As March arrived, the third semester also neared its end.
Starting this month, Izayoi's real body began attending class more and more frequently.
Not just for the afternoon practicals — even the morning academic classes were now attended by his real self.
There were two reasons for this. First, March wasn't just the graduation month for the sixth-year students — it was also exam season for all other grades.
Before the semester ended, there would be a major year-end examination.
The results from this exam, along with the various quizzes and random tests from the past three semesters, would all be compiled into a comprehensive score.
Based on these scores, the school would select one student as the top of the entire grade — the so-called Chief Student.
To rise above the dozens, sometimes even over a hundred students across multiple classes — especially with so many from elite ninja clans — and emerge as number one in a year group was undeniably the mark of a prodigy.
If the top student came from a ninja clan, it meant they were the most outstanding of their generation within the clan.
If they came from an ordinary family, then it meant they were a civilian genius who outshone even clan heirs.
These Chief Students were the rising stars of the Ninja Academy.
Naturally, Izayoi had no intention of letting anyone else take that title.
Their cohort was one of the most exceptional new generations in recent years.
The heirs of the major clans — each one a successor to a clan head — were all part of this year.
To defeat them and claim the title of Chief Student carried far more weight than doing so in any other year.
Earning that title would prove Izayoi's talent, and make things much easier when he eventually went to pursue Hinata.
Given Izayoi's current strength, becoming the Chief Student was no challenge at all.
Even if he didn't show up in person, his shadow clone could easily beat the others.
Still, Izayoi chose to come in person.
Because he knew — at this point in time, dark currents were already swirling beneath Konoha's surface.
In Konoha Year 55, the "Big Nine" of the next generation were all seven years old.
At the same time, this was the year when a major event would shake the entire ninja world.
That was — after the fall of the Senju, the Uchiha Clan, now the most powerful family in Konoha and perhaps in the entire ninja world, would be exterminated by a single thirteen-year-old boy.
That boy was none other than the current clan head's son — Uchiha Sasuke's older brother, Uchiha Itachi.
With that astounding feat, Itachi would become the youngest-ever S-rank rogue ninja in the shinobi world.
However, only a few knew the truth — that the Uchiha Clan wasn't destroyed by Itachi alone.
The event involved high-level officials within Konoha, and even outside forces lending their aid.
Izayoi was among the few who knew this secret.
At this point in the timeline, the ninja world's number-one simp could use Kamui at any moment to appear and wander around Konoha.
To avoid being discovered — or attracting the attention of that simp — Izayoi decided to slow down his training and not bring Hinata to the abandoned training grounds until after the Uchiha Clan's destruction.
Better safe than sorry.
Hinata was the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main branch, and since she didn't have a Caged Bird Seal on her Byakugan, she was a priceless target on the black market.
After all, a man named Ao became a Mist Village elite jonin with just one Byakugan, and even made it onto Konoha's most wanted list.
Who knew whether Uchiha Obito or the shadowy Black and White Zetsu might suddenly take an interest in Hinata's Byakugan?
Having already triggered a butterfly effect, Izayoi wasn't going to gamble on the villains showing mercy.
---
March 20th.
From first grade to fifth grade, the students faced their annual exams ahead of the sixth-grade graduation assessment.
On this day, Izayoi arrived at the ninja academy early.
However, Hinata had arrived in the classroom even earlier.
After exchanging their secret code and confirming that it was Izayoi's real body, Hinata gave a gentle smile and softly said, "Izayoi-kun, good luck."
"Mhm, let's both do our best."
Izayoi grinned and quietly encouraged her, "Let's aim for first and second place."
"Mm!"
Hinata imagined the results bulletin board showing Izayoi and herself ranked first and second, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she eagerly nodded.
In the past, Hinata had no interest in rankings.
But now, she didn't want to lose to anyone other than Izayoi.
She had the strength to compete for second place!
Soon, it was time for the exam to begin.
The morning test was on academic subjects.
Although the Three Basic Jutsu (Transformation, Clone, and Substitution) had been taught this semester, there was no exam for them.
After all, even some sixth-graders still couldn't perform all three techniques.
In fact, some graduation exams only randomly tested one of the three.
A newly graduated genin who could pull off a single C-rank elemental jutsu would already be impressive enough to amaze their jonin instructor.
This shows that over 90% of first-years didn't have enough chakra to perform the Three Basic Jutsu.
That's why, even though Uchiha Itachi only had first-grade-level academics, his teacher requested permission from the Third Hokage for him to graduate early — all because he attended class using a shadow clone and the teacher felt there was nothing left to teach him.
In this world, academics come second — strength is what truly matters.
Naruto Uzumaki was the best example of that.
The morning exam posed no challenge for Izayoi and Hinata.
The afternoon tests included shuriken throwing, taijutsu matches, and a newly added survival drill.
The first two were just as easy — as long as Hinata wasn't matched with Izayoi in the taijutsu round, she could even get a perfect score against someone like Uchiha Sasuke.
In terms of taijutsu, Hinata was already unmatched among first-years.
Her precise, decisive strikes and gentle fist techniques were a nightmare for children her age.
But if she were matched against Izayoi, then second place would be out of reach.
As for why not first place?
That's simple — over the past three semesters, Hinata had already been matched with Izayoi before and had always lost.
Her overall score couldn't compare to Izayoi's anymore.
Even if she somehow managed to get perfect scores across the board in the year-end exams, she still wouldn't be able to claim the Chief Student title.
Likewise, even if Izayoi made a careless mistake on the academic test and lost to Sakura Haruno, she still wouldn't become Chief Student — her overall score just wasn't enough.
Currently, among the first-years, the only students who hadn't lost a single real combat test were Izayoi, Uchiha Sasuke, and Aburame Shino.
However, both Sasuke and Shino had weaker academic and overall scores than Izayoi — and even than Hinata.
So even if they scored perfectly on the year-end exam, they still wouldn't surpass her.
As long as Hinata got full marks in the combat section, she was guaranteed second place.
Unless someone in another class had a better comprehensive score than her…
But clearly, that was impossible.
In the shuriken throwing test, Izayoi easily achieved a perfect score.
Then came the taijutsu match, and Izayoi was unexpectedly matched with a surprising opponent.
"Next match: Izayoi vs. Naruto Uzumaki!"
The first-grade students of Class 1 gathered in a circle around the sparring field.
Iruka Umino stood in the center of the circle, holding a clipboard, and called out loudly.
"Eh..."
Hearing his opponent's name, Naruto clutched his head in despair and cried out, "Why is Izayoi my opponent? I'm doomed!"
Academics and shuriken throwing were both nightmares for Naruto.
Taijutsu was his only hope of doing well.
But now, even that hope was gone.
After all, Izayoi had already defeated the taijutsu monster Hinata — Naruto didn't stand a chance.
Unlike Naruto's hopeless expression, Izayoi's eyes lit up with excitement.
He had finally been matched with the Child of Destiny!