Chapter 40:
As Kakashi disappeared with a Body Flicker, Anko, Shino, and Konohamaru followed suit, marking the official start of the practical exam.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Seeing how his sudden attack was effortlessly dodged—and that Kakashi responded with an indifferent expression—Boruto felt a little humiliated in front of everyone.
"Hold it! Boruto, don't think you can make the first move!"
As Boruto sprang into action, snapping everyone else out of their shock at the rule that only one person could graduate, the others followed him and charged into the forest.
After catching up with the now-lost Boruto, who had been easily shaken off by Kakashi in the forest, Sarada analyzed the situation: "We can't beat the Sixth head-on. Before we worry about who gets the bell, we need to think about how to take it from him first."
Beside Boruto was Mitsuki, who had moved immediately after him, making him the second candidate to take action.
"I don't really care about the exam outcome anyway. If I fail, there's always remedial lessons and makeup tests. Right now, I just want to beat Uncle Kakashi. I'd even give the bell to you afterward—it wouldn't matter to me."
Boruto didn't care about the exam results. As the son of the Hokage, he had the luxury of that confidence.
Mitsuki smiled at Boruto. "That's just like you, Boruto. Since you're willing to give the bell to Sarada, I'll make the same choice."
Among the four, only Uchiha Itachi remained silent.
"...Yeah, me too."
Like Boruto, Itachi didn't care about the exam results. If his niece wanted to graduate from the Academy, he was more than willing to help her.
Suddenly, Itachi said, "Careful—someone's coming."
A figure approached from ahead.
"Big bro Konohamaru!"
Boruto called out when he recognized the figure.
"At a time like this, call me Teacher Konohamaru!"
Boruto's side split into two groups—he and Mitsuki went one way, while Sarada and Shuyu flanked from the other side, boxing Konohamaru in from both sides.
"Everyone, get him!"
In the original plot, Boruto would have launched an attack with everyone after saying that line. But instead, he turned around and ran. Without any prior discussion, Mitsuki—almost as if he had predicted Boruto's plan—immediately turned and fled as well.
Only Sarada and Uchiha Itachi remained on-site to face Konohamaru.
"Hey! Stop right there, Boruto! Where do you think you're going?! Get back here!"
After fending off a joint attack from Sarada and Shuyu, Konohamaru turned toward the direction Boruto had fled.
"No way I'm stopping. Skipping low-point, hard-to-understand questions is a test-taking strategy, isn't it? My only goal is Uncle Kakashi—the one target I need for a passing score."
"Sarada, I'll leave Konohamaru to you. Once I beat Uncle Kakashi, I'll hand you the bell!"
Boruto and Mitsuki quickly disappeared. Although Konohamaru could've easily caught up using the Body Flicker Technique, he chose not to.
"Tch, that slippery brat. So, what about you two? Not going after Boruto?"
Sarada was tempted. She wasn't foolish enough to entrust her hopes of graduating to Boruto, who was technically still her rival. Besides, she didn't think Boruto and Mitsuki could handle the Sixth.
"If that really were the right answer, you wouldn't have let Boruto go so easily," Shuyu said.
As Itachi drew a handful of shuriken, Sarada's urge to chase after Boruto disappeared.
She realized Shuyu had a point.
"Mhm. Just what I'd expect from an Uchiha—smart and more thoughtful than Boruto."
"Though I admire that about you… I'm not going easy on you!"
Instead of forming hand seals, Konohamaru adopted a stance for taijutsu.
His words might have sounded serious, but his body gave him away.
If this had been Might Guy taking that stance, Itachi would've turned around and run without hesitation. But Konohamaru? No threat.
"In front of these eyes, no movement can stay hidden."
Itachi activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and locked eyes on Konohamaru.
"...Genjutsu: Release!"
As he broke free of the genjutsu, Itachi's 13-year-old hand was already less than a centimeter away from the target on Konohamaru's chest. Konohamaru leapt backward to create distance.
"As expected of the Sharingan's genjutsu… it's nearly impossible to guard against. But with your chakra, how many more of those can you cast?"
"Hm? Where's Sarada?"
In truth, with Itachi's chakra reserves, he could keep up genjutsu like that all day. But hey—his current character setting is a 13-year-old.
"Probably just once more. As for Sarada—she left just a moment ago. Clone Technique."
Itachi created a perfect clone of himself, and both rushed at Konohamaru.
"Is that so…"
There was a faint trace of disappointment on Konohamaru's face as he prepared to counter Shuyu's next attack.
Two Shuyus—one clone in front, real body behind.
Konohamaru easily dispersed the clone into mist.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
The real Shuyu, just behind the clone, finished forming seals in one second and launched a fireball from his mouth. Konohamaru had no time to dodge it without using a jutsu.
Ultimately, he dodged it with the Body Flicker Technique. He could've used a Substitution Technique too, but he hadn't prepared a substitute object beforehand.
Though born during wartime, Konohamaru had never truly experienced war. Naturally, he didn't share the war-hardened habit of always keeping a substitute ready—unlike someone like Kakashi, who would meticulously prepare for a substitution anytime, anywhere.
Konohamaru appeared behind Shuyu with Body Flicker, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. He had clearly underestimated the boy. He hadn't expected Shuyu's seal formation to be that fast—he had almost been utterly disgraced by a Fireball Jutsu.
Though Konohamaru's movement was swift, it was no match for the Sharingan's motion-tracking ability. Seeing his fireball miss, Shuyu immediately hurled a shuriken over his shoulder.
But the shuriken clattered to the ground right in front of Konohamaru.
"You've got fast reflexes, but after using genjutsu, clones, and a fireball back-to-back, your chakra's probably nearly depleted."
Chakra is a special form of energy extracted from human cells; overusing it can lead to physical exhaustion.
Konohamaru believed that was the case for Shuyu, especially considering the average chakra reserves of a 13-year-old.
"Konohamaru-sensei, you shouldn't lose focus during a fight."
Sarada's voice rang out suddenly. The shuriken lying before Konohamaru transformed into Sarada, who reached out and slapped the target on his chest.
"This… Ah, I get it. During the genjutsu…"
Konohamaru paused, then pieced it together.
While he was trapped in the Sharingan genjutsu, Sarada hadn't run away. She'd used the Transformation Technique to disguise herself as a shuriken. All the fancy tactics that followed—clones blocking his vision, fireballs forcing him to dodge with Body Flicker, the fake chakra depletion—were all designed to lower his guard and create an opening for Sarada.
Kids these days really do play dirty.
"So then… you still had chakra left?"
With the target on his chest slapped, Sarada and Shuyu had passed the test. Naturally, Konohamaru no longer intended to continue fighting.
"Nope. I actually used it all up."
To maintain the image of a 13-year-old, Uchiha Itachi lied with a straight face.
"Could've fooled me. I can't tell if you're bluffing or just pushing through… Either way, congratulations. Your teamwork and strategy were excellent—you've passed my test."
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