Chapter 5: Year-End Exams, The Strongest Mind

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was March of Year 55 in Konoha.

Before they knew it, the first year of studies was about to end.

In April, the first-year students would move up to the second year.

However, before the holiday break, there was still one final exam to take.

This final exam would determine the top student of the entire grade.

March 18th.

At six in the morning, Yagyu woke up and began his usual physical training in the courtyard of his home.

After finishing his morning exercises, he took a shower and started preparing breakfast.

After eating breakfast and drinking a full glass of milk, Yagyu made a hand seal and created two shadow clones, who, as usual, began their assigned tasks.

Meanwhile, Yagyu's real body headed to the Ninja Academy.

The morning exam was a written test, where students simply needed to answer questions.

The more important assessment would take place in the afternoon.

Though they called it important, it was really just a survival exercise added to the usual small test.

In fact, calling it a "survival exercise" was a bit of an exaggeration. It was more like a game of hide-and-seek.

Even the graduation exam for the sixth-year students only involved selecting one of the Three Basic Jutsu for evaluation.

In the first year, most of the focus was on cultural studies. Children who weren't from ninja families didn't even have the scrolls to practice the Three Basic Jutsu.

The practical lessons in the afternoon mainly consisted of shuriken throwing or taijutsu sparring. They hadn't even started kunai combat yet.

These lessons were meant to help the students accumulate mental and physical energy, laying a strong foundation.

Throughout the entire year, the school had only taught them one jutsu—the Cloak of Invisibility Technique.

The Cloak of Invisibility and Body Flicker Technique might seem advanced, but in reality, they were even more basic than the Three Basic Jutsu.

When Naruto first appeared in the original series, the techniques he used to prank the ninjas chasing him were the Konoha Body Flicker and the Cloak of Invisibility.

The reason these jutsu felt more advanced was that many skilled individuals had developed them to extraordinary levels.

Yagyu guessed that the afternoon's survival exercise would likely be a test of their proficiency with the Cloak of Invisibility.

———

"Hey, Yagyu! Good morning!"

"Good morning, Yagyu-kun!"

"Yagyu-kun, do you want to hang out with us after the exam?"

"Yagyu, could you pass me some notes during the test? Please? If I fail, my mom will kill me!"

"…"

As soon as Yagyu entered the classroom, many of his male and female classmates greeted him.

Yagyu responded to each of them with a warm smile, even stopping to chat with a few, showing great patience.

Unlike the aloof Sasuke or the isolated Naruto, Yagyu had crafted a persona as the "warm, approachable" guy. He was kind and gentle to everyone.

After all, only he knew how many geniuses were in this classroom.

There were two future saviors and Hokages, not to mention clan heads and key figures in various Konoha departments.

Who knew if some of the lesser-known characters in the class, who weren't mentioned in the original story, might also become powerful figures in the future?

So, even before his cheat ability awakened, Yagyu made sure to leave a good impression on his classmates while he was still considered a genius.

And even now, after fusing with Asura's chakra and becoming undoubtedly the strongest in the class, Yagyu maintained this persona.

After all, making more friends meant fewer enemies.

His strategy was to navigate the complexities of relationships!

After chatting with his classmates, Yagyu finally made his way to his seat.

Just as he sat down, a small hand tapped his shoulder from behind.

It was Ino, sitting behind him, smiling and saying, "Yagyu, good luck on the exam! You've got to secure that top spot."

"I'll do my best," Yagyu replied with a smile and a nod.

"Yagyu, does your family have some secret bloodline limit that you've awakened without telling anyone?"

This time, the voice came from beside Yagyu.

It was Shikamaru Nara, resting his head on his desk with his signature tired look. He muttered, "Ever since you beat Naruto a few months ago, it's like you've become a different person."

"You're smart—why not take a guess?" Yagyu teased.

"Ha…" Shikamaru yawned, then sat up and stretched. "I don't know exactly what it is, but something about you definitely changed."

Ino, annoyed, chimed in, "Everyone's got secrets. Why are you being so nosy?"

"Yeah, yeah… my bad." Shikamaru nodded, defeated by Ino's raised fist, ready to punch him if he kept asking.

However, his curiosity only grew.

Normally, Shikamaru wouldn't care about anyone else's secrets.

Not even Naruto's mysterious identity interested him that much.

But Yagyu was different.

After observing Yagyu for a year, Shikamaru noticed that his deskmate seemed like two different people in the first and second halves of the year.

In the first half, Yagyu seemed completely fake in Shikamaru's eyes.

That easy-going smile that won everyone over was, to someone like Shikamaru, with the sharpest mind and keenest eyes, nothing but a natural performance.

Yagyu was a genius, just like Shikamaru, but his actions were too calculated and deliberate.

For that reason, Shikamaru didn't particularly like the Yagyu who had intentionally chosen to sit beside him.

But in the second half of the year, Shikamaru's view of Yagyu changed dramatically.

During that time, Yagyu became more genuine.

The calculated smile, the faint shadow of gloom that even the perfect mask couldn't hide, all vanished.

Young as he was, Shikamaru couldn't quite understand why someone could change so drastically. He even asked his father about it in a conversation.

After receiving several answers from his father, Shikamaru realized that Yagyu's transformation stemmed from a newfound confidence.

And that change started right after Yagyu defeated Naruto.

Because of this, Shikamaru's curiosity about Yagyu only deepened.

How could defeating someone who consistently came last in every test make anyone more confident?

There was no doubt that something had changed about Yagyu, or that he was hiding a secret.

Whatever this change or secret was, it was the key to Yagyu's newfound confidence and his shift away from constantly acting, believing he could rise above the rest.

Shikamaru thought that today's final exam might reveal a clue.

With that in mind, Shikamaru suddenly became a little more interested in the exam.

Yagyu, unaware of Shikamaru's thoughts, would have been impressed had he known, thinking, "No wonder Shikamaru is a future strategist and the 'Eighth Hokage.'"

At just six or seven years old, he could see so much, on par with the genius-level thinking of Itachi Uchiha at the same age.