Uchiha Ryu

The graduation exam had already been going on for over an hour.

Feng Xun, who was watching with Minato and the others, kept yawning, showing none of the excitement he had when he first arrived from home.

"This is so boring! Minato, when is it your turn?"

"Hmm, if nothing unexpected happens, I should be next!" Minato said somewhat solemnly.

"Really? Then I'll hold on a little longer!" Feng Xun tried hard to keep his eyes wide open, determined not to fall asleep before then.

It couldn't be helped. The people competing before him were all little brats who had not even become Genin. To him, someone already recognized by the system as a Genin, their sluggish movements, clumsy ninjutsu, and completely unplanned actions all seemed far too amateurish.

Of course, if this had been a week ago, those clumsy moves would have been enough to take his life.

"Next match: Namikaze Minato versus Uchiha Ryu."

"Uchiha Ryu?" Feng Xun frowned slightly upon hearing the name. "I didn't expect the academy to arrange this. Was it intentional?"

He was no stranger to the name Uchiha Ryu. After all, the other boy was a famous genius of the Uchiha clan and the second-strongest student in Minato's class.

As for first place, he was not bragging—who else could it be besides his own big brother?

"I'll head out first, then!" Minato said to Xun.

"Yeah, go get 'em, big bro! Whoever he is, beat the crap out of him first!" Feng Xun cheered for Minato while waving his fist.

"Hmph, ignorant fool!" Uchiha Ryu, who was also stepping onto the field, gave a disdainful snort at Feng Xun's almost comical cheering.

Then Uchiha Ryu turned his gaze toward his opponent. "Namikaze Minato, I will defeat you and prove to everyone that I am the strongest student in this class."

"Then please enlighten me." Minato showed no hint of backing down as he pulled a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch and held it in his hand.

Just as the match was about to begin, Kushina, who had been standing on the other side, came over to Feng Xun. "Brat, do you think that sissy can win?"

Feng Xun deliberately shook his head with a profound expression.

"What? Do you think the sissy can't win?" Kushina asked in surprise.

Feng Xun continued shaking his head.

"Brat, are you messing with me?" Seeing her little underling dare to toy with her, Kushina grabbed his ear and viciously twisted it a full 180 degrees.

"Ow!!! It hurts, it hurts! Easy, easy! My ear's going to fall off!" Feng Xun, who had been putting on a profound act moments ago, was immediately knocked back to reality.

Seeing Feng Xun's tearful expression and recalling how he had been recovering for an entire week, Kushina let go. "Hmph, I'll let you off this time. Now tell me! What exactly are you thinking?"

"What am I thinking?" Xun asked with an innocent look.

"Looks like that lesson wasn't enough!" Seeing him still playing dumb, Kushina darkened her face and reached for him again with her devilish claws.

"Stop, I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Feng Xun immediately covered his ears and jumped aside. "There's no need to think about it at all. Minato will definitely win."

"Then why were you shaking your head just now?" Kushina asked speechlessly.

"Uh, I was just wondering how Minato could make that guy lose without looking too miserable." Feng Xun chuckled as he stared at the two who had already begun fighting.

On the field.

"Namikaze Minato, can you only run around like a loach?" Uchiha Ryu panted slightly as he watched Minato dart about everywhere.

"If you use your full strength, then naturally I will too." At some point, Minato had moved onto a tree branch. He stared seriously into his opponent's eyes.

Could this guy already know?

After hearing Minato's words, Uchiha Ryu became uncertain.

"Ryu!" A voice rang out from outside the field just as Uchiha Ryu was at a loss.

"Father?" Uchiha Ryu looked toward the source of the voice.

There stood a sharp-eyed middle-aged man dressed in somewhat old-fashioned clothing.

The man said nothing. He merely nodded at his son on the field before turning and leaving the crowd without looking back.

"I understand, Father!"

After murmuring to himself, Uchiha Ryu looked once more at Minato on the other side of the field. "Since you want to witness my true strength so badly, I'll show you the gap between the Uchiha clan and commoner ninja like you."

As he spoke, Uchiha Ryu's pupils turned blood-red, and two faint black tomoe emerged deep within them.

"Sharingan!"

Feng Xun, standing beside the field, was shocked. He had never expected the other boy to awaken his eyes at such a young age—and to possess the Two-Tomoe Sharingan at that.

In fact, Feng Xun was not the only one shocked. Even the teachers overseeing the exam were stunned. The children of the Ninja Academy might not understand yet, but as Chunin, they knew exactly what it meant to possess the Two-Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age.

"That Uchiha child is quite impressive!" The Third Hokage, who had appeared near the field at some point, wore a conical hat as he spoke to his old friend beside him.

"Hmph, in my view, this only proves they have ulterior motives! They actually hid something this important from us. Their intentions are clearly sinister." A middle-aged man with bandages wrapped around his head spoke in a chilling tone.

Faced with his friend's prejudice, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "Danzo, we are all from the same village. You cannot keep targeting the Uchiha clan. Besides, they did not deliberately hide it. Look, isn't everyone seeing those eyes now?"

"Hmph, who knows whether that cunning clan has hidden even more Sharingan?" Danzo said dismissively. "Still, I would like to see how that blond brat deals with him. If he performs well, I may consider taking him under my command."

Hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his brows, somewhat displeased. "Danzo, don't overstep your bounds. These children are Konoha's future."

"Don't worry. I will absolutely not use coercive methods. But if he comes willingly, then no one can blame me." Danzo gradually concealed himself beneath the shade of the trees, his sinister voice drifting from the shadows.

P.S.: It is time again for Old Cat to address the question left over from the previous chapter. What benefit would Danzo gain from having the Lightning Shinobi abduct Kushina? First, if the Lightning Shinobi abducted Kushina, the Third Hokage's position would definitely be shaken. Perhaps Danzo could use that opportunity to become the Fourth Hokage. The second benefit would be that if Kushina was not abducted but instead unleashed the Nine-Tails' power along the way, Danzo could very likely use that as an excuse to bring Kushina into Root and control her.

Of course, while Kushina was being abducted, members of a Root Squad might also have been hiding nearby. After all, a Jinchūriki was still an important weapon of war and could not simply be handed over to others. The most likely scenario was that Root secretly rescued her during the abduction, allowing them to pin the blame on the Lightning Shinobi while ensuring Konoha's strength did not suffer any losses.

All of the above is merely Old Cat's personal speculation. If you don't like it, please don't flame me!!!

As for tomorrow, let's talk about the bandages on Danzo's head!!

Finally, this is a new author with a new book, so please support it!!! The more votes, the better!!!