Amaya Uzumaki POV
The day of the graduation exam had arrived, and it seemed like everyone was more excited about it than I was. Since it was the weekend, we had no classes at the Academy.
I wanted to talk to Shisui one more time before the test, but he had left on a mission and I didn't know when he'd be back.
The first test was around noon, and I still didn't know if it would be the theoretical or the practical one first.
Kakashi, despite my complaints, said he would walk me to the exam location. He was quieter than usual that morning, but I didn't question him about it.
– So... – We were walking through the village when the Hatake commented – What's the next competition I need to win? – I gave a weak laugh.
– You're way too confident – I told him with a brief smile – Do I need to remind you who's going to win this competition? – That time, he was the one who laughed.
– I say the same thing – He argued calmly – I'm not going to let you win.
– I'm not sure – I said, resting a hand under my chin – I was thinking we could have a fight this time – I looked at him – But I don't know if you're on a level where you can handle me yet...
Kakashi stared at me, completely incredulous, and I tried to hold back my laughter, failing miserably. If there was one thing that bothered Kakashi, it was having his abilities questioned or his ego messed with. And he had a gigantic ego.
Like Sakumo had told me, Kakashi and I had skill levels above most kids our age, and Kakashi loved to be sure of that.
However, my presence was like a threat to his "genius" title – both because I drew attention away from him, and because I could interact more naturally with everyone, unlike him.
– You're getting way too smug – He commented, sulking, while I tried to stop laughing.
– Sorry... – I said – But that sulky face of yours is priceless – He crossed his arms and I took a deep breath to keep from laughing more.
We arrived at the Academy a little later, where the initial gathering for the exams was happening. I expected to see only the students taking the exams there, but as we approached the gate, I saw some familiar faces.
Kurenai, Rin, Obito, and Asuma were near the gate, and as soon as they saw me and Kakashi, they came over smiling.
– Guys... – I said, a little confused – What are you all doing here?
– You're taking some difficult tests today, right? – Rin asked, and I turned my gaze to her.
– What kind of friends would we be if we didn't come to support you? – Kurenai continued.
– Give it your all! – Obito encouraged me excitedly.
– You'd better pass, or don't even bother showing up at the Academy on Monday – Asuma said, and I gave a weak laugh.
– Whose idea was it to bring everyone here? – I asked right after.
– It was that friend of yours – Kurenai explained – What's his name again? – She looked at me – From the Uchiha clan, messy hair, already a genin...?
– Are you talking about Shisui? – I asked, and she nodded.
– Yeah, him!
– He talked to me yesterday – Obito explained – And I passed the message to Rin.
– And I told Kurenai – The Nohara girl said.
– And I told Asuma – The Yūhi girl clarified, and Asuma nodded weakly in agreement.
– And you, Kakashi... – I said, turning my eyes to the Hatake – You too...
– He talked to me – The platinum-haired boy said more quietly, with a somewhat closed expression.
Shisui organized this, I thought. He invited everyone to come here and give me their support. I smiled at that. I approached them and hugged them all together the best I could.
– Thanks, guys, really – I thanked them with a sincere smile.
– Last call for students taking the graduation exam! – We heard one of the jounins shouting near the Academy and looked over there.
– I have to go – I said and headed towards the building – Thank you!
They waved as I walked away. Kakashi was the only one who didn't, until I looked back forward.
– You'd better pass, or I won't even consider you on a level where you can handle me! – Kakashi raised his voice to make that comment.
I looked back for a moment, staring at him. He's using my words against me!, I thought and smiled. Baka... I gave a weak laugh and nodded.
– I'll do my best!
With that, I turned my attention to the Academy. It's time.
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The room where I waited with the other students was different from the usual ones we had our Academy classes in. Besides, most of the students seemed older than me.
From what Shisui explained to me about the exam, it seems it's not just students who want to try graduating early who take it, but also those who are recurring repeaters at the Academy, I recalled the details.
The first test would be theoretical, so I was relieved, knowing I'd perform better on that one. Mainly because I didn't know what would be tested in the practical part.
The present jounins distributed us around the room for the test. We would have up to an hour and a half to complete it.
