Three years had passed since Daiki first held a training puppet in his hands.
He sat in the Academy classroom on graduation exam day, surrounded by the nervous energy of students who were about to become genin. Some students reviewed hand seals one last time. Others stared out the windows, too anxious to focus. A few, like Shikamaru, looked like they'd rather be anywhere else.
Iruka stood at the front of the room, waiting for the chatter to die down. When it didn't, he cleared his throat loudly.
"Alright. Listen up."
The classroom fell silent immediately.
"The graduation exam begins now," he announced. "When I call your name, proceed to the classroom next door for your test. The technique you'll be demonstrating today is the Clone Technique."
A sound of understanding rippled through the room. Some students looked relieved. Others looked concerned. And one student in particular looked like he'd just been sentenced to death.
"Are you kidding me?" Naruto groaned, letting his head drop to his desk with a thunk. "Why does it have to be that one?"
Daiki, sitting next to him, glanced over. "You say that like you don't have options."
"Easy for you to say," Naruto muttered, his voice muffled by the desk. "Your techniques work right."
That wasn't entirely fair. Over the past years, Naruto had come a long way from the hyperactive troublemaker who could barely sit still through a lecture. Under Minato and Kushina's guidance, he'd developed into a skilled student. His taijutsu was solid, his chakra reserves were massive, and his seal work, while not genius-level, was competent enough that Kushina had stopped threatening to make him copy foundation matrices until his hand fell off.
But the basic Clone Technique remained his nemesis.
It wasn't for lack of trying. The problem was interference. The Nine-Tails' chakra existed alongside Naruto's own, and even with Minato's improved seal design, the two energy sources occasionally clashed. Techniques requiring fine, sustained chakra control were fighting against background noise that other students simply didn't have.
Standard clones flickered when Naruto tried to create them, sometimes appearing translucent or malformed, occasionally not appearing at all. It was inconsistent enough to be unreliable, which made him nervous about the exam.
"Idiot," Daiki said, leaning closer and dropping his voice. "You know the Shadow Clone Technique. Just use that."
Naruto lifted his head slightly, one eye peeking at Daiki suspiciously. "Is that allowed? Won't Iruka-sensei notice?"
"Notice what? He said to demonstrate the Clone Technique. He didn't specify which one. The Shadow Clone Technique is still a clone technique, last I checked."
From Naruto's other side, Karin leaned in. "He's right. Technically, you're following the instructions. Iruka-sensei has no grounds to fail you for using a more advanced version of what he asked for."
Naruto sat up straighter. "You really think that'll work?"
"Worst case, he makes you do it again with the basic version," Daiki said with a shrug. "But I doubt he will. The Shadow Clone Technique is harder to pull off than the regular technique. If anything, he'll be impressed."
The Shadow Clone Technique had become Naruto's specialty over the past few years.
He'd mastered it within days. Then Minato had shown him the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, and that had clicked on the first attempt.
Kushina had been so excited she'd immediately dragged him through a gauntlet of other advanced techniques, hoping she'd discovered some hidden genius in her son. Reality had been more disappointing. Aside from Shadow Clone variants, Naruto's progress was perfectly average.
But Shadow Clone alone had opened up training methods that no other student could access. One Naruto learning a technique was slow. Fifty Narutos learning simultaneously and feeding their experience back to the original was something else entirely.
Of course, this had led to Kushina forcing him to study Uzumaki sealing techniques using mass clone training, which meant his childhood had been dominated by seal matrices and chakra theory instead of pranks and mischief. A different kind of suffering than the original timeline's loneliness, but suffering nonetheless.
Naruto slapped his hands together. "Thanks, Daiki!"
"Don't thank me until after you pass."
"Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka's voice rang out from the front of the classroom. "You're first. Let's go."
"Already?!" Naruto jumped to his feet. "Uh, okay! Wish me luck!"
"You'll be fine," Karin said encouragingly.
"Just don't overthink it," Daiki added.
Naruto nodded, took a deep breath to steady himself, and headed to the front of the room. He followed Iruka out into the hallway.
The moment they were gone, the classroom exploded into conversation.
"Think he'll pass?" someone asked from the back row.
"Of course he will," another student replied. "He's the Hokage's son. They're not going to fail him."
"That's not how it works," a third voice argued. "My dad says the exam is standardized. Everyone has to meet the same requirements."
Daiki tuned out the speculation and turned his attention to the window. Outside, the training field was empty, waiting for the next generation of genin to fill it. In a few days, they'd all be assigned to three-person teams under jonin instructors.
The Academy had prepared them as well as it could. He had spent five years learning theory, practicing techniques, and developing his skills. But he knew from his father's stories that classroom training and field experience were completely different things.
He was ready for it. Or at least, he thought he was.
Beside him, Karin was gazing out the same window. "We're about to become real ninjas. I wonder who I'll be assigned to."
"They'll post the team lists in a couple of days. What's the rush?" Daiki lay sprawled over his desk.
"I hope I get assigned to the same team as Sasuke…" Karin's cheeks flushed slightly.
"You're doing the thing again."
