Chapter 005 Exam

-Konoha-

Another day in Konoha. Children are heading off to the Ninja Academy. Just like any other day, but this week is quite special for the Academy students. It's their first semester exam this time.

A boy with jet-black, long hair down to his shoulders, sporting a bun at the back of his head, is walking inside the Academy. His hairstyle is very different from those of others and was created by his grandmother.

Menma has already attended exams for Geography, History, Maths, Language, Ninjutsu theory and Chakra Theory. Today, he has the Genjutsu Exam. Additionally, he will be taking the Taijutsu Specialist exam. Menma has made quite a lot of progress over the past six months.

Kashin entered the room with two other examiners who were also teaching students in other sections of this class. Since many students were taking the exam together.

"Silence, we will begin our exam in a few minutes," one of the examiners said in a stern tone, and everyone became quiet.

They started to distribute the answer papers within a minute. They started to distribute the Genjutsu question papers soon after.

The exam began, and Menma started answering the questions one by one. He finished his paper quite early. He submitted his paper and went out.

The teacher looked at him and didn't say anything. Menma walked out of the classroom in silence.

-Next day-

Today, Menma has a special class test. He has to take the Taijutsu special class test today.

Mr. Chen was waiting for each student one by one on the other side for their tests. Guy had already finished his test. Menma was waiting with the other students on the other side. Soon, one instructor came and said, "Menma Satoshi, be ready; your turn is next."

Okay," Menma said at that time. Soon, the instructor called his name again. He saw another student come out with a happy expression. He must have done quite well on the exam.

Menma went inside and saw Chen was waiting for him. Chen signaled him to get inside the ring. Soon, Chen took his fighting stance without saying a word.

Chen looked in no hurry to attack him. Menma took the first shot. After learning to process chakra within his body, he had already gone through a dramatic change in many classes. Even before that, he was able to defeat a few students with relative ease. However, after becoming accustomed to chakra, even the most difficult opponents seemed like soy sauce in front of him in the last special class. The only exception being Guy, as he had been unable to beat him. Additionally, after starting to use chakra, he gained a speed boost.

Menma rushed forward but was soon blocked by Chen with little effort. Menma went for his waist with another leg while twisting his body. Chen again blocked, Menma noticed that Chen didn't take any opportunity to catch his leg, but had a very good chance with his normal speed. Soon, he used his other leg to gain a foothold and used it to attack the chin of Chen. Chen easily dodged it. Menma rushed forward and attempted a butterfly kick with more force and rapid spin. Chen dodged it again.

Menma threw rapid punches which were easily blocked by Chen. He rapidly tried to use snake type techniques to bypass his defenses, but it failed due to Chen's rapid hand movement evasion tactics. Suddenly, Menma changed his hand grip like an eagle. Almost catching the hand of Chen, but it slipped before he could catch it. Suddenly, Menma's hand changed direction and almost landed a one-inch punch at lightning speed. However, Chen caught it before it could land.

Chen praised him at that time, "You did exceptionally well in this exam. Your speed didn't decrease, and you had good stamina. Suddenly switching between animal styles in your attacks was a good move. When you can use chakra proficiently in your taijutsu moves, it will become more deadly. You may invent new types of Taijutsu moves from it. You even inspired this old man."

Menma thanked him for his evaluation. Due to Instructor Chen's constant teaching, he had improved faster than some of the older academy students, and even managed to beat them without using any chakra. His chakra manipulation was also much lower, even in his moves, as he had practiced Taijutsu moves both with and without chakra during their training sessions.

Another factor is that Chen is a great Taijutsu master. He is a legendary taijutsu user, despite being able to cast ninjutsu. So he has corrected many flaws in both Menma and Guy. As a result, Menma progressed faster than the others, who didn't know where to start correcting their mistakes. The Mind Computer even gave S rankings to Mr. Chen as an instructor.

Menma walked out of the classroom. He saw Guy was still there waiting for Mr. Chen to arrive for their discussion. Another student entered the room to take his exam.

"Menma, how was your exam? You've made more progress in the past few lessons. Want to have a competition," Guy asked Menma. The younger boy looked at him and then looked at oneself.

"I have another special class exam tomorrow. So I cannot fight with you today or tomorrow. After the exam, we can have a competition. Any other time during this holiday period would be fine." Menma explained to Guy. Tomorrow was the theory and practical exam on human autonomy and how to use it as a ninja. After that, he had basic sword techniques. Therefore, he had no free time even for a competition.

"I also have my Advanced Taijutsu test, day after tomorrow. Lets fight after the special exam. This time I am already applying for graduation. If all goes well, I will become a genin soon." Gai said with a confident smile. He showed his sparkling teeth.

After talking for a few more minutes, Gai and Menma went their separate ways. If Menma had delayed by another day, he would have heard about youth and passion from Gai. If he didn't meet Gai, he would have avoided a fight with him. Gai started his competition in the special class and it was limited to that class only. In the absence of Kakashi, Menma became the target. As Gai watched his progress over the past six months with his eyes, even if Menma couldn't defeat him in a pure physical fight, Gai still came for another fight.

-Next day-

Menma passed the Human Autonomy Theory test without much difficulty. He performed well on his Shuriken, Senbon, and Kunai during the practical exam. The Tanto was also used this time by him. Precise hits while using taijutsu were also achieved in the exam. Then they tested the same thing with a moving target, and Menma showed great progress even in this area.

He practiced for the special exam at home. His grandma arranged the practice tools and gave him some pointers based on her experience.

There is also a special test in this class where you have to hit a person in a specific area of their chunin vest while they are fighting. Menma passed the exam. Genma and Anko aced the exam without much difficulty.

Menma ran away before Anko could catch him after the exam. She always wanted to bully that four-year-old kid for some reason.

-Last day of Special exam-

This was the last exam for Menma, who hadn't applied for graduation, and the final exam for the rest of the class. The instructor had them perform basic techniques to evaluate their progress.

Gekko had already finished the exam when it was his turn to take it.

According to the instructions, he performed basic sword techniques that are common in every style. Then he had him fight against one of the assistant instructors for five minutes.

Menma felt the pressure as he exchanged basic moves. Blocking, parrying, dodging, and cutting techniques were all on display this time. Menma hadn't made much progress in these areas beyond having a solid foundation in the basics of swordsmanship.

He can defeat many older students in basic techniques competitions and fights. Unlike Taijutsu, where students don't know much about its true potential, this sword specialization has more competition and is very practical in combat.

Menma parried, blocked and used every gap he could find in the chunin's attacks. He could see that this guy was leaving gaps deliberately. He saw the chance and took it many times. He made full use of his flexible wrist and maintained his speed throughout the exam.

He passed the exam easily, while someone else aced this special exam. That is Gekko Hayate, who practices only sword arts in his free time.

Mengma has maintained an excellent grade in these three exams. He is happy to have an excellent grade in this place. Because he knows that there is room for improvement and he can still do better. Sometimes you cannot ace everything, but you can still be happy with your performance.