"Why is it always me who gets screwed?"
Kiba Inuzuka's face fell. One second he was hyped, the next he hit rock bottom. His happiness was as short-lived as recess.
"You did your best, Kiba."
Shikamaru Nara patted him on the shoulder.
"Wait—none of you drew the same number as someone else?"
Kiba suddenly caught on.
"Nope."
Ino Yamanaka couldn't hold back a laugh. "You're the only one who got a duplicate number."
"Great. First chance I get, I'm praying at a shrine."
Kiba muttered with a twitch in his smile.
"Students with number one, please step up," Iruka Umino called out, flipping open the roster to start scoring.
Yakumo Kurama and Kiba walked into the ring.
They both formed the seal of confrontation.
"Yakumo, go easy on me, okay?"
Kiba said nervously. He'd seen her battle Neji Hyuga before—one painting from her, and it became a deadly attack. No hand seals needed. Straight-up terrifying.
"No need to be nervous."
Yakumo gave him a warm smile. "We're all classmates here."
Kiba instantly felt a breeze of calm wash over him. Her voice alone made him relax.
"Wait… is that Talk Therapy?"
Shizune raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm,"
Tsunade smirked. "Turns out psychological warfare in battle works pretty damn well."
Kitazawa gave a small nod.
Then the tone shifted again.
"This is just a monthly exam, not a battlefield."
Yakumo smiled as she took out a scroll. When she unrolled it, an image of a table full of delicious food appeared.
"Please, take a seat."
She sat down like they were at a dinner party and invited Kiba to join her.
"Thanks!"
Kiba dropped all his defenses. "You're seriously one of the nicest people I've ever met."
But from the outside, the scene looked completely different.
The two of them had just been standing there. Not moving. At all.
"What the heck is going on?"
Naruto Uzumaki looked confused. "Why haven't they started?"
"Kiba's caught in a genjutsu," Sasuke Uchiha said with a serious expression. "She got him the moment she opened her mouth."
"What?"
Ino looked stunned. "There was no sign at all!"
"She's already hit him with a second genjutsu."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Was it when she raised her hand?"
Shikamaru frowned.
To Kiba, she pulled out a table and chairs. To everyone else, she just weaved a hand seal.
"Exactly."
Sasuke was starting to sweat a little. Genjutsu with a bloodline trait like hers—how was it stronger than the Sharingan?
"Genjutsu is really—"
Shino Aburame started to say—
"—Really scary,"
Naruto finished. He hated genjutsu the most. You couldn't see it coming. He just wanted clean, fist-to-fist fights with everyone throwing hands and sweating it out.
"It's basically Kyouka Suigetsu."
Tsunade nodded, impressed. "She's using it to end fights before they start."
Kitazawa felt bad for Kiba. Facing someone at Mangekyō Sharingan level when you're just seven? That's protagonist-tier experience. Even Sasuke wasn't supposed to deal with that until next year.
"I give up! Yakumo's too nice—I forfeit!"
Kiba raised his hand, smiling like he meant it.
"Thanks," Yakumo replied sweetly.
Suddenly, Kiba felt lightheaded. The world around him snapped into focus—like someone had just given him a pair of glasses.
"What… what just happened?"
He replayed everything in his head. All he remembered was eating and chatting with Yakumo—and then, for some reason, he gave up.
"How…?"
"I hit you with two genjutsu," Yakumo said softly.
"…"
Kiba was speechless. He hadn't even realized he was under one. That meant the difference in skill between them was bigger than the difference between a human and a dog.
"Yakumo, that was amazing!"
Ino gasped as the two returned to the group.
"Kiba let me win."
Yakumo smiled modestly.
"…"
Kiba opened his mouth… then shut it again, visibly frustrated.
Let her win? More like "crushed so hard I didn't even know I lost."
Sasuke was starting to feel less secure about being the top student.
Hinata was looking nervous too. Both Sasuke and Yakumo used genjutsu, and after all her months of training with Kitazawa… if she lost, she'd feel worthless.
Only Naruto stayed chill and confident. He still believed what Shikamaru told him earlier—that Shadow Clones could break genjutsu.