"What thing?"
"The Sasuke thing. Where you stare into space and imagine scenarios that will never happen."
Karin's face flushed immediately. "I am not!"
Bonk!
Daiki clutched his head. "Ouch! What was that for? You literally just said you hope you get assigned to his team."
"So? Half the girls in class want that!"
"Which is exactly what I said, and you hit me for it."
Karin's fist came up threateningly. "Want me to hit you again?"
"Please don't."
She glared at him for a moment, then lowered her fist with a huff. "You're the worst."
"And yet you keep sitting next to me."
"Only because Naruto needed the moral support. Once he's back, I'm moving."
"Sure you are."
They sat in silence for a moment. Despite the banter, they'd become close over the years. Daiki, Naruto, Karin, and Sasuke had naturally gravitated toward each other, forming a loose friend group that spent most of their free time together. Karin's crush on Sasuke was an open secret that everyone except Sasuke seemed aware of, and teasing her about it had become a reflexive habit.
"You think we'll actually get placed together?" Karin asked quietly.
"Doubt it," Daiki said honestly. "They usually balance teams. Put a top student with a middle student and a weaker student to even things out. Naruto, you, Sasuke, and me are all ranked too high. They'll split us up."
"That's depressing."
The door opened and Naruto walked back in, a brand-new Konoha forehead protector tied around his head. His grin was so wide it looked like it might split his face in half.
"I passed!" he announced unnecessarily, since the forehead protector made it obvious.
The class erupted in congratulations. Naruto basked in the attention for a moment before making his way back to his seat. As he passed Daiki, he flashed a thumbs-up.
"Told you," Daiki said.
"Shadow Clone worked perfectly. Iruka-sensei didn't even blink."
"See? What did I tell you?"
Karin immediately scooted closer. "Let me see it! Does it feel weird? How tight did you tie it?"
"It's fine! Wanna try it on?"
"No, that's weird. It's yours."
As Naruto and Karin discussed the finer points of forehead protector aesthetics, Iruka called the next name.
"Yamanaka Daiki! You're up!"
Daiki stood, stretched briefly, and headed for the door. The testing room was simple. It contained only a desk, a single chair, and Iruka standing nearby with a clipboard in hand.
"Begin whenever you are ready," Iruka said calmly. "Create three clones and maintain them for ten seconds."
Daiki formed the hand seal, focused his chakra, and created three perfect copies of himself. They stood in a line beside him.
Iruka watched for exactly ten seconds, then nodded. "Congratulations. You pass. The forehead protector is on the desk."
That was it.
Daiki picked up the metal plate and tied it around his head, adjusting it until it sat comfortably.
He was officially a Konoha ninja.
"Go ahead and return to class," Iruka said with a slight smile.
Daiki nodded and headed back. When he entered the classroom, several students looked up and immediately noticed the forehead protector. A few offered congratulations. He acknowledged them with a nod and returned to his seat.
"How'd it go?" Karin asked.
"Easy."
"Show-off."
"You'll pass too."
One by one, students were called out and returned with forehead protectors. The process took most of the afternoon. By the time the last student finished, it was nearly time for dismissal.
In truth, the exam was more ceremony than test. Anyone who'd made it this far had already proven their capability. The Academy weeded out students who couldn't cut it long before graduation. The Clone Technique test was just the final confirmation that said you were ready to be a genin.
When Iruka finally dismissed the class, the room emptied quickly as excited students rushed outside to show off their new forehead protectors to their waiting parents.
Daiki spotted his parents immediately. Kenji and Honoka stood near the gate.
He jogged over, pointing at the forehead protector. "I'm officially a ninja now! Pretty cool, right?"
Kenji raised an eyebrow. "It's a piece of metal tied to your head. Don't let it go to your head."
"Oh, come on—"
"Your father's just jealous," Honoka interrupted, stepping forward to pull Daiki into a hug. "You look very handsome. And very grown up."
"Mom..."
"Let me enjoy this. My baby is a ninja now."
"I'm a genin now!"
"You'll always be my baby."
Daiki looked at Kenji for support. Kenji just smirked. "You're on your own for this one."
"Traitor," Daiki muttered, but he was smiling.
Honoka finally released him, though she immediately reached up to adjust his forehead protector. "There. Now it's perfect."
"Can we go home now?" Daiki asked. "You promised, Dad. You said once I graduated..."
"I know what I said."
"So?"
"So we'll go home, and I'll show you what I've been working on."
Daiki's eyes lit up. He'd been waiting for this for months. His father had been building him a custom combat puppet, designed specifically for his skill level and fighting style. His father had been tight-lipped about the details, refusing to show him even preliminary sketches.
"Wait!" Daiki turned back toward the Academy entrance. "Let me say goodbye first!"
He jogged back to where Naruto, Karin, and a few other classmates were still clustered near the gate.
"See you tomorrow!" he called out with a wave.
Most of them were too busy showing off their forehead protectors to their families to respond, but Naruto and Karin both waved back.
Satisfied, Daiki returned to his parents and immediately started walking, pulling slightly ahead in his eagerness to get home.