Chapter 12: Almost Catching Up With Me

Just as Sato and the others were discussing the possibility of being divided into classes, the time for the graduation assessment was approaching.

And this year's assessment content was none other than the Clone Technique, which was quite impressive.

In the sixth grade, there were very few cultural classes, and the main focus was on learning techniques like the Three Body Technique, Body Flicker Technique, invisibility, as well as physical combat and hand-to-hand combat.

Ninjutsu naturally took precedence among these techniques.

For Sato, the top student, and the top ten students in the grade, this kind of assessment posed no difficulty.

After successfully obtaining their Genin forehead protectors, Sato and the others headed home together.

On the way, Sato noticed Naruto sitting alone on a swing, looking sad. Sato chose not to approach and offer comfort.

Throughout the past six years, Sato hadn't interacted much with Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, the top two male students, except for the times he confronted them during exams.

Naruto was feeling down because soon he would gain access to one of his biggest advantages—the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. It was a Forbidden Technique that Sato himself didn't even know how to use.

In the past six years, Naruto's chakra capacity had surpassed Sato's by leaps and bounds. Not even considering the Nine-Tails, Naruto's chakra reserves were at least four times greater than Sato's and five times greater than Kakashi's.

In a few months, as Naruto's strength continued to improve, his chakra would be more than ten times that of Sato's.

This was the power of Ashura's chakra, his innate talent, combined with his fairy body and half of the Nine Tails.

Even with all the cheats and tricks Sato possessed, catching up to Naruto seemed nearly impossible.

What was even more astonishing was that Naruto, who possessed these three advantages, was evaluated by Senju Hashirama during the Fourth Ninja World War as someone with chakra almost on par with himself.

Yes, Naruto was nearly catching up to Hashirama, who was considered the most powerful ninja of his time.

Recalling this fact, Sato's prideful heart felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it... it was a cold realization.

There was still such a huge gap between himself and the person just below the Six Paths level, let alone reaching the level of the Six Paths.

Sato still had a long way to go!

After leaving the ninja school, Sato separated from Ino–Shika–Chō and Hinata, went home, changed clothes, and returned to the ninja school.

After the graduation examination, the students who obtained their Genin forehead protectors were required to return to school for a group photo.

Sato dressed in a simple black and white attire—a white gown and black trousers.

As they say, a handsome man looks good in anything he wears.

Although Sato, who was born as a commoner, didn't possess any bloodline limits, he had good-looking skin.

With silver hair and red eyes, he was even more handsome than Senju Tobirama, who also had silver hair and red eyes in his youth, according to Naruto terminology.

Arriving at the ninja school, Sato stood at the door, waiting for Hinata and the others.

This time, Ino came accompanied by Sakura, who was wearing a red dress.

Ino had changed out of her purple battle suit and was now dressed in a princess dress with suspenders.

Hinata, on the other hand, remained conservative, wearing long trousers and with the Genin forehead protector hanging around her neck.

At Sato's suggestion, Hinata also

had long blue hair.

As she grew older, Hinata's white eyes gradually shifted from pure white to lavender, just like in the animated version.

Her appearance was not as exaggerated as in Shippuden, but Sato believed that under Hinata's windbreaker and net jacket, her bust was more prominent than that of Ino, Haruno Sakura, or Tenten, who was a year older than them.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to undergo such significant growth in just three or four years.

After Shikamaru and Chōji arrived, Sato and his group of six headed to the classroom. Once Umino Iruka organized them, they went to the rooftop to start taking photos.

"Let's have dinner together. Starting tomorrow, we won't have many opportunities to gather like this," Sato, as the leader, suggested after the photo session.

"Then let's have a barbecue. The old rules apply: we three men will go hunting, and you can prepare the ingredients," Shikamaru said, looking at the three women—Ino, Haruno Sakura, and Hinata.

From his words, it was clear that Sato and the others had dined together multiple times before.

"Sounds good," the three women nodded in agreement.

With that settled, the six of them split up.

Using Sato's Perception Technique and Nara Shikamaru's Shadow Binding Technique, the three men headed to the forest area above the Hokage Rock and quickly procured the necessary ingredients for the day.

Then Sato led the others to a waterfall area, which was not his training spot but a place they had stumbled upon by chance. It was perfect for camping and hanging out, and they often came here for their gatherings.

