Graduation Exam: Clone Technique? Watch My Wood Clone Technique

Sen yawned and slowly made his way to the podium.

The exam room was actually an empty classroom next door. For easier observation, the partition between the two classrooms had been completely opened.

So at that moment, the entire class had their eyes fixed on Sen.

Iruka sat in the chief examiner's seat, pen in hand, his eyes full of anticipation.

Over the past six years, although Sen had acted like a slacker, the occasional glimpse of his true ability had long convinced Iruka that the boy was a genius hiding his talents.

Today, he could finally see what Sen was truly capable of.

Beside Iruka, Mizuki, the assistant examiner, wore an entirely different expression.

He stood with his arms crossed, an icy sneer on his lips.

Mizuki envied Iruka, and he envied those so-called geniuses even more.

He had already made up his mind. No matter how Sen performed today, he would pick apart every little flaw and thoroughly crush the spirit of this "Senju orphan." Better yet, he might find an excuse to fail him outright!

"Senju, begin when you're ready," Iruka said gently.

"Yeah."

Sen answered perfunctorily, still wearing that dead-fish stare of someone who had not fully woken up.

He stood in the middle of the room without even assuming a basic preparatory stance.

He merely formed the Ram hand seal, symbolically and with extreme lack of effort.

That was also the most basic opening seal for the Clone Technique.

Hmph, just as I thought. He's a useless brute who can only rely on strength. Even his hand seals are this clumsy, Mizuki sneered inwardly.

Sen closed his eyes and tried to draw upon the Divine Tree chakra within him, vast as an ocean.

He wanted to extract the faintest, thinnest trace of it and create the most ordinary illusory clone.

As long as he passed, that was enough. He had no interest in standing out.

However, it was as difficult as asking an experienced truck driver to suddenly embroider flowers.

The density of his chakra was simply too high.

Even if only the tiniest bit leaked out—

Bang!

A strange, muffled sound, like a tire losing air, suddenly rang out through the classroom.

Immediately afterward, thick clouds of dense white smoke erupted from beneath Sen's feet, instantly enveloping his entire body.

The smoke was denser and spread farther than all the ninjutsu the other students had performed combined!

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Several students in the front row choked and began coughing violently.

Iruka frowned as well, waving a hand in front of his face to disperse the smoke. A vague sense of unease rose within him.

Such a huge reaction... Could his chakra have gone out of control again?

A few seconds later, the white smoke gradually dispersed.

The entire class, including both examiners, craned their necks and widened their eyes.

When they saw what stood at the center of the smoke—

The classroom fell deathly silent.

It was so quiet that one could have heard a needle hit the floor.

Beside Sen, there really was a "clone."

But what the hell was that thing?

It lay limp on the floor, like a half-melted scoop of white ice cream.

It barely resembled a human shape, but it did not even have facial features.

Its limbs were twisted together like noodles, and white vapor continuously seeped out of it.

How was that a clone? It looked more like a defective product from a failed biological mutation experiment!

"Pfft..."

Someone failed to hold it in and laughed.

Then the classroom erupted in laughter.

"HAHAHA! I'm dying! What is that thing?!"

"I thought Sen Senju was supposed to be amazing. Turns out he can't even use the most basic Clone Technique!"

"This is the legendary genius? More like a genius idiot!"

Kiba laughed so hard that he bent over, while Akamaru barked from atop his head as though joining in the mockery.

Sasuke merely snorted, the disdain in his eyes deepening.

A loser who could not even grasp chakra shape transformation was not worthy of being his opponent.

Naruto was so anxious that he scratched at his head and ears before jumping straight out of his seat.

"Big Bro! What the hell are you doing?! Don't you usually just raise your hand and hang people from trees? How can you not even make a clone?!"

His shout reminded everyone.

That was right. The freakish strength the boy displayed normally was not fake.

So why had he fallen apart during the most basic ninjutsu exam?

As the class buzzed with discussion—

Mizuki suddenly slammed his hand onto the desk and stood up.

He pointed at the "noodle clone" on the floor, his face full of undisguised mockery and smugness.

"Sen Senju! Is this the result of your exam?!"

Mizuki's voice was painfully loud, as though he were afraid someone might not hear him.

"You cannot even manage the most basic chakra control and created such a grotesque piece of trash!"

"You are insulting the very word 'ninja'!"

He turned toward Iruka, whose expression had gone dark, and loudly announced—

"Iruka-sensei, a student like this, one who cannot even master the Three Basic Techniques, has no right to graduate!"

