Ninja Academy Exam

Today was the day of the exam. In the morning, a two-hour written theory test quietly kicked off.

Inside the exam hall, the rustling sound of pen tips scratching against paper rose and fell, creating an atmosphere that was tense yet orderly.

Hayato appeared particularly composed regarding this written test, his eyes revealing an indescribable sense of confidence.

After all, it did not test one's ability to gather intelligence, but purely examined the mastery of basic knowledge.

To him, this was nothing more than a warm-up.

As the proctor announced the end of the exam, the candidates handed in their papers one after another and left the room.

Teacher Shuichi quickly organized the group and led everyone to the practical training ground, preparing them to face the even more severe challenges ahead.

The practical exam was scheduled for four days, with opponents for the one-on-one duels decided by a lottery.

Hayato's first opponent was Izumo Kamizuki.

When Izumo learned that his opponent was Hayato, his expression dimmed instantly, and he muttered to himself, "My luck today is truly terrible."

The result of the match was exactly as Izumo had anticipated; Hayato relied on his exquisite taijutsu to secure an easy victory.

After finishing his first match, Hayato headed to Kurenai's battle zone.

The Ninja Academy's practical training ground was divided into ten areas, with a Chunin assigned to supervise each field.

When Hayato arrived at Kurenai's eighth area, the battle was still in full swing.

Kurenai's opponent was Ebisu, and the two were locked in a fierce struggle, the scene exceptionally intense.

Hayato observed Kurenai's performance from the sidelines. From a taijutsu perspective, Kurenai's speed was decent, but her strength was slightly lacking, often causing her to be pushed back whenever her opponent utilized his superior power.

At this moment, Kurenai, in the midst of the fight, caught a glimpse of Hayato out of the corner of her eye, and a surge of stubbornness rose within her: Hayato is watching from the side; I absolutely cannot lose this match in front of him!

With that, Kurenai pushed off the ground with force, accelerated instantly to reach Ebisu's side, and swung her right fist directly at him.

Ebisu was shocked, "So fast!"

He hurriedly dodged to the side while raising his right hand in an attempt to block Kurenai's attack.

"Now!" Kurenai's right fist did not land on her opponent; instead, she used Ebisu's right arm as a springboard.

She leaped upward, and once she reached a certain height, she brought a whip kick down hard onto Ebisu's back, knocking him to the ground.

Bang! A loud thud echoed, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Hayato silently summarized in his heart: If strength is insufficient, use speed to amplify the damage. Kurenai is quite clever.

The Chunin in the exam area quickly rushed to where Ebisu had fallen to check his condition, and upon finding he had merely fainted, he nodded slightly to indicate there was no issue.

Subsequently, medical personnel carried Ebisu away, and the supervising Chunin announced Kurenai's victory.

The victorious Kurenai ran excitedly to Hayato's side, her voice trembling with excitement: "Hayato, did you see that? I won! I won!"

Hayato smiled and ruffled Kurenai's hair: "Yes, you were the best!"

Kurenai's cheeks turned bright red instantly, but receiving Hayato's approval made her feel incredibly happy.

"Let's go, get some good rest for tomorrow's exam," Hayato reminded her. Kurenai responded with a nod and followed closely behind him.

The next morning, sunlight bathed the earth, and everyone gathered once again at the center of the training ground.

After a quarter of an hour of waiting, the students who had won the first round were assembled once more.

In this round of the lottery, Hayato's opponent was a boy named Kagami Hyuga.

Without using any ninjutsu other than the Three Basic Jutsu, Hayato successfully defeated him using his exquisite Baji Quan taijutsu.

On the other side, Asuma's opponent was Kakashi, while Kurenai's opponent was Kotetsu Hagane.

Regrettably, neither of them managed to defeat their opponents. Thus, among the three people in Hayato's row, everyone except Hayato had been defeated.

The third day arrived, and Hayato's opponent was changed to Guy.

Guy looked at Hayato, his eyes flashing with intense fighting spirit: "Hayato, let us have a match with no regrets!"

Hayato responded with a smile: "As you wish."

The two stood face to face, performed the Seal of Confrontation, and the battle was ready to erupt at any moment.

Guy launched the first attack; he pushed off the ground with force, charged toward Hayato, and swept a whip kick horizontally.

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Hayato blocked with his right arm, successfully parrying the opponent's powerful strike.

Following that, he pushed off the ground to retreat, skillfully dissipating the force.

Guy failed to land his strike and pressed forward once again.

However, Hayato did not merely defend passively; after dodging Guy's attack by shifting to the side, he quickly created distance and formed hand seals with both hands.

"Clone Jutsu!"

After a burst of smoke cleared, five Hayatos charged toward Guy together.

Guy fought forward with all his might, defeating the clones one by one.

However, just as the final Hayato was also defeated—

"How is this possible? This is also a clone?" Guy was stunned.

"Guy, losing focus during a fight is a major taboo."

A voice suddenly rang out. As the smoke cleared, the rock that had been beneath Guy transformed into Hayato.

"Baji: Iron Mountain Lean!"

Hayato launched a direct, heavy strike, knocking Guy back.

Guy's body arched, resembling a boiled shrimp.

Hayato pressed the attack, his strikes raining down on Guy like a violent storm.

"Baji: Twenty-Four Postures!"

In the end, Guy was defeated.

After the battle concluded, the two performed the Seal of Reconciliation.

Guy's physical constitution was quite exceptional; even after such an intense fight, he was able to quickly adjust his state.

He looked at Hayato and sighed, "I lost to you again this time. What a pity."

Hayato smiled and offered comfort, "Keep at it, Guy! Your strength is also very impressive."

The final day finally arrived, and Hayato's ultimate opponent was Kakashi.

On this day, all the students in the class gathered at the scene to watch the battle between the two.

Moreover, it wasn't just the students who came; even the Hokage, Hiruzen, had arrived in person to observe the event.

This undoubtedly made the battle even more attention-grabbing.

Inside the arena, Kakashi looked at Hayato with a serious expression and said, "Hayato, I hope you will give it your all."

For the first time, he felt a strong fighting spirit surging within him, as if he had returned to the day they first met at the Ninja Academy.

He wanted to know exactly how large the gap in their true combat power was now.

Hearing Kakashi say this, Hayato looked back at him, "You mean, not limited to just the Three Basic Jutsu?"

Kakashi was aware that Hayato had mastered ninjutsu beyond the Three Basic Jutsu. He gave a slight nod of affirmation.

Hayato did not agree immediately, instead turning to look at Shuichi on the sidelines, "Teacher, is it permitted by the rules to use ninjutsu other than the Three Basic Jutsu in this fight?"

This question put Shuichi in a difficult position, "This..."

Generally speaking, the Ninja Academy currently only taught the Three Basic Jutsu, so practical combat duels were usually restricted to those techniques.

However, today's situation was somewhat special.

Fortunately, the Hokage was present to observe; when in doubt, one could always ask the leader.

"Lord Hokage, what do you think?" Shuichi asked.

For a moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Hiruzen.

Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe, paused, and then laughed, "Battles between ninja should always be fought with full effort; that is the respect one owes an opponent."

As soon as the words fell, Kakashi looked at Hayato, his brow filled with anticipation.

Upon hearing Hiruzen's words, Shuichi nodded, "Then, the two of you, perform the Seal of Confrontation."

The two stood face-to-face, performed the Seal of Confrontation, and the battle began immediately.

Hayato formed a seal with one hand while inwardly grumbling.

Give it my all? That's impossible, though I suppose I could hold back a little less.