The Third Hokage handed a stack of files to Li. When he took a look, the first page was Minato Namikaze's photo. The next few were about the two Hyuga brothers, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Shikaku Nara. They were all children from various clans. But soon, Li came across Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto's files, which surprised him. He hadn't expected either of them to apply for early graduation. Uchiha Mikoto hadn't mentioned it to him at all.
"These students all want to graduate early. This time, I'd like the students who haven't graduated yet to come and watch the graduation test. And you, Li, will be the one testing them. You're Konoha's greatest prodigy, so having you test them will surely inspire the other students!" The Third Hokage said with a chuckle, taking a puff of his pipe.
The so-called test meant fighting Minato Namikaze and the others. Li would decide whether they were qualified to graduate. In other words, he held the power to determine whether they could graduate.
"Ding! Quest issued: Successfully complete the graduation test. Reward: 1,000 points!"
At the system's notification, Li was slightly surprised. If he remembered correctly, the system hadn't made a sound in at least three months. He hadn't expected a task like this from the Third Hokage to trigger a system quest.
"I understand, Lord Hokage!" Li nodded slightly and straightened the files in his hands. Since the system had given him a quest, he would do his best to complete it.
Carrying the files on Minato Namikaze and the others, Li left and went straight to the Third Training Ground, as instructed by the Third Hokage. In fact, all the training grounds were much the same: a grassy clearing surrounded by some woods. They were numbered simply to keep different teams of ninja from getting in one another's way.
When he arrived at the Third Training Ground, he spotted Minato Namikaze and the others from a distance. Uchiha Fugaku was fussing over Uchiha Mikoto, but she was ignoring him.
"Li!" As soon as she saw him, Uchiha Mikoto's eyes lit up. Fed up with Uchiha Fugaku pestering her, she ignored him and hurried straight over to Li, beaming with delight. "What brings you here? Are you here to cheer me on?"
Minato Namikaze and the others smiled when they saw Li and nodded to him. They had been classmates, after all. But the Hyuga brothers and Uchiha Fugaku looked less pleased. The Hyuga brothers disliked him because he was an Uchiha, while Uchiha Fugaku was upset because of Uchiha Mikoto.
"All right, Mikoto. I'm here to be your test instructor!" Uchiha Mikoto had been holding his hand and shaking it for a while, leaving Li a little helpless. She was already so grown up, yet she still clung to him like she had when she was little, as if she'd never grow up.
"Test instructor?"
The others were stunned and hadn't yet reacted. But when Li nodded, Minato Namikaze and the others looked a little strange. They hadn't expected their test instructor to be a student their own age. Wasn't that a little ironic?
"Li, I can't believe you're our test instructor! You're amazing!" Once Uchiha Mikoto understood, she was even happier, as though she were the test instructor herself. She clung to Li's arm and wouldn't let go.
"All right, Mikoto. The test is about to begin, and lots of students will be watching. You have to do your best!" Li shook his head slightly, then flicked her smooth forehead with a finger.
"Ow, that hurt!"
The flick made Uchiha Mikoto wince. She let go of Li's arm, covered her forehead, and glared at him in a huff. Behind them, Uchiha Fugaku turned livid at how close Li and Uchiha Mikoto were.
"Uchiha Li, once I become clan head, I'll wipe out you Hardline Faction members!" Uchiha Fugaku gritted his teeth and looked away. Over the past three years, ever since Li had begun visiting the Great Elder's residence, Uchiha Hao had started telling Uchiha Fugaku about what was happening within the clan and repeatedly warned him to be wary of Li. Now Uchiha Fugaku regarded Li as his greatest enemy in life. Whether in matters of the heart or in the future struggle for the clan head position, Li posed too great a threat.
After fooling around with Uchiha Mikoto for a while, a middle-aged man in a green vest arrived at the training ground with a large group of little kids. This was the Third Hokage's arrangement. He wanted the prodigy Li to inspire the students at the academy, which was why he had made an exception and appointed Li as the test instructor, while also allowing students to watch. The students who had come ranged from brand-new pupils to those on the verge of graduation. There were several hundred of them.
"Teacher Morita!" Li nodded slightly at the middle-aged ninja leading the group. This man had been his teacher when he attended the academy.
"Good, good!" Morita Mushio was clearly very pleased with Li. Of all the students he had taught, Li was the most talented—and he wasn't arrogant, either. Hearing Li call him "Teacher Morita" made Morita Mushio delighted.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Morita Mushio, the students took their places in a circle. They watched Li and Minato Namikaze in the middle, their faces alight with excitement. Anyone who could graduate early was a prodigy, someone they all admired.
"Are you ready?" Once everyone had arrived, Li looked at Minato Namikaze and the others and asked calmly.
At Li's words, their expressions tightened, and they grew serious. They didn't know how much his strength had improved over the past three years, but his calm demeanor alone was enough to make them wary.
They looked at one another, none wanting to go first. Each hoped someone else would test Li's strength before them. His composure made them all uneasy. After all, three years ago, Li had already killed a Chunin. Back then, they might have been confident they could last a couple of moves against him. But now, they couldn't believe he hadn't improved at all in three years. If they were taken down in a single blow, wouldn't that be mortifying?
"Uchiha Li, allow me to test your skills first!" Minato Namikaze smiled faintly. Ignoring the others' odd expressions, he stepped forward and came to stand before Li.
"Yes. Of all these students, Minato may be the only one who can make Li put in a little effort!" Morita Mushio nodded, smiling as he watched Li and Minato Namikaze. Both were students he had high hopes for, and both were once-in-a-generation prodigies.
Before you continue