Unlike the Academy tests, this one was much more complex and extensive. It's just going to be tedious, I reasoned, but not impossible.
Before starting, I quickly flipped through my test. After the jounins handed out all the tests, I noticed something strange: Of the students near me, I was the only one who received a test with more than five pages.
Is it a mistake or..., but I stopped that train of thought. No, this is deliberate. The Sandaime said there were superiors who doubted my knowledge. They made a specific test to challenge me.
I gave a weak smile at that. Fine, if they want to test me, I'll show them everything I know and learned from Shisui.
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At first, the jounins in the room periodically did things to distract the students from the test. They want to test us on aptitudes like concentration and thinking under pressure too, I realized quickly.
Once I noticed that, I focused all my attention exclusively on the test in front of me. I had a certain ease in tuning out things around me, so I managed to take the test without any problems.
I finished the test with ten minutes to spare and reviewed my answers once more. There were very few multiple-choice questions and many essay questions, on a wide variety of subjects.
– Time's up – One of the jounins announced right at the established time.
The students put down their tests, and I saw that some hadn't managed to finish. We left the room the next moment and headed to the Academy yard.
We would have half an hour until the second test began, as the jounins would grade the tests and eliminate students for the practical second test if their performance in the first phase wasn't satisfactory.
I leaned back against a dried-up oak tree due to the beginning of winter and closed my eyes to rest my mind.
The theoretical test was really tiring, I admitted. It was an impossible test for a normal Academy student. I gave a weak laugh at my own thought. For a 'normal student'... Times like these Kakashi would call me strange.
I heard some footsteps approaching where I was, but I didn't move. Whoever it is won't notice me here, and I need to rest my mind anyway. The sound of footsteps stopped, and from what I could tell, there were three people.
– I'm telling you... – One of them started commenting – That red-haired girl's test was different!
– And why would she have a different test? – Another one questioned – You must have imagined things because of the test pressure.
– That's not it! – The first one insisted – I know what I saw! And she did it like it was the easiest thing in the world!
– If she did the test with such ease, maybe she's one of those geniuses, like the White Fang's son. What's his name again?
– Kakashi Hatake – The third one spoke for the first time – But that doesn't seem to be the case with her.
– What do you mean? – The first boy asked.
– I heard some rumors about a child brought from a laboratory – The third boy said calmly – They said that, although she looked like a child, this person was like an assassin, with physical and mental development made to be as, if not more, lethal than an Anbu member.
The boys let out an "oh" of surprise at what the boy told them. I clenched my fist. So this is one of the reasons why people in the village are afraid of me, I thought. They think I'm just a being made to cause deaths.
– But she can't be that child you heard about – The second boy said – I mean, she doesn't seem like a threat.
– And she probably wouldn't know how to act like a normal person if she had lived in a laboratory – The first boy commented, laughing.
– It might be – The third boy said – But had any of you seen that red-haired girl before? Here at the Academy or even in the village, a year ago? The child they brought to the village must have been here for about six months, no more than that.
– You're right... – The first boy agreed – I think I was told about someone with red hair arriving in the village around that time...
I lowered my head and sighed softly. I stood up, stepping out from behind the oak tree. When I faced the three boys who were talking before, their expressions immediately took on a shocked look.
You definitely didn't expect me or anyone to be listening, I commented to myself. One of them tried to say something, but the words didn't leave his mouth.
– If you want to know something about someone, you'd better ask instead of speculating about them – I simply told them.
With their expressions still a mix of surprise and fright, I passed by the three and headed to the field where the second test would take place. If they want to know what I'm capable of so badly, now is the time to show them. Enough hiding.
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The jounins lined us up and briefly explained how the test would work: In the practical test, we would show the jutsus we had the most skill with, according to our chakra nature.
The students were called one by one and told the jounins their chakra nature. Some students had an affinity, trained or natural, with two chakra natures. In those cases, they took the test twice.
As for me, I would need to repeat the test five times, following the logic of one test for each chakra nature.
One of the jounins would use a weak jutsu against the student's chakra nature, and the student had to use one of their own chakra nature to defend themselves. Seems simple, I reasoned, watching the first ones being called.
Of the students who took the first test, only seven, including me, had passed to the second phase. I didn't imagine so many would fail...
