"Why is it always me who's unlucky?" Kiba's expression crashed, plummeting from elation to utter despair, his joy vanishing as quickly as the school bell that ends recess.
"That's rough, Kiba." Shikamaru patted his shoulder and said.
"None of you got matched up?" Kiba suddenly thought of something and asked.
"No." Ino couldn't help but laugh, saying, "You're the only one whose number was drawn twice."
"During the New Year, I'm definitely going to find a shrine to pray for good fortune." Kiba twitched his mouth and said.
"Will the two students with number one please come forward?" Iruka said, opening the roster, finally ready to score.
Yakumo and Kiba walked into the centre. Both of them simultaneously formed the confrontation seal.
"Yakumo, please go easy on me." Kiba had seen Yakumo Kurama's battle with Hyuga Neji. Her painting was an attack, and it didn't even require hand seals; it was simply terrifying.
"Don't be nervous." Yakumo Kurama smiled gently and said, "We are all classmates."
Kiba immediately felt as if he was basking in a spring breeze, and his entire body relaxed.
"Is this Art of Speech Technique?" Shizune's face showed surprise.
"Mm." Lady Tsunade said with interest, "It seems that using the Art of Speech Technique in battle isn't bad either."
Kitazawa nodded slightly. Just then, the conversation in the arena changed again.
"It's just a monthly exam; there's no need for us to fight to the death." Yakumo smiled and took out a scroll.
The scroll opened to reveal a table full of delicious food.
"Please." Yakumo sat at the dining table and invited Kiba.
"Thank you."
Kiba lowered his guard and said, "Yakumo, you're really a good person."
But in the eyes of outsiders, it was a different scene. The two of them had been standing still since they went on stage.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked with a bewildered expression, "Why haven't they moved after so long?"
"Kiba is under Genjutsu." Sasuke said with a serious expression, "From the moment Yakumo spoke, he was already under Genjutsu."
"What?" Ino couldn't help but be stunned, "This Genjutsu has no signs at all?"
"This is already the second Genjutsu." Sasuke's gaze sharpened as he spoke.
"Was it cast when Yakumo raised her hand just now?" Shikamaru frowned slightly and asked.
In Kiba's eyes, Yakumo took out tables and chairs, but in their eyes, that was a hand seal.
"That's right." The more Sasuke watched, the more troublesome he felt it was.
They were both Kekkei Genkai users of Genjutsu, but why did he feel that the Sharingan wasn't as strong?
"Genjutsu really..." Shino Aburame had just said two words when he was interrupted.
"Genjutsu is truly terrifying." Naruto disliked Genjutsu the most, as it was a Ninjutsu that was impossible to guard against.
He only wanted to enjoy fighting, everyone exchanging blows, and sweating together for their youth.
"It's Mirror Flower, Water Moon." Tsunade nodded with satisfaction and said, "The effect in combat is indeed good."
Kitazawa couldn't help but feel sorrow for Inuzuka Kiba. At the age of seven, he encountered an opponent of Mangekyo Sharingan level.
This was already the treatment of the original protagonist. According to the normal plot, Sasuke would only be able to enjoy it next year.
"I'm not fighting, Yakumo is so enthusiastic, I'll concede." Kiba on the field raised his hand with a smile and said.
"Thank you." Yakumo immediately said.
Kiba suddenly felt a moment of trance. The surrounding scenery changed slightly, like a nearsighted person putting on glasses, becoming much clearer.
"What did I do?" Kiba recalled what had just happened and couldn't help but widen his eyes.
He only remembered eating and drinking with Yakumo, and then he somehow conceded. How could this be?
"I used two Genjutsu," Yakumo said softly.
"..." Kiba was speechless.
He didn't even know when he fell under Genjutsu. This meant that the gap between them was even greater than the gap between a human and a dog.
"Yakumo, you're amazing!" Ino couldn't help but exclaim when she saw them return.
"Kiba went easy on me," Yakumo said modestly.
"..." Kiba hesitated to speak, looking very aggrieved. Did I go easy on you? I was beaten by you from beginning to end without any ability to fight back.
Sasuke suddenly felt that his first place was not so secure.
Hinata also became worried. Both Sasuke and Yakumo used Genjutsu. And Kitazawa had taught her Genjutsu special training for so long; if she lost, Hinata would feel very useless.
Only Naruto remained optimistic. He believed what Shikamaru had said before, that Shadow Clone could deal with Genjutsu.
"They're simply monsters!" Iruka came back to his senses and couldn't help but exclaim.
Yakumo defeating Neji was already terrifying enough, but it was far less than this victory without fighting.
Since he became the teacher of First Year Class A, he had more than once suspected that he was not teaching first-year students, but a group of Genin or Chunin.
"Will the students with number two please come forward?" Iruka said after finishing his scoring.
The subsequent sparring matches were much more normal. Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, and others easily defeated their opponents and entered the second round.
"What do you think, Tsunade-sama?" Taking advantage of the break after the first round, Kitazawa asked.
"So-so." Tsunade said casually, "Except for Yakumo, no one has shown much skill yet."
