Over the past six months, Hoshiyomi and his team had made remarkable progress.
The most obvious improvements were in their mastery of the Three Basic Academy Techniques and their physical conditioning. After months of training and careful chakra management, all four had completely mastered the Clone, Substitution, and Transformation Techniques.
In terms of physique, their bodies had reached genin-level standards. Though their raw strength still lagged behind full-grown adults, their speed and agility far surpassed that of average genin.
More impressively, each of them had developed their own personal combat style, aligned with their natural talents.
Inspired by Hoshiyomi's Crescent Moon Flash, Sakumo had developed a prototype kenjutsu technique of his own: Void Severance.
Under Hoshiyomi's guidance, the core principle mirrored that of the Lightning Blade (Chidori)—using Lightning Release chakra to stimulate cell activity and dramatically increase speed. Combined with White Fang, his chakra-conductive blade, it became a devastating high-speed strike.
Sakumo had just begun tapping into the mechanics of cellular activation. The technique still caused strain on his body, but with enough dedication, it was clear it would evolve into something powerful and polished.
Jiraiya's improvements were most notable in taijutsu. Using what Hoshiyomi remembered from the original timeline, he taught him the general mechanics of techniques like Lion Combo and Shadow of the Dancing Leaf.
After intensive training, Jiraiya had fully mastered them.
While he still had a tendency to fight a bit recklessly in one-on-one scenarios, with proper backup, he could already unleash formidable battle strength.
Orochimaru had begun to display his prodigious talent for jutsu development.
His signature Hidden Shadow Snake Hands had been fully refined—he could now use it to silently bind opponents without alerting them, thanks to precise chakra control and endless hours of practice.
In addition, he had evolved a basic C-rank jutsu, Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, into a B-rank variant he called Earth Release: Rising Earth Spear.
Although his chakra reserves were still too small to use it often, even a single cast in battle could turn the tide—and potentially save his life.
As for Gekkō Hoshiyomi himself, it was impossible not to mention the Swordheart System.
Unfortunately, the system had determined that Hoshiyomi had already surpassed Sakumo, and thus began reducing the experience gain from sparring with him. That, combined with the inherently steeper progression curve for Intermediate Swordsmanship, meant that even after six months of nonstop effort, Hoshiyomi had gained only around 40 experience points.
(Note: Just to clarify — Hoshiyomi reached Intermediate Swordsmanship back in Chapter 29. If you noticed a mismatch before, that was my mistake. It's been corrected now. )
But that didn't mean he'd stagnated.
On the contrary—he'd developed an entirely new combat style.
Originally, this was just to handle Sakumo. Because Hoshiyomi couldn't fully dominate him in swordplay—especially without relying on skills like Crescent Moon Flash or Silent Fang—he often found himself outmaneuvered in close-quarters combat.
So Hoshiyomi began experimenting with a dual-wielding style: holding a short dagger in his left hand and his standard ninja blade in his right.
He discovered that this approach was surprisingly effective for day-to-day sparring without relying on special abilities. It gave him better control over mid-range parrying and close-range retaliation, and eventually became a staple of his regular fighting style.
There was another major advantage, too: it reduced the startup time on Crescent Moon Flash.
That technique required a reverse grip to initiate. In the past, Hoshiyomi had to spin his blade into position before activating it. But with his left hand already holding a dagger in reverse grip, the windup vanished entirely—and both blades could benefit from the signature silver chakra glow during the dash.
This led to a natural evolution.
When using both weapons during Crescent Moon Flash, he could chain an immediate downward cleave after the initial sweep—turning the single attack into a two-hit combo.
Even the system acknowledged this refinement, awarding him +10 bonus EXP and unlocking a new passive skill under Intermediate Swordsmanship:
Skill Unlocked: Silver Moon Cross Slash
When Hoshiyomi saw that, his eyes lit up—it was like discovering a new cheat code.
That said, he understood this dual-wielding style would remain a secondary path. Many advanced sword techniques—especially iaido-style ones like Silent Fang—required a clean, single-blade draw. If he relied too heavily on two blades, he might lose access to future techniques in that category.
So, for now, dual-wielding was an auxiliary tactic—not his main focus.
After a round of sparring, the four of them did what they always did: headed to their usual ramen stall near the training grounds for a big, celebratory bowl of noodles.
Midway through slurping his extra-large order, Jiraiya couldn't hold it in any longer.
"So it's been half a year. We're pretty much genin-level now, right?
Why not just go apply for graduation tomorrow?"
Sakumo immediately chimed in with a nod—he'd had more than enough of academy life. He was eager to move on to real missions.
Orochimaru gave a quiet nod of agreement.
Seeing all three of them staring at him expectantly, Hoshiyomi chuckled.
"Why are you all looking at me? Of course I'm ready to graduate."
The next morning, the four of them skipped their usual route to class and instead made a beeline for the staff office.
What they didn't expect, though, was that someone else had beaten them there.
Alongside Instructor Mitsui and a few other teachers, a familiar blonde-haired girl stood with her arms crossed, wearing a smug grin.
When she noticed them enter, she turned and stuck out her tongue in a cheeky gesture.
"I got here first. That means I'm the first early graduate in the entire academy!"
Of course—it was Tsunade.
Hoshiyomi, Sakumo, and Orochimaru didn't particularly care. But Jiraiya was crushed.
He'd taken pride in the idea of being the first student to graduate early—and now that honor had been stolen from him at the last second.
Instructor Mitsui, for his part, looked like he was experiencing an existential crisis.
It was already enough of a shock when Tsunade applied for early graduation. But now four more of his most promising students were following suit—all on the same day?
He felt like the sky was falling.
"Do you even understand what graduating early means?" Mitsui said, voice sharp.
"This isn't a game. You're taking on real risks—you could die.
And it's not even up to me. You need explicit approval from the Hokage himself.
If you don't have a signed recommendation from the Hokage, I'm not letting any of you do something this reckless—"
Before he could finish, Tsunade calmly pulled out a folded letter and handed it over.
Mitsui opened it automatically, still mid-rant—only to freeze as his eyes scanned the page.
"Having observed their abilities personally, I affirm that all five students have reached early graduation standards. Permission granted to participate in the upcoming graduation exam.
— Sarutobi Hiruzen"
Mitsui: (゜Д゜;)