Ding ding ding...
Just as Izayoi and Hinata were whispering to each other, the class bell rang.
In an instant, the entire classroom went silent.
This was an unusually rare sight.
"The topic for the graduation exam is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The test room is at the end of the right hallway. When your name is called, step out," Iruka Umino's voice came from the doorway as he entered.
He didn't walk up to the podium but gave a quick reminder and then left the room.
A middle-aged Chūnin wearing a green vest soon appeared at the door, holding a list, and began calling out names: "Minako..."
Every few minutes, a student's name was called by the Chūnin teacher. The students who were called, whether nervous or confident, would stand up, leave the classroom, and not return until their test was completed.
Hinata was one of the first to be called.
"…Izayoi."
Just a few minutes after Hinata left, Izayoi heard his name.
He stood up and left the classroom, heading toward the test room at the end of the hallway.
He pushed the door open and saw Iruka Umino and the class's teacher, Mizuki, sitting at a long table.
Upon seeing Izayoi enter, Iruka immediately smiled warmly and said, "Izayoi, you can begin."
"Yes."
Izayoi nodded and quickly formed hand seals, speaking aloud: "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Boom—
Two popping sounds rang out in succession, like balloons being popped.
Two clouds of white smoke appeared on either side of Izayoi.
When the smoke cleared, two perfect shadow clones, identical in appearance, height, clothing, and small details, stood next to Izayoi.
Iruka and Mizuki exchanged looks, then Iruka took out a Genin headband and stood up with a smile, saying, "Your shadow clones are flawless. Congratulations on passing the graduation exam. From now on, you are a Genin."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei, and Mizuki-sensei."
Izayoi walked over and took the Genin headband from Iruka, bowing slightly to both of them.
Iruka nodded and said, "You don't need to return to the classroom. Don't leave the school either. Head to the class's training grounds and wait for the others to finish their exams. Afterward, I'll take you all for your photo."
"Yes."
Izayoi nodded and turned to leave the test room.
As soon as he exited the building, he immediately saw Hinata waiting for him outside.
They exchanged a smile and walked toward the training grounds together.
When they arrived, there were already about ten students waiting for them.
"Yo... Izayoi, Hinata, you two made it too!" one of the students greeted.
"The graduation exam was no challenge for you two."
"Once the photos are done, should we celebrate?"
"Eh—forget it. I want to celebrate with my family. They're waiting for me outside."
"Fair enough, we can meet up later."
"You think anyone from our class will fail the exam?"
"At least twenty people should pass. After all, we're the first class."
"Well, I'm sure that Naruto's screwed."
"…"
As soon as Izayoi and Hinata arrived, many classmates crowded around to chat with them.
Izayoi happily joined in the conversation.
At that moment, a figure walked toward them.
"Izayoi, how about a match later?"
It was none other than Sasuke Uchiha.
Seeing the third-best student of the year, who occasionally snatched the second spot, the other students tactfully backed off.
Looking at Sasuke, who was full of fighting spirit, Izayoi shook his head with a smile, saying, "Not today. From the information I've gathered, Genin will be grouped into teams of three and then assigned to work under different Jonin for training."
"Now that we both know each other's strength, the outcome would be the same no matter how many times we fight. How about we train under our Jonin for a while first, then we can see how we've both improved?"
Upon hearing this, Sasuke recalled the many times he had been beaten. His fighting spirit immediately deflated.
He nodded and said, "Alright, let's fight again after some time."
"No problem."
Izayoi smiled and agreed.
Over the past few years, Izayoi had accumulated a lot of his points through Sasuke's help.
For the past couple of years, they had fought almost every week, sometimes even twice a week.
Aside from unlocking the Sage Mode (Red), Izayoi had also unlocked various other traits, such as Shadow-Level Qualities (Purple), Uchiha Bloodline (Purple), and Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue).
All of these had been broken down into points.
Izayoi had accumulated over 10,000 points, most of which came from Sasuke.
The remaining points came from Hinata and other classmates, with Hinata contributing the most.
In terms of strength, Izayoi was in a class of his own, while Sasuke and Hinata were the top-tier, with the clan kids in the second tier, and the rest of the students in the third.
Since the third grade, aside from Sasuke and Hinata, very few students had unlocked any traits. And when they did, they were mostly lower-level traits.
If chakra levels had been the measure of strength, Naruto would have been the only one to unlock high-level traits in the entire class or even the entire school.
Thanks to Sasuke's endless contribution, Izayoi had managed to "milk" him dry over the years.
Whether it was Sasuke's traits or the ninja scrolls from his family, Izayoi had taken advantage of them more than once.
Over the years, however, Izayoi and Sasuke had become friends.
They had made a pact to fight each other every so often.
As a result of these battles, Sasuke's strength had surpassed that of the original timeline.
Floating around him was a bubble that had undergone a change.
The Uchiha Bloodline (Purple) had now transformed into the Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Purple).
This meant Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan.
More precisely, he had the ability to activate the Sharingan at will.
The true awakening of the Sharingan would happen on the night of the Uchiha massacre.
Once Sasuke awakened the Sharingan, his pride swelled immensely.
Aside from Izayoi, the only person Sasuke considered strong enough to challenge him was Hinata, who could compete with him in taijutsu.
In an unrestricted battle, Sasuke, with his Sharingan activated, a surge in chakra, and additional ninjutsu learned from Izayoi, would no longer see Hinata as his opponent.
If the three of them, Izayoi, Sasuke, and Hinata, ended up in the same team, they would undoubtedly be the strongest Genin team.
Neither the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho nor Gaara and his siblings would stand a chance against them.
However, this was, of course, impossible.
Due to the fates of Sasuke and Naruto, as well as their identities, they were destined to be placed on different teams.
And among all the ninjas in Konoha, no one was more suited to be their Jonin instructor than Kakashi Hatake.