Chương 34: The Two-Person Team 3

Under the watchful eyes of the Third Hokage, several teachers, and numerous classmates, the ninjutsu assessment officially began. Everyone lined up and stepped forward in turn to demonstrate their skills. Some performed the best-mastered of the Three Basic Jutsu in a disciplined manner. Others showcased the Clone Jutsu and the Transformation Jutsu. Those performing the Substitution Jutsu were relatively few, likely because they hadn't prepared a substitution prop in advance.

Some cycled through all three techniques in succession, immediately earning the admiring gazes of their peers. A few students perhaps lacked the mental fortitude and became overly nervous facing the Third Hokage; when attempting the Clone Jutsu, they botched it entirely, leaving only a limp, unidentifiable shape on the ground. This drew roars of laughter from the students below, filling the large integrated classroom with a cheerful atmosphere.

Even the Hokage puffed on his pipe and chuckled along; when facing the children of the village, he always maintained an approachable image, making it difficult to associate him with the powerhouse known as the Hero of Shinobi. Some were influenced by the failure of the students before them, their minds becoming muddled. The Transformation Jutsu they performed with their hand seals was riddled with flaws, easily recognizable as a fake at a single glance.

Zhen recognized this person; it was his classmate, Iruka Umino. Zhen didn't know what Iruka's grades had been like previously, but looking at him today, he was clearly nervous and affected by the environment. The more he wanted to perform well, the more mistakes he made. Under such circumstances, he certainly wouldn't be able to graduate.

No wonder he would play the fool to get attention in school after the Nine-Tails' Incident; it was a testament to his character that he could later become such an excellent Academy teacher. Thus, having low combat talent didn't mean one lacked other gifts. Iruka was likely that type—precisely because he wasn't a genius himself, he would be exceptionally attentive and patient with students who seemed like failures.

He wasn't like certain teachers, such as Daikoku Funano, who only favored brilliant prospects like Itachi and looked down upon—or even felt repulsed by—the "dead lasts." When it was Yugao Uzuki's turn, she proved she wasn't the type to be easily intimidated. She stepped onto the stage with composure and performed the Three Basic Jutsu with discipline, each one nearly perfect. Having trained under Zhen's guidance for several years, she would have been beaten black and blue by him if she couldn't even manage this.

When it was Dongye Zhen's turn, he first bowed respectfully to the Hokage and teachers like the other students, then began weaving seals in an honest and rapid fashion. With a soft poof, an identical copy of himself appeared beside him, right down to the finest details of his hair and clothing. Simultaneously, the original wove seals and transformed into the likeness of their homeroom teacher, Kuroiwa Inoue—equally perfect, with no discernible difference in appearance.

At that moment, the clone of Zhen raised its hand and threw a shuriken at the original. The original, transformed into Teacher Inoue, exploded into a cloud of white smoke. A chalkboard eraser fell from the air and was caught by the clone, who then placed it back into the chalk tray.

"Whoa! That was amazing! How... how did he do that? I can't understand it at all!" The students below didn't follow the mechanics, but they were deeply impressed. Even the grading teachers looked bewildered; clearly, they hadn't seen through it either. Kuroiwa Inoue muttered, "How is that possible? A Clone Jutsu only creates an illusion, it's not a Shadow Clone; how could it throw a real shuriken? The clone even caught the eraser... was the clone actually the original? When did they swap places?"

"Ho ho ho, that was a truly splendid performance. Zhen, I never expected the basic Academy Three could be used in such a way. Even I have gained some inspiration." The Third Hokage nodded happily. With his strength and insight, he naturally wouldn't be fooled like those Chunin teachers. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

He then explained to the graders, "At the very moment the clone raised its hand to make a move, student Dongye Zhen had already swapped places with the original." Another grader asked in surprise, "How is that possible? If it was the Body Flicker Technique, we should have noticed it." The Hokage tapped his head with his finger.

