"The first test is the Three Body Technique."
After Iruka finished speaking, he started to walk away, but Uchiha Kei grabbed him.
"What is it?"
"Um... Iruka-sensei, could we change the test?"
Uchiha Kei scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
With his chakra reserves, he wasn't worried.
With his C-rank ninjutsu, he wasn't worried.
He wasn't worried about being tested on ninja knowledge, either.
But testing him on the Three Body Technique was clearly beyond Uchiha Kei's abilities...
"W-what do you mean?"
Iruka froze for a moment, then a terrible possibility crossed his mind.
This kid... didn't know the technique, did he?!
It was over...
Iruka suddenly felt that his teaching career had ended almost as soon as it began...
When a student took an early graduation exam, it had a major impact on their teacher.
Take Uchiha Kei's case, for example.
If Uchiha Kei did well, Iruka would reap plenty of benefits. At the very least, his year-end bonus would multiply several times over.
It would also be a tremendous help to his future teaching career.
But if Uchiha Kei flunked the very first test...
Iruka would probably be kicked out of the Ninja Academy...
"Kei, be a good boy and don't mess around. Your teacher's freaking out..."
At that moment, Iruka felt like crying.
"Ah, well... I don't know the Three Body Technique."
Seeing Iruka's long face, Uchiha Kei felt a little embarrassed.
"Boom!"
Their conversation wasn't loud, but it wasn't quiet, either. Many people below were ninja, so they heard every word.
"He doesn't even know the Three Body Technique? You've got to be kidding!"
"That's it? That's it?! He thinks he can graduate early when he can't even do that?"
"What a waste of our time. This kid doesn't know the Three Body Technique and still wants to be a ninja? Dream on!"
"I've witnessed the biggest joke in Konoha's history! Hahahaha!"
Laughter and jeers rose from the crowd, and one mocking face after another looked up at him.
"Clan head, should I drag him down? This is way too embarrassing!"
The Uchiha Clan members covered their faces with their hands, each of them red as a monkey's backside.
Uchiha Fugaku was just as stunned.
He'd expected Uchiha Kei to be a little unreliable, maybe even to fail his early graduation exam.
But surely he'd pass one or two tests before that! To flunk the very first one... What about the Uchiha Clan's reputation?
It was hard to live this down.
Itachi and Shisui, mixed in with the crowd, were dumbfounded, too.
Uchiha Kei had left a deep impression on them.
If they had to sum it up, he was unfathomable!
A little graduation exam should've been a piece of cake for him, right?
Who could've guessed...
He'd gone and sung his own funeral song...
"Shisui, this..."
Itachi couldn't accept it and turned to look at Shisui.
"Uh..." Shisui was at a loss for words, his head buzzing.
"Maybe... possibly... he's trying to draw attention? Make the villagers notice him?"
Itachi's eyes lit up. Thinking of Kei's behavior over the past few days, the more he considered it, the more likely it seemed.
"Shisui, you really understand Kei! It's definitely that!"
Shisui gave an awkward laugh and looked up at the platform, his expression heavy.
On the platform.
"I just didn't feel like practicing. The Three Body Technique is too easy. Couldn't you give me a different test? I'll definitely pass!"
Uchiha Shan smiled awkwardly.
"Come on, Kei—Kei, don't scare me. I'm a coward..."
Iruka was on the verge of tears.
He really didn't know it. He really didn't...
He'd chosen the test topics yesterday. All three were perfectly standard, with no difficulty at all.
If only he'd asked first...
"I..."
Uchiha Kei was about to say something when a clamor of chimes in his head interrupted him.
"Ding! Received Shock Value from Iruka: +99."
"Ding! Received Shock Value from Mitokado Homura: +20."
"Ding..."
"Ding..."
A string of notifications echoed in his head, making a racket.
Uchiha Kei looked down in surprise.
What was there to be shocked about?
Were they all shock addicts?
But what excited Uchiha Kei was the sudden surge in Shock Value.
200...
800...
1,400...
2,300...
Uchiha Kei couldn't wait to check the final amount, so he went straight to drawing a ninjutsu.
"Ding! 2,000 Shock Value spent. Obtained the Three Body Technique and 10 Top-tier Military Ration Pills."
The Three Body Technique. Got it!
Uchiha Kei let out a long breath. He'd passed this test by the skin of his teeth.
As he looked over the jeering faces below, an idea for raking in Shock Value came to him.
"Um... Iruka-sensei."
"What is it..."
Iruka bent over, tears streaming down his face.
"Could you demonstrate the Three Body Technique for me? I'll learn it from watching you."
Silence.
Utter silence.
A moment later.
"Hahahaha! What did I just hear? He wants to learn the Three Body Technique on the spot?"
"Is this a joke? The Three Body Technique may be an E-rank jutsu, but that doesn't mean you can learn it in one go!"
"My god, I've witnessed the second-biggest joke in Konoha's history! Hahahahaha!"
The Uchiha Clan members didn't know what to say anymore. Quite a few of them were already planning to sneak away.
"Clan head, I'll go drag him down!"
Uchiha Fugaku covered his face with one hand, also tempted to drag Uchiha Kei off the stage.
There was no other reason. It was just too embarrassing!
"Learn it now? Stop messing around."
Iruka was still bent over, tears streaming even harder.
"I'm serious! I'm really smart. I learn things in one go!"
Uchiha Kei thumped his chest, speaking with absolute confidence.
Iruka managed to stop crying for a moment and wiped his face. "Fine. You can struggle a little, and I can believe in a miracle for once!"
Then he pressed his hands together. "Ram–Snake–Tiger. Clone Technique!"
"Poof!"
A cloud of smoke rose, and another Iruka appeared beside him.
Uchiha Kei pretended to concentrate, clumsily imitating him.
"Transformation Technique is the easiest. It only requires one hand seal."
"Ram!"
Smoke rose again, and Iruka turned into a white-haired child.
Uchiha Kei copied him once more, though his movements were rather comical.
"Next is Substitution Technique. It's the hardest of the Three Body Techniques. Its hand seals are Ram–Boar–Ox–Dog–Tiger!"
The familiar smoke rose, but this time a section of chopped wood appeared on the platform.
Iruka appeared below the stage.
"Like this... then this... then this..."
Uchiha Kei clumsily changed the hand seals, muttering under his breath.
To make the performance look more convincing, he even forced out a few drops of sweat on his forehead with chakra.
"Pfft. There are jokes every year, but this year's got more than usual."
"What a disgrace. The Uchiha Clan's reputation is in the gutter."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing at the top of the platform, was also dumbfounded.
Wasn't Kei supposed to be hiding his true abilities?
Wasn't he supposed to be a monstrous genius?
Watching Uchiha Kei's clumsy performance, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided he needed to ask the Anbu again when he got back. Had they beaten the wrong person or something...?
Two minutes later.
"Iruka-sensei, I'm ready."
Uchiha Kei was getting tired of pretending, so he finally straightened up, panting.
"Oh."
After his demonstration, Iruka had resumed his bent-over posture, tears welling up again.
What a miserable life...
"First, Clone Technique!"
An identical Uchiha Kei appeared.
"Second, Transformation Technique!"
A white-haired boy appeared.
"Third, Substitution Technique!"
A section of chopped wood appeared.
The crowd below fell completely silent.
Before you continue