The students in the first two rows began discussing it among themselves.
They already understood how important the major exam was, and they knew the final part hadn't been meant for them.
Only the Shinobi Clan students in the back six rows could meet the teacher's requirements!
However, there were a hundred spots for this round of rewards. They didn't need to think about the top ten, and the top fifty would be difficult, so they'd have to work hard. But they were confident they could make the top hundred.
Getting into the elite class had already proved they weren't weak compared with their peers.
Double the resources!
The Shinobi Clans might not care for it, but they did!
In three years at the Ninja Academy, besides the Three Basic Techniques, the only things taught for free were the Rope Escape Technique and two simplified C-rank Ninjutsu!
If they wanted more, they had to pay!
And they could only buy C-rank techniques!
An original C-rank Ninjutsu, one that hadn't been simplified, cost at least a hundred thousand ryo!
For most of them, who came from civilian families, that was more than their entire family could earn in a year. Before becoming ninja, they couldn't even dream of affording it!
Don't complain that it was expensive. Besides the Academy, nowhere else in Konoha sold C-rank techniques.
Unless you could join a Shinobi Clan or find a very good master.
Otherwise, they could only rely on what they seized in battle!
They'd been at the Academy for a year and a half, so they understood how it worked.
The Ninjutsu awarded in exams like this were all simplified versions. For them, on the verge of becoming ninja, every additional simplified technique meant one more way to stay alive!
And in this major exam, anyone who made the top hundred would get two simplified Ninjutsu!
Looking at the rewards, the students who'd been training hard all vacation couldn't help smiling.
They took notebooks out of their bags and started drawing up training plans, intending to make the most of the last month and cram a little more according to their own strengths!
Compared with the students in front, those in the back showed little interest when they heard about the assessment and the rewards!
The gap was simply terrifyingly vast. Even without Ninjutsu, the worst among the Shinobi Clan students could beat the students in the front rows using Taijutsu alone!
Except for the show-offs, they didn't even want to spar with civilians during practical lessons.
It was a waste of time, and it didn't improve them at all!
Even fighting several people in a row wasn't enough to warm them up!
But when Yuhi Katsuyo announced the rewards in the final part, they were clearly interested!
Under an agreement reached years ago, each clan sent one or two children to the Academy every year!
But the Academy was, after all, meant to train civilian ninja, so the curriculum was completely out of step with the Shinobi Clan students' progress.
To avoid wasting three years, the Shinobi Clan students had no choice but to change their schedules!
Every one of them turned into a night owl. The moon stayed up, so they stayed up too!
Although there'd been a small change this year, they still had to put in extra training!
It was only after enrolling that Uka Senju understood why the Academy would later switch to a six-year program. It was a typical case of policy reform being driven by practical circumstances!
If things continued as they were, the Shinobi Clans would definitely stop sending students to the Academy. Then the Academy's reforms would be introduced!
However, the ones happiest about this final reward were the students who loved to play.
After coming to the Academy, they had to train extra at night!
That severely cut into their leisure time. If they got this reward, they'd only need to complete their clan training and would have more time to play. This was a perfectly legitimate way to skip class!
Even Uka Senju was tempted when he saw this!
He'd just awakened Wood Release and was worrying about how to practice it!
He didn't dare show it carelessly anywhere but at home.
What a thoughtful reward!
It looked like he'd have to take next month's assessment seriously!
Nearby, seeing the students heatedly discussing it, Yuhi Katsuyo couldn't help praising the teachers' idea in his heart!
Over the past few years, with the Hokage directing funds their way, they'd trained more than three thousand ninja.
Everyone was very satisfied with that number!
But the subsequent casualty rate and the proportion promoted to Jonin or higher left everyone very dissatisfied!
The Hokage had questioned them several times!
As Ninja Academy teachers, all they could do was deal with the resources they had and policies that were clearly in conflict!
Amid all the unreasonable circumstances, the organizers had planned this assessment!
The goal was simple: to make the Academy more competitive through the assessment and, within reasonable bounds, give talented students more tools!
The previous classes had suffered a high death rate, but the information had been suppressed to attract students!
Konoha's publicity said that civilian children would soar to success after graduation and make a fortune!
This had made the atmosphere at the Academy strange too.
The slogan "Enroll, wait to graduate, and become someone important" had even caught on.
Especially among the slackers in the regular classes. Many of them thought this way!
So the teachers had decided to make the Shinobi Clan students in the back rows put in some effort and go harder on them!
As long as the Shinobi Clan students could show their strength in this major exam and achieve the intended effect of the assessment,
then granting them special privileges through a back door wouldn't be a bad thing!
"Uka, Uka, twenty spots! We'll be free in no time!" Senju Harumi said excitedly, tugging at her clansman.
"Yeah, we won't have to stay in the classroom every day anymore!" Inuzuka Furin said with a smile.
"I'm definitely getting one!" Aburame Kaun said smugly, folding his arms across his chest.
"Uka, this time we can try to keep those guys out of the top twenty, so they'll all have to suffer at school every day!" Kurama Shimei tugged at his desk mate and whispered.
Uka Senju looked at his desk mate in surprise.
He knew this guy was sly and loved to stir up trouble, but he hadn't expected him to come up with a way to mess with people as soon as the assessment was announced.
But he liked it!
It was fine as long as the one plotting against people was on his side, so he smiled and replied, "Sure. Once we're dismissed, let's talk it over and try to keep every last one of them stuck at school!"
"Great!" Seeing that the plan had gone through, Kurama Shimei smiled happily.
As far as he was concerned, with Uka involved, those old rivals, the Uchiha and Sarutobi, would be in for a rough time!
"Creak-!"
Beside the Senju Clan Compound, the wooden door of a three-story building swung open, and a Root operative wearing a cat mask stepped out of the shadows.
Seeing who it was, Shimura Danzō asked urgently, "Have you found out?"
The middle-aged Root operative in the cat mask bowed and replied, "My lord, the Senju Clan Compound is still refusing to let us in. But judging from the Chakra fluctuations and the sounds of battle, we suspect that the other party Lady Mito fought was Senju Zeyan, the Senju Clan's great elder!"
"Most of the fight was a straightforward clash, which clearly doesn't match Senju Toka's fighting style!"
Senju Zeyan?
Good!
As long as it wasn't Senju Toka!
If it wasn't her, that meant the Senju were still in a three-way standoff.
The fight between Mito Uzumaki and Senju Zeyan was most likely because tempers flared during a clan meeting!
Letting out a long breath of relief, Shimura Danzō finally relaxed.
Not caring that his subordinate was still standing in front of him, he slumped into his chair, completely at ease.
Seeing Danzō's reaction, the middle-aged Root operative wearing the cat mask furrowed his brow in silence.
He came from the Shimura clan, was Danzō's right-hand man, and had been his childhood friend.
He knew about the plans concerning the Senju.
Although Senju Toka hadn't been one of the fighters just now,
today's movements by the Senju couldn't be ignored.
He bowed to Danzō, then reminded him, "My lord, the Senju mobilized more than a hundred people to return and impose a lockdown today!"