Graduation Exam

After leaving the hospital, Chiya and Sasuke returned to the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

The clan grounds had already been cleaned up.

The blood that had covered the streets the night before, along with the people lying by the roadside, had all disappeared. The ground had been washed spotless.

The streets were still the same streets, and the houses were still the same houses, but the silence everywhere was frightening.

As they passed several residences, Chiya saw seals already pasted over some doors. Other courtyards had clearly been searched, with quite a few things missing. He took one look and withdrew his gaze.

That was perfectly normal. With only two children left in the Uchiha Clan, what could they possibly protect?

Before long, these houses might all be occupied by others.

Chiya's home was not far from Sasuke's. It was a two-story house with a small yard, a tree in the courtyard, and several training posts beneath it. Someone had probably cleaned it in advance, so the inside was not too messy.

Chiya walked through the house once. Only after confirming that the daily necessities were all there, along with rice and flour in the kitchen, did he feel slightly relieved.

Not bad.

At least he had not crossed over only to go hungry on his second day.

He made a point of checking his father's study.

There were several bookshelves in the study, along with a desk.

The shelves held quite a few things: notes on chakra refinement, the basics of shuriken throwing, Fire Release training journals, and several common Uchiha Clan taijutsu training manuals.

Chiya casually flipped through them, growing more energized the further he read.

This stuff was far too important for him at his current stage.

This was what he lacked most right now.

Knowing the plot was one thing. Actually making hand seals and casting ninjutsu was another. In anime, people clapped their hands together and everything happened; only when it was his turn did he realize that chakra was completely unwilling to cooperate.

There was also a combination lockbox beside the desk.

Chiya crouched down and fiddled with it for a moment, then casually entered his own birthday.

Click.

It opened.

Chiya stared at the gold bars inside the box without speaking for a long while.

Only after quite some time did he mutter softly.

"Definitely my real dad."

There was quite a bit of money inside. If he used it sparingly, it would last him a long time. Chiya locked the box again, shoved it back where it had been, and deliberately blocked it with several books.

Money had to be hidden well.

The place looked quiet now, but who knew how many eyes were watching from the shadows?

After that, Chiya was hardly ever idle.

During the day, he attended the Ninja Academy. After school, he practiced shuriken throwing, hand seals, and chakra control. At night, after dinner, he buried himself in the study and read those notes.

The first time he practiced Great Fireball, he nearly choked himself to death.

He did not spit out much fire, but he inhaled a mouthful of smoke.

Chiya crouched in the yard and coughed for ages until tears came to his eyes. In the end, he wiped his mouth and cursed.

"Who invented this thing? Aren't they afraid of burning out their own lungs?"

Complaining was one thing. He still had to practice again the next day.

He practiced until his fingers hurt, until his chakra was depleted, until he lay in bed at night too exhausted to even turn over.

Sasuke was practicing too.

That kid was even more ruthless than he was.

The two often sparred together. At first, Chiya could still use the experience from his previous life to trick Sasuke with a few moves. Later, that stopped working. Sasuke learned far too quickly—if he suffered a loss in the morning, he could correct it by the afternoon.

So this was a genius?

Still, as they fought, their relationship grew closer. Sasuke still spoke little and still wore a sour expression, but every day after school, he waited for Chiya so they could leave together. Chiya sometimes ate at Sasuke's house, and Sasuke occasionally came to his. Neither of them talked much about the night the clan was massacred.

Life went on like that, and before they knew it, the Ninja Academy graduation exam was approaching.

The classroom was even noisier than usual that day.

Sasuke sat by the window with a cold expression, ignoring everyone. Chiya sat beside him, spinning a pen in his hand as he listened to the commotion around him, slightly distracted.

It was actually rather strange.

Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto...

Those names had once belonged to people on a screen. Now they were all sitting around him.

Sakura was propping up her face as she stared at Sasuke, her eyes frighteningly bright.

"Ahhh, Sasuke is so handsome!"

Ino immediately took offense and leaned over to argue.

"Nonsense. Obviously, Chiya is more handsome."

Sakura glared at her.

"Ino Pig, what do you know? Sasuke is cool!"

Ino rolled her eyes.

"Forehead girl, you're the one who doesn't understand. Chiya is gentle."

Chiya's mouth twitched as he listened.

Gentle?

He lowered his head and glanced at the fingers rubbed raw from practicing hand seals.

Fine. As long as they were happy.

Choji sat in the back, stuffing potato chips into his mouth and crunching away happily.

"Those two are fighting again."

Shikamaru lay sprawled over his desk without even lifting his head.

"What a drag."

Chiya had been about to laugh when he suddenly noticed Naruto standing up from his seat out of the corner of his eye.

The boy furtively glanced at the door, then at the teacher's desk. After confirming that Iruka had not arrived yet, he immediately carried his chair to the doorway.

