"The exam begins. The duration is two hours." Kitazawa spoke after hearing the bell.
The students in Class A of the first grade picked up their pens and plunged into the exam.
Kitazawa thought for a moment and created a shadow clone. He left the clone to invigilate while he headed to the training ground of the ninja school.
Since there was no system task related to this month's exam, he wasn't motivated to do the questions with the students. He practiced Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique.
Two hours later, he returned to the classroom of Class A.
"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, there will be a practical test on the school playground. Don't be late." Kitazawa collected the test papers and returned to his office.
Once seated, he began grading the test papers. He already had a rough idea of how the practical test would go. Once the theory results were in, he could estimate Uzumaki Naruto's overall ranking.
It was tied to his mission, so he had to be vigilant. After all, the mission required Naruto to rank in the top ten in this monthly exam. If he didn't, the task would be voided.
Time quickly reached noon.
"Is Hinata not here today?" Kitazawa put down his pen and stretched.
The next second, there was a knock on the door.
"As expected—Hinata's here." Kitazawa smiled and said, "Come in."
"Teacher Kitazawa." The door opened, and Hinata stepped inside.
"What are you holding?" Kitazawa noticed the scroll in her hand and asked with curiosity.
"It's a storage scroll." Hinata opened it, and instantly the room was filled with the aroma of meat, and barbecue dishes appeared on the desk.
"Did you buy it?" Kitazawa was momentarily stunned—truly a rich young lady.
"I asked Tokuma to get it." Hinata lowered her head and said softly, "I thought Teacher Kitazawa would be busy marking test papers today and wouldn't have time for lunch."
"Hinata, you're really thoughtful." Kitazawa reached out and patted her head.
During last month's exam, she had also come by with lunch after the theory test. That time, he had no plans and simply took her to Ichiraku Ramen.
It seemed that remembering that experience, Hinata had taken the initiative this time.
"I… I didn't do much." Hinata said shyly, "I'm always troubling Mr. Kitazawa..."
"Alright, enough with the politeness. Let's eat." Kitazawa handed her a pair of chopsticks and said.
"Okay." Hinata smiled softly. Now that she no longer had to hide her love for food, mealtime had become her favorite part of the day.
"Mr. Kitazawa, can I keep training in the afternoon?" After eating, Hinata hesitated for a few seconds and asked.
"Tomorrow is the practical exam. Aren't you going to rest?" Kitazawa asked in return.
"It's alright." Hinata shook her head gently. "I'll get enough rest tonight."
"Hinata." Kitazawa looked into her eyes and said, "Try to activate your Byakugan."
"Huh?" Hinata's face filled with confusion.
"Why so surprised?" Kitazawa smiled. "What do you think the ultimate goal of your leaf training is?"
Hinata froze for a moment and understood. Back then, Kitazawa had said leaf training was to train one's eyesight and reflexes. As a Hyuga, improving vision meant activating the Byakugan.
Thinking of this, Hinata's heart felt warm, and her anticipation grew. She wondered what kind of expression her father, Hiashi, would make when she activated her Byakugan.
"Byakugan, activate!" Hinata gathered chakra in her eye sockets, just as her father had taught her.
But the result didn't meet her expectations—her eyes didn't activate. She stood there, stunned, her face filled with disappointment.
"Don't move." Kitazawa reached out, covered her eyes gently, and said, "Try again."
Although confused, Hinata did as he said.
Kitazawa activated his Byakugan. The flow of chakra in Hinata's eyes became clearly visible to him.
"Train for another week and you'll be able to activate it." Kitazawa deactivated his Byakugan and said.
"Really?" Hinata's expression shifted from worry to joy.
"Why would I lie to you?" Kitazawa patted her head. "Come on, let's head to the training ground."
As for grading the rest of the papers, he left that to his shadow clone.
---
By dusk.
Hinata finished her training, and Kitazawa walked her back before returning to his office.
The clone had finished marking all the papers. Kitazawa picked up the results and began reviewing them. Last month, Hinata had ranked first in theory.
But this time, she hadn't practiced as many problems and placed third.
Uchiha Sasuke was first, Haruno Sakura second, and Uzumaki Naruto sixth.
Kitazawa let out a sigh of relief. Given Naruto's current skill level, he would certainly do well in the practical exam, and his combined score would secure him a top ten spot.
The next day arrived.
"Kitazawa-senpai." Unlike last time, Iruka arrived early.
"It's almost time. Organize them for the practical exam." Kitazawa nodded.
"Understood." Iruka quickly lined up the students of Class A.
"Same format as the last test: four components—physical fitness, clone technique, kunai throwing, and shuriken throwing." Kitazawa opened the roster. "The exam starts now. First up, the clone technique."
Due to the system's mission, his focus was on Uzumaki Naruto.
After a month of practice and learning the Shadow Clone Technique, Naruto's clone jutsu had become excellent. He had even surpassed the level he had at the time of graduation in the original series.
Though his kunai and shuriken throwing hadn't improved dramatically, they were still solid.
In the physical test, Naruto ranked first again. That made sense, considering his daily training with Might Guy, which was brutally intense.
"Teacher Kitazawa, what's my rank?" Naruto eagerly asked as soon as the practical test ended.
Sasuke, Sakura, Choji, and others also looked toward Kitazawa. But none were more anxious than Inuzuka Kiba. He was terrified he might lose to Naruto.
Sasuke had placed second last time, and he'd been brooding ever since. He was a Uchiha; he had to be first.
"Naruto, you're sixth," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Yes!" Naruto jumped with joy.
"What? What about me?!" Kiba exclaimed.
"You're seventh," Kitazawa replied.
"Huh?" Kiba instantly felt like he'd been sucker-punched. He had actually lost to Naruto?
"Haha! I won!" Naruto gave him a big thumbs-up and said proudly, "This is the power of youth!"
"Who got first?" Sasuke asked, unable to hold back.
"You did." Kitazawa smiled. "Congratulations, Sasuke."
Sasuke froze for a second, then couldn't help but curl his lips slightly. He had finally reclaimed the first place that belonged to him.