Dozens of days later, the Ninja Academy's graduation exam arrived.
This year's exam was unusually rigorous. Beyond testing theoretical knowledge, it included the Three Basic Jutsu, kunai throwing, and even practical combat, far tougher than previous years.
"Tengen, demonstrate the Clone Jutsu." The ninja instructor said.
"Of course." Tengen nodded, forming hand signs with fluid precision. A perfect clone appeared beside him, indistinguishable from the original.
The lifelike replica left the onlookers unable to tell which was real.
"Excellent. You pass." The instructor nodded with approval.
Over the past weeks, Tengen's stellar performance has cemented his status as the academy's top student. The instructor believed he possessed peak genin-level skills.
No one else could push Tengen to reveal his true strength, and genin-level prowess was enough to dominate the academy.
As for Hayate, who once challenged him, he'd slunk away, avoiding Tengen entirely.
Still, Hayate was taking the graduation exam, apparently eager to compete in some way.
Back among the students, Anko waved at Tengen. "I'm not giving up, Tengen!"
She headed to the front as the instructor called her name.
Since learning of Tengen's strength, Anko had trained relentlessly, seizing every moment to boost her skills.
She was determined to graduate alongside Tengen.
Originally, she'd planned to graduate next year for better odds, but now she was all in.
"Sorry, Tengen, I can't graduate with you guys." Iruka said regretfully. His skills were lacking, a gap in natural talent.
Anko, Hayate, and others had stronger ninja potential.
"Iruka, don't worry. Just keep growing." Tengen encouraged.
"Of course! I'll become a true Konoha ninja and protect everyone." Iruka said, flashing a bright smile.
Watching Anko's test, Tengen reflected on the past weeks. He'd opened several treasure chests, mostly ordinary and standard, with mixed results, some useful, some not.
He'd also completed missions, earning honor points. Tengen wasn't spending them on ordinary chests, saving instead for high-definition video fragments, which had better odds of yielding quality rewards.
He'd detected HD fragments before, but they were in restricted areas, either Konoha's strongholds or clan territories.
With his current strength, infiltrating those was suicide.
No matter how tempting, survival came first. One close call near a Root base had nearly cost him his life.
Still, Tengen had gained useful skills, basic medical ninjutsu, faster hand-sign formation, even single-handed signs.
These small boosts improved his strength, though not dramatically.
"Maybe it's time to see the world." Tengen thought, eyes glinting. Graduation could mean missions outside Konoha.
"Tengen, I passed!" Anko bounded over, waving her fist triumphantly.
"Congrats, Anko." Tengen smiled.
"Bet I won't lag behind you!" She declared.
As students took their tests, most passed the Three Basic Jutsu. Only those confident in their skills attempted the exam; others stayed back to train more.
For some reason, this year's exam was notably harder, including practical combat.
After the jutsu tests, kunai throwing and taijutsu evaluations followed, stretching into the afternoon.
At a clearing in the academy, a small arena had been set up for the combat tests.
"Look, it's Hokage-sama!" Anko whispered excitedly to Tengen.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood out in his robes and conical hat, positioned at the arena's edge. Beside him were Konoha's Sannin, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. No one expected such high-profile figures at a routine academy exam.
The Third Hokage and the Sannin were Konoha's elite, rarely seen by students. Their presence electrified the crowd.
Students had heard tales of their exploits.
"Not just Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Orochimaru-sama, and Tsunade-sama are here too! So thrilling!" Anko buzzed, barely containing herself. "Tengen, why aren't you hyped?"
"Fine, I'm thrilled." Tengen nodding halfheartedly. Having already met Jiraiya and Tsunade, he couldn't muster the same excitement.
"Hmph." Anko huffed, sensing his perfunctory tone. "Hey, isn't Orochimaru-sama cool?"
"Orochimaru's… cool." Tengen suppressed a shudder. Orochimaru's cold, sinister aura was unnerving.
At this point, Orochimaru was likely conducting human experiments. Tengen wanted to avoid drawing his attention.
"Students, for this combat test, you'll face a chunin. Survive three minutes, and you'll officially become Konoha genin." An instructor announced from the arena.
"Let the matches begin!" The instructor started the combat tests in order.
***
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