Click!
Shikaku lit a cigarette and continued reading the answer sheets beneath his desk lamp.
Elegant handwriting caught his eye, clearly written by a girl.
Shikaku murmured, "Uchiha Sarada..."
Shikaku was also one of the few people who knew about Sarada's birth.
"Karin, it looks like you're ready to show your hand. But whether she can pass my test still depends on her..."
Sarada's answers were as follows.
The enemy is very strong, so I would avoid their strongest attacks and not confront them directly.
Shikaku flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Hmm, a roundabout way of saying she'd run away. Given her strength, that's the right call, but it's also an ordinary one."
He continued reading.
If I could escape unharmed, I would use my natural talent as a Medical Ninja to support my elders...
That is the judgment I would make based on my own circumstances.
Shikaku considered it. "Hmm, she wouldn't simply desert, but would do what she could. Yes, it's still a little immature, but for someone her age, it's already a good judgment. Someone like Hitomi, who can consider every angle of so many possibilities, is already far beyond his years."
"I'll leave her... pending for now."
Shikaku set Sarada's answer sheet aside.
He continued grading, picked out all those who had passed, and counted them.
"Ninety-nine? Did we... eliminate that many this year?"
Shikaku looked at Sarada's answer sheet, which he had set aside pending a decision.
"Oh, well. Let's make it a round number..."
He stamped "Passed" on Sarada's paper.
Late that night, at Naruto's home.
Naruto looked at Hitomi's answer sheet, which Shikaku had specially sent someone to deliver.
"To think you could produce answers like these after just one night reading the Book of God..."
After finishing it, Naruto smiled