Before Graduation

In these past five years,

Naruto has been living a very fulfilling life, following his routine. After the Uchiha clan was annihilated, Konoha entered a period of "true" peace. The other major ninja villages like the Cloud Village and the Stone Village didn't know the specific details of the Uchiha clan's annihilation. Konoha still had its past reputation to uphold, and the major ninja villages hadn't fully recovered from the Third Great Ninja War. The possibility of a Fourth Great Ninja War had been forcefully suppressed.

During this rare period of peace,

Naruto continued with his daily life, ignoring whatever was happening in the outside world. He lived by a strict three-point schedule: Ninja Academy, home, and the training ground in the forest. Naruto never wasted time on other things; he focused on his own training, constantly gaining knowledge to strengthen himself.

Moreover, during these five years,

Naruto could clearly sense that the ANBU who had been monitoring him had gradually withdrawn. Maybe it was because he was about to graduate from the Ninja Academy and become a true Konoha ninja, or perhaps it was because Naruto's sincere attitude over the past few years had finally earned the trust of the Third Hokage.

In short,

About a year ago, Naruto no longer felt that constant surveillance in his daily life. When that feeling, like a needle in a cushion, completely disappeared, Naruto almost couldn't help but cheer. After all, this was the only way for him to slowly implement his plans instead of always pretending to be timid.

Everything was going smoothly.

Now, all he had to do was wait for the graduation assignments, and he could move on to the next step of his plan.

However, at this critical moment, Naruto forgot something crucial.

That was the graduation qualifying exam at the Ninja Academy!

It wasn't until the day of the graduation qualifying exam arrived,

Inside the examination room,

It was Naruto's turn.

"Clone Jutsu!"

"Poof!"

A familiar golden figure,

That calm voice,

Faced with the white chakra burst that seemed quite imposing,

But,

The next moment,

The dissipating white smoke revealed not the expected two clones,

But rather two inexplicable, orange-colored objects sprawled on the ground. Yes, they were orange and unidentifiable objects. Compared to a few years ago, you could say Naruto's Clone Jutsu had improved slightly. At least now, you could see some colors and a rough humanoid shape if you were willing to admit it.

However, the current situation was genuinely not laughable.

This was the examination room at the Ninja Academy.

Now it was the year 60 of Konoha, and Naruto was already 12 years old. He had always been in the top five of his class, with theoretical knowledge consistently in the top three. Occasionally, he even ranked first. Naruto, who was supposed to take the graduation exam, had failed the Clone Jutsu again.

Even though Naruto was someone who learned quickly, whether it was the Clone Jutsu or the Transformation Jutsu within the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he had learned them in just a few days. His performance in theoretical knowledge and physical training had always been excellent, placing him at the forefront of his class in overall performance. Even three years ago, Naruto had quickly mastered a C-rank Wind Release jutsu that Iruka had taught him after a lot of pestering. Naruto could control it within a short period (the chakra nature, which Naruto mentioned casually three years ago, was tested by Iruka, who gave him a C-rank Wind Release jutsu. Although Iruka wasn't a Wind Release user himself, jutsu like this wasn't limited to a specific chakra nature; it was only the chakra consumption and final power that would differ. Iruka, as an experienced chunin, being able to use one or two C-rank Wind Release jutsu wasn't strange at all).

However, it just had to be this Clone Jutsu.

No matter how he approached it,

This kid couldn't learn it.

This made Iruka wonder if this kid was naturally incompatible with this jutsu. Still, the graduation exam almost always included the Clone Jutsu. Iruka reluctantly let this kid try it out with the attitude of "Let's see what happens." Well, the result was as expected.

What he created wasn't a clone but...

Ahem...

Iruka didn't know what to say at this moment.

"Sigh..."

Iruka sighed silently in his heart, then immediately put on a serious face and looked at Naruto not far away, saying sternly.

"You failed!"

Although Iruka also wanted Naruto to graduate, rules were rules. The graduation exam at the Ninja Academy was already a reasonably arranged system. Only those who passed could become genin. If you didn't pass, you had to go back and study again. In this regard, Iruka was slightly inflexible.

And the words he lightly uttered made Naruto's expression change.

Really? If he couldn't graduate this time,

Wouldn't that be a real blast?

Directly back to the drawing board.

Naruto didn't have the time or leisure for that.

Of course, even if he didn't learn Clone Jutsu, he could learn other physical clone jutsu in the future!

"Iruka-sensei, I think I can..."

However,

Before Naruto could finish his sentence,

Iruka waved his hand and interrupted directly.

"No, Naruto, you failed. It's not negotiable. This is the rule and the system. The graduation exam at the Ninja Academy is designed to comprehensively assess your abilities. The Clone Jutsu is fundamental, and if you can't control it, you don't qualify to become a genin!"

Iruka placed his crossed hands on the desk and looked at Naruto with a solemn expression as he spoke.

(End of this chapter)