The next day.
"Alright, let's begin the graduation exam. Those whose names are called, please come to the next classroom. This time, the test is on the Clone Jutsu."
On the day of the exam, when Iruka-sensei announced the topic, Naruto's expression crumbled.
"How unlucky! It just had to be the Ninjutsu I'm bad at!"
Although the real Naruto said nothing, in the video on the Dimensional Popularity Stage, Hanabi had the pleasure of seeing Naruto's crumbling expression.
It was quite amusing.
The order of the exam was the same as the previous tests; Hanabi was first.
Hanabi directly used the two remaining daily scene cards.
One minute of plot in the first episode is more important than ten minutes of plot in episode 500.
So Hanabi wasn't stingy and directly used a scene card.
This scene also seemed to be judged as "daily," so after Naruto finished his lament, the screen directly switched to Hanabi.
"Excuse me. Examinee number one, Hyuga Hanabi."
The examination room was an empty classroom, with only a podium. Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei were sitting there, and in front of Iruka-sensei were several rows of forehead protectors.
"Begin," Iruka nodded to Hanabi. Although he knew she couldn't see, he still respected his students.
"It's already begun."
Another "Hanabi" walked out from behind Hanabi.
"No hand signs? Hand-sign-less Ninjutsu?!" Mizuki wasn't familiar with Hanabi, and her Jutsu surprised him a little.
[Speaking of which, it seems like everyone else needs to perform hand signs for Ninjutsu. Only our Lady Hanabi hasn't done them?]
[Is it special effects again?]
[Hanabi: Special effects, I added special effects.]
"It's just a trick of the eye, Mizuki-sensei. Hanabi, hurry up and show your real skill. One clone won't pass."
Iruka was used to it; it was impolite to probe others' Jutsu. Whether it was true hand-sign-less Ninjutsu, or using magic tricks or Genjutsu to conceal it, these were her own techniques.
In the world of Ninja, information is very important, so Iruka directly helped his student gloss over the topic.
More than that, he was worried that his student would fail because she was messing around during the exam.
Iruka had seen Hanabi's Clone Jutsu before, but this time he felt that what Hanabi was using didn't seem to be Clone Jutsu.
Using Genjutsu to pretend to be Clone Jutsu to fool the examiners during the graduation exam?
It shouldn't be that bad, right...?
"Of course there's more than one."
Two more "Hanabi" walked out from behind her.
Two became four, four became eight, eight became sixteen, like bacterial division, more and more Hanabi filled the entire classroom.
A bunch of Hanabi stood smiling opposite Mizuki. Although Hanabi herself was a beautiful girl, a group of beautiful girls smiling like that looked a bit creepy.
"Hmm..." Mizuki flipped through Hanabi's file. "Hanabi-chan was first in the written exam, and she's also very good at Genjutsu. She's from the Hyuga Clan, but I didn't expect her best skill to be this."
"Maybe I just used Genjutsu to hide the hand sign process~ Oh, by the way, maybe this itself is Genjutsu~"
Hanabi's voice suddenly came from beside Mizuki. She even blew a breath.
Mizuki: "—!!!"
He turned his head and saw an illusion gradually disappear. Realizing something was wrong, Mizuki immediately reined in the killing intent in his eyes.
Unlike others' clones turning into a puff of smoke, Hanabi's "illusion" dissipated directly like water mist.
[The teacher was startled.]
[His eyes flashed with killing intent, this white-haired guy is suspicious.]
[Her best skill is Genjutsu? Could it be that the previous transformation and the clones here were all faked by Genjutsu?]
[Don't say it, it's actually possible.]
[This Clone Jutsu is the same as Kurumi's.]
[Was Hanabi's action just now a bit like a mischievous girl?]
[Mischievous girl Hanabi? I'm good~]
"Next time, don't do these flashy things, Hanabi. This is an exam." Iruka sighed. "Well, you passed, 64 clones. Usually, examinees pass with three or five... Wait, Hanabi, you just used Clone Jutsu, right?"
Iruka hadn't thought about it before.
But Hanabi's previous actions made Iruka confused again.
—Could she have really used Genjutsu on the teacher and not actually used clones at all?
"Well, is it or isn't it~"
Hanabi didn't answer.
[Iruka: I'm so confused.]
[So what did Hanabi use, Clone Jutsu or Genjutsu?]
[I can't tell, I can't tell!]
[Damn, there's a Zuo Wang Dao here too!]
[Can any expert analyze this?]
[Why even ask? It must be Genjutsu. Didn't Iruka say it? Most people only make three or five; so many must be fake.]
[Hanabi: Genjutsu, I added Genjutsu!]
Although they couldn't figure it out, Iruka and Mizuki... truly couldn't tell the difference.
Hanabi had Genjutsu bonuses provided by her character card, so confusing ordinary Chunin was no problem.
After the exam, the Third Hokage and the parents also came to the school.
"Father." Hinata and Hanabi's father, Hyuga Hiashi, also arrived at the scene.
"Hmm. You both did very well." Hyuga Hiashi nodded. He looked at Hanabi, then averted his eyes.
After Hanabi was abducted, it was Hyuga Hiashi who rescued her.