Arriving at the waterfall, Akimichi Chōji took out a scroll containing kitchen utensils and skillfully began preparing the ingredients.

Every time Sato saw Chōji use the storage scroll, he couldn't help but feel envious.

Those things were quite expensive. If ninja didn't take on missions to make money, they wouldn't be able to afford such luxury items with just their pensions.

Even inheriting from parents wouldn't provide access to these storage scrolls.

But Chōji's scroll, which stored snacks, was a luxury item they had.

Soon after, the third daughter of Ino, who had gone to buy vegetables, fruits, and barbecue materials, arrived as well.

The six of them sat by the shore, listening to the sound of the waterfall, and began the barbecue.

While they were grilling, Naruto, who had been manipulated by Mizuki, also started taking action.

When Sato finished dinner with his friends and was walking home, he noticed multiple figures dashing across the rooftops.

Observing the scene, Nara Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was evident that he had already anticipated that something significant was about to happen.

However, it had nothing to do with them as Genin.

Since the village hadn't sounded any alarms, it probably wasn't an exceptionally serious matter.

Once he reached home and asked his father, he would find out.

Shikamaru thought to himself, paying no further attention to those events.

Sato, too, pretended not to notice. After Shikamaru and Chōji dropped off Ino,

Sakura, and Hinata at their homes, and the three of them parted ways at an intersection.

The next day, Sato woke up early and donned his combat uniform. It couldn't be called a combat uniform; it was just a black windbreaker worn over his gown.

He took out a ninja bag containing kunai and shuriken, hung it on his trouser belt, put on open-toed shoes, and wore fingerless gloves with an iron piece on the back of the hand for protection in case of danger. Finally, he placed his sunglasses in the inner pocket of the windbreaker and tied the Genin forehead protector around his right arm.

Once he was fully geared up, Sato headed to the ninja school.

This time, instead of waiting for Hinata and the others at the door, he went directly to the classroom.

Today was actually a holiday. Only the students who had passed the graduation assessment and obtained their Genin Forehead Protectors were required to return to school.

Soon, the students who had received their Genin forehead protectors began entering the classroom one by one.

The first class was the top class, consisting of students who had successfully obtained their Genin forehead protectors. Including Naruto, who had graduated the previous night, there were a total of 36 students, forming 12 teams.

"Good morning, Sato," Hinata greeted as she arrived.

"Good morning," Sato responded.

After Ino–Shika–Chō and Hinata arrived, Sato acknowledged their greetings before his gaze fell upon Naruto and Sasuke below.

Sakura didn't return to her original seat. Like some of the female classmates, she wanted to compete for the seat next to Sasuke.

And Naruto, who was pushed away by her, had the same disdainful expression as in the original book.

Observing this, Naruto jumped on the table and squatted in front of Sasuke, engaging in a staring contest with his old rival whom he had defeated once in the past six years.

Then, a boy sitting behind Naruto accidentally bumped into him with his elbow.

Sato witnessed this infamous kissing scene unfolding before his eyes.

Seeing this scene, which he had remembered vividly for the past 12 years, come to life, Sato couldn't help but curl his lips slightly.

Ino's lips twitched as well.

"Naruto is in trouble now," Shikamaru commented with a hint of schadenfreude.

"Yeah," Chōji agreed, nodding approvingly.

Upon hearing their remarks, Hinata raised her head curiously and happened to witness Naruto being scolded and beaten by all the girls. She was a bit perplexed by the scene.

The beating only stopped when Umino Iruka entered the classroom.

"Alright, everyone, stop causing trouble," Umino Iruka said, bringing an end to the chaos.

After restoring order, Umino Iruka began making announcements. "From this point forward, you are Genin. Before you can operate independently, you'll need to form a three-person team and work alongside your respective Jōnin sensei."

"We will now proceed with the team assignments. The person whose name I call next will be your future teammate, fighting side by side."

"The first team is..."

As Iruka began calling out names, all 36 students in the classroom became nervous.

As Iruka called out the names of the three students assigned to each team, many students revealed expressions of excitement or disappointment.

Sitting between Hinata and Ino, Sato also noticed their clenched hands.

Knowing that it was unlikely for Ino–Shika–Chō to be