"Tsunade-sama, have you forgotten that they are all first-year students?" Shizune couldn't help but interject, "It's already incredible for first-year students to have this level."
"That's true." Tsunade paused slightly and said.
Her class back then was far from comparable to theirs in their first year. If Sasuke and the others were strong because of their talent, what about the other students? Their level was also higher than that of ordinary first-year students.
This was undoubtedly Kitazawa's credit.
"I think the old man Hiruzen should give you the principal position." Tsunade suddenly said.
"Tsunade-sama, please don't harm me." Kitazawa was startled and said, "All previous principals have been concurrently held by the Hokage-sama."
"Then are you interested in the Hokage position?" Tsunade's eyes darted around as she asked.
"No." Kitazawa quickly shook his head and said, "With Tsunade-sama here, the Hokage position will definitely be yours."
"I'm not interested." Tsunade said indifferently, "Whoever wants it can have it."
Seeing this, Kitazawa said nothing more.
Only Shizune sighed. If Lady Tsunade didn't change her mind, they would eventually have to resume their plan of wandering the Ninja World.
"Break time is over, second round begins," Iruka announced.
The number of students entering the second round was cut by more than half, as the requirement was eighty points.
Students who could get eighty points were considered the cream of the crop in the first year.
"It's my turn!" Naruto ran into the arena without waiting for Iruka to speak.
"Why is it Naruto?" Sakura looked at him with a dejected expression.
"Sakura, just do your best." Ino comforted her.
Sakura went onto the field and was defeated in less than half a minute. The current Naruto was not like his original self, who liked Sakura.
For him, no matter who it was, once they were on the field, they were an enemy.
"This little guy is really rude." Tsunade chuckled.
Naruto did hold back, but not by much. He directly used things like 'Konoha Whirlwind' on Sakura, defeating her in a few moves.
Tsunade couldn't connect Naruto with the elegant Minato Namikaze at all.
"Sasuke-kun, you must defeat Naruto for me!" Sakura didn't expect that she would be the first to use the Healing Jutsu.
"Sorry, Sakura." Naruto walked forward and said.
"If you get hurt later and don't beg me properly, I won't heal you!" Sakura snorted lightly and said.
"I... I can find Kitazawa-sensei." Naruto scratched his head and said.
"..." Sakura was speechless.
"Hahaha!" Ino, however, couldn't help but laugh, fully demonstrating what fake sisterhood meant.
But her smile quickly froze. Because her next opponent was Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura immediately became excited and said, "You don't have to be polite when dealing with Ino!"
"I concede!" Ino said without hesitation.
After speaking, she even gave Sakura a triumphant look. Anyone unaware would have thought it was her victory.
"Damn it!" Sakura was so angry that her chest rose and fell.
"..." Sasuke took one step forward, then retracted it.
"Will the two students from number seven please come forward?" Iruka called out like a tool.
Yakumo and Choji walked to the center of the arena.
"This is bad, Choji and I both fell for a Genjutsu," Kiba said with regret.
"There's no way to defend against it," Shikamaru said, shaking his head.
After watching two matches, he already understood that Yakumo's strength far exceeded theirs. Except for Sasuke and Naruto, they basically had no chance of winning against her.
But Akimichi Choji wasn't as dejected as Kiba.
"Yakumo-san, the food in your Genjutsu was really delicious," Choji said, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, "It just didn't fill me up."
Yakumo couldn't help but be stunned.
Is this what a foodie is like? For the sake of delicious food, they don't even care about Genjutsu.
"Who is number eight among you?" Shikamaru asked, showing the number eight in his hand.
"That would be me," Shino Aburame said, adjusting his glasses.
"It seems my luck isn't much better," Shikamaru sighed, walking and saying, "This is such a drag."
The battle began.
Shino Aburame released a large number of Parasitic Destruction Insects.
Shikamaru was chased all over the arena. If he wasn't trying to get a high score, he would have surrendered immediately, just like Ino.
Because Shino really countered him too much.
Shikamaru found an opportunity and used the Shadow Imitation Technique to control Shino's shadow. But it was meaningless.
Shino couldn't move, but the Parasitic Destruction Insects could.
Shikamaru was still chased around wildly, and after his Chakra was almost depleted, he directly surrendered.
"The Aburame clan is as versatile as ever," Shizune said with emotion.
"Shikamaru did very well," Tsunade rarely praised him, "Especially the timing of his Shadow Imitation Technique was very appropriate."
In her opinion, even a Chunin couldn't counterattack in such an extremely disadvantaged situation. If it weren't for the Parasitic Destruction Insects, Shikamaru might have been able to turn the tide.
This is what is called a battle talent. Among the younger generation, the Ninja with the most battle talent Tsunade had ever seen was Minato Namikaze.
"His talent is good, and he's very smart; he's just lazy," Kitazawa said, nodding.
Time slowly passed, and the second round also came to an end.
"I will now announce the list of students who have entered the third round," Iruka Umino said, "Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Shino Aburame, Yakumo Kurama, Hinata Hyuga, and Nara Shikamaru."
Kitazawa found that the list for the third round was almost identical to the previous final exam. Only Ino had been replaced by Yakumo Kurama.
