Veigar Koshima shoved the item into Obito Uchiha's hands, ignoring the sheer refusal and defiant expression on his face.
The moment Obito instinctively caught it, Veigar's voice dripped with mischief.
"Obito, this is the secret manual that helped me ace my exams. I'm giving it to you now."
"Don't waste my goodwill—study it carefully."
Then, turning to Rin Nohara, he added, "Rin, if Obito still fails his exams, just ignore him."
With that, Veigar promptly shut the door, leaving Obito standing outside, utterly bewildered, while Rin chuckled at his misfortune.
And just when Obito thought the torment was over, Rin delivered a critical strike.
"Obito, Veigar's notes are very detailed—you have to study hard!"
She smiled sweetly before turning away, leaving Obito standing there, devastated.
As someone who already despised studying, being gifted a pile of class notes was already painful enough for him. But Veigar went a step further—bringing up Rin, the person Obito cared about most, delivering an attack that inflicted true damage.
And Rin's final remark? That was a critical hit. It nearly finished him off.
Snapping back to reality, Obito saw Rin walking away and immediately rushed after her.
"Rin, wait for me!"
Inside the house, Veigar watched them leave, his gaze deep with thought.
...
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Veigar had prepared meticulously for his graduation exam, arriving at the Academy ahead of time.
Through relentless training over the past week, he had finally mastered the Human Body Enhancement Technique. Thanks to his chakra being four times denser than the average person's, even his raw physical combat ability now rivaled that of a standard Chūnin.
To ensure nothing went wrong, Veigar also brought his ninjatō. Having trained diligently in kenjutsu, today was the day he would finally put them to the test.
After all, he had yet to learn a single elemental jutsu—his only viable combat option was kenjutsu.
As the exam drew closer, Veigar was met with encouragement from Might Guy and others who had come to cheer him on.
Then, as the event was about to begin, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, made his entrance at the training grounds. Beside him stood another figure—one who had once been a renowned prodigy of the Academy despite his civilian origins—Minato Namikaze.
At exactly 10 AM, Veigar's graduation exam was set to begin.
"Minato, go ahead," Sarutobi instructed.
"Yes, Lord Third."
With that, Minato vanished in an instant, reappearing at the center of the training field.
"I am today's proctor, Minato Namikaze."
"Now, both candidates—step forward."
Veigar had already recognized Minato earlier, but he hadn't expected the man to be personally overseeing his exam.
However, what truly shocked him was his opponent.
As he stepped onto the training field, Veigar found himself facing none other than Kakashi Hatake.
The entire student body watching from the sidelines erupted into an uproar.
Nobody had expected that Veigar, the one taking the early graduation exam, would be pitted against the village's most famous prodigy—Kakashi Hatake.
It seemed Hiruzen Sarutobi certainly knew how to stir things up.
A genius testing another genius.
Even though Veigar wasn't officially recognized as a prodigy, the mere fact that he had reached this stage was proof enough. A civilian-born ninja standing on the same stage as Kakashi? That wasn't just talent—it was exceptional talent.
If ninety-nine out of a hundred people claimed Veigar wasn't a genius, there might still be room for doubt.
But if all one hundred agreed he was? Then genius or not, he had no choice but to be one.
Veigar knew himself well—he wasn't a real genius.
But public perception didn't care about the truth.
Perception was reality.
Before the match even began, Veigar looked at Kakashi and greeted him.
"It's been a while, Kakashi."
"I didn't expect you to be my opponent today."
Kakashi's tone was as cold and aloof as ever.
"You really are different from the others," he remarked. "I wasn't wrong about you back then."
There was a deeper meaning behind his words—Kakashi believed that what had drawn his attention to Veigar before was his latent potential.
He continued, "Come. Show me how strong you've become."
As soon as he spoke, Kakashi's stance shifted—his intent to fight was clear.
Minato, observing from the center of the field, realized that these two had crossed paths before.
Had they fought previously?
Suppressing his curiosity, Minato refocused on his role as proctor.
"Now," he announced, "Veigar Koshima's graduation exam will begin. His opponent: Chūnin Kakashi Hatake."
"The exam rules are as follows: If either combatant is rendered unable to fight or concedes, the match will end. Additionally, if I determine that either participant can no longer continue, I will intervene to stop the battle—this will also mark the end of Veigar's exam."
"Rule two: If Veigar can last three minutes against Kakashi without being defeated, the exam will conclude, and he will pass."
"Do both parties accept these conditions?"
Both Veigar and Kakashi nodded in agreement.
"Then," Minato continued, "form the Seal of Confrontation."
As soon as they completed the traditional seal, a tense silence fell over the arena. The battle was about to begin.
For Veigar, this match was the perfect opportunity to test his true strength.
The next moment, Minato raised his hand and declared—
"Begin!"
Instantly, three figures moved at once—
Minato retreated to give them space.
Veigar and Kakashi lunged forward.
This wasn't just an exam.
It was a battle to determine who would emerge victorious.
And for Veigar, this was a fight he could not afford to lose.
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