"Hagoromo-kun, Obito, Guy—I found out what the graduation exam will be about."
"…Rin? How did you find out?"
At that moment, Nohara Rin walked over as well. She was probably the only girl willing to get close to this small circle consisting of an idiot, another idiot, and a watermelon-head.
At this point, any perceptive person would understand what was going on.
Yes—by sticking with Obito and Guy, Kamishiro Hagoromo effectively gained a female-repellent field. Although he himself was quite popular, the fact that he always hung around with these two strange specimens meant his school life was relatively peaceful.
"Rin, what's the exam about?" Obito asked immediately. Clearly, he wasn't nearly as confident as he liked to claim.
"Actual combat," Rin replied. "The graduation exam will be based on real battles. Rankings will be decided through matches, and then the instructors will judge whether each student passes based on their performance in combat."
"So that means…" Hagoromo thought for a moment, then spoke. "Even if you lose a match, it doesn't necessarily mean you fail—as long as you perform well in battle?"
"Yes," Rin nodded firmly.
At that point, the Bottom-Two Duo beside them practically came back to life.
Might Guy was brimming with excitement. A practical combat exam all but guaranteed he'd pass. As for Obito, the logic was simple—no matter how bad he was at fighting, he'd be even worse at written tests.
"Uh… Hagoromo," Obito asked after celebrating for a bit, "what exactly did you and Rin mean just now?"
His bottom-ranked brain failed to process the idea of passing despite losing.
"It means this," Hagoromo explained patiently. "Even if you win, you might still fail. And even if you lose, you might still pass. As long as you show good performance in battle, you can still qualify."
He felt rather emotional saying this. During wartime, this kind of examination method was far more practical.
"Ohhh~~"
Obito and Guy instantly adopted looks of sudden enlightenment.
"Class One! Everyone, pay attention! Head to Training Ground Eight immediately!"
A Ninja Academy instructor called out in their direction.
Aizawa Ayumu, age thirty-five. Academy instructor. Chūnin.
During wartime, for a ninja to reach his age without dying—or even losing an arm or a leg—was about as rare as a woman giving birth safely at sixty. He was effectively their homeroom teacher.
Hagoromo and the others followed Instructor Aizawa to Training Ground Eight.
As expected, the exam content was indeed actual combat.
The training ground wasn't far from the academy, and soon all thirty students of Class One had arrived.
Ignoring the chorus of complaints from the students, Instructor Aizawa announced that the graduation exam would be conducted through combat matches.
There was no helping it. Compared to demonstrating a few ninjutsu or filling out a written exam, real combat was far less popular with most students.
Completely disregarding their objections—and without giving them any preparation time—Instructor Aizawa immediately announced the first matchups.
Hagoromo watched the first two anonymous students fight and silently nodded. Their skill levels were fairly decent.
During wartime, the growth rate of ninja varied drastically due to differences in education and environment. For example, Uchiha Obito, who had yet to awaken the Sharingan, was undeniably a dead last student at the academy. And yet, he would still become a chūnin at eleven years old.
In peacetime, most eleven-year-olds wouldn't even have graduated from the academy yet.
Match after match passed quickly.
Soon, it was Hagoromo's turn.
"Match Six: Kamishiro Hagoromo vs. Yūhi Kurenai!"
Upon hearing his name, Hagoromo stepped into the training field without the slightest hesitation.
Genjutsu—a form of mental attack. By using powerful spiritual energy combined with subtle movements, sounds, visual cues, or even drugs and objects, the user induces disorientation in the opponent, creating various illusions within their consciousness.
Hagoromo was very interested in genjutsu-type ninja like Yūhi Kurenai.
In all his academy sparring sessions, he had never once faced a genjutsu specialist. This fight would allow him to test whether his own abilities were effective against genjutsu.
If he couldn't even handle ordinary genjutsu, then in the future, when facing the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, he'd need to be extremely careful.
"Rin, who do you think will win?" Obito asked, sidling up next to her with an air of concern—for Hagoromo, of course.
As for his true intentions? You can guess.
"Hagoromo, probably," Rin replied confidently—though she left half her thought unspoken.
That is, if he doesn't forfeit.
After all, during regular combat classes, Hagoromo often forfeited matches under the excuse of "insufficient chakra."
His theoretical grades were outstanding, yet his overall class ranking always hovered around the middle. The reason was simple—during combat practice, taijutsu lessons, and shuriken training, he frequently forfeited, always with reasons convincing enough for the instructors.
Still, Rin didn't really need to worry.
This time, Hagoromo definitely wouldn't forfeit.
First, this was the graduation exam. If he forfeited without doing anything, there was no way he'd pass.
Second, he was genuinely curious whether his jutsus would work against a genjutsu specialist.
"I don't know," Obito objected. "I think Yūhi Kurenai will win. Her overall grades are way better than Hagoromo's—he's always lacking motivation."
Why didn't he side with his close friend Hagoromo?
Simple. Rin defending Hagoromo probably annoyed him a little—though he likely hadn't realized it himself.
"Who knows…" Rin replied uncertainly.
She couldn't be blamed for her doubt. Hagoromo had forfeited in combat class far too many times.
If only one-tenth of Might Guy's enthusiasm could be transferred to Hagoromo…
Rin unconsciously imagined putting a bowl-cut wig on Hagoromo's head.
She shuddered.
No, no—Hagoromo was just fine the way he was. There was absolutely no need for him to learn from Guy, especially when it came to fashion.
"Begin!"
As the chūnin instructor gave the signal, everyone's attention snapped to the training field.
Then—under Yūhi Kurenai's stunned gaze, as well as that of all the spectators—
The moment the battle began, Hagoromo closed his eyes.
"…Hey! What do you think you're doing? Do you even plan to fight?" Kurenai demanded, unable to understand his intentions.
"Of course," Hagoromo replied in his usual lazy, half-dead tone. "I'm just preparing. Closing my eyes is the first step."
Kurenai nearly exploded in anger.
Closing your eyes is the first step?
This was the same guy who constantly forfeited in class—was he looking down on her?
Grinding her teeth, she snapped, "How are you supposed to fight with your eyes closed?"
"Oh, that?" Hagoromo said casually. "Normally I shouldn't reveal information to my opponent, but I'll explain it anyway. You're a genjutsu-type ninja, right? Closing my eyes is my countermeasure."
His tone was unmistakably one of: Since you asked so sincerely, I'll graciously enlighten you.