"Today's test is divided into three parts: a written exam, a physical fitness test, and in-class sparring. I expect everyone to give their best performance."
At the front of the classroom, Yamakawa Seiji held a stack of written test papers in one hand and spoke with a serious expression.
Down below, some of the students looked fired up—especially Uchiha Inari and Hinata Toda.
They kept sneaking glances at Kizaru, who was sitting lazily at the back of the room. Their thoughts were obvious.
Ever since they lost to Kizaru during the entrance exam, the two of them had been put through special training by their clans. Their strength had improved quite a bit.
With that power-up came a big boost in confidence. Add Kizaru's usual "slacker" performance in class on top of that, and both of them had convinced themselves that he'd fallen behind—that this time, they could definitely defeat him.
Some were excited. Naturally, others were... well clearly not having it good.
Right in front of Kizaru, Nara Shikaku let out a long, heavy sigh.
"So troublesome…" he muttered over and over.
After a month together, the three future members of the Ino–Shika–Chō formation had become much closer to Kizaru. Because of that, all three of them had a very clear understanding of Kizaru's strength.
They'd all heard straight from Kizaru's mouth that he was being put through extra training every day after school and that he'd already mastered a bunch of intermediate and advanced Wind Release ninjutsu.
Kizaru's performance in the entrance exam had already amazed plenty of ninja. Because of that, these little ninja heirs hadn't had it easy lately.
Every day after they got home from the Academy, "special training" awaited them.
"What are you even coming to school for? Just hurry up and apply for early graduation already," Nara Shikaku grumbled, turning around to glare at Kizaru behind him.
"The environment here's pretty nice, everyone's fun to watch, and the teacher's voice is great for napping~. Way more comfortable than being at home," Kizaru said with a lazy grin, rocking back in his chair.
"You're the worst…" Shikaku complained, then slumped forward and lay on his desk in defeat.
Just thinking about how, after Kizaru stomped everyone again in today's test, all the parents were going to flip out and push their kids even harder made Shikaku feel depressed—for himself and for every other student in the room.
How unlucky was their generation, having to go to school alongside a monster like Kizaru?
At the Ninja Academy, the written portion didn't make up a very large percentage of the overall grade, so there was only one test paper, with a time limit of one hour.
Yamakawa Seiji handed the stack of papers to his two favorite honor students—Namikaze Minato and Shimura Yoshihiko—and asked them to distribute them.
The two split the classroom in half, each taking one side. Naturally, Shimura Yoshihiko chose the side where Kizaru was sitting.
"Big brother, do your best!" Yoshihiko walked up to Kizaru with the last paper in hand, clenched his fists, and cheered for him with full enthusiasm.
"You too, Yoshihiko. Work hard~," Kizaru replied with a smile.
"Yeah!" Encouraged by Kizaru's words, Yoshihiko nodded energetically. "I won't let you down, Kizaru-nii!"
Once Yoshihiko moved on, Kizaru picked up the test paper and skimmed it.
Only a month had passed since the start of term.
The questions were all very basic. Even with Kizaru just coasting his way through classes every day, none of it felt difficult.
He pulled a pencil from his drawer and started answering the questions in a calm, unhurried manner.
An hour passed in no time. Yamakawa Seiji once again had Namikaze Minato and Shimura Yoshihiko collect the papers from the whole class.
This time, the one who came to Kizaru's desk wasn't Yoshihiko, but the future "Yellow Flash," Namikaze Minato.
The young Minato had a bright, easygoing personality, a warm smile that almost never left his face, and got along well with all his classmates.
He walked over, picked up Kizaru's completed paper, and slipped it neatly onto his stack, smiling the whole time.
"What a refreshing smile~," Kizaru commented as he stretched, watching Minato walk away.
"Hey, hey, hey! That's a guy you're talking about!" Nara Shikaku twisted around to protest the moment he heard that.
"I'm just stating the truth. You're the one who sounds shady—what have you been looking at lately?" Kizaru shot back without missing a beat.
"It's about time we head to the training field," Yamanaka Inoichi, who had been quiet until now, cut in, interrupting their pointless back-and-forth.
"You're the real shady one here, you know that?" Shikaku complained as he stood up, following Inoichi and Choza's lead.
Kizaru also rose from his seat and headed out with the three in front of him.
The Academy's training field was quite spacious.
Once the first-year elite class arrived, they naturally gathered around their homeroom teacher, Yamakawa Seiji, forming a loose, uneven ring.
The Taijutsu test was split into two parts: a pure physical assessment, and a test of basic ninja tool usage.
The first part, the physical assessment, was very simple—lap running.
The entire class would start together and run twenty laps around the training field. Rankings were based on their final times.
"Everyone, head to the starting line and get ready. Wait for my signal," Yamakawa Seiji shouted from the center.
The students obediently jogged over to the starting line, buzzing with excitement as they waited for the command to begin.
"Kizaru-kun, I won't lose to you this time!"
Before the teacher could even call for them to start, Uchiha Inari marched up to Kizaru.
Because of their height difference, he had to lift his chin to look Kizaru in the eye, Uchiha-style arrogance written all over his face.
"Mm… you've got something stuck between your teeth, y'know~."
From Kizaru's slightly higher vantage point, Uchiha Inari's flared nostrils and open mouth were painfully obvious—along with the bit of green right between his teeth.
"…Huh?"
Inari froze for a moment, then realized what Kizaru meant. His little face turned bright red in an instant.
"Hahaha!"
Kizaru's voice wasn't particularly loud, but he hadn't exactly bothered to lower it either. A bunch of nearby students heard him clearly and burst out laughing.
The loudest laugh, by far, belonged to Shimura Yoshihiko.
Yoshihiko had long been fed up with Uchiha Inari, who shouted about "defeating Kizaru" practically every day.
As the chorus of laughter swelled around him, Uchiha Inari's face grew even redder. His eyes even seemed to tint a darker shade, like he was about to awaken his Sharingan purely out of embarrassment and rage.
"You… I'll definitely teach you a lesson during our match!" Inari yelled furiously.
Kizaru nodded along as if humoring a child and replied loudly, "Yeah, yeah, I'm counting on you~."
With that, he turned his back on Inari, let out a huge yawn, and strolled toward where Nara Shikaku was standing.
"Damn it! He's so infuriating!" Uchiha Inari shouted, hopping up and down in place as Kizaru walked away without another glance.
"Hey, you really are the worst, you know that?" Nara Shikaku said the moment Kizaru reached him, hands laced behind his head as he complained outright.
"What did I do now~?" Kizaru asked, face full of innocent confusion.
"You made him that mad!" Shikaku jerked his chin toward Uchiha Inari, who was still fuming behind them.
"No need to praise me. That's just the minimum I can do… as a considerate classmate~," Kizaru answered, putting on a shy expression as he rubbed the back of his head.
"You…"
Nara Shikaku was completely out of words.
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