Chapter 15: Final Exam
As for the Transformation Jutsu, mastering it completely was extraordinarily difficult.
So Kaito decided to focus primarily on perfecting the visual appearance aspect.
However, he planned to thoroughly master the Substitution Jutsu, even practicing until he could execute it instantaneously without requiring any hand seals.
During these two months of Academy classes, he also made substantial progress in his Earth Release and Wind Release nature transformation training.
He could now instantly crush small pebbles into fine powder and cleanly split stones in half.
In a rather awkward yet amusing incident, his desk had once become piled high with crushed stone dust and debris, which he'd had to discreetly clean up after class ended.
Since that near-disaster, he no longer practiced crushing stones during lectures.
But he wondered what alternative training he could do during that time instead.
Unfortunately, he couldn't think of any suitable substitute for Earth Release training that would be equally discreet.
So he decided to focus more intensively on Wind Release and began carrying small pieces of scrap metal into class, attempting to slice through them with wind chakra.
Over the following months, he started venturing outside the Academy grounds, wandering the streets of Konoha while using the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as an unremarkable teenager.
He discovered numerous secluded spots within Konoha's small forested areas and began practicing proper tree-climbing.
This exercise proved very similar to wall-walking.
The only significant difference was the rougher, more uneven surface of tree bark.
He completed this challenge within an hour and then progressed to water-walking training.
Additionally, he researched Gravity Seal techniques and various Suppression Seal applications in the Library.
Another month passed, and the final exams were less than a month away.
Kaito finally began seriously considering whether he should start preparing for the written exams.
Only 25 days until the theory exam.
It's still quite early! But...
After internally debating with himself, he sighed in resignation.
Forget it. This is my first exam in this world—I might as well approach it properly and secure top marks.
While reviewing the study materials, he noticed the curriculum here was considerably more advanced than his previous world's education system.
This was approximately the difficulty level for 9-10-year-olds, not 6-7-year-olds.
Kaito wondered if the curriculum in the Academy's final years would genuinely challenge him intellectually.
Soon, the Academy students faced their final examinations.
For all regular students, the final exam consisted only of the written theory portion.
However, for students in the elite class, several additional practical assessments were included.
Kaito's class also had shuriken throwing evaluations, Leaf Concentration competitions, and taijutsu tournaments.
For shuriken throwing, circular target boards were set up with concentric rings of different sizes, and everyone had to hit them from a set distance.
Scores depended on which ring the shuriken struck—the smallest inner circle awarded the highest points while the outermost ring gave the lowest points.
The shuriken competition was worth a total of 30 points.
The Leaf Concentration competition simply measured how long each student could keep a leaf adhered to their forehead using chakra control alone.
It was worth 20 points maximum.
The person who maintained it longest received the full 20 points, while others' scores were proportional to their duration compared to the winner.
For example, if the top performer held the leaf for 30 minutes and received 20 points, someone who only maintained it for 21 minutes would receive 14 points.
The taijutsu tournament was straightforward, with scores based on final ranking—worth 50 points total.
The written theory exam itself was worth 100 points.
Finally, exam day arrived.
Seeing how seriously everyone approached the tests, Kaito smiled quietly to himself.
During the written exam, Kaito felt confident he'd answered every question correctly.
Though he wasn't certain how his classmates had performed.
Two days after the written exam, the practical competitions were scheduled.
Kaito guessed the instructors wanted time to grade the theory tests first so the Hokage could personally present awards to the top performers.
They began the day's activities with the Leaf Concentration competition.
Kaito had already progressed to water-walking training and felt quite confident in this particular assessment.
The competition commenced.
The first student—from the Inuzuka Clan—dropped his leaf in just two minutes.
Over half the class was eliminated within the first 4 minutes.
Kaito could hear their groans of disappointment and complaints echoing around him.
After 10 minutes, only 9 students remained in active competition.
After 15 minutes, only Kaito, Hyuga Hana, Senju Teru, Shimura Shin, and Uchiha Rai were still maintaining their leaves.
Just then, Kaito heard Uchiha Rai's frustrated groan as his leaf fell.
From practice sessions in class, Kaito knew the remaining competitors could last perhaps just over twenty minutes at most.
Senju Teru's leaf dropped at the 19-minute mark, Shimura Shin's at 21 minutes, and Hyuga Hana maintained hers until the 22-minute mark.
Kaito decided to build a comfortable point lead to compensate for points he'd likely lose in the taijutsu tournament.
He'd originally intended to stop around the 30-minute mark, but he maintained concentration until 33 minutes, then deliberately made a minor error and let the leaf fall.
Although he'd performed significantly better than his other classmates, he wasn't worried about attracting excessive attention—last year, Itachi had held a leaf continuously for two full hours without dropping it!
And there were persistent rumors he hadn't actually dropped it at all, but had been asked to stop demonstrating!
As soon as Kaito opened his eyes, he noticed several children staring at him with obvious envy, while Uchiha Rai looked absolutely furious at being so thoroughly surpassed in this competition.
Next came the shuriken throwing competition.
Uchiha Rai, Senju Teru, Shimura Shin, Kaito, Hyuga Hodaka, and several others all scored perfect marks in this assessment.
Observing Uchiha Rai's disappointed expression, Kaito thought sympathetically, This competition really isn't fair to him specifically.
From what Kaito had observed, Rai possessed exceptional ability to hit stationary targets with perfect accuracy even while moving at high speed.
Rai could also consistently hit moving targets, though not always dead center.
However, unfortunately for him, this particular exam wasn't challenging enough, so many students could match his performance.
Otherwise, only Senju Teru and Shimura Shin would be capable of matching him.
In the taijutsu tournament, Hyuga Hodaka claimed first place, followed by Senju Teru in second and Hyuga Hana in third.
Kaito placed fourth, while Uchiha Rai and Shimura Shin ranked fifth and sixth respectively.
Kaito had defeated Rai in the quarterfinal matches.
Admittedly, Rai's technical skill and form were superior to Kaito's, but his physical conditioning was considerably weaker.
However, in the semifinal round, Kaito lost to Hyuga Hodaka, and in the third-place match, he lost to Hyuga Hana as well.
He thought with frustration, Damn, these Hyuga clan members are genuinely tough opponents.
Pure taijutsu competition is completely unfair when facing them and their Gentle Fist style!
Even Senju Teru, though he fought exceptionally well utilizing his clan's taijutsu style, ultimately lost to the Hyuga.
If Kaito ever encountered these Hyuga during the Chunin Exams or in field missions, he'd definitely bring a large supply of explosive tags for long-range combat!
The Third Hokage Hiruzen came personally to observe the taijutsu tournament.
Kaito noticed that everyone performed with exceptional intensity during their matches, especially Hyuga Hana who fought with fierce determination.
He wasn't sure if this heightened performance was due to exam pressure or because the Hokage was watching their every move.
After all examinations concluded, the instructors gave the students a brief break while they compiled and calculated everyone's final scores.
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