"W-what? How is that possible?" Uchiha Shinsei's eyes widened.
It wasn't just the others who couldn't believe it. Even he couldn't. After all, he and Uchiha Gray were the class troublemakers.
And the two of them went to school together every day and went home together.
"That's impossible!" Uchiha Shinsei glared furiously at Gray, stomping his feet in anger.
"Gray, you jerk! We both used Shadow Clones to attend class in the morning, while we slept in and slacked off."
"Then in the afternoon, we used Shadow Clones for class again, while we skipped school and went out to play."
"How come I'm still at the bottom of the class, while you've already gotten a perfect score in Shuriken throwing!?"
The others were shocked too.
As far as they knew, Uchiha Gray had never even passed a Shuriken-throwing test before. This time, he'd gotten a perfect score.
Had Uchiha Gray been pretending all along?
The ridiculous thought crossed everyone's minds. It made no sense. How could someone who skipped class and played hooky all the time get a perfect score in Shuriken throwing?
"That's right, Shinsei. I'll come clean: I'm that once-in-a-generation genius."
Uchiha Gray shrugged and looked seriously at the bewildered Uchiha Shinsei. "Shinsei!"
"The truth is, I only went out with you before because we were such good friends. But I'd already mastered everything taught at school!"
Uchiha Shinsei looked bewildered. "So that's how it is?"
But the more Uchiha Shinsei thought about it, the less sense it made. In his memories, wasn't it always Uchiha Gray who wanted to skip class and egged him on to come along? "N-no, that's not right!" Uchiha Shinsei shouted. Gray was lying to him!
Uchiha Gray spread his hands regretfully. "But I really can do it. Sorry, Shinsei. From today on, you'll have to carry the title of class dunce all by yourself."
Uchiha Shinsei's face stiffened. Gray ignored him and said calmly, "Teacher, it's time to test the Three Basic Jutsu, right?"
"Ah, yes, yes," Extra Teacher stammered.
"Then please demonstrate the Transformation Technique, Substitution Technique, and Clone Technique!"
Uchiha Gray nodded calmly. The Third Shinobi World War had just ended, but conflicts between the hidden villages continued, and ambushes and deaths among ninja were commonplace.
That was why the tests were stricter now than they had been in Uzumaki Naruto's time.
Under Uchiha Shinsei's furious gaze, Uchiha Gray performed the Transformation Technique, Substitution Technique, and Clone Technique in turn.
Perfect scores!
Perfect scores on every test!
His Transformation Technique was flawless, and the speed of his Hand Seals for the Substitution Technique rivaled that of an elite Chunin.
The clone produced by the Clone Technique was almost identical to Uchiha Gray!
Uchiha Shinsei's gaze slowly turned blank. He stared wide-eyed and repeated like an idiot, "Impossible. This can't be. If Gray's a genius..."
"Then I'm the only class dunce left!"
But no one paid any attention to Uchiha Shinsei now. Everyone stared at Uchiha Gray in shock.
Whether it was his accuracy with Shuriken or his ninjutsu, Uchiha Gray had performed flawlessly, earning full marks across the board.
That meant Uchiha Gray really was a genius!
Could it be just as Uchiha Gray had said—that he'd really only been pretending before?
If Uchiha Gray wasn't a genius, how could he have gotten full marks on every test?
Given all that, it was hard not to believe him. The facts spoke for themselves.
So Extra Teacher shot Uchiha Shinsei a sharp, resentful look. It seemed Uchiha Gray had been right: he'd skipped class so often because of Uchiha Shinsei.
And it was all because of Uchiha Shinsei that he'd failed to recognize a genius!
"Excellent, Gray. You got full marks on both the ninjutsu test and the Shuriken test. This afternoon, I'll help you and Uchiha Itachi apply for the Genin exam."
Extra Teacher's eyes brimmed with excitement. Two geniuses applying for the Genin exam at the same time—he'd never encountered anything like it in all his years of teaching.
Could this be the moment he became famous throughout the Leaf for producing genius students!?
His whole body trembled, and even his gaze as he looked at Uchiha Gray was fervent.
The test was over, and it was time for class to end.
Uchiha Gray and Uchiha Shinsei went home together.
Under Uchiha Shinsei's resentful gaze, Uchiha Gray left calmly.
As for Uchiha Itachi's probing gaze, he didn't care about it at all.
Even if the Uchiha were going to be wiped out, that wouldn't happen for another three years. For now, Uchiha Itachi was just a serious little kid.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared darkly at the arrogant Cloud Hidden ninja before him.
The situation was already clear, and he'd met and spoken with Hyuga Hiashi.
There was no doubt that Cloud Hidden had tried to kidnap Hinata Hyuga, but a ninja from the village had discovered them and killed them both.
But the mysterious ninja had slipped away, leaving the scene to Hyuga Hiashi. Under the circumstances, whoever had killed the two ninja, the blame would undoubtedly fall on the Leaf.
And since it had happened within the Hyuga Clan, the Hyuga Clan would inevitably have to take responsibility.
Everyone knew the truth: Cloud Hidden had acted disgracefully.
They'd done all this to steal the Byakugan!
But at that moment, Cloud Hidden showed just how shameless they could be.
"Lord Hokage, why did our Cloud Hidden ninja die in your Leaf? If you can't give us a satisfactory explanation, we'll have to reconsider our alliance."
The Cloud Hidden ninja leading the group demanded an answer, his eyes cold and his manner haughty.
The Leaf was no longer the power it had once been, a village capable of holding the entire Sengoku era in check.
The Fourth Hokage was dead, Orochimaru had defected, Tsunade had left the village, and Jiraiya was wandering the world.
The Eight Colors of the Leaf from back then had all died as well.
The Leaf was now like an old man in his twilight years. Before the next generation had a chance to grow, this was the perfect opportunity for Cloud Hidden to rise!
"If the Third can't give Cloud Hidden an explanation, we'll report this matter to Lord Raikage exactly as it happened."
The threat in those words was unmistakable: if they didn't get an explanation, then it meant war!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened.
He had once been a Shinobi Hero. He never thought he'd be pushed into such a corner by a mere Cloud Hidden ninja.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath. "I understand. I'll give you an explanation."
The Cloud Hidden leader left smugly!
That was the power of Cloud Hidden!
Before you continue