Graduation Exam

"Earth Release: Earth Spear," Orochimaru's voice came from underground.

The spot where Kakashi had been standing instantly bulged into a cone-shaped earthen spear. Several flying fragments of stone even grazed Kakashi's left eye, barely missing it.

"You're getting a little serious now, Teacher. You really don't hold back," Kakashi said teasingly.

"If this is all you can do after mastering Senjutsu, then let me shatter your understanding." Orochimaru, having revealed himself, stared at Kakashi standing atop a distant treetop.

"Then does that mean I'm qualified to take the graduation exam?" As he spoke, Kakashi swung his blade toward his right.

Because the material was inferior to the Kusanagi Sword Orochimaru held, Kakashi had coated his blade beforehand with a thin layer of deep-blue Senjutsu energy.

The two sharp blades struck rapidly through the air, producing an unbroken series of clangs.

Taking advantage of the moment Kakashi was talking with a clone, Orochimaru attempted to ambush him from the side, but he still failed to escape Kakashi's sharp senses. After exchanging sword techniques for a while longer, Kakashi sheathed his blade first and conceded defeat.

One reason was that his total amount of Senjutsu energy was currently insufficient. More importantly, aside from a few unexpected Sage Arts that could achieve some effect, he was completely overwhelmed in every other aspect.

The result had been expected, and the process had not been particularly eventful.

Since they were already close to Konoha, the two of them did not rush too much on the rest of the journey.

"The Sage Arts of Ryūchi Cave do have their merits. Tagorihime wouldn't dare unleash them at full power in front of me. That would be risking her life." Orochimaru praised Kakashi for being able to cut off some of his hair. Orochimaru had certainly held back, but not to the absurd degree of the later Pacific War. Therefore, for Kakashi, as a five-year-old Ninja Academy student, to fight one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, to this extent was indeed something to be proud of.

"Thank you for the confidence, Teacher, hahaha. But I still can't afford to be the slightest bit proud. After all, let alone being injured, your breathing hasn't even been disturbed." Kakashi clearly recognized the enormous gap in strength between himself and Orochimaru.

It might have looked like he had merely cut off Orochimaru's hair, but that had taken nearly half of his Senjutsu energy to use Sage Art: White Rage Technique, even if it had been a weakened version. Yet despite catching Orochimaru off guard, and despite this likely being the first time Orochimaru had encountered that move, he had not achieved the slightest result. At that point, there had already been no value in continuing the attack. So the rest of the time had been spent by Orochimaru testing whether Kakashi's fundamentals and defensive abilities had improved.

"Heh heh, I didn't have your strength when I was your age. So, Kakashi, there's no need to be modest. Neither you nor I are the sort of people too narrow-minded to tolerate those who come after us surpassing us. Isn't that right?" Seemingly recalling something unpleasant, Orochimaru simply sped up and headed for the village. His senses had already detected several Konoha ninja. Leaving Kakashi far behind, his voice drifted back on the wind. "Come find me again once you receive your forehead protector."

After returning to the village, Kakashi submitted the return slip issued by the Ninja Academy for leaving the village and successfully returned home.

Hatake Sakumo was, as usual, not home. He really was a workaholic. His son had been away from home for nearly a month, yet he had not sent even a single message.

"Should I thank you for trusting me so much?" Kakashi complained weakly. He used the Summoning Technique to summon a puppy and asked, "Do you know where my father is?"

"Woof woof... Lord Sakumo should be on his way back to the village. Five days ago, he summoned us for a search mission." Upon seeing Kakashi, the little puppy Pakkun happily tilted his head. At this time, Pakkun was not yet the dog uncle he would become in the future, without a trace of steadiness about him.

"All right, thanks for your hard work. Have some dried fish." Kakashi took out a prepared box of dried fish, which Pakkun accepted happily.

"I'll be going, then. Congratulations in advance, Kakashi. You'll soon become a Genin. We'll have more chances to fight side by side in the future."

"Yeah, I'll be counting on you." Kakashi pressed two fingers of his right hand together and made a gesture of salute. Although Pakkun could not understand it, he roughly grasped Kakashi's meaning, copied his movement, then dispelled the Summoning Technique and returned.

Kakashi rested properly at home for a day, preparing for the graduation exam the day after tomorrow.

He did not slack off on his usual taijutsu training or technique practice. It was just that the energy he used had changed to Senjutsu energy rather than the chakra he had used before. Fortunately, Kakashi's Senjutsu energy did not differ much from his original chakra in color or appearance; it was merely a little deeper in color. That would save him quite a bit of trouble explaining things in the future.

Kakashi took his graduation exam together with the current group of graduates.

Small in stature, with a head of fluffy silver-white hair and a short blade strapped to his back, Kakashi stood out conspicuously among the examinees.

"Look, that's Lord White Fang's son."

"Ah, that genius who defeated Uchiha Kaze. You wouldn't think it just by looking at him."

"Keep your voice down. Uchiha Kaze was provoked, and he's been training like crazy lately. His strength has increased a lot. Be careful he doesn't come looking for trouble with you."

Graduates who occasionally spotted Kakashi nearby whispered among themselves, chatting with companions they knew.

Ignoring the noise around him, Kakashi silently waited for the written test to begin.

At this stage, the Ninja Academy's promotion system differed slightly from the one Naruto and the others would have in the future. Although there was a written test, its score carried less weight, accounting for only ten percent. Thus, after a little over an hour, the simple written portion ended.

Next came the ninjutsu and taijutsu assessment.

The taijutsu portion tested familiarity with common ninja tools such as shuriken and darts, as well as sparring between examinees.

After hitting all the targets in an unremarkable fashion and receiving full marks for that category, Kakashi waited to draw lots for his sparring match.

With his current sensory abilities, he had long since discovered the Third Hokage hiding in the shadows on the second floor of the school, along with the man behind him, Shimura Danzō, known as Konoha's Darkness.

Their arrival did not surprise him. Young geniuses were often the people those in power most liked to recruit or brainwash.

"Next match, Hatake Kakashi versus Uchiha Kaze!" After judging the winner of the previous pair, the Chunin teacher hosting the exam glanced at the examination list in his hand and announced.

Kakashi's brows furrowed slightly before he walked expressionlessly toward the center of the field.

He definitely did not believe there had been no manipulation behind the scenes. Out of over a hundred graduates, the two of them had been drawn together. Did some important figure want to see how much he had improved during this time?

Uchiha Kaze, dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt and light-gray trousers, walked over with a bitter, grim expression. A vicious smile seemed to linger at the corner of his mouth.

"I didn't expect such a coincidence, Hatake Kakashi. I'll make you taste the bitter pain of defeat. Do you know how I've spent this past month..." Uchiha Kaze muttered as he glared hatefully at the little brat before him. It was this boy who had made him fall from an outstanding student into the laughingstock of his classmates.

"Overestimating yourself? Heh, those people simply don't understand your strength, but the me of today! I'm not the same as I was a month ago! Today, I will win!"