"As an examiner, I formally declare that Sen Senju has failed!"

The laughter in the classroom abruptly stopped.

Everyone was stunned.

Failed? Did that mean he could not become a ninja?

Naruto's eyes reddened with anxiety as he shouted at Mizuki, "What right do you have to say my big brother failed?! He just made a mistake!"

Iruka frowned at Mizuki.

"Mizuki-sensei, isn't that judgment too harsh over a single mistake? Everyone has seen Senju's combat ability..."

"Does being good in combat mean he does not have to be tested on the basics?" Mizuki refused to yield, pressing the issue step by step.

"Rules are rules! A Genin who cannot even use the Clone Technique will only be marching to his death on the battlefield!"

"Or are you planning to violate the academy's examination rules just to shield him?"

Iruka was rendered speechless by Mizuki's accusation.

He looked at Sen standing on the platform, his eyes filled with anxiety and regret.

Could this child truly be cut off from the path of a ninja because of such an uneven skill set?

At that moment—

Sen was looking down at the smoking "noodle clone" by his feet.

He sighed helplessly and scratched his messy black hair.

"Haah, so it still won't work."

Sen grumbled inwardly.

Using energy on the level of nuclear fusion, like the Divine Tree Origin, to power such a basic ninjutsu—

It was like watering flowers with a high-pressure hose. It would be strange if the flowerpot did not shatter.

An ordinary illusory clone was simply far too difficult for him.

"Sen Senju! What else do you have to say? Get down here already!"

Seeing Sen spacing out, Mizuki assumed he had been crushed by the blow and barked even more arrogantly.

Sen slowly raised his head.

A trace of irritated exasperation flashed through his usually sleepy, lazy eyes.

He was utterly sick of this buzzing fly.

"Say, Mizuki-sensei."

Sen dug at his ear, his tone as casual as if they were discussing lunch.

"Are your ears not working properly?"

"When did I ever say I was done?"

The whole class froze.

Mizuki was stunned as well, then immediately sneered.

"What? You want to try again? With trash control like yours, you could try a hundred times and still make nothing but a pile of mud!"

Sen ignored his mockery.

He took a deep breath and opened an infinitesimal crack in the seal restraining the violent chakra within him.

"An ordinary illusory clone is indeed too difficult for me."

Sen rolled his neck, producing a series of crisp cracks.

"Since you all insist on seeing a clone technique..."

He slowly raised both hands, then suddenly pressed them together before his chest!

Clap!

An exceptionally crisp, resounding clap echoed through the silent classroom.

"Then I'll use a different one."

No hand seals!

Not even any white smoke!

The instant Sen pressed his hands together—

An incomparably massive surge of pure green chakra, carrying an ancient and primal aura, erupted with a boom!

Crack! Crack!

The wooden platform beneath Sen's feet seemed to come alive in an instant.

The once lifeless boards twisted, grew, and intertwined at a horrifying speed!

It took only one second!

Just one second!

Before the horrified eyes of everyone present, that wildly growing mass of wood—

Transformed into a humanoid figure identical to Sen in height, build, and even the folds of his clothes!

The rough bark peeled away, revealing vivid facial features.

Even the texture of its hair was clearly visible!

Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!

The newly formed "Sen" actually spoke on his own!

Not only did he speak, he turned his head and raised an eyebrow at the dumbfounded Naruto in an incredibly human-like manner.

"Well, little bro? Isn't this cooler than hanging someone from a tree?"

Below the platform—

The air went silent.

Deathly silent.

Mizuki's arrogant sneer completely froze on his face, making him look like a ridiculous clown.

The pen in Iruka's hand fell to the floor with a clatter, his mouth hanging wide enough to fit a fist inside.

Sasuke abruptly rose to his feet. He used so much force that his chair toppled backward with a loud crash.

Yet he did not notice at all. He only stared fixedly at the perfect clone on the platform, made entirely of wood yet possessing physical substance.

"Th-This is..."

Iruka's voice shook uncontrollably. He pointed at the Wood Clone, feeling his worldview shatter once again without mercy.

"This isn't an illusion... It's a physical body?!"

Sen looked at the utterly petrified crowd, a lazy smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He walked over to the Wood Clone, reached out, and pinched its cheek, producing a crisp wooden tapping sound.

Then he turned around and looked at Mizuki, whose face had gone deathly pale.

"Examiner."

Sen's tone carried a few traces of undisguised teasing.

"Does this 'make-do' Clone Technique of mine qualify for a passing grade?"