Sparring with a Ninja is a completely different story.
The reason Naruto thought this was because his opponent, Hyuga Neji, had already become a true Ninja, following Bushy Brow Sensei Might Guy on real missions.
If things continued like this, his opponent, already powerful, would become even harder to deal with after accumulating real combat experience.
"Hmm, in my last year at the Ninja Academy, besides improving my academic scores, increasing my Chakra reserves, and mastering all Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Nin-Taijutsu, the most important thing is that I need to engage in real combat!"
Naruto looked at the familiar Ninja Academy, secretly making a vow in his heart... The new semester had begun.
This was Naruto's last year at the Ninja Academy.
It was late summer, early autumn, still a bit warm, but Naruto could already feel the arrival of autumn.
A few withered leaves drifted down, falling to the ground with the autumn wind.
"N-Naruto-kun, good morning..."
Naruto heard a familiar and kind voice and excitedly waved his hands.
"Hinata, good morning!"
Hinata smiled shyly, but felt a genuine happiness in her heart.
As long as she could see Naruto-kun every day, her heart was filled with strength.
Ino, beside her, stuck out her tongue and teased, "Oh, Hinata, looking at how close you two are, it seems you went on a lot of dates during the summer break, didn't you?"
Hinata's face turned red: "N-No, don't talk nonsense, Ino..."
"I just occasionally helped Naruto-kun with his studies..."
"Still not admitting it? You used 'tutoring' as an excuse for dating!"
Hinata frantically waved her hands.
Ino laughed heartily: "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. But Naruto does seem a lot more confident, and I'm sure little Hinata, you played a big part in that..."
Hinata shook her head: "Naruto-kun has indeed become much stronger, but I didn't contribute much; most of it is the result of his own hard work..."
"Tsk tsk tsk, should I say you're modest, or are you just thinking about Naruto?"
"I..."
"Just kidding."
Ino smiled and ruffled her hair.
"Hinata, your hair has grown so much..."
"R-Really?"
"Yes, you look more feminine with long hair, truly captivating..."
"D-Don't laugh at me, Ino..."
"I'm not laughing at you. I think growing your hair long is also a sign of increased confidence. Before, you were too low-key and reserved, always hiding in a corner and not wanting to stand out, and your short hair looked very ordinary. But now..."
"You seem more confident, more cheerful, and more able to express yourself..."
"This is great, I'm genuinely happy for you."
Hinata hadn't thought about it that much herself, but after listening to Ino, she felt that what she said made sense.
"Thank you, Ino..."
"You also played a part in my changes..."
Ino smiled: "Oh, really? Then I'll gladly accept it! I won't be as modest as you!"
Hinata also smiled gently... On the other side.
Naruto was walking towards the classroom when, as luck would have it, Uchiha Sasuke appeared in front of him.
He still had his hands in his pockets, looking as arrogant and aloof as ever.
However, Naruto sensed an inexplicable killing intent from him.
"That Sasuke bastard seems to have gotten a lot stronger, and much more terrifying..."
"That aura, it's like he's ready to kill at any moment..."
Naruto's perception was quite accurate.
At this moment, Sasuke had activated his Double Tomoe Sharingan and forced himself to immerse himself day and night in that bloody night, that tragic massacre, forcing himself to repeatedly recall the despair and pain of that time, thereby rapidly enhancing his ocular power through hatred.
Doing so indeed had significant effects.
But it also made him exude an increasingly terrifying aura.
He looked at Naruto, a hint of surprise also appearing in his eyes.
"That Diao Che Wei seems to have gotten a lot stronger..."
"What's going on?!"
"I can sense a confident, strong aura from his eyes and from him, completely different from that frivolous, irresponsible bastard he used to be..."
"Damn it!"
"Naruto, just how strong are you now?!"
It was their first meeting after the summer break, and their eyes immediately sparked with intense electricity, their fighting spirit and will to battle surging wildly, as if a fierce battle could erupt at any moment!
Just then.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Another familiar voice suddenly rang out, breaking the standoff between the two.
The familiar figure rushing towards Sasuke was none other than Sakura Haruno.
