This Buzz-Cut Hunk Looks So Familiar?

"Damn... Hideki, why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

Obito, following behind the two ANBU, whispered uneasily.

"It's just a graduation exam. They're not testing theoretical knowledge, so what are you afraid of?" Hideki said irritably.

In truth, from the "ninja perspective" he had developed through this month of special training, he really could spot something else.

The two ANBU ahead of them were silent, dull, and did not say a word.

Every movement they made seemed natural, no different from ordinary people's, yet they remained tense at all times.

There was no doubt that if anything unexpected happened, the two ANBU before them would transform into elite killing machines and cut down any enemy who attacked.

That was also why Obito had been so fired up just moments ago, only to wilt in the blink of an eye.

At the root of it, Obito had never seen blood or experienced real combat, so his body instinctively resisted it.

Or perhaps he was suffering from being uneducated...

Hideki had never seen blood either, but the old man's special training seemed to have been preparing him for the battlefield.

As for Kakashi, there was even less need to mention him. His father was Konoha's ANBU commander and specifically oversaw the ANBU...

Yet before long, Hideki was no longer calm either.

He spotted figure after figure in the distance. Though he could not name them and had never even met them before,

the faint pressure they gave off instinctively made his body tense.

As they followed the two ANBU closer and closer to the examination site, Obito suddenly recognized someone in the crowd and let out a strange cry.

"Holy crap! Th-th-th-th-that's the clan head!?"

Obito was stunned. His graduation exam had actually drawn the clan head's attention?

"It's over, Hideki. That really is the Uchiha Clan head! It's over, it's over, it's over... Do you think he came to cause us trouble?"

Obito was a little panicked. He had not run into Uchiha Beiying for days. The Uchiha in their class would go out of their way to avoid him, which had felt pretty great at the time, but now that he thought about it, he suddenly felt a little scared.

After all, they had blown Uchiha Beiying's cousin into the hospital!

"Calm down, Obito." Hideki was utterly helpless at Obito's fussing.

Could anyone imagine that this guy would become the Shinobi World's third great demon king in the future?

"If he wanted trouble, he would've come for us long ago. He wouldn't wait until now... Perform well, and maybe your clan head will appreciate someone like you?"

"Don't forget... you're the Uchiha Clan's number one genius!"

Hideki hurriedly soothed him with a mix of coaxing and bluffing.

"The Uchiha Clan's... number one genius!?"

Obito's eyes suddenly lit up!

After calming Obito down, Hideki turned to Kakashi. "Are you ready, Kakashi?"

"Mm..." Kakashi answered lightly. He seemed to have adjusted himself already. "Hideki, our graduation exam has drawn quite a crowd, hasn't it?"

"Maybe they all want to see what White Fang's son is really like... Don't disappoint Uncle White Fang, Kakashi. You've got this!"

"Mm."

The three of them immediately stepped into the open-air field and took their positions.

The examination grounds resembled the venue for the final round of the Chunin Exam: an open-air field with tiered spectator stands on all four sides.

The scale was simply smaller. The last time Hideki had come here was when school had just started, when Hiruzen Sarutobi stood below and gave the children a speech about his Will of Fire.

At this moment, Hideki could feel one powerful gaze after another lingering on him.

In the past, he might have been a little nervous.

But times had changed. Not only did he feel no discomfort at all, he even found it a little boring.

He had no idea just how much the old man's special training had affected him...

"Tsk, tsk, their combined ages probably don't even add up to adulthood, do they? Kids these days, tsk, tsk... They're impressive."

In the spectator stands, Konoha's big shots chatted casually.

"Who could argue with that?" Shikaku Nara said thoughtfully as he watched the field.

"I still favor White Fang's son." Choza Akimichi grabbed a huge handful of fries and stuffed them into his mouth, speaking indistinctly. "The other two kids are too skinny. They look so frail, like they're malnourished..."

"But White Fang's kid isn't fat either, Choza." Inoichi Yamanaka laughed, then turned toward Shikaku Nara.

"By the way, Shikaku, what do you think of these children? To be honest... I also think the kid in the middle looks rather frail. And one is White Fang's son while the other is an Uchiha clansman. That child already lost at the starting line."

