[1st POV]
(3 days later)
The academic writing exams were all over, and to be completely honest, I think I absolutely nailed it.
I did my own studies whenever we had class, so with that alone and prior knowledge, I was able to get, hopefully, perfect marks. I found it extremely unlikely that even Sakura would surpass me this time. There were only a few marks' gap between us in the other exams, and I didn't even give half the effort back then.
Suyou, or should I say I, was quite the lazy fellow before a week ago. I was only carried this far by my insane stats in potential, nothing else.
Today was Thursday, meaning it was the fourth day of the exams and also the day of the practical exams. We had two sessions in total; the shuriken throwing test in the morning and the Taijutsu test in the afternoon.
Right now, it was morning. All of my classmates were gathered in the training grounds of the Academy.
We stood in a neat mass. A few metres away, there were teachers who called our names one by one. Further away, around 20 meters ahead, there were multiple wooden targets to aim for.
When a student's name was called, they walked forward, and the teacher gave them ten shuriken in total. The aim was to hit all the targets. The wooden poles had different heights and sizes. The students were also not allowed to move from their spot as a way to test their throwing skills from all angles and heights.
Sakura was currently taking the test, and if I was completely honest, it was hard to watch. I'd winced more than once seeing her throw awkward attempts. Her form was all off, some even curved downward and never even reached the wooden targets.
In the end, she hit six targets and missed four. But even those she hit were barely within the circular mark.
"Man, I really, really like Sakura, but that was dog-shit," Naruto, who stood beside me, commented after picking his nose.
"You're one to talk," I said with a scoff. Naruto had already taken his turn, and let's just say his throwing skills did not impress me like his physical prowess did.
"Hey!! I hit all my targets, ya know," he defended himself.
"Barely."
"You'll see how good I throw when I become Hokage, believe it!" he said, declaring once more that he was going to become Hokage. At this point, I'd probably heard that a hundred times.
"I know," I said with a smile, raising my hands. I couldn't really ridicule him, fully knowing that he was going to become the strongest and greatest Hokage in the future.
"Up next, Sasuke Uchiha!!" Iruka-sensei said after noting down Sakura's score.
The crowd immediately buzzed with life when Sasuke's name was mentioned. The Uchiha clan was always known for their specialty in shurikenjutsu, so the pressure was on him. He was always first when it came to the shinobi practical exams, so many expected great things from him.
Sasuke walked forward with his hands in his pockets. He had a permanent scowl on his face, like he hated the very earth he walked on. He looked quite hateful, but that edgy vibe somehow felt very cool to kids our age.
"Go Sasuke!!" Sakura yelled before she even returned.
"All the best, Sasuke!! I know you'll get perfect scores!" Ino followed, and every person with a vagina followed on cue, shouting their own wishes.
"What's so great about that guy anyway?" Naruto sulked with folded arms. His eyes were fixed on Sakura, who was waving enthusiastically toward Sasuke, who couldn't give a flying fuck about her.
"Well, he's got the Uchiha good looks, a shit ton of money from being the sole survivor of a major clan, he's talented, calm, mysterious, and his spirit looks broken in a way that attracts the female heart to try and fix him," I said. "He's also an arrogant asshole and girls really dig that for some reason."
Naruto grumbled to himself before he suddenly turned to me with a curious look. "You also have most of those qualities. Why aren't you popular?"
"Beats me," I shrugged.
"I think it's because you have a girl's hair," Naruto said with a grin.
"Long hair is not girl's hair. I'll let you know the First and Strongest Hokage and the strongest Uchiha both had long hair," I said, defending myself and my style.
"Whatever, still looks girly," he said with a shrug.
I grumbled at his comment, but now all our eyes were fixed on Sasuke because he finally reached his position.
"Go!!" Iruka said, and in an instant, Sasuke moved.
His throw was quick, he didn't waste any time aiming as the sound of shuriken hitting wood came in a continuous chain. In just five seconds, all shuriken had found their mark on the targets. A few of them missed the bullseye, but all were close.
