Finally Made It to Graduation Season—Time to Slack Off Somewhere Else

Time was like sand slipping through one's fingers.

The tighter you tried to hold it, the faster it leaked away.

For Sen, the past few years had flown by faster than a charging boar.

With the Third Hokage protecting him in secret, and Danzo thoroughly intimidated and no longer daring to make any rash moves,

Sen's school life had finally returned to the peace he had always dreamed of.

His biggest daily worry was deciding which rooftop would be the most comfortable for sunbathing at noon.

Spring gave way to autumn, and winter to summer.

In the blink of an eye, that skinny six-year-old orphan from back then

had grown into a graceful twelve-year-old youth.

Tall and well-built, his years of photosynthesis had given his skin a healthy wheat-colored glow brimming with vitality.

Coupled with the handsome yet slightly lazy face he had inherited from the Senju clan,

Sen had unknowingly become a "heartthrob" at the Ninja Academy, able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Sasuke Uchiha.

Of course, that came at a price.

"Sen, I made this bento myself. Please try it..."

A blushing girl stuffed an exquisite lunch box into Sen's arms, then covered her face and ran away.

"Boss Sen! I still haven't learned that move you taught me yesterday! Teach me again!"

Like a large dog, Naruto clung tightly to Sen's leg and refused to let go.

"Move aside, dead last. Sen Senju, today I'll definitely defeat you!"

Sasuke stood with his arms folded, his gaze sharp as a blade as he faithfully came every day to issue a challenge.

Faced with these frenzied "fans" and his rival,

Sen usually had only one way of dealing with them.

He tossed the bento to Naruto, kicked Sasuke away, then yawned lazily.

"Quit making noise. Can't you see I'm busy absorbing ultraviolet rays?"

"Keep it up, and I'll plant every last one of you in the ground as fertilizer."

That was Sen's daily life at school.

To the teachers, he was a "freak" with an astonishing amount of chakra, terrible theory grades year-round—aside from that one perfect score—and an extremely lopsided focus on taijutsu.

To his classmates, he was a profoundly powerful but incredibly lazy big boss.

Only Sen himself knew

that over these six years, under his unwavering daily sunbaths, his Divine Tree Origin

had not leveled up as quickly as it would through killing enemies, but it had still steadily broken through to Lv15!

The amount of chakra in his body could no longer be measured by the standards of a chunin or jonin.

It was a true ocean of chakra!

At last, the day of the Konoha Ninja Academy graduation exam arrived.

The atmosphere in the classroom was unusually tense.

The little kids sat upright in their seats. Some nervously formed hand seals, while others prayed silently.

Only Sen, seated by the window in the last row,

still looked half-asleep, propping his chin up with one hand as he stared blankly at leaves drifting outside in the wind.

Finally, graduation...

Sen sighed inwardly.

He had spent six years pretending to be an idiot in this lousy school, and he was sick of it.

A graduation exam?

To him, it did not even count as child's play.

His goal now was crystal clear.

Get a genin forehead protector and secure an official position.

After that, he could take on some D-rank missions every day—weeding, finding cats, building houses.

With his Wood Release, he could finish them in minutes, then openly lie around in all sorts of places around the village while earning money.

Wasn't that a hundred times better than listening to those boring theory classes at school?

"Quiet!"

Iruka walked onto the platform with a stack of report cards in his arms, his expression stern.

Beside him sat an examiner with cold eyes and a fake smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

Mizuki.

Sen glanced at Mizuki and sneered inwardly.

This guy obviously looked like bad news—the unlucky idiot from the original story who tricked Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals.

Still, that was none of his business, as long as Mizuki did not come after him.

"Today's graduation exam will cover one of the basic Three Body Techniques—the Clone Technique."

Iruka wrote the words "Clone Technique" on the blackboard, then turned to face the class.

"As long as you can successfully create one illusory clone, you pass and may receive a genin forehead protector."

"Everyone will proceed to the testing room next door in student-number order."

The moment they heard that the exam was on the Clone Technique,

a chorus of wails erupted throughout the classroom.

Naruto in particular turned green. This was the ninjutsu he was worst at.

"Boss, what do I do?! If I fail, I can't become a ninja!"

Naruto scratched at his head anxiously and looked at Sen with pleading eyes.

Sen rolled his eyes and casually offered some comfort.

"What are you scared of? Worst case, sneak into the Hokage Building tonight and steal something. Maybe then you'll graduate."

Naruto froze, seeming to seriously consider whether that suggestion might work.

The exam proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Some rejoiced, while others despaired.

Sasuke effortlessly created three perfect illusory clones and took first place.

Sakura passed smoothly as well.

At last, it was the turn of the final few students.

"Next, Sen Senju!"

Iruka's voice came from the testing room next door.

Sen gave a huge stretch and slowly rose to his feet.

He left the classroom, walked through the complicated gazes of his classmates in the hallway, and entered the testing room.

Inside, Iruka and Mizuki sat behind a desk.

Iruka looked at Sen with a somewhat complicated expression.

Over the past six years, he had watched this child go from a "chakra monster" to a "slacker" who slept every day.

Though he did not understand why Lord Third had always indulged him,

he still sincerely hoped Sen would graduate successfully.

"Senju, begin."

Iruka encouraged him in a gentle tone.

Mizuki, however, gave a cold laugh and cut in with a mocking sneer.

"I hear you're a genius of the Senju clan? Let's see how trash that can't even handle the most basic chakra control manages to perform the Clone Technique."

Sen did not even spare Mizuki a glance.

He walked to the center of the room and yawned.

"The Clone Technique, huh..."

Sen considered it inwardly.

He truly could not perform an ordinary illusory clone, because his chakra density was too high. The moment he released it, it would turn into a small explosion.

"Fine. I'll consider this a perfect ending to six years of elementary school."

Sen shrugged.

He did not form hand seals, nor did he even draw upon the ocean-like chakra within his body.

He merely brought his hands together in an extremely casual gesture and gave them a light clap.

"Wood Clone Technique. This will do."