Chiya's eyelid twitched.

Here it came.

Naruto stepped onto the chair and carefully wedged an eraser above the door. Once it was in place, he took two steps back to inspect it, looking as smug as could be.

Chiya looked at him and nearly burst out laughing.

He knew this scene too well.

Iruka would push open the door, and the eraser would fall.

Then Naruto would get scolded.

And after that came the graduation exam.

Clone Technique.

Mizuki.

The Scroll of Seals.

At that thought, Chiya's heart skipped a beat, and the pen spinning in his hand came to a stop.

It had finally arrived.

This was the day he had been waiting for.

When Iruka pushed open the door, the eraser indeed fell.

With a smack, it landed right on his head.

The classroom fell silent for a moment before erupting in laughter.

Naruto, standing by the door, laughed the loudest.

"Hahahaha! It worked!"

A vein bulged on Iruka's forehead. He reached up, took down the eraser, and glared at Naruto through gritted teeth.

"Naruto!"

Naruto's laughter stopped at once, and he immediately stood straight.

"Here!"

Iruka took a deep breath. He looked like he very much wanted to beat Naruto up, but today was the graduation exam after all, so he ultimately held back.

"Sit properly. The exam will begin shortly."

At the word "exam," the classroom quieted down considerably.

Chiya sat up straighter as well.

The exam began quickly.

The students were called into the neighboring classroom one by one, then came back out shortly afterward. Some were beaming, while others hung their heads in disappointment.

When Sakura came out, she had a smile on her face. It looked like she had passed smoothly.

The same went for Ino.

Shikamaru walked in lazily and came out just as lazily, with little expression on his face. Choji was still eating snacks when he came out; who knew whether he was nervous at all.

Soon, Iruka's voice came from inside.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The girls in the classroom immediately fell silent and all looked toward Sasuke.

Sasuke stood up without much expression and walked straight into the exam room.

Not long after, he came back out.

He already had his forehead protector in hand.

Sakura's eyes instantly lit up.

"Sasuke passed, just like I knew he would!"

Ino glanced at him too, but quickly snorted.

"Isn't that obvious?"

Sasuke returned to his seat and casually placed the forehead protector on the desk, as though he had merely completed an ordinary task.

Iruka's voice rang out again.

"Uchiha Chiya."

Chiya stood and walked inside.

Iruka and Mizuki were seated at the front of the exam room.

When he saw Mizuki, Chiya gave him an extra look.

This guy was still smiling so gently.

Who would have thought that tonight, he would trick Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals?

Mizuki seemed to notice Chiya's gaze and even smiled at him.

Chiya smiled back.

But silently memorized that face.

Iruka held the registration sheet and said, "The exam content is the Clone Technique."

Chiya nodded and formed hand seals.

With a soft pop.

Two clones appeared beside him.

Their movements, expressions, and chakra stability were all without issue.

A smile appeared on Iruka's face.

"Pass."

Mizuki nodded as well. "As expected of a student from the Uchiha Clan."

Chiya did not respond. He merely accepted the forehead protector, thanked them, and walked out.

The moment he returned to the classroom, Ino immediately looked over.

"Chiya, did you pass?"

Chiya placed his forehead protector on the desk.

Ino immediately looked smugly at Sakura.

"See? I told you Chiya would definitely be fine."

Sakura curled her lips.

"Sasuke passed ages ago, okay?"

The two started arguing again.

Chiya could not be bothered with them and sat back down beside Sasuke.

At last, it was Naruto's turn.

Naruto was extremely nervous when he stood up, but his words were still tough.

"Just watch. I'll definitely pass!"

Quite a few students in the classroom laughed.

Naruto ignored them and strode into the exam room.

Not long after, a pop sounded from inside.

Then came a brief silence.

A while later, Naruto walked out with his head lowered.

He had no forehead protector in his hand.

The classroom was quiet for a moment, then someone laughed.

"No way, Naruto failed again?"

The laughter grew louder and louder.

Naruto stood at the door, his face flushed red and his fists clenched tight, yet he could not say a single word.

Chiya looked at him and did not laugh.

The Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruto had already thrown his chakra into disarray. On top of that, no one had properly taught him chakra control since childhood. There was no way he could use it successfully.

The kid really had it rough.

Clearly the Fourth's son, yet he got by in the village like an orphan.

No.

He was an orphan to begin with.

At that thought, Chiya's gaze lingered on Naruto for a moment.

The Nine-Tails.

Whenever he thought of the Nine-Tails, he could not help thinking of Kaguya inside him.

Come to think of it, that woman had been quiet lately.

Ever since she warned him that night at the hospital, Kaguya had seemed to vanish. Chiya had tried several times to enter that pale blue space, but none had succeeded.

Just then, Iruka walked out of the examination room, his gaze toward Naruto somewhat complicated.

Mizuki followed him out, still wearing that gentle smile.