"She's a monster,"
Iruka muttered, coming back to his senses. Beating Neji was one thing, but winning without even moving? That was insane.
Ever since he started teaching Class 1-A, Iruka had wondered if he was really teaching first-years—or a bunch of junior ninja.
"Number two, step up," he called out.
The next few rounds were more standard.
Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto all dominated their matches and advanced to round two.
"What do you think so far, Tsunade-sama?"
Kitazawa asked during the break.
"Meh."
Tsunade shrugged. "Aside from Yakumo, no one really stood out."
"Don't forget—they're only first-years," Shizune chimed in. "This level is already incredible."
"You're right."
Tsunade paused.
Her own class back in the day didn't even come close. If Sasuke's strength came from talent, then what about the others? Even the "ordinary" ones were way ahead of the curve.
Credit where it's due—this was Kitazawa's influence.
"Honestly, the old man should give you the principal position," Tsunade said.
"Please don't jinx me,"
Kitazawa panicked. "The principal's always also the Hokage!"
"Then how about becoming Hokage?"
"No way,"
Kitazawa quickly waved it off. "As long as you're here, that spot's yours."
"Pass."
Tsunade waved her hand. "Let someone else have it."
Kitazawa said nothing more. But Shizune quietly sighed. If Tsunade kept this mindset, they might end up wandering the world again.
"Break's over—round two begins."
Over half the students were already out. The cut-off was eighty points.
"Finally my turn!"
Naruto didn't wait—he ran to the center before Iruka could even call his name.
"Ugh, Naruto?"
Sakura sighed.
"Do your best, Sakura," Ino encouraged.
But Sakura didn't last even thirty seconds.
This version of Naruto wasn't crushing on her. To him, anyone in the ring was an enemy.
"Kid doesn't hold back," Tsunade chuckled.
Naruto was slightly gentle… but not by much. He threw Leaf Whirlwinds left and right and took Sakura down with ease.
Tsunade just couldn't see the resemblance between Naruto and the suave Minato Namikaze.
"Sasuke, please beat Naruto for me!"
Sakura pouted, already using healing jutsu on herself.
"Sorry, Sakura," Naruto walked over.
"If you ever want healing from me again, you better ask nicely!"
"Hmph! I'll just go to Kitazawa-sensei!"
"..."
Sakura snapped.
She had no comeback. Ino burst into laughter—classic fake besties moment.
But she froze up when she saw her opponent—Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura immediately cheered. "Don't go easy on Ino!"
"I give up!"
Ino said instantly, then shot Sakura a smug look.
Anyone watching might think she won.
"Ugh!"
Sakura clutched her chest in frustration.
"..."
Sasuke had just taken one step onto the field—then stopped.
"Am I just part of your soap opera now?"
"Number seven, step up," Iruka called like a human script reader.
Yakumo vs. Choji.
"We're screwed—Choji's gonna get wrecked too," Kiba muttered.
"Can't even guard against it," Shikamaru shook his head.
Just watching two matches was enough for him to realize—aside from Naruto and Sasuke, no one else could beat Yakumo.
But Choji wasn't even upset.
"Yakumo, the food in your genjutsu was amazing," he said, wiping drool from his mouth.
"Too bad it doesn't fill you up."
Yakumo blinked.
Was this guy for real?
"Anyone else number eight?"
Shikamaru showed his number.
"That'd be me."
Shino adjusted his glasses.
"Looks like my luck's trash too."
Shikamaru sighed. "Man, what a pain…"
The match began.
Shino released a swarm of insects, and Shikamaru ran for his life.
If he didn't care about scores, he would've surrendered like Ino.
Shino's abilities completely countered his own.
Shikamaru found a window and hit Shino with Shadow Imitation—but it didn't help. Shino couldn't move, but the bugs could.
Eventually, Shikamaru ran out of chakra and gave up.
"The Aburame clan never disappoints," Shizune commented.
"Shikamaru actually did really well," Tsunade said. "His timing with Shadow Imitation was spot on."
Most chunin wouldn't be able to fight back under that kind of pressure. If it weren't for the insects, Shikamaru might've pulled a win.
That was real combat talent.
Tsunade had only ever seen that kind of talent from Minato before.
