Several days had passed since Lihuo and Kakashi had sparred.
That day, Guy was at school, while Lihuo and Kakashi independently used Shadow Clones to skip class and train on the training grounds.
Just as the two were training hard, Lihuo suddenly grabbed his head and cried out in pain.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Before Kakashi could ask what was wrong, he let out a muffled groan of his own and rubbed his head.
It turned out that Teacher Oshima planned to hold the midterm exam the next day and required everyone to take it in person.
So he dispelled Lihuo and Kakashi's Shadow Clones, using the clones' ability to transmit information to notify them both.
"Teacher Oshima's methods are way too savage."
"He must've been fed up with us using Shadow Clones to attend class for ages. Now he's just taking the chance to get back at us."
Just then, a green figure came dashing over. It was Guy, fresh out of school.
"Hey, my dear comrades! Tomorrow, we'll have a youthful gathering!"
"We know, it's the midterm exam. Now hurry up and train," Lihuo said, slapping Guy on the shoulder and interrupting his grand speech. Then the three of them resumed their usual training.
The next day, the midterm exam began as scheduled, with Teacher Oshima personally overseeing it.
When Lihuo and Kakashi arrived at the classroom together, Teacher Oshima came over with a "kind" smile and rapped each of them on the head.
"Hey! Teacher Oshima, how could you do that?" Lihuo protested indignantly.
"How else would I know whether you two are Shadow Clones? After all, my eyesight's failing, and I can't tell," Teacher Oshima said with a chuckle before walking away.
Lihuo looked at Kakashi.
"That was definitely personal revenge. Teacher Oshima really has a nasty sense of humor, doesn't he, Kakashi?"
Kakashi, however, wore a grave expression.
"I couldn't dodge it. There was no way to dodge it. With our skills, we could take on an ordinary Chunin, so why couldn't we avoid Teacher Oshima's punch?"
Lihuo's usual carefree expression vanished, replaced by a hint of seriousness.
"Yeah. The Shinobi World is full of hidden talents. We really can't afford to underestimate anyone."
With that, the two returned to their seats.
Just then, a pleasant voice called out to Lihuo.
"Well, if it isn't Uchiha Lihuo, the genius who insists on using Shadow Clones to attend school!"
Lihuo turned toward the speaker. It was Nara Lumiao, her lovely, wide eyes fixed on him, full of teasing.
"Oh, it's you. Nara Lumiao, the Sleeping Beauty who gets eight hours of sleep in class every day."
Neither of them was the type to let the other get the last word, so their conversation quickly turned into a battle of barbed remarks.
"I was going to use that secret to shake you down, but now Teacher Oshima's exposed it. To make it up to me, treat me to a skewer of Three-Color Dango!"
Lihuo couldn't help finding that amusing.
"Fine. Come with me after school."
"Yay! You're the best, boss!"
Ding-ding-ding! A sharp school bell interrupted them.
The midterm exam had officially begun!
The exam had two parts: a written test and a practical exercise. The written test came first and covered the basic knowledge they had learned over the past two months. Teacher Oshima had personally prepared it.
"My test has both easy questions and challenging ones. If you've studied diligently, getting 80 points shouldn't be a problem. But getting a perfect score won't be so easy," Teacher Oshima said confidently.
Thanks to Basic Knowledge Mastery, which he had acquired from Ebisu, the questions on the test were a piece of cake for Lihuo.
His pen flew across the page, and he finished the entire test in one smooth, uninterrupted flow.
While Obito beside him was still scratching his head, completely stumped, Lihuo had already put down his pen and was relaxing at his leisure.
Suddenly, Obito nudged Lihuo with his elbow and sent him a private message.
"Lihuo, bro, do you know the answers? Help me out!"
"Didn't I tell you to study hard?"
"Ah, that reminds me of a story..."
Thwack! A piece of chalk came flying like a Kunai and struck Obito right in the forehead.
"Uchiha Obito, what are you whispering about down there? Get back to work!" Teacher Oshima scolded.
Seeing Obito get put in his place made Lihuo's day.
"He didn't say anything to you. You got all the questions done, then?"
