The Wind of Konoha Is Too Weak

The final exam of the Ninja Academy was filled with the sweat typical of youths and a faint, lingering tension.

The afternoon sun lazily spilled over the playground, gilding everything with a layer of gold. The final exam was immediately followed by the graduation exam for this cohort. Although the content of the graduation exam consisted only of the Three Body Technique, and the results of the final exam did not affect whether one graduated—serving merely as an inspection of staged learning outcomes, it was also a way of assessing the students' baseline.

The final rankings would be written into the records, and nobody wanted to leave an unsightly mark in their file right from the start. Surrounded by peers of both genders, nobody wanted to be compared unfavorably to male classmates of the same rank or make a fool of themselves in front of the female classmates.

"Next, Naruto Uzumaki!"

As the proctor called out this name, a few students at the bottom of the class immediately beamed with relief, exchanging a "you know" look.

A spiky-haired boy even shouted unceremoniously, "Hey, Naruto Uzumaki, I'm counting on you! This year's bottom of the class depends entirely on you to uphold, hahaha!"

A burst of laughter erupted around them.

In the corner, Hinata Hyuga nervously poked her index fingers together, her small face flushing red. She was terribly anxious inside, yet dared not speak out in rebuttal.

Sakura habitually sighed, glancing sideways at the blond idiot. In her mind, she had already previewed the entire scene of him making a fool of himself shortly.

She withdrew her gaze, gazing infatuatedly at Sasuke Uchiha beside her; this was where she should be focusing her attention.

Normally, that blond boy would either flush red and argue loudly or rush up to dispute it rebelliously, but today, he just stood quietly, as if those harsh taunts were merely a breeze brushing past his ears.

His gaze didn't even turn toward the provoking classmate, instead falling upon Konoha bathed in sunlight in the distance.

Row upon row of rooftops, lush green trees, and the faint Hokage Rock in the distance. A scene of peace and tranquility.

However, against this bright scenery, another image instantly overlaid itself in Naruto Uzumaki's mind. Beneath a scarlet sky, endless black scorched earth stretched out, and the air was filled with a mixed stench of ozone, blood, and rotting corpses. Amidst the deafening roar of artillery fire, countless human soldiers wearing crude armor roared, "For the Emperor," and launched a desperate charge against the formless, indescribably twisted Chaos monsters.

That was the "homeland" for which he had once shed blood in battle, a world perpetually struggling on the brink of destruction.

"Naruto Uzumaki! It's your turn! What are you daydreaming for?" The proctor, Chunin Mizuki, urged impatiently. In his view, this perennial loser was just here to go through the motions.

Naruto Uzumaki pulled back his thoughts, the last trace of confusion belonging to the past completely wiped from his azure eyes, leaving only a depth and chill like the deep sea.

He stepped forward into the arena.

"Exam content, combat. Your opponent is me." Mizuki casually assumed a stance, a hint of disdain on his lips. "As long as you can last three moves against my hand, you pass."

The implication was that this was already an immense show of mercy.

Naruto Uzumaki didn't reply, simply lowering his center of gravity slightly and adopting a seemingly simple yet flawless fighting stance.

Mizuki snorted, his figure flickering as he rushed toward Naruto Uzumaki, intending to end this boring exam in the simplest and most direct way.

The moment his fist was about to touch Naruto Uzumaki's face, a sudden change occurred!

Naruto Uzumaki's figure was like a phantom, leaning slightly at an angle most people would find extremely difficult to achieve, narrowly dodging the force of the punch. Immediately following, his elbow swept upward with the force of thunder, striking Mizuki's chin with absolute precision.

The entire movement was fast, accurate, and fierce, devoid of any superfluous motion, filled with the pure efficiency born for slaughter.

Mizuki's pupils contracted sharply; the instinct cultivated from years of combat forced him to lean back forcefully, dodging the elbow strike that would have knocked him out on the spot in a rather messy manner.

Before he could steady his stance, Naruto Uzumaki had already pressed forward. A whip kick, carrying the howl of tearing air, targeted his ribcage vital point straight on.

Mizuki only had time to cross his arms in defense.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Mizuki was sent flying sideways by an overwhelming, immense force, rolling on the ground several times before barely coming to a stop. He only felt his arms go numb, as if his bones had cracked.

The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.

Those students who had originally been watching the joke all dropped their jaws wide open, as if an egg could be stuffed inside.

This... this was still a single move?

This was a one-sided crushing defeat!

Mizuki struggled to his feet, the look in his eyes as he gazed at Naruto Uzumaki filled with shock and incomprehension. With that previous blow, he could sense that the opponent hadn't even used chakra, relying purely on physical strength and technique. That technique was cold and cruel, every single move resembling a killing art honed through thousands of trials.

On the sidelines, Sasuke Uchiha's body gave a violent jolt, and the eyes that always carried arrogance showed a long-absent emotion called "shock."

He stared fixedly at Naruto Uzumaki, replaying the recent combat over and over in his mind.

The replay process was fast, and the conclusion was unquestionable.

If he had been the one standing there just now, he likely would have been ten times more disheveled than Teacher Mizuki.

He might even have... failed to dodge that fatal blow.

