The class bell rang, and Nakamura-sensei walked into the classroom on time.
"We will now begin the Three Body Technique assessment. One by one, starting from the left."
"First, Naomi Mizuta."
Holding the roll book, Nakamura-sensei didn't waste any words, casting his gaze toward the first student.
Feeling the teacher's gaze, the student named Naomi Mizuta tensed up and walked out nervously.
"Transformation Technique."
"Clone Technique."
"Body Replacement Technique."
It took Naomi Mizuta several minutes to perform the three basic D-rank ninjutsu.
"25, 30, 30. You fail."
Looking at the awkward transformation and clones, Nakamura-sensei did not blame her but comforted her instead, "Don't be discouraged. You've only been in school for half a year. Being able to perform them successfully is already impressive. Keep it up."
"Yes, Nakamura-sensei."
Naomi Mizuta breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to Nakamura-sensei, and returned to her seat.
"Next..."
Naomi Mizuta's successful start seemed to encourage the students behind her.
Most students successfully performed the Three Body Technique. Although they appeared nondescript and awkward, it was much better than those who couldn't perform them at all and received a score of 0.
Of course, there were also students who achieved high scores.
Students from prestigious families or ninja families had received ninja training before entering the Ninja Academy. Some even had private tutoring every day after returning home.
Their experience was naturally not something commoner students could compare with.
After two periods, the results for the Three Body Technique were all out.
There were two students who achieved full marks, and unsurprisingly, they were Yagyu and Uchiha Itachi.
Both were geniuses who possessed the strength to graduate early before even enrolling, so getting full marks was only natural.
At this point in time, Uchiha Itachi had likely mastered the B-rank Shadow Clone Technique, so the mere D-rank Three Body Technique was not worth mentioning.
Yagyu didn't even need to be mentioned.
The realism of his Wood Clone was something the Shadow Clone couldn't catch up to.
However, in terms of performance evaluation, Yagyu was rated slightly lower than Uchiha Itachi.
This was mainly because his speed in performing the Three Body Technique couldn't compare to Uchiha Itachi.
Possessing the higher-level Wood Release version of the Three Body Technique, Yagyu didn't value the standard Three Body Technique, so he hadn't raised its proficiency.
Since Yagyu couldn't expose his Wood Release, it was normal for his standard Three Body Technique to be inferior to Uchiha Itachi's.
After the Three Body Technique exam, Yagyu began the theoretical assessment.
As the school bell rang, the two most grueling assessments finally ended.
Greeting his classmates, Yagyu politely declined their invitations and returned home.
The empty house had lacked human presence for a long time.
Half a year had changed many things.
After Sarutobi Hiruzen felt reassured about Yagyu, he visited less often.
Yūhi Kurenai also gradually reduced the frequency of her visits. She began busying herself with accumulating completed missions, preparing to challenge for the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin in a few years.
It had been two months since Yagyu last saw Yūhi Kurenai.
"As the level of a ninjutsu increases, the power doesn't seem to increase directly. The main boosts are in casting speed, range, control, and reducing unnecessary consumption. As for the magnitude of the ninjutsu's power, that depends on the user's chakra output..."
Yagyu sat on the sofa, staring at the virtual panel in front of him, and mused, "As the number of ninjutsu increases, there's no need to waste time on ordinary ninjutsu anymore. In the future, I'll just grind ordinary ninjutsu to Level 3, and spend more time and chakra on improving Wood Release."
After making this decision, Yagyu rarely didn't go out to train. Instead, he went back to his room and took an afternoon nap.
In the afternoon, Yagyu arrived at the Ninja Academy right on time.
After class started, Nakamura-sensei gathered the students on the playground and began the Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu assessments.
As for close combat with kunai, considering the lack of experience and to prevent weapons from accidentally injuring students, it wasn't taught in the first grade yet.
First was the Shurikenjutsu assessment.
First place naturally went to Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Shurikenjutsu was inherently famous. As a genius of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Itachi played with throwing techniques in ways others couldn't imagine.
Yagyu lost thoroughly.
Next was the only live combat in this major exam—the Taijutsu assessment.
"Pair up. Those whose names are called, step forward."
The students in the class formed a circle, standing or sitting as they watched Nakamura-sensei in the center.
Holding the roll book, Nakamura-sensei shouted, "First group, Juri Hijikata vs. Chisato Matsumura."
"Juri, do your best."
"Chisato, don't lose to him!"
Familiar classmates shouted loudly to cheer them on.
"Form the Seal of Confrontation."
Looking at the two facing each other, Nakamura-sensei reminded them.
"Please advise."
Hijikata and Matsumura both raised their index and middle fingers, opening the curtain on the Taijutsu assessment.
The main point of the Taijutsu assessment was to see who fell to the ground or was subdued first; that person would be the loser. The teacher would grade them based on their performance.
After ten rounds, Hijikata used his weight advantage to tackle Matsumura to the ground, securing victory.
Nakamura-sensei shook his head secretly; first-grade fighting was indeed unsightly.
"Form the Seal of Reconciliation. Next group..."
Time flew by, and various scenes of rookies pecking at each other played out on the playground.
"Eighth group, Yagyu vs. Uchiha Itachi."
As the seventh group finished, the long-awaited duel finally appeared.
"Yagyu, go for it! Beat him up good!"
"Yagyu is sure to win. In terms of Taijutsu, who can beat Yagyu?"
"Itachi-sama, do your best!"
"..."
The scene caused a sensation. The boys were all ignited with passion, cheering loudly for Yagyu.
The girls were conflicted, splitting into two factions to cheer for their favorite boy.
Walking out from the crowd, Yagyu and Uchiha Itachi stood facing each other. They raised their index and middle fingers to each other, forming the 'Seal of Confrontation', and said, "Please advise."
"Ready—"
Nakamura-sensei took a step back with anticipation in his eyes and shouted loudly, "Start!"