As she deliberately walked slowly past Minato, she paused for a barely perceptible half second, her gaze seemingly drifting by chance over the exam paper he had already filled more than halfway.
Minato's heart jolted, and every muscle in his body instantly tensed. Yet the mental fortitude and physical control he had developed through years of training kept his hands from faltering or pausing in the slightest. His transmission of the chakra code remained steady and fluid, and his expression was flawless, betraying nothing.
Kakumatsu said nothing. The approval deep in her eyes merely grew a little stronger before she slowly walked away as though nothing had happened. She knew that this unconventional exam had fully achieved its true purpose. It had successfully drawn out these children's adaptability, their awareness of intelligence gathering, and the shinobi potential rooted in their blood and personalities when faced with a "dead end" constructed from knowledge and rules.
The depth and breadth of theoretical knowledge could gradually accumulate and expand with time and experience. But the instinctive "technique" and "wisdom" to skirt the edges of the rules and efficiently achieve a goal were far more precious talents, ones that needed to be discovered and guided early on.
Finally, Kakumatsu's steady footsteps brought her to the most unusual student in the class, the one she found both the most difficult to handle and the most intriguing-Shinji Uchiha.
This brat... With some resignation, Kakumatsu noticed that apart from his name and student number, Shinji's exam paper still contained an embarrassingly vast expanse of blank space. Unlike the others, who were fidgeting anxiously and racking their brains, however, Shinji seemed to have finished his "observation" phase and finally began writing at a leisurely pace.
But what he did next once again overturned Kakumatsu's expectations-he was neither consulting anyone else's answers nor struggling through difficult reasoning. Instead, his pen raced across the page, flowing effortlessly without the slightest pause or hesitation as he wrote directly in the answer spaces!
Kakumatsu could not help stopping behind him to study what he was writing. One look sent a storm surging through her heart-the rigor of his explanations, the clarity of his reasoning, the accuracy of his answers, and even certain supplementary details and theoretical extensions were more refined and profound than the model answers she herself had prepared in her mind! This brat! He never needed to cheat in any way from the very beginning!
His long stretch of "spacing out" had been nothing more than enjoying the "show" as his classmates each displayed their own tricks! Kakumatsu could only smile wryly to herself, once again labeling Shinji a "monster" in her mind.
Shinji answered at an astonishing speed, as though the questions that left the other outstanding students wracking their brains were as simple and natural to him as breathing. After answering every question, with enough leisure to quickly check his work from beginning to end, he realized there was still quite a while before the exam ended. Then, under the astonished gazes of Kakumatsu and the classmates secretly watching him, such as Minato, he actually launched into another of his signature, utterly unconventional "stunts."
He concealed both hands beneath his desk, his fingers fluttering like butterflies among flowers as he completed a few simple yet precise hand seals in an instant. He suppressed his chakra fluctuations to an extreme so close to nothing that they were nearly nonexistent.
The next moment, three vividly colored, translucent butterflies formed from pure genjutsu energy appeared soundlessly in the dark corner hidden by his desk. They beat their dreamlike wings, then drifted along the floor and through the narrow gaps between desks and chairs with an almost leisurely air. Right before Kakumatsu's eyes, they flew toward Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and Shikaku Nara!
Shinji made no attempt whatsoever to avoid Kakumatsu's gaze. He even looked up as the Dream Butterflies flew out and gave the visibly stunned Kakumatsu a brilliant smile tinged with slyness and a hint of "you know what I mean." Yet his actions also took full advantage of the exam room's blind spots and the optical interference produced by the Dream Butterflies' nature as energy constructs, cleverly keeping them out of sight of the other assistant proctors nearby.
The colorful butterflies flew lightly and precisely to the three students, silently merging into the back of Minato's hand, Kushina's shoulder, and Shikaku's arm like young swallows returning to their nests. Almost simultaneously, Minato's, Kushina's, and Shikaku's eyes briefly froze and lost focus, as though their souls had been pulled out for an instant. In that fleeting moment, their consciousnesses were forcibly drawn into a brief illusory space constructed by Shinji. Before their eyes, an image of his entire exam paper appeared as clearly as a printed copy, its handwriting neat and beautiful, its answers flawless! Although the process lasted only a second or two, for exceptional shinobi trainees with powerful memories and keen observation skills such as Minato and Shikaku, that was enough to memorize most of the crucial solution steps, the wording of the model answers, and even the overall layout through instantaneous recall!
Genjutsu: Dream Butterfly! It was a very common, low-level genjutsu taught in the Ninja Academy's introductory genjutsu classes, one that most genin could master proficiently. It was generally used to create simple visual illusions or briefly disrupt an enemy's mind. Because the Dream Butterflies usually flew slowly, lasted only a limited time, and required the caster to devote continuous attention to precise control, the technique had always been considered of little practical value in combat. It was more often used as a teaching example of genjutsu principles and as a basic practice exercise.
But what Shinji Uchiha displayed at that moment was an almost transcendent, convention-defying application of this seemingly lackluster, low-level ninjutsu! He precisely created and controlled three fully functional Dream Butterflies at once, sent them along complex, concealed routes to pinpoint three different targets, and maintained detailed, clear, stable images of the exam paper within the illusions. Throughout both casting and maintaining the technique, his chakra fluctuations were so faint that even Kakumatsu, a chunin teacher standing right beside him, could barely detect them with any certainty. His timing, use of the surroundings, and grasp of psychology were equally exquisite! Behind all of that lay terrifying chakra control far beyond that of an ordinary genin, beyond even the reach of many chunin, along with vast, stable mental power and an almost monstrous tactical eye and capacity for on-the-spot creativity!
Umino Kakumatsu marveled at the sight, her pupils contracting slightly as she once again revised her assessment of Shinji Uchiha's abilities. This brat... he's an absolute prodigy who defies all common sense! He used a D-Rank genjutsu to produce the effect of an A-Rank tactical ninjutsu!
Before you continue