Graduation Exam

The days passed one by one, and Menma followed his training plan step by step.

He refined Chakra in class, practiced wall climbing on the walls at home after school, and practiced water walking in the bathtub.

Finally, Menma mastered wall climbing and water walking a month before the exam.

He could clearly feel that casting the Three-Body Technique had become smoother, and he could use it more times as well.

Looking back on nearly two months of training, it had not been too exhausting. There had only been one misunderstanding in the middle that was both hilarious and embarrassing.

During the period when Menma was practicing water walking in the bathtub, Minato suddenly pulled him into a corner one night and awkwardly said:

"Menma, Dad knows you're interested in girls' bodies now.

Dad is happy about that too, but I need to tell you that doing that sort of thing too often isn't good for your health. Once a week is generally enough..."

It turned out that Minato and Kushina had noticed that Menma had been spending longer in the bathroom lately—when he had actually been practicing water walking.

They also often heard loud splashing sounds from the bathroom—when Menma had actually fallen into the water after failing his practice.

On top of that, Mizuki had told them that Menma had developed a "very lewd" Transformation Technique.

They had assumed Menma was hiding in the bathroom masturbating, which was why Minato had said those things to him.

Hearing Minato's misunderstanding, Menma's face turned bright red. He grabbed Minato's hand and dragged him toward the bathroom.

After filling the bathtub and demonstrating the results of his water-walking practice, Minato became embarrassed too.

"Um, although it might be a little early for you now, you'll have to face these things sooner or later!

What Dad just said still wasn't wrong.

Menma, correct it if you have it, and take it as encouragement if you don't..."

Kushina, who had been eavesdropping nearby, nearly laughed herself to death.

But after that incident, Menma no longer had to secretly train at home.

Minato and Kushina also taught him some small tricks for using Chakra.

They did not directly improve Menma's combat ability, but they made him far more comfortable with controlling Chakra.

Before long, the day of the Graduation Exam arrived. Menma left home early, and Minato and Kushina got up especially early to see him off to school.

"Menma, don't be too nervous. Just perform as you normally do, and you'll pass the Graduation Exam!" Minato encouraged him at the school gate.

"That's right. Mom will make a big dinner at home to celebrate you becoming a Genin!" Kushina said with a smile.

Menma shrugged, indicating that he was not nervous at all. Looking around, he found that nearly every student had parents there to cheer them on.

The Hyuga Clan was the most outrageous. Clan head Hiashi Hyuga had brought a group from the Hyuga Branch Family, put up banners, and waved colorful flags while cheering for Hinata, who looked utterly lifeless.

Suddenly, Menma spotted Sakura standing alone in a corner of the crowd, completely out of place.

He suddenly remembered that Sakura's parents—the Fourth Hokage and his wife—had died protecting the village.

They had sacrificed themselves in an internal Konoha rebellion more than a decade ago, so she must have felt very lonely now.

Menma waved to his parents and walked straight toward Sakura. Seeing this, Minato and Kushina exchanged smiles before turning to leave.

"Yo! Sakura, how's your Graduation Exam preparation going? Think you can get a Genin forehead protector?"

Menma greeted Sakura with a smile.

"It's you, you big pervert!" Sakura looked at Menma and quietly took three steps back without changing her expression.

"Of course I'll be fine. What about you? You're not going to use that kind of lewd Ninjutsu during the exam, are you?"

The moment she brought that up, Menma's teeth itched with hatred. Thanks to Sakura, he had gained more nicknames in the past three months than he had in the previous six years combined.

Big pervert, freaky guy, drool brat, and so on. The worst one was "earthworm," and everyone could interpret that one for themselves.

Of course, Sasuke had it even worse. He had also gained a nickname: "the earthworm's true body."

Now, whenever the girls in class saw the two of them, they covered their mouths and whispered among themselves.

Poor Sasuke had been caught up in it for no reason at all. He had been so provoked that he had nearly awakened the Sharingan!

Sasuke was no longer acting flashy either. He was gradually moving closer to the gloomy, cold persona from the original story.

Menma lost all interest in continuing the conversation with Sakura and turned to leave.

He did not notice Sakura's eyes gradually dimming behind him.

Soon, nine in the morning arrived, and the exam officially began.

Just like in the original story, the exam tested the Clone Technique. As long as one could successfully create two clones, they passed.

While standing in line, Menma's mind raced wildly.

In the original story, Naruto failed the exam, Mizuki tricked him into stealing the Scroll of Seals, and then he learned the Shadow Clone Technique. So what should I do?

Pretend to fail?

No. This world is completely different from my memories of my previous life. If I follow Naruto's approach, I might really be treated as a rogue Ninja!

Forget it. I should just take the exam honestly and learn Ninjutsu through the proper channels, step by step.