Lihuo walked up and gently placed his test on the lectern. "I'm going to prepare for the second exam."
Teacher Oshima exclaimed, "You got every question right!"
He knew that if Lihuo had copied, there was no way it would have escaped the eyes of a former Anbu member like him. So Lihuo could only have done it himself.
"So using Shadow Clones to attend class can improve your study efficiency!"
Only Obito wailed, "A perfect-score paper was right in front of me, and I didn't cherish it! ToT~~~"
Not long afterward, the exam ended. Teacher Oshima collected the tests, wrapping up the first part. After a short break, the second part began!
The rules were simple: form teams of three, then have the teams face off against each other. The exam wasn't judged by who won or lost; students were scored based on their performance.
Lihuo teamed up with Kakashi and Guy, naturally, hoping to speed through the exam and get back to training.
But the three of them were so intimidating that none of the other teams wanted to face them.
The New Ino-Shika-Cho team, led by Nara Lumiao, faced the same problem.
Unlike Lihuo's team, whose members were individually powerful, Lumiao's team was avoided because of their strong teamwork.
So the two teams left without opponents naturally became each other's rivals, and their match drew the most attention.
The exams were in full swing.
"Next match: Uchiha Lihuo, Hatake Kakashi, and Might Guy versus Nara Lumiao, Yamanaka Iwen, and Akimichi Dai."
The two teams stepped onto the field and formed the Seal of Confrontation. There was little talk; the fight was about to begin.
The Ino-Shika-Cho formation had already made a name for itself back in the Warring States era, thanks to its powerful teamwork. Lihuo knew better than to underestimate them.
Lihuo recalled what he knew about the three.
Lumiao went without saying. Her C-rank evaluation on the Ninja System reflected her impressive skill. What made the Nara Clan terrifying, though, was never their strength, but their brains.
Yamanaka Iwen was usually silent, and his skill level was unknown.
As for Akimichi Dai, he was a chubby kid, as expected. But unlike the other members of the Akimichi Clan, Dai had spiky hair like a punk and a defiant look on his face. Still, Lihuo had a hunch that Dai might be the strongest of the three.
The three members of Ino-Shika-Cho stood in a triangular formation. Lumiao, at the front, smiled and said, "We've all learned our clan's secret techniques, so be careful. Don't lose!"
Lumiao turned to the two behind her. "Hold them off for three minutes."
As soon as she finished speaking, Iwen and Dai sprang into action and charged at the three opponents.
The two exchanged glances, their eyes filled with seriousness. Lihuo and his teammates seemed to be standing in a loose, disorganized formation, but there wasn't a single opening!
Lihuo tilted his head slightly. "Guy, Kakashi, you're up."
"Don't order me around!"
Despite what he said, Kakashi and Guy rushed forward at once.
Then Lumiao, who had been quiet until now, made her move. She quickly threw Shuriken to distract them. Lihuo had known all along that Lumiao wouldn't just sit back and do nothing. After all, with such a huge gap in strength, only strategy could change the course of the fight.
"Whatever you're planning, I just have to stop you from pulling it off."
As he spoke, Lihuo used his Kunai to knock Lumiao's Shuriken out of the air one by one.
But he didn't notice that Lumiao had used those few moments to set a trap in front of herself with Explosive Tags.
"Ah!" Iwen and Dai, who had been fighting up front, cried out in pain. Kakashi and Guy were simply too strong, and they had dispatched the pair in a few quick moves.
Lumiao's expression turned grim. She called out softly, "Got it?"
"Got it!" Dai and Iwen answered together.
Lihuo understood: Iwen had used the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique to create a temporary communications network, allowing them to speak privately through a genuinely encrypted channel.
Iwen struggled back behind the trap, then gathered his chakra and braced himself.
"Dai! I need you to block their view!"
"Got it! Multi-Size Technique!"
Dai's body rapidly swelled, a dangerous power surging within him.
"Human Bullet Tank!" Dai's body hurtled forward! Kakashi and the others had to dodge left and right, but Dai's attack couldn't hurt them at all!
"If you can't hit them, the technique's pointless," Guy said proudly.
"No, the dust on the field's been kicked up. We've lost our visibility!"
Before you continue