"As expected of a jutsu created by Kitazawa-sensei—it really suits you."
Inuzuka Kiba said this with feeling as Yamanaka Ino stepped off the field.
"Totally," Haruno Sakura nodded in agreement.
She knew the Yamanaka family ran a flower shop. That jutsu opened with a storm of petals—practically tailor-made for Ino.
"Mm." Ino beamed. "I really like these two jutsu too."
Pretty and practical—hard to beat.
"Shame we only saw one," Kiba said, a little regretful.
"It's fine," Nara Shikamaru tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You can experience both yourself next round."
"I'm not losing!" Kiba shot back. "I've got a Kitazawa-sensei original of my own!"
"You guys make me so jeal—" Uzumaki Naruto started, then got cut off.
"You learned Multiple Shadow Clone and Rasengan. What are you jealous of?" Kiba deadpanned.
"Kitazawa-sensei's drawing lots again. Wonder who's up for the fourth match," Aburame Shino said, pushing up his glasses.
"Time for me to shine!" Kiba looked straight at Kitazawa.
"Round one, match four: Haruno Sakura versus Tenten," Kitazawa announced.
"I'm doomed." The moment Sakura heard she'd face Tenten, she knew she was in trouble. Tenten specialized in throwing tools—technically not ninjutsu, but might as well be, and they were all wide-area barrages.
The only Water Release she knew was Wild Water Wave. Sakura regretted she hadn't had more time with water style. If she had Water Formation Wall down, her odds would be way better.
"Go get 'em, Sakura!" Ino clenched her fist. "Just don't lose too fast!"
"Hmph, maybe I'll be the one who wins!" Sakura shot her a glare and strode to the field.
"Tenten, let youth burn!" Rock Lee's teeth literally sparkled.
"…" Tenten simply turned her head toward Hyuga Neji.
"Be careful," Neji said evenly.
Tenten nodded and took her place opposite Sakura.
The match began.
Tenten immediately unrolled a scroll. A stream of tools flew out.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Sakura planted her feet, flashed through seals, arched back, and blasted a high-pressure jet.
Wild Water Wave was a basic C-rank, but its power scaled with chakra. With enough chakra, you could even flatten a forest. Of course, that would be grossly inefficient—higher-level water jutsu could do the same for less chakra.
Dull thuds kept sounding. Under the pounding jet, Tenten's tools were batted aside and clattered to the ground.
Sakura barely had time to exhale before the shuriken on the ground suddenly sprang up.
"Manipulating Shuriken Technique!"
With rubber cords in both hands, Tenten crossed four shuriken right in front of Sakura.
Sakura's heart lurched; she reflexively formed seals. Water rose out of thin air, circling her—then collapsed in under a second.
Her Water Formation Wall wasn't solid yet, and rattled nerves made it fail.
Kitazawa flickered in behind Sakura, grabbed her shoulder, and yanked her clear of the incoming shuriken.
"Winner: Tenten," Kitazawa said as he set Sakura down.
"Was that the teacher's Water Formation Wall?" Sarutobi Hiruzen, despite Tenten's win, glanced past her and fixed on Sakura. The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama's wall was different—most water walls block one direction; his encircled the caster on all sides. What Sakura tried just now was clearly the latter.
Hiruzen mulled it over. He'd heard Kitazawa's Advanced Class reports—Maruboshi Kosuke was leading the Water Release study group. Sakura had probably worked on the Water Formation Wall under Maruboshi.
Learning "one and a half" water jutsu in a month? (Half, since she hadn't mastered the wall.) That was a water-style prodigy if he'd ever seen one.
He also remembered Sakura was studying medical ninjutsu and interning at the hospital.
Water Release plus medical ninjutsu? Konoha might just get another elite jōnin. And she was civilian-born—that delighted him even more. Clan kids had an easier path; a civilian who rose to power was a legend.
He then thought of Tenten. Compared to last term's finals, she'd improved a lot—she'd learned the Manipulating Shuriken Technique. Still… he felt she relied too much on tools to become truly strong. Tools only went so far. The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique he'd created was already the ceiling—unless Tenten somehow got the legendary Six Paths Ninja Tools, which was impossible.
"Good thing you only know one water jutsu," Tenten said, patting her chest in relief.
"Next month's exam might be a different story!" Sakura clenched her fists.
