[New quest for the host: As an Idol who hasn't debuted yet, you must stay excellent at all times. Otherwise, when you're famous and someone digs up your dark history, it'll be super awkward~ This exam is your chance to prove yourself—aim for the middle tier so your childhood won't become black history! ٩(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ Reward: One indestructible instrument of your choice.]
The system's voice sounded at just the right moment. Kano immediately stopped to check the quest.
"System, this reward feels off. Why not give me some Ninjutsu or something?"
[Can't help it, I'm only an idol system—no way I can produce fancy Ninjutsu. The last few rewards were traded from my seniors (*´letter`*)]
Kano's pretty brows drew together; she looked completely unwilling.
[Please, please do the quest. I already spent tons of system points swapping rewards and treating people last time. Without performance I'm finished. Next time, next time I'll trade for something useful, please please ( •̥́ ˍ •̀ू ) *sob*]
For some reason the system's voice sounded especially pitiful this time, and Kano couldn't bear to bully her any more.
"Fine, fine, the quest isn't hard anyway; I'll do it in passing."
Although lazing at the bottom of the class was her perfect cover, the middle tier wasn't unacceptable.
[Wow! Thank you, my host is the best ٩(๑^o^๑)۶]
Kano resolved to treat her system better from now on.
Time skipped to the last day of the graduation exam.
"We're heading out!"
This morning Shikamaru and Kano left together and ran into the other kids along the way.
"Morning, Kano-chan!"
"Morning, Ino."
Kano waved and quickly slipped away from Shikamaru's side to walk with Ino.
Shikamaru didn't mind; he had no wish to walk with the girls anyway, and soon was laughing with the boys.
"Too bad you weren't there—we bought several new outfits."
"Cut it out, you just want to use me as your dress-up doll again, every single time."
"Because you're tiny and cute, Kano-chan, and you enjoy it too."
"Don't look down on me, I'll grow! I'm definitely not playing dress-up with you anymore!"
"Haha, how many times have you said that? Still, there won't be any chances later. Today's the final exam; after this we'll be real Ninja."
"Ninja—what's so great about that? Tiring and dangerous."
"Sasuke-kun will certainly become a Ninja; I have to become one too so I can stand beside him."
"Mm, I believe you'll be an excellent Ninja."
"Of course. Kano-chan will also be a great Ninja. Oh, how's your Forbidden Jutsu? Got it down?"
"Of course. It's my original Forbidden Jutsu—no one's ever seen it. Come to my place tonight and I'll secretly show you. It's my secret, don't tell anyone."
Ino smiled, obviously not taking Kano's words seriously. Even kids know how hard Forbidden Jutsu are, let alone a kid creating one—impossible. But she wouldn't spoil her friend's fun.
"Then I'll look forward to seeing what kind of Forbidden Jutsu it is."
Kano knew Ino didn't believe her; she wouldn't believe it either if she heard it. But she had no intention of hiding the jutsu forever—what's the point of knowing it if you never use it?
Right now it wasn't convenient to reveal.
First, she didn't have any decent corpses yet, so it had no real combat power. Second, if that old bastard Danzo discovered a jutsu of this level, he'd definitely come to make trouble.
After she became a Konoha Genin she could probably use it freely.
"Then let the graduation exam begin! When your name is called, go to the next classroom. This time's topic: Clone Technique."
Sure enough, the exam followed the original plot—Clone Technique.
Kano was old-hand at clones; actually, she'd mastered all Three Basic Jutsu long ago, even Chakra water-walking.
For a Ninja Academy exam, she could score whatever she wanted.
The middle tier was exactly in the center.
Still, for a perennial dead-last to score so high shocked the examiners Iruka and Mizuki.
"Great job this time, Kano! Pass! Congratulations on becoming a Genin."
"Here's your forehead protector."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei."
Kano took the protector and left the classroom happily—not just because of the protector, but because the system reward was complete.
[Quest completed: Choose-your-own instrument ×1]
"System, system, can I literally pick anything?"
[Yep (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡ As long as it's judged an instrument, it's fine—and it'll never break. Even big ones like harps or chime bells are okay (๑＞＜๑）]
"Then can I pick a salute cannon? That counts, right?"
[Huh? Let me check… um, technically yes. But it doesn't come with shells—are you sure? (_Д_)"
"Forget it. So anything consumable is out."
[I'm offering instruments, not weapons ε٩(๑＞ ₃ ＜)۶ з"
"Then give me a sword."
[A sword is definitely not an instrument! (;≥dish≤)"
"You don't get it—let me demonstrate."
Kano pulled out a ruler, laid it on the desk so half hung off, and plucked it; the vibrating ruler produced different pitches as the overhang changed.
Next, a simple "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" rang out.
"See? It can play music, so it's an instrument. Scale the ruler up a few times and you get a sword. Therefore a sword can be an instrument too—makes sense, right?"
[D-does it? ( •̥́ ˍ •̀?)"
"Yes, yes, yes."
[No, no, no (*≧ｍ≦*) I looked it up—no precedent, so no can do ←_←"
"Tch, useless."
[Don't call me useless! I'm trying hard here—I'm just a rookie, and my host doesn't like me. To get you a reward you'd like I begged several seniors and now I'm deep in debt ๐·°(৹˃̵﹏˂̵৹)°·๐"
Hearing the system's aggrieved voice, Kano realized she'd misspoken and quickly corrected herself.
"Sorry, sorry, I was wrong—I shouldn't have said you're useless. You're the most useful. Weapon—no no, instrument—let's go with the hunting flute."
[You still want a weapon? Weapons aren't in the database and can't be chosen. What's wrong with instruments… huh? This one really is an instrument (ﾟOﾟ) All right, you got it. But no game-style stat boosts—it's just a big, heavy lump of metal ╮（╯＿╰）╭"
"Wait, wait!"
Still sitting in the classroom waiting for dismissal, Kano panicked—so many people were around. Every reward simply materialized in her hands; small scrolls were fine, but the hunting flute stood taller than two of her!
Now everyone was definitely going to see it.