Application for Early Graduation

Busy Aoike no longer paid much attention to Sasuke. Now that the first phase of his new technique was complete, he had much more free time on his hands.

A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, causing the lake beneath his feet to evaporate into a thick shroud of steam.

Sasuke, who had been climbing trees in the distance, was startled and fell to the ground. He watched as the Great Fireball, performed by Aoike for the first time, turned out to be a size larger than his own.

Beyond the shock, his heart was filled with a deep sense of resentment. At this rate of training, how long would it take for him to exact his revenge?

With his mindset affected, even climbing the trees became a struggle.

Aoike saw this and shook his head secretly. The young Sasuke was still too immature, and he had no intention of offering guidance.

One had to understand that a Sasuke consumed by vengeance had no heart. He lacked the perseverance and mental fortitude of Naruto. Out of respect for his deceased kin, Aoike could afford to be slightly closer, but maintaining a friendly relationship was enough.

The following days were spent mostly in grueling training. Perhaps due to the mysterious bond between Indra and Asura, he would occasionally run into Naruto fishing in the forest.

By the end of the vacation, Aoike was already able to perform the technique from the scroll. He was still a little short of mastering it completely, but it was enough for his needs.

Aoike visited Ino's family flower shop once more...

This time, he stood before the grave for a long while, finding no more words to speak. His tears had run dry, leaving only silence.

Once the seeds of bloody vengeance were sown in his heart, he could only leave the rest to time.

Not long after the school term began, in Iruka's office.

"What?!"

"You want to apply for early graduation?"

The volume of the voice caused other teachers to cast curious glances their way.

"I don't agree!"

"Don't throw your life away because of your pride."

"I admit your combat strength is high, exceeding the standard for a student, but whether it's combat intuition, systems, traps..."

As he spoke, Iruka suddenly paused.

Aoike's Byakugan clearly reflected his expression.

"I have my own reliance. You will naturally understand during the assessment, Teacher. This is the Clan Head's signature."

A graduation application form was placed into Iruka's hands, with the name Hyuga Hiashi written in the guardian section.

To graduate early, he had engaged in a cordial and friendly conversation with the old Hyuga geezer a few days prior.

The man was extremely dissatisfied with Aoike acting outside his arrangements and even activated the Caged Bird Seal, causing Aoike no small amount of torture.

To pacify Hiashi, Aoike offered the training method for the Wind Style Mode and repeatedly promised that he was still a good boy, expressing his determination to protect the main branch forever. Only then did Hiashi relent. As for whether the Wind Style chakra mode would be stolen and learned by others, Aoike was not worried.

The conditions to learn the Wind Style chakra mode were not trivial.

One had to possess the Byakugan and have learned Rotation; otherwise, one wouldn't even know the location of the body's acupoints, let alone master it in depth. One also had to learn to perceive the state of the wind, possess high-precision wind-style nature transformation (Aoike could already use chakra to draw on leaves), and have a base chakra reserve of at least 2 Kage...

Let them practice. They wouldn't even know what hit them.

Caught in a dilemma, Iruka took the application form to the Third Hokage for a final decision.

After all, the village was currently at peace, and the threshold for early graduation was high. The Third Hokage shouldn't agree to Aoike's reckless behavior...

Before Iruka could recover, the Third Hokage had already signed and stamped the document. Staring blankly at the Hokage's calm expression, he suddenly understood everything.

I am truly a fool. Truly.

With the Hyuga being staunch supporters of the Hokage, I never even considered the possibility that they had coordinated this.

News of Aoike's early graduation spread from the teachers' office; the information-gathering capabilities of the current ninja academy students were, without a doubt, quite impressive.

By the time Iruka returned to the school, the entire campus knew.

The one who took it the hardest was Sasuke. They had agreed to progress together during training, yet only a few days later, you were flying solo.

The graduation assessment was set for three days later. It was said that the Hokage would also come to observe, and the school had taken the opportunity to apply for funding to expand the training ground by nearly double.

Of course, the Hokage wouldn't make such a grand display for a single student. This was under the guise of a general academy assessment, with Aoike's graduation exam simply arranged as the finale.

Three days later~

The Hokage arrived as promised, and the students in the school began to stir. Who didn't have a dream of becoming Hokage when they were young?

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on the high platform, feeling deeply gratified as he watched the vibrant children.

"This is the future of Konoha!" A gentle breeze brushed past his haori, and from a distance, he looked exactly like a kind-hearted elder.

People of his age always liked to reminisce about the past, trying to find traces of their younger selves in the people of today.

Under the organization of the teachers, the training ground was divided into four areas. Most of the students before the Boruto era hadn't mastered many ninjutsu, and the occasional elemental technique that appeared was safely concluded under the teachers' protection.

Sarutobi Hiruzen silently noted the promising seedlings, as did Danzo, who stood behind him.

Through the efforts of the Darkness of Konoha, the village's high-end combat power had been depleted. The arm full of three-tomoe Sharingan gave him immense confidence, and with the existence of Root, he could be said to be the number one person under the Hokage at this moment.

In order to add bricks and tiles to his own power, the competition for talent between Root and the Anbu had never ceased.

Of course, the small fry of today could no longer satisfy Danzo. His true target had always been Uzumaki Naruto—in other words, the Nine-Tails!

The matches proceeded one after another, among which the bouts between Hyuga Neji and Second Pillar drew the most attention.

The clash between Neji's Gentle Fist and Rock Lee's Strong Fist, as well as Hyuga Hinata's Byakugan against Second Pillar's Sharingan, were truly awe-inspiring.

After his hard work during the break, Sasuke's strength had improved, and Hinata, who had only just awakened her Byakugan, suffered a setback against his Great Fireball followed by hidden shuriken.

Sasuke had significantly improved his chakra control through tree-climbing and water-walking exercises; he had hidden the shuriken behind the Great Fireball and, taking advantage of Hinata's focus on the flames, suddenly appeared to secure the victory.

Aoike knew this was a sign that Hinata had not yet mastered her Byakugan; having x-ray vision did not equate to seeing through everything. While her field of vision was 360 degrees, her brain's ability to process that information remained stagnant.

It was akin to a computer with a low-end CPU but a high-end graphics card.

The duels between the ninja were swift, with the average match concluding in just a few minutes.

Fortunately, the training ground had been expanded, and by noon, the school-wide assessment was nearing its end, leaving only a small handful of students to continue after the lunch break.