The crowd cheered even louder, mostly the girls.
"So cool!!"
"What in the—he hit everything so quickly!!"
I have to say, even I was impressed. He threw those shuriken at a speed usable in real combat.
"Not bad," I said with a nod.
I rolled my eyes to look at Naruto and saw him staring at Sasuke with intensity, like the kid with duck-butt hair was a huge mountain he had to climb.
Sasuke walked off, his hands finding their home in his pockets once more. But unlike when he approached, you could see a tiny smirk hanging on his lips. It was clear that he was quite proud of his feat.
"Up next, Kozama Hakino," Iruka immediately called out the next student.
I watched three other students take the test before it was finally my turn.
"Suyou Hoshigawa!"
"Good luck!! Make sure you beat Sasuke for me!!" Naruto yelled as I walked toward the teachers.
I smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Hit all the targets. You have two minutes," Iruka said before gesturing toward the position with all the shuriken neatly laid out on the small table.
I gave a nod before immediately making my attempts.
Two minutes was more than enough to hit the bullseye with every shuriken. I didn't throw them fast, this was a test, not combat. Instead, I took all the time in the world to aim and focus before each throw.
My first attempt hit the bullseye.
My second followed suit.
My third hit right at the center, and it continued.
I took around ten seconds before each throw, calming my nerves and steadying my hands. I would admit I wasn't as good as Sasuke, but he made a grave blunder in trying to show off.
In the end, I scored perfect throws in nine attempts. I barely missed one as it landed only a few centimeters from the center.
"Good job, kid," Iruka praised me with a smile and jotted down my marks.
"Thank you," I said and walked away.
On my return, I felt a burning gaze on me. When I turned, I saw Sasuke looking at me with intense eyes. I merely returned his gaze with a smile before making my way toward Naruto.
"Dude, that was so cool!! I didn't know you could throw that well," Naruto said while giving me a dap.
"I did try my best," I said.
Afterwards, Naruto and I sneaked away from the testing grounds even though we were supposed to wait for everyone's turn. He invited me to eat ramen. The two of us had gotten much closer after I helped him during the written exams.
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(Afternoon)
We returned in the afternoon and got an earful from Iruka-sensei for leaving the test early. But he didn't take any other action besides scolding us. He was truly a gentle soul and very understanding when it came to children.
The afternoon test was a Taijutsu assessment. There was an ongoing ranking between the students since Taijutsu sparring was one of the most common practicals in the Academy. The teachers arranged the students in order of their ranking and paired them up into twos.
There were twenty-eight students in total, making it the perfect pairs. Rank 28 was paired with 27, Rank 26 was paired with 25, and so on.
These students would fight each other, and the teachers would give marks depending on their performance, skills, and technique used in the fight. The ongoing rankings would also carry extra weight in the final score.
That meant there were going to be fourteen matches in total today. There was no time limit. The match would go on until one lost or admitted defeat.
The matches began from the lowest rank. As the number two rank, that meant I had to watch a lot of matches before I got my turn. Not that I was complaining though, it was pretty fun to watch the fights.
Especially the match between Naruto and Kiba. Naruto was ranked fourth, and Kiba was third. Their match was a complete brawl. Kiba fought like an animal, and Naruto was wild enough to be considered one.
In the end, Naruto was able to pull a victory by outlasting Kiba. The sparring matches today were a bit rough, the teachers didn't stop the fight too quickly and allowed the students to battle until the end.
This meant that in cases where Kiba should've been declared the winner via stoppage, Naruto was allowed to pick himself up and get the victory. And man, was that Uzumaki kid tough. He was like an iron nail.
Both students were taken to the infirmary immediately after the match ended, so I didn't have time to congratulate Naruto.
I couldn't even follow him because my name was called right then.
"Next up, Suyou Hoshigawa and Sasuke Uchiha!"
Both of us locked eyes when our names were called. Sasuke returned that same intense look, and this time, I didn't back down. I stared back with a grin...
...
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