Shadow Clone at the Graduation Exam

"Renno, shut your mouth!"

The Chunin leading the way barked coldly, then turned and tossed a remark at Naruto.

"The examiners won't be here for a while. Find yourself a seat."

With that, he turned and left, acting as though he had not seen the hostility in the classroom at all.

"You're pretty cocky, brat."

Renno, along with two lackeys, walked straight over and blocked Naruto's path.

"Stop it, Renno! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? What kind of skill is bullying a child?"

A girl with red inverted-triangle markings on her cheeks shouted at the three of them.

A large gray dog lay beside her.

"Hana Inuzuka, mind your own business! This is none of your concern!"

Renno shouted back even louder.

Naruto's ears perked up, and his brows rose.

Hana Inuzuka? Kiba Inuzuka's sister?

His gaze swept around the classroom before locking onto a beautiful girl with long jet-black hair and a beauty mark at the corner of her right eye.

Damn.

Izumi Uchiha?

She's Itachi Uchiha's classmate?

Naruto finally pulled his gaze back to the three troublemakers in front of him. So this guy was the lackey from the anime who had been intimidated by Itachi Uchiha and later stood at the front to clear the way for him.

Itachi had already become an ANBU squad captain, while this bunch of classmates had not even become Genin yet.

After doing the math in his head, Naruto realized that Itachi Uchiha was indeed twelve years old now.

Seeing Naruto space out, Renno felt humiliated to the extreme.

Furious, he roared.

"Are you fucking courting death?!"

He threw a punch straight at Naruto.

The two lackeys lunged in as well, trying to grab Naruto's arms from both sides.

Naruto came back to his senses, his eyelids twitching. In a flash, he vanished from the three men's sight.

"What? Where did he go?!"

"Watch out, he might go underneath us!"

A boy in the classroom shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Too late."

Naruto sneered.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind."

With one sweeping kick, he sent several people flying. Then, while they were still in midair, he added another kick, smashing all three solidly into the classroom wall. Nearby desks and chairs crashed down in a heap.

The tremendous force knocked all three unconscious.

"How is that possible?!"

"That strength is terrifying!"

"A seven-year-old kid? You've got to be kidding! It'd be one thing if his physique were comparable to ours, but he's this strong too?!"

"Being in the same class as Itachi was bad enough. We finally made it to graduation, and now another genius like Itachi is graduating with us. Damn it, can't a different group of people be the ones getting crushed for once?!"

The students in the classroom discussed it in hushed voices, their faces full of shock.

At that moment, the examiners pushed open the door and walked in.

"Who did this?!"

Naruto sneered inwardly. He had noticed long ago that the two examiners had been watching the show outside.

To these cannon-fodder civilian ninjas, his identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki made him no different from an enemy.

No one had appeared when he was being harassed, but the moment he beat someone up, they suddenly showed themselves. Their legs sure moved fast.

"I did it. So what?"

Naruto shot back coldly.

"You injured your classmates for no reason at school! This must be dealt with severely! Come with me to see Lord Hokage!"

As the Chunin spoke, he reached out to grab Naruto. That grip was not meant for a student; it was clearly meant for a criminal.

Naruto snorted.

"Get lost."

He clapped his hands together, and a violent gale exploded outward, sending the examiner flying.

With a muffled boom, the examiner slammed hard into the wall above the blackboard, leaving a huge dent in it.

The examiner spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at Naruto in utter horror.

"How is this possible?!"

The other examiner looked utterly incredulous.

"C-rank ninjutsu, Wind Release: Gale Palm?!"

Everyone taking the exam in the classroom widened their eyes, chills running down their backs as they looked at Naruto.

That was C-rank ninjutsu.

For civilian examinees like them to graduate from the Ninja Academy, it was enough to learn the Clone Technique, Substitution Technique, Change Technique, Transformation Technique, and Rope Escape Technique—just a few E-rank techniques.

There was still D-rank difficulty to overcome before reaching C-rank ninjutsu.

Yet Naruto had casually unleashed a C-rank Gale Palm and blown a teacher away.

And they had not even seen Naruto form hand seals.

Even if it only required two seals, he still had to form them, right?

Unable to save face, the examiner blustered and shouted at Naruto.

"You dared to injure an examiner! That's already a crime! Once the Konoha Military Police Force arrives, you'll definitely be thrown in prison!"

"Two idiots."

Naruto sneered.

He was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Let the Uchiha Clan throw him in prison?

Konoha's higher-ups would go insane on the spot.

They had placed ANBU around him to watch him. What they feared was not ninja from other villages; what they truly guarded against was the Uchiha Clan, rumored to be capable of controlling the Nine-Tails.

Never mind beating up a teacher—even if he killed Danzo right now, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never send him to prison.

After all, back then, to suppress the Uchiha Clan, the prison had been built right next to their clan grounds.

"What are we being tested on today?"

Naruto suddenly asked the two examiners.

The examiner answered instinctively.

"The Clone Technique... No! You're no longer qualified to take the exam!"

Naruto sneered and left them with a final remark.

"Tell the Third that it's three techniques now. Otherwise, I'm not graduating."

As soon as his words fell, Naruto's figure exploded into a cloud of white smoke with a bang.

The two examiners and every examinee in the room were dumbfounded, staring fixedly at the spot where Naruto had disappeared.

The one who had come to take the exam was actually a Shadow Clone?!