Chapter 67: Focus Battle
"Candidate No. 37, Akazaki Isamu. Candidate No. 38, Uchiha Shisui. Please enter the examination area."
Akazaki froze for a moment when he heard his opponent's name.
There was no doubt—Shisui was the one opponent every student in Class 1, Grade 1 hoped to avoid.
And for good reason. Shisui was far too strong.
In the last exam, he had taken first place in the class and the entire grade by a landslide. Even Anko, who had ranked second, had been completely overwhelmed.
The practical exam's scoring was based on a student's performance during battle. If a match ended in an instant, the proctor wouldn't be able to evaluate anything—leading to a lower score.
But luck was a cruel thing. Akazaki had drawn Shisui, and all he could do was grit his teeth and step into the arena.
After Mugetsu called for the match to begin, Akazaki didn't hesitate—he immediately launched into a full Three Body Technique demonstration, showcasing his mastery to earn as many points as possible before the inevitable.
"This one understands how the exam is scored," Ueda Aya nodded approvingly. There was nothing wrong with his approach.
Shisui simply stood there, quietly watching.
Once Akazaki had shown enough, Shisui flicked his wrist—two shuriken shot out, dispelling the clones—and then, with a burst of movement, he closed the distance and took Akazaki down with two precise strikes.
"The gap in strength is too wide…" Ueda Aya muttered. She couldn't even tell if Shisui had improved since the last exam. Akazaki simply hadn't been strong enough to push him.
---
When the match between Student No. 39 and Student No. 40 concluded, Ueda Aya finished scoring the first round.
She glanced over the sheets. Out of forty students, not one had scored below an 8 in Ninjutsu. The class average was absurdly high.
"For this round, I expect the Third Hokage will be praising you again," Ueda Aya said playfully. "Meanwhile, I'll probably get dragged in for questioning once these results hit the desk."
"Then we'll get questioned together," Mugetsu replied with a faint smile, showing her the scores he had given—nearly identical to hers.
Even though they were his own students, excellent performance was still excellent. There was no need to artificially lower their marks to avoid suspicion.
---
As the matches progressed, students inevitably faced off against friends.
Izumo, eyes slightly red, eliminated Kotetsu.
Then Anko, eyes equally red, eliminated Izumo.
"Haha... Kotetsu, your Enemy Confusion Technique was totally useless!" Izumo laughed while trying to hide the sting of having to fight a friend.
Kotetsu: "…"
He swore to himself—during break, he'd train every day and beat Izumo next term to reclaim his pride.
"Haha! Izumo, Kotetsu, you two 'Ninjutsu talents' can't compare to me, the genius Anko!" Anko stood triumphantly, hands on hips.
The two boys exchanged a look.
Yeah... when the theory scores came out, they were definitely knocking her down a peg.
---
"Candidates Anko and Uchiha Shisui, please enter the examination area."
The class finals had begun.
Ueda Aya leaned in, paying close attention. Anko had been second place last time—arguably the only one who could possibly draw out more of Shisui's strength.
Anko knew Shisui wasn't someone she could deal with head-on.
So, the moment the match began, she used Enemy Confusion Technique.
But this time, she upped the game.
First, she created seven clones that looked exactly like Shisui.
While those clones darted around and disrupted his field of vision, Anko used Transformation Technique to become Shisui herself, then produced a clone in her own appearance.
The battlefield became pure chaos.
Unfortunately, Shisui wasn't like the others. Even with all the visual interference, he didn't lose track of her.
In a flash of movement—a Body Flicker Technique—he appeared beside the real Anko and struck her down.
"Body Flicker, huh?" Ueda Aya murmured. "He might need to be bumped up to Fourth Grade's Yearly Practical Exam just to see his full strength."
While the battle was still one-sided, at least Shisui revealed a bit more of his true ability this time.
With Shisui securing first place in the class, the practical exam for Class 1, Grade 1 came to an end.
---
As Mugetsu and Ueda Aya headed back to the office, they bumped into Ikeya Yu, who was pacing and muttering to himself.
"Why the hell are Might Guy and Uchiha Obito so strong now?" he blurted, completely bewildered. "They didn't stand out at all in class!"
He'd been assigned to proctor his own class for the exam and had watched both Guy and Obito dominate all day. Even Hyuga Homura might struggle to keep up.
"Maybe they've just been hiding their strength and finally decided to show it?" Ueda Aya offered.
"No matter what the reason is, isn't it a good thing that they're strong?" Mugetsu smiled.
Ikeya paused.
"…You're right. Bonuses are real."
---
The Grade-Level Practical Exam (Yearly) began on the third day.
The proctors were randomly selected among the teaching staff. Ueda Aya was chosen. Mugetsu wasn't—but he still went to observe.
After one round, Ueda Aya noticed something troubling.
The top two students from some classes… weren't even as strong as several students from Mugetsu's class.
"This two-student-per-class limit needs to be changed…" she thought. "If not for this restriction, Class 1, Grade 1 could've had at least six students in the top eight."
The rule felt unfair—classes with overall excellence couldn't fully represent themselves.
---
After watching one round, Mugetsu left the first-grade exam room and went to observe the Fourth Grade's bracket.
There was no question—Shisui would claim first place in his grade.
What he cared about now… was the Fourth Grade showdown.
Both Might Guy and Obito had active training missions to take first place.
With two months of rigorous growth behind them, Mugetsu expected some serious rewards—and he couldn't wait to see them perform.
When he arrived, the Fourth Grade's first round had just finished. The current round was the quarterfinals.
"Candidate No. 1, Hyuga Homura. Candidate No. 4, Might Guy. Please enter the examination area."
As the proctor's voice echoed, the crowd of students erupted into excited whispers.
This was the match everyone had been waiting for.
The clash between first and second place from the previous exam—undeniably the main event of the Fourth Grade's Yearly Practical.
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