Two days later, early in the morning, at the entrance of the Ninja Academy.
When Minato saw Yuki Seisui again, he was startled to find him sporting huge dark circles under his eyes.
"You didn't sleep last night?" Minato asked cautiously.
Yuki nodded.
"I was studying the Flying Raijin."
Minato immediately understood. "That jutsu is definitely tough. It took me three days just to get a basic grasp."
"It's insanely difficult," Yuki said flatly.
He suddenly had the urge to strangle Minato.
This guy seriously needed a beating.
Just then, Uchiha Setsuna approached from a distance with Uchiha Haru beside him.
Haru looked visibly excited when she spotted Yuki, which made Setsuna, standing beside her, seethe with jealousy.
I raised this little girl so carefully, and now she's being snatched away by some random civilian?
What a joke.
Still, it wasn't all bad. Once Haru awakened her three tomoe Sharingan, he could offer up this pig who stole his cabbage as a sacrifice.
When they reached Yuki, Setsuna only gave Minato a quick glance, not bothering to speak.
As far as he was concerned, Minato didn't matter.
Just a civilian, no kekkei genkai, and even if he was Jiraiya's student, there was no future for him.
"You better put on a good performance today," he said to Yuki, then walked off into the academy alone.
Today was their graduation assessment, and since Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to set an example, many high-ranking figures had been invited to observe.
As the three of them arrived at the training field, they saw grandstands built on both sides, already packed with spectators.
Yuki immediately spotted Hiruzen standing on the main viewing platform.
Next to him were the other three members of Konoha's legendary F4.
Yuki focused in particular on the Second Hokage's protégé, Danzo.
At this stage, Danzo hadn't yet fallen into darkness. He didn't radiate warmth exactly, but at least there was no trace of that sinister aura yet.
Alongside the Konoha F4 were Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and several other elite Jonin.
Yuki even spotted Nara Shikaku among them.
Their eyes met briefly, and Yuki turned away, feeling a twinge of guilt.
He was about to graduate out of nowhere, and hadn't even told his friends.
Facing them now felt… awkward.
Once the three reached the center of the field, Hiruzen cleared his throat, and three genin stepped out to meet them.
He finally spoke.
"Given that the three of you have already reached genin-level strength…"
"This graduation assessment will be conducted in team format."
"As long as the three of you can defeat the opposing genin team, you'll pass."
Yuki, Minato, and Haru exchanged glances, surprise flickering in their eyes.
They had assumed it would be an individual test.
Still, it made sense, after graduation, they'd form a squad anyway. A team-based test was the logical choice.
Alongside the opposing genin stood a masked, silver-haired man acting as referee.
It was Hatake Sakumo.
Frankly, he hadn't wanted this job. But the Hokage had spoken. And when the Hokage gives an order in front of an audience, well… you can't exactly say no.
"Hey there," one of the opposing genin said casually as they approached.
"I'm Yamashita Tetsuya."
"I'm Yamamoto Kenjin."
"And I'm Porto Shirayuki."
They, too, were a standard two-male-one-female team.
Unlike most genin squads, however, their original Jonin sensei had died in the Second Great Ninja War.
Since then, the three had been operating on their own.
Their combat prowess far exceeded that of ordinary genin teams.
They were basically Chunin in all but name.
Yuki stepped forward with a respectful nod.
"Nice to meet you, senpai. I'm Yuki Seisui. These two are Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Haru."
"We'll be in your care."
"Aww, don't worry, little guy," Porto Shirayuki said with a teasing smile, hand over her mouth.
"We'll go easy on you."
Her sultry demeanor made Haru instantly suspicious.
She silently decided: That flirt's going down first.
Seeing the introductions were over, Sakumo called out, "Begin the assessment! Form the seal of confrontation!"
All six genin adopted serious expressions and formed the seal. Then, they swiftly backed away to prepare for battle.
Yuki was the first to move, quickly forming hand signs, two shadow clones appeared behind him.
Minato and Haru exchanged a glance. After getting pummeled by Yuki countless times in the duel ring, they knew his fighting style well.
He was going on the offensive.
Minato nodded. "One each."
"Got it!" Haru drew her blade and dashed straight at Porto Shirayuki.
Seeing this, Yamashita Tetsuya's face grew serious.
"Careful, she's an Uchiha prodigy."
"I know!" Porto replied, her flirty attitude gone.
They had barely returned to the village when they were assigned this mission, testing three prodigies applying for early graduation.
There hadn't even been time to gather intel.
Their earlier small talk was just a way to learn the opponents' surnames and gauge their abilities.
"Uchiha Style: Flame Blade Leap!"
Haru charged at Porto with unwavering focus, but the person who blocked her wasn't Porto.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Yamamoto Kenjin quickly formed seals, and a thick wall of earth rose up, halting Haru's advance.
"Genjutsu: Tree Binding Death!"
Porto suddenly appeared beside Haru and cast a genjutsu.
Haru was briefly disappointed her attack had missed, but seeing Porto foolishly attempt genjutsu against her brought a smile to her lips.
Her Sharingan activated, two tomoe spinning.
The illusion instantly rebounded back at Porto.
From the stands, the observing Jonin all shook their heads.
What were they thinking, using genjutsu on an Uchiha?
Did they not know that the Uchiha, and their Sharingan, were practically the inventors of genjutsu?
Orochimaru licked his lips, amused.
"How foolish. Using genjutsu on an Uchiha…"
"Not necessarily foolish," Tsunade chimed in beside him.
"She's only six, and already awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan. They probably just didn't expect that."
She glanced over at Jiraiya with a smirk. "Looks like you've taken in some truly terrifying students."
"Hahaha!" Jiraiya laughed proudly, hands on his hips.
"Of course! These are the pride of Jiraiya the Great!"
Orochimaru quietly shifted away from him, clearly wanting no association.
Koharu Utatane frowned and looked at Hiruzen disapprovingly.
"Hiruzen, you really need to rein in that student of yours."
"Acting like that at such a formal event, absolutely disgraceful!"
Hiruzen smiled gently. "I'll have a word with him."
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Porto stood frozen, caught in her own reflected genjutsu.
Haru raised her blade to strike.
Yamamoto Kenjin dashed in to save his teammate but Yuki was already behind Haru.
"Iaijutsu: Wind Pressure!"
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