Graduation Exam

Teacher Mitsui came back to his senses after his shock. He swallowed hard and said, "If that's the case, then follow me."

With that, Teacher Mitsui suddenly flipped out the window. After several leaps, he landed on the rooftop and swiftly disappeared into the distance.

Teacher Mitsui had originally intended to use his speed to make Hoshi and the others understand that being a ninja was not as easy as they imagined. But when he looked back, he found himself staring directly into Jiraiya's eyes.

"Whoa, Teacher, why'd you suddenly turn around? You scared me to death."

Jiraiya was so startled that he nearly stumbled off the roof. Teacher Mitsui, meanwhile, stared at the five relaxed children with a dark expression and sighed inwardly. Perhaps this is what genius is. I really can't use my own standards to judge geniuses.

Having figured that out, Teacher Mitsui stopped insisting and focused on leading the five children toward the Hokage Building.

When they arrived at the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi happened to be free. A smile appeared on his face when he saw Hoshi and the others.

No matter when it was, five new geniuses appearing in the village at once was something worth taking seriously. He gestured for Hoshi and the others to wait, then led them to the newly constructed Training Ground 6.

By the time Hoshi and the others arrived there with the Third Hokage, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Uzumaki Mito, and several others were already present.

Hoshi scanned the area but did not spot Danzo. However, he was not in a position to ask, so he could only maliciously speculate that Danzo had offended Mito and been exiled to the frontier.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were both young people in their twenties now, looking energetic and lively. They were completely unlike the rigid, stubborn figures from the Original Story, which made Hoshi sigh to himself. Time truly changed people without them noticing. Who could have imagined that the two Hokage advisors actively pushing reforms in the village now would become exactly the kind of people they hated most forty or fifty years later?

Mitokado Homura looked over Hoshi and the others before speaking to Hiruzen.

"Are these the newly emerged geniuses you mentioned? They all look quite spirited and full of energy."

Utatane Koharu smiled at Hoshi and the others as well.

"Do your best. I have high hopes for you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi clapped his hands, signaling an end to the pleasantries, then looked toward Mitsui. Teacher Mitsui nodded in understanding and said, "According to the rules set down by the Second Hokage, examinees seeking early graduation must fully demonstrate the Three Basic Jutsu and then remain undefeated for three minutes in a fight against a Genin.

"If any of you feel that you can't do it, you may request to withdraw now."

Naturally, no one wished to withdraw. Teacher Mitsui frowned before saying, "In that case, you may now demonstrate the Three Basic Jutsu."

The Three Basic Jutsu were the most fundamental ninja techniques, so naturally they posed no difficulty for the five of them. One after another, they stepped forward and flawlessly performed the Substitution Technique, Clone Technique, and Transformation Jutsu.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu nodded to themselves as they watched the Three Basic Jutsu demonstrations. Though the Three Basic Jutsu were easy to learn, they were an excellent measure of whether someone had solid fundamentals.

It could be said that anyone unable to use the Three Basic Jutsu properly had almost no hope of learning other ninja techniques.

Judging from their execution of the Three Basic Jutsu alone, these five already had a very mature grasp of Chakra.

All that remained was to see how they performed in actual combat.

As the Third Hokage announced the beginning of the second phase of the exam, five children aged eleven or twelve filed into the training ground. Although the early graduation assessment was far stricter than the standard one, it was not so outrageous as to have adult Genin bully six-year-old children.

Therefore, the opponents Hiruzen Sarutobi had arranged for Hoshi and the others were rookie Genin who had graduated only two or three years earlier. But these eleven- and twelve-year-old Genin were not to be underestimated—the gap between them and Ninja Academy students was enormous.

First of all, age itself was a major advantage. These children had already entered puberty, and their physical strength and speed far surpassed those of six-year-olds.

Furthermore, most of them had already seen blood. Though the strongest opponents they had faced were likely only bandits and the like, ninjas who had killed people possessed a vastly different mindset from the sheltered little flowers in the Ninja Academy.

For precisely those reasons, most of the five opponents wore disdainful expressions as they took their positions and assessed Hoshi and the others. In their eyes, anyone applying to graduate at the age of six had to be an idiot.

Even a true genius could not possibly defeat them after they had been tempered by blood and fire.

Teacher Mitsui looked at the five Genin opposite them, then at Hoshi and the others, and suddenly felt rather pleased. It would not be a bad thing for these children to suffer a setback here.

After getting beaten up a little, perhaps they would settle down and return to studying properly.

But Teacher Mitsui was destined to be disappointed today. The results of these matches completely exceeded his expectations. Not only Mitsui—Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's eyes widened as well.

Because in all five battles, not a single one of the five Genin lasted three minutes before being spectacularly defeated.

Yes, there was no mistake. All five Genin went down, not Hoshi and the others.

Jiraiya went first in the opening battle. After the two exchanged a flurry of Kunai throws, Jiraiya seized an opportunity and rushed in. A Leaf Hurricane kicked his opponent into the air, followed by a Lion Combo that finished him off.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, used a barrage of Kunai to block his opponent's Line of Sight before launching a sudden attack with Shadow Hidden Wire Hand. Before the man even realized what was happening, Orochimaru had bound him. By the time he came to his senses, Orochimaru had already subdued him with a Kunai.

Tsunade demonstrated exactly what it meant to come from a wealthy family in the third match. She began by using Earth Release: Earth Wall to block the Shuriken, then used the cover of the Earth Wall to complete the Hand Seals for Water Release: Water Wave and Lightning Release: Earth Walk.

The young man opposite her got to enjoy Professor Tsunade's deluxe lightning-grid package.

The four Genin at the side of the field were dumbstruck. They had graduated two years ago, yet they had not even mastered three ninja techniques, much less techniques from three different Chakra natures.

Was this the power of a pay-to-win player? So jealous. So jealous.

Sakumo was the type to get straight to business in the fourth match. The instant he entered the field, he charged forward at high speed. Whenever his opponent used a ninja technique, he dodged; whenever Ninja Tools came flying, he casually knocked them aside with the White Fang in his hand.

Before his opponent could do anything else, the blade was already resting against his throat.

He opened by dropping a dragon right on the opponent's face—how was anyone supposed to win against that? Hoshi, who went last, was somewhat more considerate of his opponent's dignity. Rather than overwhelming him from the outset like Sakumo, he circled around with him for a while before drawing his Wooden Sword and beginning close-quarters combat.

But his opponent's taijutsu was truly terrible. He was clearly holding a Kunai, yet his attacks were riddled with openings. Hoshi moved after him but struck first, slashing his wrist and knocking the Kunai away.

With a casual reach, he precisely caught the still-spinning Kunai in midair and placed it against his opponent's throat. His movements flowed as smoothly as clouds and water, while his expression remained utterly calm.

The Genin opposite him was on the verge of tears. Mom, it was already unfair that the guy was handsome—why did he have to fight so flashily too?

For some reason, there had been a constant sharp electrical whine around my house. It was irritating enough to put me in a bad mood, and it even slowed down my writing.