"How are you learning water style so fast?" Kiba was genuinely surprised. In just one month, Sakura had nearly picked up two water jutsu, and Water Formation Wall was a B-rank.
"Because she studies medical ninjutsu, her chakra control is excellent. She's a natural for water style," Ino said—and immediately felt a jolt of crisis. Keep this up and Sakura would pass her sooner or later.
"Ino," Sakura grinned, "I'm looking forward to fighting you next month."
"Beating me won't be that easy!" Ino put her hands on her hips. "You'll be the one losing!"
Her face was fearless, but in her heart words flashed: Kitazawa-sensei, save me.
"Water style, huh?" Shino thought of his ongoing Parasitic Destruction Insect mutation experiments. If they worked, Sakura's water wouldn't worry him.
Uchiha Sasuke glanced at Sakura. Her water did counter his fire, but he also had genjutsu and kenjutsu—she wasn't much of a threat.
"Round one, match five, Akimichi Chōji versus…"
The exam went on, but the later matches weren't as flashy. Hyuga Hinata, Rock Lee, and Kiba all faced newcomers to the Advanced Class. Even though those opponents were upper-grade students, they still went down quickly.
The "Konoha Twelve," plus Karin, Inuzuka Hana, and Kurama Yakumo, made fifteen in all. By the end of round one, everyone except Karin had performed well. Not that it was her fault—she studied sealing and wasn't built for straight fights.
"Fifteen-minute break, then round two," Kitazawa announced. The class plopped down on the training field to rest. After one hard round each, no one cared if the ground was dirty—recovering chakra came first.
Watching them, Hiruzen nodded. No exaggeration: after a month, every student had improved. The biggest leaps were Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru—expected, really. They were mostly clan kids with decent talent.
What truly surprised him were the new additions to the class. Their talent was, frankly, average. With luck, they might reach Special Jōnin; most would cap at Chūnin. Yet even they had clearly improved—especially the Three Basic Techniques, which were now at graduation level.
The only explanation was the work of Kitazawa, Maruboshi Kosuke, and Hatake Kakashi. Hiruzen felt more certain than ever that founding the Advanced Class was the right call.
Keep this up and Konoha's average level would climb. If Kitazawa knew what he was thinking, he'd probably say, "That's the power of basic education."
Did Konoha value basic education? Not particularly. You could tell from the fact that most academy teachers were Chūnin and the curriculum covered little beyond the Three Basics.
That model produced standardized genin—fine for wartime, when villages needed a constant stream of manpower. But in peacetime, it needed to change.
The fifteen minutes ended. Everyone dusted off and stood. As Kitazawa walked to the lottery box, they buzzed about who they'd draw in round two.
"Round two, match one: Yamanaka Ino versus Inuzuka Kiba," Kitazawa announced.
"So you really did run into each other," Shikamaru arched a brow. His mouth was oddly accurate today.
"I'm taking the first win of round two!" Kiba said confidently. "Your petals may be many, but I've got three heads!"
"We'll see," Ino answered, suppressing a smile. Half her petals were real, half not. If Kiba didn't realize there was genjutsu mixed in, he'd already lost half the match. Whether she could beat him, though—that she couldn't guarantee.
"Ino's only used one jutsu so far," Sakura reminded him. Frenemies or not, she and Ino stood united against outsiders.
"Well… I'm not scared!" Kiba hesitated, then added, "I also learned a clan secret technique!"
"Now I know your intel too, so let's make it a fair fight," Ino smiled.
Kiba blinked. Had he just been tag-teamed into spilling by Ino and Sakura? Whatever—simply knowing he had a secret technique wouldn't help them.
They walked onto the field.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu! Three-Headed Hellhound!"
Right out of the gate, Kiba pulled his trump card. Before everyone's eyes, he merged with his two clones into a massive three-headed ninja hound.
Ino watched it warily. It was a third larger than before and looked even more ferocious.
"Ninja Art: Ten Thousand Flowers Profusion!"
Seeing no opening, Ino swept her hands. A storm of petals burst from her palms and filled the air. Her figure vanished among them.
"Each head covers a sector! I refuse to get ambushed like Shikamaru!" Kiba barked orders. Three sets of eyes scanned like radar, trying to spot Ino.
