Chapter 11: Graduation
The next day.
Early morning.
Seimei arrived early at the ninja academy.
After sitting through Sarutobi Hiruzen's long-winded and pointless graduation speech, he entered the examination hall as instructed.
Naturally, the ninja graduation exam didn't only test the Three Basic Techniques. Theoretical knowledge like code deciphering and map drawing was also part of the assessment.
So, the first few sessions were written tests.
Compared to the Chuunin Exams, the written portion of the graduation test was extremely simple—mostly common knowledge that every ninja was expected to understand.
Anyone who had spent a few years in the academy could pass without trouble.
Of course, there were still some ideological questions thrown in.
For example, an essay on the Will of Fire.
Even though he hadn't written an essay in over a decade across both lifetimes, a bit of flattery was no issue for Seimei.
Ding-ling-ling~
Soon, the morning passed.
There were no exams in the afternoon; students were free to use their time as they wished.
Naturally, Seimei didn't waste it at school. His Chakra Refining Technique had already reached lv1 (195/200) and was on the verge of leveling up—he needed to take advantage of that.
Once home, Seimei immediately began cultivating.
After more than six hours of effort, he completed two full training sessions and finally pushed the Chakra Refining Technique to lv2 (1/500).
Though he had expected it, he couldn't help feeling excited once he truly experienced the effects of lv2.
Compared to lv1, the lv2 Chakra Refining Technique doubled the efficiency of tapping into the body's potential.
Now, each hour of refining restored 200 chakra points and added 4 points to his chakra capacity.
That meant his overall cultivation efficiency had taken another big leap forward.
Still, achieving a full doubling wasn't realistic.
The reason was simple—his body had limits. Even if he had unlimited military rations pills, it would be meaningless if his body couldn't absorb the nutrients.
Not everyone was Uzumaki Naruto, who could pop military rations pills like candy. After all, they were a kind of compressed food. Eating too many could easily cause indigestion.
Over the past week, Seimei had already come to understand the limits of his own body.
Even at full effort, he could only boost his efficiency to about 1.5 times what it had been before.
That said, upgrading the Chakra Refining Technique still held great value.
At the very least, it saved him a lot of time.
In the future, when training more ninjutsu, he wouldn't have to worry about running out of time.
······
The second day.
Just like the first, there was still no assessment of the Three Basic Techniques.
Today's tests focused on basic taijutsu and ninja tool throwing.
Since each student had to be tested one by one, the pace was slow.
It wasn't until mid-afternoon that Seimei's turn came.
"Uchiha Seimei, ten hits on the bullseye—perfect score!"
Wow~
A burst of commotion rose from the crowd.
But Seimei's expression remained unchanged. He kept the same cold, aloof demeanor that had always marked him.
There was nothing to be proud of. With his current lv2 (120/500) in Ninja Tool Throwing, hitting a ten-meter target was far too easy.
He also got a perfect score in Basic Taijutsu.
In fact, anyone who reached lv1 (100/200) would usually score full marks. Even lv0 (80/100) was enough to pass.
That just showed how lenient this year's standards were.
The night passed quietly.
On the third day.
Compared to the first two days, the atmosphere among the students was clearly more tense.
After all, the earlier tests were important, but not decisive.
Today was different. If you failed today's assessment, no matter how well you did before, you'd still be eliminated.
In the end, what mattered most to a ninja was strength. If you didn't have it, theory meant nothing.
As the saying goes: the one with the bigger fists is the one who's right.
If your fists aren't strong enough, no one will listen to what you say.
For a ninja, ninjutsu is their fist. If you can't even master ninjutsu, what use are you?
Of course, this only applied to ordinary people.
The ninja world was never short on those who broke the rules.
Just like Maito Gai—his ninjutsu talent was abysmal, but his talent in taijutsu was unmatched in the entire ninja world.
A freak like that simply couldn't be measured by normal standards.
However, the vast majority of people certainly weren't qualified to make Konoha break the rules.
That was why today's assessment was extremely important for every student aspiring to become a ninja.
Because of this, the students were noticeably more nervous than on the previous two days.
Sitting in the classroom, watching classmate after classmate be called up to the podium by Kichiro to demonstrate the Three Basic Techniques, Seimei remained calm within.
His lv2 Three Basic Techniques gave him full confidence.
Besides—
"Aoki Ryūko, are you ready?"
Kichiro spoke.
"Yes, teacher!"
Aoki Ryūko nodded and replied softly.
"Very well. Choose one of the Three Basic Techniques and demonstrate it," Kichiro instructed.
That's right—this year's assessment wasn't based on the teacher assigning a technique, but rather let students choose any one of the three to perform.
Clearly, this approach was much easier and left room for exploiting loopholes.
For instance, if someone had only mastered the Transformation Technique, but their Clone Technique and Substitution Technique were weak, they could simply demonstrate the Transformation Technique and pass the exam.
In previous years, if the teacher happened to assign the Clone Technique, that same student would have failed.
Did Kichiro not see such an obvious loophole?
Of course not.
His approach clearly followed instructions from higher up.
Combined with the lenient assessment standards from the previous day, it wasn't hard to guess—Konoha was expanding its reserve forces.
Just how many of these students would survive the battlefield, however, remained unknown.
"Uchiha Seimei!"
Kichiro's voice came from the front.
Seimei stood up and walked forward at an unhurried pace.
"You may begin when you're ready."
Seeing Seimei in position, Kichiro gave the signal.
At his words, Seimei gave a slight nod, then raised both hands and quickly formed hand seals, activating the Clone Technique.
At once, two phantom images appeared on either side of him.
"Three seconds. Not bad!"
Kichiro nodded in approval, recorded Uchiha Seimei's result, then said, "Alright, you may return to your seat."
"Yes, teacher!"
Responding respectfully, Seimei returned to his seat.
"Wow, Seimei-kun is amazing!"
From the crowd, a female student called out.
At once, the classroom erupted in chatter.
However, none of it disturbed Seimei. Back in his seat, he immediately began mentally reviewing the content of the Reflection Technique.
Compared to ninjutsu, genjutsu was generally more difficult to learn.
Especially this one—a technique that mimicked the hypnotic ability of the Sharingan—was extremely complex.
Most genjutsu targeted others, and mistakes weren't a big deal. But the Reflection Technique was different—most of its effects were directed at the user themself.
The so-called manipulation of the target's senses was just an additional function of this technique.
Otherwise, its overall effect wouldn't fall short of even a standard C-rank genjutsu.
Without the proficiency system panel, Seimei wouldn't have dared to attempt such a technique lightly.
But now, he was nearly at the beginner level.
That's right—after two days of intense training, his Reflection Technique had risen from lv0 (61/100) to lv0 (92/100).
Barring any surprises, he would fully enter the beginner level tonight.
At that point, he would finally know whether this technique could truly support the awakening of the Sharingan.
[End of Chapter]
Want More Chapters? Get Early Access Now!
Join my Patreon and unlock 20 chapters instantly—plus, you'll gain access to 60+ chapters weekly across 8 fics! Your support helps me continue creating and keeps the stories coming.
📖 Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44 ☕ Support via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44