At that time, the Kumogakure Ninja head discovered that Hanabi had destroyed her own eyes, disrupting his plans and preventing him from escaping Konoha, giving Hyuga Hiashi an opportunity.
Upon finding that his daughter had blinded herself to protect the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi, in his rage, was about to kill the Kumogakure Ninja head with a single palm strike.
It was Hanabi who spoke up in time to stop him, thus saving the other party from death.
However, Hanabi had something to say: Are you kidding? This guy is super fragile; in the original work, he was killed in one blow. Now, with Hiashi's hateful strike, he's guaranteed to die, alright.
In the setting collection, this Ninja head was stubborn and fierce-looking, but in reality, he was the type who would die if you dared to hit him.
After that, Konoha Village gained an advantageous position in negotiations with Kumogakure, and the Hyuga Clan also received compensation from the Hokage, but Hiashi always felt that he had let his daughter down.
So when interacting with Hanabi, Hyuga Hiashi always found it hard to look directly at her, feeling a sense of guilt.
"What's wrong, Hanabi?" Hiashi noticed that Hanabi's attention didn't seem to be on him.
"My friend doesn't seem to have passed the exam; I'm going to comfort him."
This was a great opportunity to get some screen time.
"That's..."
Hyuga Hiashi immediately saw that the one sitting there was Uzumaki Naruto. The adults didn't want their children to interact with him, but Hanabi didn't care, and Hiashi didn't stop her, only protecting her from the side. Including Neji's matter, when Hanabi argued with the clan, Hiashi always stood by his daughter.
He was definitely a doting father.
Clone Jutsu is a very simple Ninjutsu; almost everyone passed the exam.
But this doesn't mean true graduation; passing the test of the Jonin leader after being assigned to a team is the real graduation.
As for now, the only one who hadn't passed was Uzumaki Naruto. He was currently sitting alone on a swing under a tree.
"Hey, that child."
"It's that child."
"It seems only he failed."
"He deserves it."
"It would be terrible if someone like that became a Ninja."
"After all, that child is..."
Two middle-aged women were looking down and whispering from a distance.
[From the beginning, you can tell the protagonist's identity must be different.]
[Here it comes, the classic Japanese trope!]
[From my experience watching Japanese anime, Naruto is probably the Nine-Tailed from the beginning, or a human vessel sealed with the Nine-Tailed.]
[What human vessel? This isn't Ultraman 2333]
[Maybe the protagonist's cheat is transforming into Ultraman for three minutes.]
[I think it's actually an old man type of power-up.]
"Excuse me." A voice interrupted their conversation, also ending this overly "classic" plot.
"Ah, it's Miss Hanabi of the Hyuga Clan."
The two immediately changed their expressions.
"Hags, can you move aside? I need to go see my friend."
The two were stunned.
"Um, what did you say..."
"I said, hags, get out of the way, don't block the path."
[Simple verbal abuse, ultimate enjoyment 2333]
[Holy crap, Lady Hanabi is so direct.]
[You should be direct with busybodies; not slapping them is already lenient.]
[I thought Lady Hanabi would be more subtle, but I didn't expect her to be so straightforward.]
[66666]
After being scolded, the two were embarrassed and stiffly moved aside.
Hyuga Hanabi was not the heir of the Hyuga Clan; the heir was her older sister, Hyuga Hinata. But everyone knew that Hanabi had excellent aptitude and was also deeply loved by the clan head, Hyuga Hiashi. The only reason she wasn't the heir was because of her blindness.
"Naruto."
Hanabi walked up to Naruto.
"It's Hanabi."
Naruto smiled, but it was clearly a forced smile.
Meanwhile, Mizuki, who was about to approach and strike up a conversation, frowned. Someone had beaten him to it.
"It's okay, there's always next time. This time it was Shadow Clone, but next time the exam might be for Transformation Technique, which you're good at," Hanabi said.
"Ah, thank you," Naruto seemed to feel a bit better.
"Are you free tonight? I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen," Hanabi smiled.
Naruto hadn't said anything yet, but Mizuki was gritting his teeth. He had been planning to take advantage of Naruto's low spirits to trick him into causing trouble, but with Hanabi here, how could he do anything?
That's right, Hanabi was messing with Mizuki's mindset.
It's only right that the schemer gets schemed against; it's quite enjoyable.
"Ichiraku Ramen!" At the mention of Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto's mood visibly improved.
However, just then, Naruto saw Hyuga Hiashi and Hinata talking on the other side.
Hanabi knew this too.
—Because this scene was playing in the video.
Although Hanabi couldn't see, the happy family life, with a sister and father, formed a strong contrast with the lonely Naruto.
"No, no," Naruto recoiled, "Maybe another day, haha. It's always you treating me, Hanabi. Oh, right, next time I'll treat you."
"Why say such things? Aren't we friends?" Hanabi took off her fox mask.
"Yes, so... I will graduate. Just wait until I catch up," Naruto clenched his fists.
"Then I'll be waiting," Hanabi turned and put her mask back on.
"But... I want to graduate now too. I want to be with everyone..." After Hanabi left, Naruto lowered his head again.
He forced himself to cheer up, just so his friend wouldn't worry about him.
"Naruto." At this moment, Mizuki, whose mindset had been messed with, finally breathed a sigh of relief and found an opportunity to appear, "You... want to graduate, right?"
...