Sakura and Kiba were not selected for the third round due to their poor performance.
"It seems the third round will be the most exciting," Tsunade said after hearing the familiar list.
It could be said that each of these six had a surname well-known in Konoha Village.
"Kitazawa, your class has too many geniuses," Shizune said with emotion.
Since the establishment of the Ninja Academy, the number of geniuses in First Year Class A could rank in the top three.
"This shows that our Konoha Village is flourishing," Kitazawa said with a smile. Who made Naruto and Sasuke the protagonists of the original work?
Naturally, there were more named supporting characters in the same generation as the protagonists.
Of course, a more reasonable explanation is that there would be a baby boom after each Ninja World War. Naruto and his peers were all born after the Third Ninja World War.
"The students who have entered the third round, please come up and draw lots." After the break ended, Iruka brought out another lottery box.
"I'll go first!" Naruto said excitedly, "I hope I draw Sasuke!"
Although Yakumo Kurama's Genjutsu seemed more powerful than Sasuke's, in his mind, his lifelong rival remained unchanged.
And they had an agreement when school started to have a youthful showdown in the first monthly exam.
Sasuke was quite calm. The only one he felt tricky right now was Yakumo Kurama.
But with the Sharingan, plus his superior Taijutsu and Fire Release, he still had a very high chance of winning.
"I'm number two!" Naruto said happily immediately after drawing.
"Number one," Sasuke glanced at it and said, "My opponent isn't you."
"Ah?" Naruto couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
"I… I'm number one," Hinata looked at the number in her hand, her heart tightening. She didn't expect that she would actually become Uchiha Sasuke's opponent.
Ino, Shino, and others subconsciously looked at her. Their first reaction was that Hinata had bad luck. The reason was that Sasuke had defeated Neji not long ago.
Although Hinata had also defeated Neji, the gap between them seemed small.
"Hinata, huh?" Sasuke's mind settled.
He also felt that he would win. He just needed to defeat Hinata the same way he defeated Neji.
"Who is number two?" Naruto asked curiously.
"That would be me," Yakumo Kurama smiled gently and said, "Naruto-kun, please guide me."
"Even though you're strong, I'm definitely going to win in the end!" Naruto said, clenching his fists.
Although he didn't like Genjutsu, fortunately, he had a way to break it: Shadow Clone.
"Then my opponent is Shikamaru," Shino Aburame said, adjusting his glasses.
"You don't need to fight. I surrender," Shikamaru said without hesitation.
They had already fought once in the second round, and the result wouldn't change if they fought again. Besides, he had already made it into the top six, which he considered mission accomplished.
In fact, Shikamaru's original plan was to surrender proactively, no matter who his opponent was.
"The two students who drew number one, please come forward," Iruka Umino interrupted their conversation, speaking loudly.
Sasuke and Hinata walked into the arena. The former was calm, the latter nervous, forming a stark contrast.
Kitazawa's spirits lifted. Whether the mission could be completed depended on whether Hinata could defeat Sasuke.
In his opinion, the two of their strengths were actually quite similar. It was normal for either to win or lose. The key lay in Genjutsu: Ephemeral and Konoha Style: Body Flicker Jutsu.
"You can surrender proactively," Sasuke said calmly.
He wanted to save some Chakra to deal with Naruto and Yakumo. Although the practical exam only had three rounds, if he proposed an additional challenge round, Kitazawa wouldn't refuse.
"No," Hinata said, glancing at Kitazawa, "I have a reason I must win."
"Coincidentally, so do I," Sasuke directly activated his Sharingan and said, "Begin."
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately formed hand signs with both hands. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Air currents churned, and a terrifying high temperature emerged. An enormous fireball flew out.
Hinata had anticipated this and ran without hesitation. Following the side route, she dodged the large fireball and quickly approached Sasuke.
"Her speed is about the same as Neji's," Sasuke thought, seeing this, feeling mostly confident.
He immediately threw out a handful of shuriken with both hands.
Hinata neither dodged nor flinched; her Byakugan scanned, and after confirming there were no rubber bands, she directly deflected the shuriken with Gentle Fist.
Good opportunity!
Hindered by the shuriken, Hinata's speed slowed down. Sasuke immediately formed hand signs with both hands.
Genjutsu: Ephemeral!
But what stunned him was that Hinata directly lowered her head, not looking at him.
Kitazawa's special training had paid off.
Hinata successfully knocked down all the shuriken by listening to the wind to determine their positions.
"A bit troublesome," Sasuke thought, seeing this, immediately abandoning Genjutsu: Ephemeral and switching to Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Jutsu.
He now had to find another opportunity to cast Genjutsu. And before that, he couldn't let Hinata get close to him.
Sasuke tilted his head back and spat out a series of small fireballs.
Hinata resisted using Konoha-style Body Flicker, simply dodging. Kitazawa had told her that any Ninjutsu was most effective the first time, because it was unknown.
Hinata planned to use Konoha-style Body Flicker to end the match, so she had to find the right timing. For a moment, the two were in a stalemate.
They were both waiting for an opportunity.