Sasuke, Picked Clean

Ring, ring, ring...

Izayoi and Hinata had only whispered to each other for a moment before the class bell rang.

The entire classroom fell silent in an instant.

Under normal circumstances, such a sight was extremely rare.

"The Graduation Exam is the Clone Technique. The examination room is at the end of the corridor on the right. When the teacher calls your name, come out."

Not long after the bell stopped ringing, Iruka Umino appeared at the classroom door.

He did not step onto the podium. Instead, he gave them those instructions from the doorway before leaving.

Soon, a Chunin wearing a Green Vest appeared at the door. Holding a list, he began calling names. "Minako..."

One name after another came from the Chunin teacher's mouth every minute or two.

The students whose names were called rose to their feet, some looking nervous and others brimming with confidence. Once they left the classroom, none of them returned.

Hinata was among them.

"...Izayoi."

Only a few minutes after Hinata left, Izayoi heard his own name.

He rose and left the classroom, making his way to the examination room at the end of the corridor.

When he pushed open the door, Iruka Umino and Mizuki, the homeroom teacher of Class Two, immediately came into view.

They sat behind a long table.

Upon seeing Izayoi enter, Iruka Umino immediately smiled warmly. "Izayoi, begin."

"Yes."

Izayoi nodded, swiftly formed Hand Seals with both hands, and called out, "Clone Technique!"

Poof—

Two overlapping sounds, like balloons popping, rang out.

Two clouds of white smoke appeared out of thin air to Izayoi's left and right.

As the white smoke dispersed, two illusory clones appeared beside Izayoi. They looked exactly like him—identical in appearance, height, clothing, and even the tiny details on their clothes.

Iruka Umino and Mizuki looked the two illusory clones over, then exchanged a glance. Iruka Umino took out a Genin Forehead Protector, rose to his feet, and smiled. "Your clones are perfect. Congratulations on passing the Graduation Exam. From now on, you are a Genin."

"Thank you, Iruka Sensei, Mizuki Sensei."

Izayoi stepped forward, accepted the Genin Forehead Protector Iruka Umino handed him with both hands, and gave the two of them a slight bow.

Iruka Umino instructed, "You don't need to return to the classroom. Also, don't leave the school yet. Go to our class's training ground and wait for the others to finish the Graduation Exam. Afterward, I'll take you to have your file photos taken."

"Yes."

Izayoi nodded, then turned and left the examination room.

The moment he stepped out of the School Building, the first person he saw was Hinata waiting for him outside.

The two exchanged smiles and headed toward the training ground.

More than ten classmates were already waiting there.

"Yo... Izayoi, Hinata, you're here too!"

"As expected, the Graduation Exam was no challenge for you two."

"After we take our file photos, should we celebrate?"

"Eh—better not. I want to celebrate with my family. They're waiting outside right now."

"True enough. Then let's get together another time when we're free."

"How many people do you think will pass the Graduation Exam in our class?"

"At least twenty, right? After all, we're Class One."

"Anyway, Naruto is definitely done for."

"..."

As soon as Izayoi and Hinata arrived, quite a few classmates gathered around and began chatting with Izayoi.

Izayoi joined in with a smile as well.

Just then, someone walked over.

"Izayoi, want to fight later?"

The one challenging him as soon as he opened his mouth was Sasuke Uchiha.

Seeing Sasuke Uchiha, who ranked third in their year and occasionally even stole second place, approach, the other students tactfully moved away.

Looking at Sasuke Uchiha's face full of fighting spirit, Izayoi smiled and shook his head. "Not for now. Based on the information I've gathered, Genin will form teams of three and become a class, then train under their respective Guidance Jonin."

"Now that we both know each other's strength, no matter how many times we fight, the result will be the same. Why not train under our Guidance Jonin for a while first, then see how much we've both grown?"

At that, Sasuke Uchiha recalled the scenes of himself being beaten up over and over.

Sasuke Uchiha's fighting spirit instantly died down. He nodded and said, "Alright, then let's fight again after some time."

"No problem."

Izayoi agreed with a smile.

Over the past few years, the reason Izayoi still had more than ten thousand Points left after upgrading Chakra Control was all thanks to Sasuke Uchiha.

During the first two years, Izayoi fought Sasuke Uchiha almost once every week, and sometimes twice a week.

Aside from only getting Sage Eye (Red) once, he had obtained Kage-Level Aptitude (Purple), Uchiha Bloodline (Purple), and Otsutsuki Bloodline (Blue) several times each.

Izayoi had broken down all of those Talent Perks into Points.

The more than ten thousand Points had all been provided by Sasuke Uchiha.

The rest of the Points had come from Hinata and the other students.

Hinata accounted for the majority of them.

That was because, in the whole class, Izayoi stood alone at the top. Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata belonged to the first tier, the children of Ninja Clans to the second, and everyone else to the third.

Starting from the third year, aside from Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata, whether it was Ino Yamanaka and the other children of Ninja Clans or the remaining students, it had become difficult for them to yield Perks.

Even when one occasionally appeared, it was usually a low-level Perk.

Fortunately, strength was not measured by chakra reserves. Otherwise, Naruto Uzumaki would have been the only one in the entire class—or even the entire academy—capable of yielding high-level Perks.

After several years, Izayoi had already squeezed Sasuke Uchiha dry.

Whether it was the Perks on him or the ninjutsu scrolls in his home, Izayoi had harvested them more than once.

Over these years, Izayoi had also become friends with Sasuke Uchiha.

Fighting once every so often had become their agreement.

After fighting Izayoi for so many years, Sasuke Uchiha's strength had naturally far surpassed that of the original story.

Among the bubbles floating around him, one had long since changed.

It was Uchiha Bloodline (Purple), which had become—Bloodline Limit (Purple).

In other words, Sasuke Uchiha had already awakened the Sharingan.

More precisely, he could freely activate the Sharingan now.

The time he had truly awakened the Sharingan was on the night of the clan massacre.

Having awakened the Sharingan, Sasuke Uchiha had become extremely full of himself.

Other than Izayoi, the only person Sasuke Uchiha thought worthy of notice was Hinata, who could steal his second-place ranking and whom he could not defeat even in Taijutsu Sparring.

But in an unrestricted match, Sasuke Uchiha—having awakened the Sharingan, greatly increased his chakra, and learned even more ninjutsu from Izayoi—did not regard Hinata as a threat.

If Izayoi, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata were assigned to the same class, those two boys and one girl would definitely form the strongest team among the Genin.

Neither the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho nor Gaara and his two siblings from Sand Village would be their match.

But clearly, that was impossible.

Whether it was the fated karma between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki or their identities, they were destined to be assigned to the same team.

In all of Hidden Leaf Village, no one was more suited than Kakashi Hatake to be their Guidance Jonin.