Inoichi Yamanaka was practically reciting Hideki's identification number. Of course, that was also what most people thought.

When civilian ninja were compared to clan ninja, they would always be at a disadvantage. This was not prejudice, but fact.

Yet Shikaku Nara shook his head. "Some things cannot be judged by appearances, Inoichi."

Suddenly.

Shikaku Nara's eyes lit up. In the center of the field, a figure suddenly flashed into view.

A handsome blond man with a buzz cut wore a sunny smile that made people feel as though they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"Minato came too?"

At this moment.

The three examinees standing at the center of everyone's attention had rather complicated feelings.

Kakashi did not know, but Hideki and Obito both wore strange expressions.

This buzz-cut hunk... looked kind of familiar?

"We meet again, everyone. I didn't expect all of you to apply for graduation. Time really flies!" Minato greeted them with a smile.

"Hello, Senior Minato..."

Hideki greeted him, but as he looked at Minato's hairstyle, he could not shake the sense of guilt.

So Minato had given up that flowing hairstyle?

It was clear that Minato's hair had been neatly trimmed. After all, two months had passed since "that incident."

Only one question remained in Hideki's heart.

Would a buzz cut affect his future title of the "Yellow Flash?"

If it became the "Buzz-Cut Flash," that would be awkward.

Unlike Hideki, Obito was not thinking that much. He mainly felt a little guilty.

After all, he still had not even completed the first step of the Rasengan, much less mastered it.

Yet what he feared came true.

As soon as Minato finished greeting them, he smiled and asked, "By the way, how is your Rasengan training going? If you've run into any problems, you can come find me later!"

"..." Hideki did not know how to answer. Did training too fast count as a problem?

But it seemed Minato was going to be their supervising ninja.

Of course, that was only if they passed the graduation exam.

Hideki secretly glanced at Obito. He was actually quite confident in Obito's strength already.

Hideki did not know what Obito had been like as a child in the original world, but the current Obito had mastered two Fire Release ninjutsu and was fierce enough to trade blows with Kakashi.

Though he had still never won, becoming a Genin should be more than easy for him.

What worried Hideki was not their strength, but the Chunin who would come to administer the examination according to the rules.

If that person had some strange opinion of the Uchiha Clan, or was simply sent by Danzo, then they would be done for.

However, just as Hideki's thoughts ran wild,

he suddenly realized that Minato had no intention of leaving.

Looking at Minato's radiant smile, Hideki realized something and swallowed.

"Um... Senior Minato?" Hideki asked tentatively. "Do you... have something to do today?"

Hideki's sudden question left Obito completely confused.

But Kakashi, standing beside him, seemed to realize something. His expression changed as though he were facing a formidable enemy!

Minato scratched his head and laughed. "I knew I couldn't fool you, haha!"

As he spoke, the smile remained on Minato's face, but he raised one hand and spread his five fingers. Then his smile faded slightly. He was still smiling, but his expression became more serious.

"Five minutes... children, I am your examiner, Minato Namikaze. You only need to last five minutes against me to pass."

"You still have plenty of time to prepare," Minato said with a smile.

The three boys were all startled at once.

It was not just them. Even the Konoha big shots in the spectator stands were shocked.

The current Minato had yet to become the "Yellow Flash" whose name shook the Shinobi World, but that was only a matter of time and fame.

Minato's strength was plain for all to see. Becoming one of Konoha's Elite Jonin and mastering the Flying Thunder God were themselves symbols of strength.

In fact, Minato was extremely well-liked and popular in Konoha.

Putting strength aside, his girlfriend was Little Pepper, the Uzumaki Clan's princess, the direct descendant of the First Hokage's wife, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

Minato's teacher was Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin and the Third Hokage's direct disciple. Following that master-disciple line upward led all the way to the Second Hokage!

A Jonin with both strength and fame like this had come to act as the examiner for three little brats.

How could people not be shocked?

Forget five minutes. Even if several Chunin replaced them, they probably would not last!

In the spectator stands, Shikaku Nara stroked his little goatee, the interest in his eyes growing stronger.

"It seems Lord Hokage thinks highly of these three little ones... Now this will be entertaining!"