After a long wait, it was finally Menma's turn. At Mizuki's command, he quickly formed hand seals and successfully created two clones, passing the exam without incident.

That afternoon, Menma successfully received his Ninja forehead protector.

He then stood on the playground for two hours, listening to Danzo speak endlessly about the Will of Fire for another two hours.

When he returned to the classroom, Menma learned from Mizuki that they would gather the next morning to take Ninja ID photos, while the afternoon would be for Jonin instructors assigning Genin teams.

That evening, when Menma returned home, Kushina had prepared a table full of delicious food and celebrated Menma becoming a Ninja with Minato.

During dinner, Minato even tried to pour Menma a cup of alcohol. In his words, "Becoming a Ninja means becoming a man, so you can drink now." Kushina stopped him with force.

After suppressing Minato, Kushina solemnly warned Menma that Ninja had three forbidden rules, and he was absolutely not allowed to touch them.

"Still, you can get to know girls appropriately. I think Sakura is pretty good."

Kushina teased Menma, then laughed heartily with Minato as they looked at each other.

At the Haruno home several streets away, Sakura looked at a table full of canned food. After a moment of silence, she broke into a smile. "Thanks for the food!"

Hidden Leaf Village, Hokage Office.

Danzo, wearing the Hokage hat, sat behind his desk and said to the white-haired Ninja before him, who carried a long sword and wore a black mask:

"Kakashi, it's not good to keep your head down and do nothing but train and take missions. Relax a little this year. Lead a Genin team and take it easy."

"Lord Hokage, you know me. I only have one requirement for recruits: they must be strong enough," the Ninja named Kakashi Hatake said coldly.

"Kakashi, I know you still cannot let go of your father's death. But no matter what, your father was unquestionably a hero," Danzo persuaded him in a low voice.

"Lord Hokage worries too much. My father's death was his own choice. I no longer care about it.

But my standards for choosing subordinates will not change." Kakashi stood straight and spoke without shifting his gaze.

"Ah..." Danzo sighed.

"I know what you're thinking.

Don't worry. The subordinates chosen for you this time are all talented children.

Sakura Haruno is the daughter of your teacher, the Fourth Hokage Haruno Kizashi. Her Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu are all far beyond those of her peers, and she also possesses astonishing talent for Chakra control. She can inherit Tsunade's legacy.

Menma Namikaze is the son of the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. He possesses Uzumaki blood, has an astonishing amount of Chakra, and may have inherited his father's talent for space-time Ninjutsu. He has tremendous room to grow.

Sasuke Uchiha is the son of the Uchiha Clan head. His talent is beyond question. Once he awakens the Sharingan at the right time, his strength will advance by leaps and bounds.

What do you think? These three Genin are the most talented and strongest students of their year. Are you willing to lead them?"

"As long as they can pass my test, I do not mind becoming their Jonin leader!"

Kakashi still adhered to his principles.

"Fine, we'll do as you say. But don't make the test too harsh. I'll be watching you!" Danzo reluctantly agreed to Kakashi's request.

"I will follow Lord Danzo's arrangements in all things!"

Kakashi lowered his head slightly. After Danzo waved him away, he vanished in a flash.

"Ah, Kakashi's personality is still too rigid. He needs more tempering.

I hope he can improve over the next few years. Then I can hand the position of Hokage over to him without worry, and these old bones of mine can finally rest!"

Danzo stared at the place where Kakashi had disappeared and muttered to himself...

Late at night, in the Hidden Leaf Village, at the Namikaze home.

Menma lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He kept thinking about the original story.

Naruto had learned the Shadow Clone Technique that very night, then kept using it all the way through Boruto.

But the plot had now changed completely. Mizuki had not tempted him into stealing the scroll, which meant he had nowhere to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

I wonder if Father Minato knows it.

But even if Minato had learned that Ninjutsu, he probably would not teach it to him easily.

After all, it was a forbidden technique explicitly classified by the Second Hokage as something that could harm a Ninja's body!

No matter what, I have to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!

Menma secretly made up his mind. After all, it was the key to whether he could activate his future experience multiplier cheat.

And the Rasengan. That simple, brutal, hand-signless Ninjutsu also needed to be put on the agenda, though he could not train it before the Chunin Ninja Exams at the very least.

He also wondered whether he would still encounter Jiraiya like in the original story. If he could not become Jiraiya's disciple, that would be a huge loss!

It would not merely mean losing the Toad Clan's Summoning Contract, but also losing the means to train in Sage Arts!

Fortunately, Minato in this world was still Jiraiya's disciple. Though he was somewhat disappointing, at least that increased Menma's chances of successfully becoming Jiraiya's student.

That night, the Hidden Leaf Village was peaceful and tranquil, and nothing happened. Only the Inuzuka Clan's Ninja dogs barked from time to time, while everyone else had long since fallen asleep.