A familiar sense of powerlessness wrapped around his heart like poisonous vines, as if pulling him back to that bloody night and letting him see the cold light reflected off Itachi Uchiha's blade once again.

"Next item," Naruto Uzumaki said calmly, as if he had merely done an insignificant chore.

At the proctor's desk, Iruka and the other teachers looked at each other in dismay, all seeing thick shock in one another's eyes.

"Ahem... Next item, shuriken throwing." Another proctor gave a dry cough, forcibly pushing the procedure forward.

The target was set up fifty meters away.

Naruto Uzumaki picked up five shuriken, weighing them casually in his hand. His posture was standard yet exuded an unusual stability. Arm, wrist, and fingers formed a perfect straight line.

Without the slightest hesitation, he flicked his wrist.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Five cold flashes pierced the air in a wedge formation, arriving almost one after another.

The next second, crisp metallic impact sounds merged into a single line.

Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!

On the distant human-shaped target, five shuriken precisely nailed the exact same spot in the bullseye, the tail of the final shuriken even vibrating slightly as it drove the preceding four in deeper.

If the taijutsu just now had been shocking, this was utter and complete stupefaction.

The entire testing arena fell dead silent; even the rustle of the wind through the tree leaves was clearly audible.

At this, even Hinata forgot to be happy, her small mouth slightly agape, her eyes filled with disbelief. She rejoiced at Naruto Uzumaki's changes, yet the unfamiliarity radiating from those cold pupils made her feel a rising wave of panic.

Naruto Uzumaki-kun... what on earth has he been through?

Everyone's gazes converged on the blond-haired boy. He still maintained that nonchalant appearance, as if he himself had not just performed such a miraculous feat.

That was not technique; that was machine-like precision.

At the examiner's bench, Iruka subconsciously pushed up his headband and muttered to himself, "This... how is this possible..."

He suddenly recalled the theoretical exam paper he had just graded. That paper—from ninjutsu principles to historical common sense, all the way to tactical analysis—was entirely correct. Perfect. Every single question's answer could be called perfect. Even on some open-ended questions concerning tactical application, the answers Naruto Uzumaki provided were... cold, efficient, brimming with the blood-and-iron logic of "sacrificing the minimum to secure the maximum victory."

Iruka felt a chill run down his spine.

This was absolutely not the Naruto Uzumaki he knew. What leaked between the lines was an unsettling absolute rationality.

The exam ended, and a few classmates who used to be on decent terms with Naruto Uzumaki mustered the courage to approach him.

"Hey... Naruto Uzumaki, you brat, did you take the wrong medicine today?"

Naruto Uzumaki merely swept a glance over them with those cold blue eyes. That gaze carried no emotion whatsoever, yet it instantly made those few classmates clamp their mouths shut, subconsciously taking a step back.

He did not utter a word, turning to leave straight away.

His back was straight, his pace steady, the distance of every single step precisely identical, exuding an absolute aloofness that forbade strangers from approaching.

Hokage's Office.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the entire process of Naruto Uzumaki's exam through the crystal ball, not uttering a word. When Naruto Uzumaki drove the five shuriken into the very same spot, the pipe he held in his mouth almost dropped to the floor.

His expression was unprecedentedly grave.

From that child, he could no longer feel the past sunshine and mischief. Replacing them was a thorough, marrow-deep change.

It was the kind of gaze... that had experienced mountains of corpses and seas of blood, crawling back from purgatory.

Naruto Uzumaki walked on his road home.

The bustling crowds on the street turned into heaps of disorderly, unvigilant "biomass units" in his eyes. Those familiar shops and houses became "tactical strongpoints" in his eyes that required evaluation for defensive value.

This was not a home.

This was a bastion urgently needing reinforcement and rectification.

His thoughts drifted back once more to that world of blood and fire.

That was on the training grounds of the Schola Progenium, the cradle of Imperial Commissars. An instructor whose face seemed cast from steel held an electro-whip and roared.

"You are not human! You are weapons! You are the extension of the Emperor's will!"

"Forget pain! Forget fear! Forget mercy!"

"The only things you need to remember are loyalty and obedience!"

The electro-whip lashed fiercely across his back, the searing pain making him almost faint, yet he still stubbornly straightened his spine. For he knew that any trace of weakness would be met with summary execution in-place.

It was precisely training of that sort which forged his current taijutsu. Every single strike was for the sake of eliminating the enemy with maximum efficiency.

Late at night.

The door to the Hokage's Office was knocked on urgently.

Iruka rushed in, his face full of anxiety and worry.

"Lord Third! Regarding Naruto Uzumaki... everything today is far too abnormal!"

"His theory, his taijutsu, and his gaze... that is not the gaze a child should have!" Iruka's voice trembled slightly. "It's like... like a killing machine!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently puffed on his pipe, the swirling smoke obscuring the greater part of his face.

Sounded a bit like the zealous cultists of the Land of Hot Water, too.

After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice hoarse and heavy.

"I know, Iruka."

"I will personally conduct deeper-level observations on him."

He lowered his pipe, looking out the window at Konoha beneath the moonlight.

"This child, I fear, is going to bring a massive variable to Konoha... one that none of us can foresee."