The students were called one by one to perform the test. But what I thought would be simple didn't prove to be so easy.
Not all students managed to neutralize the jounins' jutsus to defend themselves. The skill levels are uneven, I noted. A jounin has much more practice with the jutsus they use than an Academy student.
It's almost unlikely for just one person to manage to defend themselves against that alone. I was the last one called to try the test. I positioned myself at the spot initially indicated by the jounins.
– Your chakra nature? – One of the senseis asked immediately.
– Proficiency in all five elements – I announced calmly.
The jounin looked in my direction for a moment, as if I had said something absurd. It's not so shocking if I remember it's not normal at all, I clarified to myself. But the jounin didn't question or say anything.
He and four other jounins positioned themselves around me. They're going to do all five tests in a row, judging by this, I noted. Without warning of the test's start, one of the men launched a jutsu at me. He was on my right and he used only three hand seals.
– Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere! – He announced.
Wind projectiles advanced rapidly towards me and I immediately joined my hands, forming the seals for fire style, since it was strong against wind.
– Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!
The curtain of flames clashed against the air spheres, disintegrating them. At the same moment, I felt the ground under my feet become uneven. I saw another of the jounins with his hands on the ground and the earth below my feet moving as if it were quicksand.
Earth style, I analyzed quickly. I formed the ram seal for the best defensive jutsu related to a simple earth style attack.
– Lightning Style: Electric Discharge!
An electric current formed from the user's chakra, affecting everything in contact with the ground. The ground under my feet returned to normal, but I still didn't lower my guard.
I saw three objects coming towards me and quickly understood the situation. Shurikens infused with lightning style.
– Wind Style: Breakthrough! – I said quickly.
Besides discharging the lightning style from the shurikens, they were thrown away with the wind style.
I quickly alternated my gaze between the two remaining jounins. Only fire and water style left..., I reasoned. The two jounins raised their hands at the same time, forming seals rapidly. They're going to attack together!
Before they finished their seals, I joined my hands in front of me and created a shadow clone. I pressed my back against the clone.
– Water Style: Water Projectile! – The jounin in front of my clone said.
– Fire Style: Phoenix Flower! – And the jounin in front of me said at the same time.
My clone and I formed the seals for each jutsu we would need to use to defend ourselves.
– Earth Style: Earth Wall! – My clone crouched down, slapping its hands against the ground.
– Water Style: Wild Water Wave! – I said.
My jutsu consisted of creating a kind of continuous flow of water, controlled by the amount of chakra released by the user to increase its power.
The jounin's water style jutsu was blocked and absorbed by the earth wall, while my jutsu clashed with the fire style jounin's, creating a curtain of mist.
My breathing was a little accelerated due to the adrenaline rush from the situation. My heart was pounding in my chest. I dispelled my clone as the mist cloud dissipated.
I had never tried using so many different jutsus in a row all at once..., I thought. That messed up my control over my chakra. I fell sitting on the ground and sighed heavily. That's when I felt a presence approaching me rapidly.
Crap, I let my guard down too early...! One of the jounins I had fought before was in front of me. I raised my hands to try to defend against his physical attack, although I knew it wouldn't help much.
But unlike what I expected, his attack didn't reach me. I looked at the man in front of me and he had his fist stopped inches from me. He stopped...?, I thought, confused.
I looked at him and saw a kind of black blanket around his wrist, running down his legs and leading to a place where the high sun didn't let me see.
– I believe the previous test was sufficient – A deeper male voice commented.
That black blanket began to approach where we were, and I saw a tall man with dark hair tied in a spiky ponytail and eyes of the same color, with two scars on the right side of his face.
The black blanket was coming from this man who approached us, and the next moment it completely returned to him, releasing the jounin in front of me.
– Shikaku-san...! – Another of the jounins pointed out, visibly surprised – How long have you been watching the test?
– Since the beginning – He said nonchalantly and crossed his arms.
His dark eyes briefly turned in my direction. His expression was icy, but something about him didn't make him seem as threatening as he looked. At least that's what I imagine..., I noted silently.
He observed me for a few moments and soon after turned his back, and just as he came, he disappeared from the training field.