Preparing for the Exam

The ancients said that a person is composed of two parts: one is the soul, and the other is the body. The body is the vessel for the soul, granting one the right to exist, while the soul is the essence within, granting one the meaning of existence.

Death also comes in two forms: the death of the body or the dissipation of the soul. The death of the body is not true death, but when the soul dissipates, the person ceases to exist.

Things like souls truly exist, a fact demonstrated by the sealing jutsu, Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

To be honest, Yueshu did not know what his current situation was. Thinking with the mindset of his past life and guessing based on various tropes, he had likely transmigrated as a soul; the highest probability was that there were two souls inhabiting the same body.

Of course, it was possible that the original owner's soul had nearly dissipated, leaving behind only a few lingering obsessions.

Yueshu did not consider himself a saint, nor was he the type to meddle in thankless affairs.

However—

Having occupied someone else's body, would it not be too shameless to fail to fulfill their final obsession?

That was what Yueshu thought.

Regardless of whether he was just making excuses for himself, his goal now was simple.

It was merely to purely and simply fulfill the obsession of this body.

Not to become the strongest in the world, nor to become the Hokage.

Just such a simple, straightforward goal.

"Wind Style, Wind Blade!"

Kushina's voice rang out. Yueshu snapped back to reality, his body leaping lightly to the side, dodging Kushina's ninjutsu with ease.

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique."

"Wind Style, Great Breakthrough."

Taking advantage of the opening, Mikoto's ninjutsu erupted from the side, and Kushina reacted in time, combining her Wind Style with Mikoto's attack.

The wind fanned the flames, and the Great Fireball Technique, which would have been ordinary for Mikoto, grew significantly larger under the influence of the wind.

Bang!

The Great Fireball collided with Yueshu and exploded instantly.

"Yes!"

The two girls, thinking they had succeeded, clenched their small fists in excitement.

"What a pity."

Yueshu's voice came from above, and the excitement on the girls' faces froze visibly.

"Checkmate."

Landing lightly, Yueshu slowly uttered the word.

Kushina and Mikoto still lacked practical combat experience; they hadn't reacted in time to such a sudden shift.

Thwack.

Yueshu pulled his strength back just in time, delivering a hand-chop to each of the girls' heads.

"Ouch."

Both girls cried out in unison.

This training session was, without a doubt, another victory for Yueshu.

"You still have a long way to go."

Yueshu withdrew his hands.

"In the middle of a battle, if you haven't seen the enemy's corpse with your own eyes, you must never lower your guard."

"No, even if you do see the enemy's corpse, do not lower your guard."

Yueshu began to lecture the two girls.

"A ninja's battle is extremely unpredictable because a ninja has too many methods at their disposal. Therefore, never lower your guard, no matter the situation."

"Maintaining vigilance is the fundamental quality of a ninja."

Yueshu lectured the two girls like an elder, which made Kushina quite annoyed, causing her to click her tongue.

"Got it."

Kushina replied somewhat reluctantly, her eyes filled with obvious unwillingness and defiance.

That was only natural; after all, this girl was inherently stubborn. If the Red Hot Habanero were as docile as Mikoto, she wouldn't be the Red Hot Habanero.

Kushina was, after all, the Red Hot Habanero who would secretly beat up several people just because she heard them speaking ill of her.

"Well, it wasn't bad, though. You even learned how to coordinate, which is excellent. However, your hand signs could be faster; they were still a bit slow. If you had been faster, I might not have had the chance to use the Body Replacement Technique."

Yueshu smiled, offering some appropriate encouragement. Both the carrot and the stick must be used in moderation to achieve the best results.

"Quite a bit of time has passed."

Yueshu sighed, and Kushina and Mikoto looked at him.

"It is time."

Yueshu smiled.

Nearly two weeks of chakra control training followed by another two weeks of comprehensive training—whether it was taijutsu, ninjutsu, or chakra control—Kushina and Mikoto had perfectly transformed into different people over this past month.

Regardless of anything else, Yueshu felt that Kushina and Mikoto had now met the requirements.

"Then let's begin."

"The graduation exam."

Yueshu glanced at the two girls, their eyes filled with excitement.

"Everyone must succeed!"

"Do you even need to say it?"

"Mm!"

Seeing their almost opposite reactions, Yueshu couldn't help but smile.

Spending this time with the two girls, Yueshu had slowly grown accustomed to this feeling.

Kushina was not a very honest person; she always liked to hide her true feelings, yet sometimes she spoke with blunt directness.

Mikoto was exactly as she appeared at first glance: a girl like a Yamato Nadeshiko—gentle, tolerant, good-tempered, quiet, and hardworking. She was the cream of the crop among girls.

Their personalities were almost polar opposites, yet they happened to be each other's best friends, like two complementary pieces of a puzzle.

Yueshu took a deep breath.

"Well then."

"The special training officially ends here!"

With Yueshu's words, the special training for early graduation came to a close.

Next was the graduation exam!

Everyone would pass together and graduate early together!

This plan was finally about to be put into action.

Yueshu had certainly seen the sweat Kushina and Mikoto had shed during this month of special training.

He might have slept when it was time to sleep, but he had clearly seen the sweat Kushina and Mikoto had poured out.

While ordinary girls were still enjoying the joys and beauty of life, Kushina and Mikoto were training desperately. To reach the goals Yueshu had set sooner, the two of them even continued to train after completing his assigned tasks.

Precisely because of this, everyone had to pass together; no matter what, it was a responsibility to Kushina and Mikoto's hard work.

"You two should rest for a bit."

Yueshu turned to Kushina and Mikoto and said.

The two girls were already drenched in sweat; today's training was enough to exhaust them.

"And you?"

"I'm going to find the Third Hokage."

"To apply for early graduation."

Kushina and Mikoto looked at Yueshu.

"Go."

No need for a thousand words; that sweat expressed everything.

Yueshu glanced at the two girls, leaped, and left the area.

Kushina and Mikoto watched Yueshu depart, then looked at each other and finally couldn't help but laugh.

Silver-bell-like laughter echoed here, carried by the wind and the river.

"Good luck!"

"Good luck!"

Kushina and Mikoto both clenched their small fists, looking incredibly adorable.

Neither girl was usually the type to act this way, so seeing them like this was truly rare, though unfortunately, there was no one else around to see it.

Leaves of Konoha drifted down gently, brushing past the determined gazes in the two girls' eyes.

Yueshu arrived in front of the Hokage building.

Right in front of him, pushing open the door meant heading toward a new path.

Next!

The path of the ninja!