"Smart, talented… just lazy," Kitazawa added.
Time passed, and the second round wrapped up.
"Now announcing the finalists for round three,"
Iruka said.
"Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Shino Aburame, Yakumo Kurama, Hinata Hyuga, and Shikamaru Nara."
Kitazawa noticed it was almost identical to last term's final—only Ino had been swapped out for Yakumo. Sakura and Kiba didn't make the cut.
"Looks like round three will be the highlight,"
Tsunade smiled.
"All those names are pretty big in the village."
"Kitazawa, your class is seriously packed with talent," Shizune said.
Since the Academy started, Class 1-A had some of the highest genius density on record.
"Just proves Konoha's rising," Kitazawa said with a grin.
Naruto and Sasuke were protagonists after all—naturally the side cast had to be strong too. But if you wanted a more grounded reason, there was always a baby boom after every ninja war.
Naruto's entire generation was born after the Third Great Ninja War.
"Finalists, please come up to draw lots," Iruka said, rolling out the box.
"I'm first!"
Naruto shouted. "Please let me get Sasuke!"
Even though Yakumo's genjutsu looked scarier, Naruto still saw Sasuke as his eternal rival. They'd promised to settle things during this exam.
Sasuke stayed calm. The only real challenge would be Yakumo. But with Sharingan, fire jutsu, and better taijutsu, he still had a good shot.
"I'm number two!"
Naruto said, excited.
"I'm number one," Sasuke looked at his slip. "Not you, Naruto."
"Damn…"
Naruto slumped.
"I… I'm number one too."
Hinata stared at her number, heart pounding. She was going up against Sasuke.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Poor Hinata.
Sasuke had recently beaten Neji. Sure, Hinata had too—but their skill difference didn't seem far apart.
"Hinata, huh," Sasuke muttered.
"Guess I'll use the same strategy I used on Neji."
"Who's number two?"
Naruto asked.
"Me," Yakumo smiled. "Looking forward to our match, Naruto."
"You might be strong—but I'm gonna win!"
Naruto clenched his fists. He didn't like genjutsu, but he had his counter—Shadow Clones.
"Then I'm fighting Shikamaru," Shino said.
"No need. I'm out," Shikamaru waved it off.
They'd already fought. Same result expected. He'd made top six—goal achieved. In fact, no matter who he'd drawn, he'd planned to surrender anyway.
"Students with number one, step up," Iruka called, cutting the chatter.
Sasuke and Hinata entered the ring.
Sasuke: calm. Hinata: tense. The contrast couldn't be more obvious.
Kitazawa's gaze sharpened.
Whether the mission succeeded depended on whether Hinata could beat Sasuke.
In his mind, their skills were close—either could win. The key would be Genjutsu: Bubbles, and Leaf Body Flicker.
"You can surrender if you want," Sasuke said flatly.
He wanted to save chakra for Yakumo and Naruto. If needed, Kitazawa might allow a bonus match.
"No."
Hinata glanced at Kitazawa.
"I have to win."
"Good. So do I."
Sasuke activated his Sharingan.
"Let's go."
His hands moved instantly—Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
A giant fireball roared out, heat exploding across the field.
Hinata was ready. She darted sideways and began circling Sasuke.
"Same speed as Neji," Sasuke thought, reassured.
He flung a barrage of shuriken.
Hinata didn't dodge. Her Byakugan scanned for wires—none. She used Gentle Fist to swat them all away.
Perfect opening!
Her speed slowed from the barrage—Sasuke formed hand signs: Genjutsu: Bubbles!
But Hinata ducked her head—avoiding eye contact.
Kitazawa's training paid off.
Using only sound cues and wind sensing, she avoided the illusion and knocked down the remaining shuriken.
"Troublesome," Sasuke muttered, ditching the genjutsu and switching to Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu.
He needed another chance to cast, but couldn't let her get close.
He tilted his head back and launched a series of small fireballs.
Hinata didn't use Body Flicker yet—just dodged.
Kitazawa had warned her: any jutsu works best the first time. She was saving it to finish the match.
And so, the two stood locked—
waiting.
Watching.
Each hunting for the perfect moment.
~~~
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