Targeted

"Isn't this supposed to be a test of ninjutsu only? Why is there a written portion? Is this intentionally targeting me? Have they forgotten my status?"

Ryosuke was the last one to receive his test paper.

However, the Chunin instructor told him, "You have six minutes left to complete the exam."

"Are you messing with me?"

Ryosuke stood up immediately.

"This is the Third Hokage's will. If you cannot do it, return to where you belong."

After saying this, the Chunin instructor turned around and returned behind the podium.

In the meantime, the others had already written quite a bit.

Even though Ryosuke could copy the movements of others, he couldn't match the question numbers at all.

He had been set up.

Only then did Ryosuke realize why the Third Hokage had agreed to let him participate in the graduation exam.

Just as he was preparing to see what the questions were before making a decision, the sound of a crow suddenly came from outside the window.

A crow?

He turned his head to look.

A crow was standing on the windowsill, and its eyes were actually Three-Tomoe.

Itachi?

Following that, Ryosuke felt his hands begin to move on their own.

Ryosuke did not resist this force.

Although he didn't know the reason, Itachi must have been trying to help him.

Soon, the time to hand in the papers arrived.

The Chunin instructor actually came to Ryosuke's side first to collect his test paper.

"Let me see how much you've written. Hmm?"

The Chunin instructor's expression grew increasingly ugly.

"How is it, Teacher? Did I get them all right?"

At this moment, the other students also looked over.

The Chunin instructor glanced at Ryosuke, said nothing, and turned to collect the other students' papers.

The results of the test came out quickly.

A full third of the students had failed the written exam.

It seemed that in order to target him, the Third Hokage had ended up causing many students to suffer.

The students who failed the written exam left the classroom.

Next was the ninjutsu examination segment.

"The subject for this graduation exam is: Summoning Jutsu."

After the Chunin instructor finished speaking, he glanced toward Ryosuke.

Ryosuke felt a jolt in his heart; the exam topics he had investigated previously did not include Summoning Jutsu.

Was this another attempt to target him?

The other students were also very surprised.

"No way? This is content we haven't learned yet."

"What is this? How am I supposed to graduate like this? I've never heard of a Genin knowing Summoning Jutsu."

Most of the students began to complain.

However, a few students appeared very calm; they were all from Konoha's great clans, and it seemed they had received the exam questions in advance and were prepared.

The Nara Kid was the first to walk onto the stage.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

He performed the Summoning Jutsu with an exaggerated gesture.

An owl appeared on his arm.

"Pass."

The Chunin instructor made a checkmark in his notebook.

[Ding, A-rank ninjutsu Summoning Jutsu detected, recorded.]

Although the system had recorded the Summoning Jutsu, Ryosuke couldn't feel happy at all.

Summoning Jutsu was different from other ninjutsu; it required signing a contract with a ninja beast to successfully summon one.

But where was Uchiha Ryosuke supposed to go to sign a contract with a ninja beast now?

"System? Is there any way you can help me get a summoning beast?"

Uchiha Ryosuke had no choice but to seek help from the system.

However, the system didn't react at all.

"Damn it, you always drop the ball at the critical moment."

Just then, the crow that had been on the windowsill suddenly used its beak to open the window, then hopped onto Uchiha Ryosuke's arm.

"You can help me?"

The crow nodded.

Then, it pecked at Uchiha Ryosuke's finger, actually drawing blood.

"What the hell!"

Uchiha Ryosuke cursed, but the crow suddenly dissolved into a splash of ink and vanished.

"Is that all it takes?"

Uchiha Ryosuke rubbed his finger, and a moment later, the skin had already healed.

"Uchiha Ryosuke, it's your turn."

The Chunin instructor finally called Uchiha Ryosuke's name.

All the other students had already been tested, and the results were even more dismal this time; only four people had successfully performed the Summoning Jutsu.

This was likely the graduating class with the lowest pass rate in the history of Konoha.

Was it really necessary to go to such lengths just to target him?

"Summoning Jutsu!"

With a poof, the smoke cleared to reveal countless black shadows filling the entire classroom—they were all crows.

Seeing this, the Chunin instructor immediately covered his head and bolted out of the classroom.

"Teacher, did I pass?"

Uchiha Ryosuke shouted after him.

"You passed! Go find the Third Hokage for the rest!"

The Chunin instructor's voice drifted back from afar.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the main storyline, becoming a Genin, and gaining 5,000 experience points.]

A storyline quest? Why didn't I receive a system notification?

Hearing the system's voice, Uchiha Ryosuke immediately pulled up the system menu.

He discovered a storyline task list, where the first task, "Become a Genin," was already marked as complete.

The second storyline task, "Complete your first ninja mission," had lit up.

"So there are main storyline tasks after all. Damn system, why didn't you remind me?"

Uchiha Ryosuke complained before running toward the Hokage's office.

The other four students who had passed the two rounds of testing were already there.

They looked somewhat surprised to see Uchiha Ryosuke, especially the Nara Kid.

The Hokage's office was already thick with smoke.

When the Third Hokage saw Uchiha Ryosuke enter, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

It seemed he hadn't expected Uchiha Ryosuke to successfully pass the difficult challenge he had personally devised to target him.

"Uchiha Ryosuke, congratulations on becoming a Genin. Now you need a three-inch photo to attach to your personal resume. Here is your forehead protector."

The Third Hokage took a Konoha forehead protector from his drawer and placed it next to the other four on the desk. It appeared he hadn't prepared one for Uchiha Ryosuke beforehand.

Of course, there were more in his drawer, which should have been for the other children in the graduating class, but they were no longer needed.

Uchiha Ryosuke took the lead, picked up a forehead protector, and left the office.

As soon as he stepped out, he sensed a familiar presence.

He turned around to see Itachi standing in the shadows of the office building.

"Do you know the way to the photo studio? I'm not familiar with this place."

Uchiha Ryosuke said to Itachi.

Itachi didn't speak; he simply turned and began walking slowly down the street.

Uchiha Ryosuke followed him.

Itachi wasn't wearing the iconic clothing of the Uchiha clan at the moment, but rather an Anbu uniform, with a fox mask resting on the back of his head.

"Why did you help me earlier?" Uchiha Ryosuke asked suddenly.

"I just wanted to see if you were the same kind of person as I am." Itachi didn't even turn his head as he spoke.

"How about now?" Ryosuke asked.

"The fact that you were able to form a contract with the crows already says everything."

Itachi suddenly stopped in his tracks; they were already standing in front of a photo studio.

Ryosuke tied his forehead protector around his left arm and walked into the studio.

"Regardless, thank you."

Itachi watched Ryosuke's retreating back, his Sharingan suddenly surfacing.