with a few injuries on his face, his smile was still bright.
Uzumaki Kai had been feeling rather pleased with himself after winning, but when he saw Uzumaki Akiko go over to check on Namikaze Minato, his expression froze.
Uzumaki Kai had always been interested in Uzumaki Akiko, so seeing this sent his jealousy soaring.
"Looks like there's a show about to start." Shin tugged on Nawaki, looking as if he couldn't wait to watch.
Uzumaki Kai strode angrily toward Namikaze Minato.
"Namikaze Minato!"
At Kai's roar, Minato turned to look at him, only for Kai to greet him with a punch.
Caught off guard, Minato was hit, and a black eye immediately began to form around his right eye.
"Uzumaki Kai, what are you doing?" Uzumaki Akiko demanded angrily.
Teacher Tanaka's attention was drawn over as well. He immediately came to Kai's side and grabbed him before he could strike again.
"Uzumaki Kai, your fight is already over. Why did you keep attacking Namikaze Minato?" Teacher Tanaka asked angrily.
"Hey, what's going on?" Kushina and Mikoto came over to Shin and asked him.
"Hm? Your fight's already over?"
"It's over. I beat Mikoto!" Kushina looked at Shin excitedly, as if waiting for him to praise her.
"Oh." Shin nodded flatly, completely disappointing Kushina.
Kushina pouted angrily, wishing she could bite Shin. Couldn't he praise her for once?
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