join patreon.com/worldoffanfiction for advanced chapters and to support the daily update
As expected by everyone, Hinata once again secured first place. In the 1200-meter long-distance run with 200 jin of weight, she completed it in only about 8 minutes, and seemed to be in excellent condition. Not a single drop of sweat beaded on her smooth, fair forehead. She didn't even gasp for breath once. It was as if she had plenty of energy left... truly astonishing.
Everyone else, however, was a completely different story, a stark contrast. Even the usually cool and collected Sasuke Uchiha was panting heavily, his back drenched in sweat. He had only just finished one lap, with the final lap still ahead. His legs felt slightly weak, and his thighs trembled a little. However, this was still barely within his tolerable limits. Watching Hinata Hyuga, who had already completed two laps, his face showed a mix of shock, awe, reluctance, and an unyielding spirit. He pushed hard, bearing the 200 jin weight, moving step by step, running forward.
The person closest to Sasuke Uchiha wasn't Naruto Uzumaki, but Choji Akimichi, the future heir of the Akimichi clan. Among Konoha's many clans, the Akimichi clan was one that placed significant emphasis on Taijutsu. Although Choji Akimichi appeared plump, his stamina was no less than Sasuke's. He just ate a bit more than usual... well, he ate an extraordinary amount. Of course, the gap between him and Hinata was huge. After all, Hinata could effortlessly devour over forty bowls of Ichiraku Ramen in half an hour, a feat that would sweep the entire Konoha, unmatched by anyone.
To Iruka's dismay, many students performed very poorly. Some, not particularly adept at Taijutsu, were even resorting to crawling on all fours. "It seems I need to make time to train these little ones' Taijutsu. Although most ninja fight by performing hand signs, if their Taijutsu isn't up to par, they'll struggle to absorb enough Chakra," Iruka nodded thoughtfully, formulating a draft plan in his mind. As a teacher, he was very responsible. He treated the students in his class as if they were his own children, even though he was currently a humble single man...
An unknown amount of time passed. This exam content took a very long time. Finally, when the last person "crawled" across the finish line, Iruka clapped his hands and said, "The second exam is complete!" "Now, for the results: First place: Hinata Hyuga with 100 points; two people tied for second place: Sasuke Uchiha and Choji Akimichi with 79 points; third place: Shikamaru Nara with 68 points..." After announcing name after name, only one-third of the students passed. Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and others were all below the passing score... They had all "crawled" to the finish line. However, thankfully, everyone passed the first exam, so even if they failed the second, it didn't matter. There was still the third exam, after all! As long as they could pass two of the three exams, they wouldn't have to repeat a year. Hinata was safely confirmed not to repeat, having placed first in both exams. Such results were enough to make people gasp in astonishment. And Iruka even felt that... Hinata could jump straight to the sixth grade. If it weren't for violating rules, he could completely advance Hinata directly to the sixth grade, because she possessed such strength. And even many sixth-grade students might not be Hinata's match. She was truly a hidden genius. Gold always shines through, after all...
The last exam was also about to begin. However, this exam tested everyone's information gathering ability. For this exam content, Hinata was completely bewildered, as she hadn't reviewed any of it. During the two-month holiday, she hadn't even practiced Ninjutsu. Let alone this kind of information gathering technique. As a result, to everyone's astonishment, Hinata, who had always held the first position... only scored 57 points. Although she was only three points shy of passing, it was still a failure in the end... The first place in this exam went to Shino Aburame. He lived in his clan, and from a young age, he had to sign a strange contract that involved offering his body as a nest for various parasitic insects and then controlling those insects in battle. Shino Aburame, who could control insects, was virtually unmatched in information gathering ability, easily securing first place.
After the exam ended, no one was failed. Perhaps Iruka had been lenient with many of them, or perhaps not at all. "Today's review exam is now concluded. First place overall goes to Hinata Hyuga!" "Second place overall goes to Sasuke Uchiha!" "Third place overall goes to Shikamaru Nara!" "Fourth place overall goes to Sakura Haruno!" "Fifth place overall goes to Shino Aburame!" "Sixth place overall goes to..." As the names and scores were announced, some were happy and some were disappointed. And, as expected, Naruto Uzumaki remained the dead-last. After all, Naruto Uzumaki at this age hadn't yet unlocked his cheat. It would be when he graduated from the Ninja Academy... that he would start using it.
"Still trailing by more than ten points, huh? Phew... Hinata Hyuga is indeed a very strong competitor, but that's good. Having a competitor makes me feel pressure, and I'll grow faster." Sasuke Uchiha let out a slight breath. He had given his best this time. Yet, he still trailed Hinata Hyuga's total score by a full 17 points. A 17-point difference might not seem large, but for Sasuke Uchiha, this gap was enormous, like the difference between heaven and earth. However, his heart was not discouraged; he wasn't the type to be disheartened.
Hinata didn't know what others were thinking. At this moment, she was joyfully claiming credit: "Guardian Spirit Brother, I really did get first place in the review exam! Before... in those previous review exams, I was basically... basically always in the bottom ten." Indeed, Hinata's progress was remarkably significant, which was inseparable from her physique. Of course, the greatest credit belonged to Liu Chen's guidance. If not for Liu Chen's effective teaching... her talent would have simply been wasted.