"It's been a while, Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke completely ignored her, just glared at Naruto, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
"Wait for me, Sasuke-kun! I've worked hard to be able to stay by your side, and I've gotten much stronger now!"
"I'll catch up to you soon!"
Sakura Haruno also ignored Naruto, chasing after Sasuke without looking back.
"Sakura-chan..."
Naruto looked at Sakura Haruno, feeling even a bit of unfamiliarity.
The person he once cared about most, as time gradually passed, seemed to become less important... "Hey, Naruto, what are you spacing out for?!"
Suddenly, Naruto's shoulder was heavily patted by a large hand.
He looked back to see his first two "bad influences," Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji.
"Oh, it's you two, long time no see!"
Choji ate potato chips in big mouthfuls, sizing Naruto up and down.
"You seem different, Naruto. You're no longer the Naruto who used to get punished with us every day..."
Naruto said proudly: "I'm working towards being the top of the class now!"
"How about it, Shikamaru, Choji, do you want to join me?!"
Choji swallowed another big mouthful of potato chips.
"Munch munch munch, I'll pass, it sounds exhausting..."
Shikamaru also pouted: "Too troublesome. My dream isn't like yours, Naruto. I just want to live the most ordinary life, to pass this lifetime leisurely..."
Naruto shook his head, suddenly understanding how Iruka-sensei used to feel about him.
"Sigh, you two really are hopeless..."
He patted their shoulders, speaking earnestly in Iruka-sensei's tone.
Choji continued eating his potato chips nonchalantly.
Shikamaru even yawned.
"To be hopeless for a lifetime, that's my dream..."
Looking at their backs, Naruto could only sigh helplessly.
Only these two guys were always so carefree... Is this what they call, 'to each his own'?
Naruto clenched his fists.
"I'm going to be Hokage, and in this last year of Ninja Academy, I'm going to be the strongest and make everyone acknowledge me!"
Chapter 92: First Place! Glorious Graduation! Changing Class Assignments! Please give me your monthly votes!!!
In his last year at the Ninja Academy, Naruto was still incredibly driven.
Not only was he driven himself, but he also forced the entire class to follow suit.
The result was... those Diao Che Wei fell further and further behind.
But those promising Ninja far surpassed their original expected strength!
Take Uchiha Sasuke as an example... In the original story, when he graduated from the Ninja Academy, although he was called a genius, he didn't actually master many Ninjutsu.
During the Team 7 assessment period, Sasuke had only mastered basic Three-Body Technique, Taijutsu, Shuriken Technique, and so on. The only Ninjutsu beyond the Ninja Academy level was the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
His Sharingan was also only activated to a single tomoe state.
However, the current Uchiha Sasuke... his Double Tomoe Sharingan had already awakened long ago, his ocular power was formidable, and his insight and copying abilities were honed to the absolute maximum he could control!
As for Ninjutsu, he had mastered Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique, and even... Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!
The final Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique had a B-rank training difficulty!
That is to say, Jonin level!
Not to mention, Sasuke's other fundamental aspects also far surpassed his original counterpart at the same time.
The current Sasuke was a truly absolute genius Ninja in every sense of the word!
Yet, even so, he still wasn't confident he could defeat Naruto.
The current Uzumaki Naruto had long shed the Diao Che Wei title, becoming the strongest genius, even surpassing Sasuke!
Naruto made rapid progress this year.
His Chakra had broken through a full three thousand points!
His Shadow Clone Technique had even advanced to Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Although this was a forbidden Jutsu, for Naruto, whose Chakra reserves were as vast as a Tailed Beast's, it was essentially just a greater number of Shadow Clones.
Besides that, Naruto's Taijutsu, Shuriken Technique, and his most valued Wind Release: Pseudo Nin-Taijutsu, also saw significant improvements, reaching mastery or even perfection!
Not to mention his original Three-Body Technique and Sexy Technique.
The current Naruto possessed immense Chakra, with Ninjutsu and Taijutsu reaching their peak, all his basic attributes maxed out, making him a numerical monster with almost no weaknesses!
Such a person made the entire Ninja Academy take notice, and even fear him!