Everyone stared at Uchiha Gray in shock.
"What did I just hear? Uchiha Gray wants to apply for early graduation and become a Genin!?"
"How is that possible? Uchiha Gray can't even get a perfect score on shuriken throwing! The early Genin exam is so strict it can drive people crazy!"
"Is he joking? Has Uchiha Gray gone nuts? How could he possibly pass the Genin exam?"
Their eyes were filled with contempt and disdain.
In their eyes, Uchiha Gray was only making a fool of himself!
Uchiha Shinsei finally came to his senses. At that moment, he wanted to slap himself twice, though his face showed nothing but confusion.
Damn it!
They'd agreed to be dead-last together, so how could Uchiha Gray betray him like this?
"Nobody heard that. Nobody heard that." Uchiha Shinsei lowered his head like an ostrich, hoping no one had heard what he'd just said.
"Uchiha Gray, you—you know what you're saying, don't you?"
Extra Teacher still hadn't recovered from his shock at Uchiha Gray seeming to defy him. He stammered as he spoke.
But as soon as he understood what Uchiha Gray had said, his expression grew even more astonished.
"Do you know what you're saying?"
"Students who apply to take the Genin exam early are all geniuses. They'll become at least Elite Chunin in the future, and might even become Jonin!"
Uchiha Gray remained calm, but for some reason, his steady-as-a-mountain expression made Extra Teacher feel uneasy.
"Oh? Are you saying I can't apply to graduate as a Genin early?"
"No, that's not what I mean." Extra Teacher furrowed his brow. Talking to Uchiha Gray felt like trying to cross a vast chasm.
"What I mean is..."
"Since there's no written rule against it, help me apply!"
A glint flashed in Uchiha Gray's eyes as chakra flowed through his body!
"Genjutsu!" he silently mouthed.
Gray had no patience for listening to Extra Teacher finish. This teacher was just like Ebisu in the original story.
He had no patience for underachievers and didn't believe they would ever amount to anything.
Compared with Iruka, this teacher was exactly the kind of teacher students hated most.
Extra Teacher stared blankly, his eyes unfocused, as if he'd lost consciousness. "All... all right."
After a while, Extra Teacher slowly came to his senses.
He looked at Uchiha Gray. Although he had no idea what had just happened, he suddenly felt afraid of him.
Uchiha Gray had never shown this side of himself before.
The Uchiha Gray of the past had been indifferent to everything. Even when made to stand as punishment, he'd taken it meekly, just like the other underachievers.
But today, Uchiha Gray gave him the feeling of facing a powerful ninja on the battlefield.
Powerful, terrifying, detached—someone who could decide his fate in an instant!
"Then I'll leave it to you, Sensei," Uchiha Gray said calmly.
Before he'd gained powerful abilities through the system's daily sign-ins, he'd naturally needed to keep his abilities hidden.
But now, he needed to obtain Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit template as soon as possible!
So he had to reveal some of his strength and leave the village as soon as he could, allowing him to sign in at more locations.
Compared to obtaining Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit ability template, revealing some of his strength was unavoidable.
Otherwise, going from a Genin straight to the strength of an Elite Jonin would make everyone suspicious. It would be utterly inexplicable.
"Genjutsu!"
Uchiha Itachi, standing nearby, was startled. His eyes narrowed, and he couldn't believe what he'd just seen.
Even if someone applied to take the Genin exam early, they still needed a recommendation from a Ninja Academy teacher.
If the teacher refused to recommend you, that meant they didn't think you had the ability or qualifications to take the Genin exam.
Uchiha Gray was often late to class and regularly left early. As someone who skipped class all the time, he clearly didn't qualify to take the Genin exam.
But just as the ninja teacher was about to refuse, Uchiha Gray had used genjutsu to make him agree!
How could a dead-last student have such powerful genjutsu?
Had Uchiha Gray been hiding his abilities all these years?
"Did you notice?"
Gray caught Uchiha Itachi's gaze and chuckled. Since he'd already decided to reveal some of his abilities, he wasn't going to back down.
He hadn't used the Sharingan when casting the genjutsu just now. If Uchiha Itachi couldn't even detect something like that, Gray would have been disappointed.
"Today's exam was supposed to test your mastery of ninjutsu and your shuriken accuracy. So we'll test those two things today." Extra Teacher cleared his throat twice.
"After you pass, I'll submit applications to Lord Hokage for both of you to take the Genin exam!"
Extra Teacher sternly explained the procedure.
He glanced at Uchiha Gray, confused. He'd clearly intended to refuse the application, but somehow, he'd agreed without knowing why.
Extra Teacher looked aggrieved.
He sighed helplessly. Since he'd already agreed, there was no reason to go back on his word.
Still, he thought there was no way Uchiha Gray, the dead-last student, could pass the Genin exam—even with his help.
He might even fail the upcoming ninjutsu and shuriken accuracy tests.
Everyone followed Extra Teacher to the training ground.
Uchiha Shinsei sidled up to Gray. "Gray, you haven't gone crazy from frustration, have you? Why would you want to apply for the Genin exam?"
"We're both damn dead-last students. Have you forgotten our promise? And now you're betraying the whole organization."
Uchiha Shinsei looked utterly distraught.
"Besides, there's no way you'll become a Genin with grades like yours. You're just humiliating yourself!"
Uchiha Shinsei was furious.
"Three Basic Techniques: perfect score. Shuriken throwing: perfect score. Uchiha Itachi has passed the preliminary test," Extra Teacher announced loudly.
"Uchiha Gray, you're up!"
"First, the shuriken throwing test!" As he spoke, Extra Teacher handed Uchiha Gray a shuriken.
The test was simple.
All he had to do was hit the bullseye to pass the shuriken accuracy test. There were ten shuriken and ten targets.
But Uchiha Gray had never passed the shuriken accuracy test before.
Quite a few people smirked mockingly.
Uchiha Gray spread his fingers, grabbed all ten shuriken, and glanced casually at the targets.
The shuriken shot from his hands like arrows loosed from a bow, each one striking the bullseye dead center!