"It was genjutsu. The clone's act of attacking was merely to draw everyone's attention. The original used a simple genjutsu to deceive your vision. Therefore, you overlooked the vital detail of the swap."

"Is that so? That's incredible. We didn't notice the influence of genjutsu at all." The Third Hokage didn't argue further with the graders, instead speaking kindly to Dongye Zhen.

"Zhen, your talent has indeed not disappointed me. Well done, well done. Alright, you may step down."

"Thank you for the praise, Hokage-sama." Zhen bowed once more and left the stage to make room for the next examinee. In truth, this play style was borrowed from the combat methods his friend Shisui would use in the future. How did the nickname "Shisui of the Body Flicker" come about? It involved creating a bunch of ordinary clones that could move but had no physical attack capability, and then using high-level Body Flicker and genjutsu to swap places freely among them.

Every clone, when attacking, could become the original at any moment to deliver a killing blow. Without sufficient insight and strength, it was impossible to distinguish them. Mist shinobi would eventually be stabbed so often they developed psychological trauma, allowing Shisui to earn his resounding title at their expense. It was worth noting that even at that time, Ao possessed a Byakugan, yet he was still beaten senseless. As Kakashi said: the combat of a ninja can be summed up in one word—deception.

Even those "gods" who could hardly be called shinobi anymore would fall for a trick if they weren't careful. Madara Uchiha was fooled by Hashirama Senju's Wood Clone. Kaguya Otsutsuki was even more embarrassing; a single Reverse Harem Jutsu left her stunned on the spot. After the assessment, some were happy while others were dejected. But Zhen felt that those who failed to graduate needn't be discouraged; it was actually a good thing. Graduating later would mean missing the war entirely.

"Zhen, from now on, you are an official shinobi of Konoha. I hope you continue to work hard and grow into a reliable force that protects the village."

"I will, Hokage-sama." Taking the headband from the Third Hokage's hand, Zhen thought for a moment and tied it around his forehead, just as Yugao had. This thing was a form of identification; as for its protective function for a ninja? It was essentially negligible. However, it also had a hidden "powerhouse certification" function—for example, carving a horizontal line across it? Zhen thought about it but didn't dare do anything so provocative.

He was afraid that given the Hokage's age, he might be provoked into some sort of heart attack or worse. In the afternoon, after a brief graduation ceremony, they received their graduation certificates from the Third Hokage. It was then announced that they had officially graduated from the Academy and had become glorious Genin of the Leaf. The shinobi registration certificates, with photos attached, were handed over to the village for safekeeping as classified information.

Those contained the students' basic personal data and ninja registration numbers. Yugao Uzuki's ninja registration number was 012161. Dongye Zhen's number was the adjacent 012160. The graduation certificate had no photo, only a descriptive text; it wasn't considered classified and was kept by the student. After all this, the students who had successfully graduated immediately returned to their respective classrooms to wait for team assignments. Next, it would be the business of the presiding Jonin.

Yugao began to worry.

"Zhen, we'll be in the same squad, right? We should be, right? I don't want to team up with anyone else."

"That's not up to us." Although Zhen said this, he felt there was a high probability they would be in the same squad. On the surface, the Hokage's team assignments were based on balancing strength, but in reality, the focus was on bonds. Just then, Kuroiwa Inoue read out: "Team 3: Dongye Zhen, Yugao Uzuki."

"Yes!" The young girl gave Zhen a "V for victory" sign, but then she realized something was wrong.

"Wait, why are there only two of us? Shouldn't there be three?" Zhen scratched his head, a sense of foreboding washing over him. He thought privately: *No way. Is some noble clan trying to screw me over? I already helped Shisui awaken a two-tomoe Sharingan and they're still not satisfied? Do they have to use me as fodder for a Mangekyo? Truly an inherently evil clan. If that was really the case, then there was no need to wait for Itachi Uchiha to grow up; this old man would personally...