The first version of the course certificate had barely come off the press, and a Konoha forehead protector emblem already occupied its center.
Below the emblem were the words: Passed assessment at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
Shuo studied it for a long while, then asked, "Is someone holding this a Konoha Ninja?"
The Recorder answered no.
"Then why put a forehead protector on it?"
"To prove it's genuine."
"Other people will see it and think they're a genuine ninja, too."
Authenticity and identity had once again been conflated.
If a forehead protector was used to prove a certificate was genuine, the certificate could be mistaken for a ninja qualification.
Yet without any markings, it really would be easy to copy or add content to it.
Rather than cancel the certificates, the academy reconsidered what they needed to prove.
The front of the certificate listed only four items.
The holder's name or registration number.
The specific courses passed.
The assessment date and the version of the standards used.
A verification code that could retrieve the original results.
At the bottom, clear wording stated: Does not confer residency status in Konoha, grant a forehead protector, or include authorization to undertake missions.
To prevent forgery, the academy used its own exclusive debossed pattern on the paper and two separate witness codes.
These proved that the paper and records came from the academy without imitating a ninja forehead protector.
If anyone added combat courses or mission qualifications, the text area would fall out of alignment with the debossed pattern.
The Verification Station returned only the courses, dates, and validity, without disclosing addresses, relatives, or chakra details.
Students could also obtain a summary of their scores.
The summary did not disclose the full set of test questions, preventing the next group from simply copying the