Chapter 87

"Namiashi Raidō " Makoto called.

With agile grace, Raidō strode toward the examination area. There, he swiftly executed an Earth Release ninjutsu. A deadly fast kunai play, and a display of fierce taijutsu followed.

In rapid succession, he sent three shuriken hurtling toward a distant target. While not all struck the bullseye, they all found their mark.

He proceeded to race towards a colossal tree, seemingly walking on air. His Chakra control was so fine. When treading water, he withstood the waves generated by water dragon bullets without losing balance.

After careful contemplation, Makoto assigned him seven points for his combat skills, seven points for seal mastery, eight points for physical prowess, six points for shuriken throwing, and seven points for chakra control.

Several students were called after him.

The students displayed solid foundations and remarkable physical abilities, though other aspects left room for improvement.

Makoto employed a higher standard for grading Group A compared to the rest of the students.

"Uchiha Obito," Makoto continued, calling the next name.

Obito couldn't help but muse, "It's a shame Rin is in Group B. It would have been better if she were here in Group A."

Summoning his resolve, he mentally yelled, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" With a fierce determination, he unleashed a towering fireball with remarkable force, thanks to Makoto's previous guidance.

Namiashi Raidō couldn't hide his astonishment. "Are all the students at the ninja school this skilled? Obito's fire release is truly exceptional."

Intriguingly, his performance even rivaled that of Uchiha Shisui's previous fireball demonstration. Are all the Uchihas kid this extraordinary? What do they feed them in their clan?!

Kurenai chimed in, "It feels more potent than Asuma's Fire Release."

Asuma, somewhat vexed by Yuhi Kurenai's remarks, retorted, "His fire release isn't for direct hits. It's primarily used for feint attacks."

Asuma could understand Obito's proficiency with fire release techniques, but he remained silent on Obito's subsequent feats. Whether it was his physical abilities or other assessments, Obito's performance was consistently impressive.

Then came "Might Gai."

As he stepped forward, Might Gai initiated the tests with ninjutsu. He managed to use the Three Body Skills. To the amusement of onlookers, his execution was less than perfect.

*Swish*

*Bang*

But in the blink of an eye, once Gai transitioned into taijutsu, he wiped the smiles from their faces.

"So fast!" Asuma muttered.

Asuma, noting the students' calm reactions, inquired and learned that Might Gai held the top spot in the fourth grade and had previously defeated Obito. In that moment, Asuma realized that Might Gai had likely concealed the full extent of his abilities earlier.

"Uchiha Shisui," Makoto finally announced.

A hushed silence swept through the crowd as all eyes were fixed on Shisui, who advanced confidently.

Since Shisui's earlier victory against Raidō, the students had come to recognize him as an exceptional force.

Asuma, having no desire to witness Shisui's performance, since already knew he was the strongest among them, as the one who had bested him before.

As expected, Shisui excelled in every test, effortlessly outshining his predecessors.

Then came the moment Asuma had been dreading: "Sarutobi Asuma."

Asuma found himself at a crossroads. If he took the exam now, Shisui would inevitably be his benchmark, and that was a comparison he wasn't eager to invite.

Nevertheless, Asuma was not one to shy away from challenges. After a few moments of inner struggle, he made his way to the examination area.

As the end of the class approached, Makoto diligently completed the grading of all the students. Only the final rankings remained to be compiled before announcing the results to the eager crowd.

Makoto wondered aloud, "Will there be any rewards?" He considered the prospect of taking one test a day, strategically pacing himself to gather as many "wool" rewards from the system as possible.

As the end-of-class bell rang, Makoto efficiently displayed the rankings and scores on the pre-prepared wooden board. A swift announcement marked the end of the class, but the students weren't in a hurry to leave. They gathered around the bulletin board to scrutinize their results.

Anko scratched her head, slightly dissatisfied with her total score of twenty-four. In her days at the ninja school, she usually scored above thirty-five points. To her dismay, she noticed her name absent from the promotion list below.

In fact, she wasn't alone. Out of over three hundred students, only Ebisu had made it from Group B to Group A.

Izumo and Kotetsu, who had scored even lower than Anko, couldn't hide their curiosity as they scanned the promotion list.

"Ebisu Sama truly is a genius," Kotetsu declared with admiration as he saw Ebisu's name as the sole entrant on the promotion list.

"Indeed, it's quite something to be the only one to get promoted," Kamizuki Izumo agreed.

Kotetsu's optimism shone as he added, "Once we perfect our skills this week, we'll be the Ebisu Sama's royal guards next week!"

Anko was perplexed by the two's ever-growing eccentricity. "Kotetsu and Izumo are getting creepier lately," she muttered.

Asuma, having wormed his way into the rankings of Group A, was relieved to find himself in third place overall, trailing only Shisui and Obito.

He realized the urgency of his situation, acknowledging the need to intensify his training in the coming week.

Although Might Gai hadn't scored highly in the test, he might prove formidable in practical combat. After all, Gai had recently defeated Obito in the final exam.

Asuma resolved to be among the top three in practical combat, but for the time being, he wasn't quite sure how to make it happen.