"What's Kiba doing? He can't see Ino?" Naruto scratched his head, baffled. As a spectator not caught in genjutsu, he could still make out Ino's trail despite the petals.
"This jutsu's off," Shikamaru said, realization dawning. Moonlight Beauty used petals to scramble vision while Ino struck from above. He'd lost too fast to think it through then. With Hundred Blossoms, it was the same principle—tons of petals as cover, then a straight rush.
"It's genjutsu," Sasuke's eyes tightened. He thought of his own Genjutsu: Unknown Fire—fake crows plus real shuriken, so targets assumed "just an illusion" and ignored what was dangerous. Ino's pair flipped the script: make you think the petals are all real so you overlook the genjutsu.
"'Sasuke-kun, you mean the petals are an illusion?'" Sakura asked reflexively.
"Not for us," Shikamaru said after a beat. "But for Kiba, it's genjutsu layered over real petals."
"Very neat genjutsu," Shino praised. "Without prior intel, it's easy to get fooled."
"He's under and doesn't know it—he's probably going to lose," Inuzuka Hana shook her head.
"Depends how tough the Hellhound's defense is," Tenten said, eyes locked on Ino.
Right then, Ino moved. Two "flowers" suddenly accelerated like shuriken toward Kiba.
"Not that easy!" With three pairs of eyes, Kiba spotted them fast. He swept up a forepaw and shredded both blossoms. Petals scattered.
In that instant, Ino appeared behind him, a kunai in each hand, stabbing for his rear.
"Awooo!" Kiba howled. Fortunately, the Hellhound was thick-skinned. Gritting through the pain, he mule-kicked; Ino hopped back. He spun, two bloody holes in his butt, but his movement barely hindered. The Hellhound was a fusion of him and two clones—the pain and damage were split three ways.
He knew he couldn't drag this out. End it fast.
Kiba leapt, claws flashing like blades toward Ino.
"Ninja Art: Moonlight Beauty!" Ino's lips quirked and she vanished again.
"What?" Kiba scanned around. Petals surged, blinding him. Remembering Shikamaru's loss, he snapped his gaze upward—only to find no sign of Ino in the sky.
"What is going on?" Frustration built. He canceled the Hellhound.
Three Kibas reappeared, forming a triangle. That happened to counter Moonlight Beauty—Ino couldn't tell which was the real body. After a heartbeat of hesitation, she picked one, dropped from above, and kicked him flying.
"Fang Over Fang!"
The other two Kibas spun up like twin tornadoes and slammed toward her. Ino had just landed—too late to counter.
Kitazawa flickered in behind her, grabbed her, and slid her several steps left. With the target gone, the two Kibas howled past and missed.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino let out a breath.
"You already did very well," Kitazawa said, ruffling her hair.
Ino's smile turned radiant. Truth was, she'd held back—those two kunai could've gone for the head or heart. But heads and hearts were vital points; Kiba would've been far warier, and she might not have landed the hit. In the end, she'd come up just short. Kiba had won by a hair.
"Winner: Inuzuka Kiba," Kitazawa announced.
"Kitazawa-sensei, help!" Kiba dismissed his clones. His face went pale as he clutched his rear and hustled over.
"It's only a scratch," Kitazawa said, lifting his hands to heal Kiba's butt.
"Three new jutsu?" Hiruzen stroked his beard as he watched Kitazawa and Kiba. He hadn't expected Kitazawa to be so gifted at creating techniques.
These three weren't especially powerful, but they suited Kiba and Ino perfectly. He was delighted to see a creator-type ninja—more jutsu was always good for Konoha.
If the village ever produced a second Senju Tobirama, the contribution would be beyond words. Unfortunately, creator-types were rare. Plenty of geniuses could learn jutsu; few could make them. You needed top-tier shape and nature transformation—and a lot of creativity.
He wondered how many more Kitazawa could create down the line.
"Well?" Kiba crowed as he came off the field. "The first win of the round is mine!"
"Yeah, and you're also the first one screaming for Kitazawa-sensei to patch you up," Shikamaru chuckled. "You were the first to run for treatment."
"You winning wasn't really your credit," Sakura laughed, hugging Ino's arm. "It was Kitazawa-sensei's."
"I… I—" Kiba was left speechless. Without the Three-Headed Hellhound, he really wouldn't have beaten Ino.
~~~
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