"Begin!"
The proctor for this exam was a Jōnin, and with his command, the graduation assessment officially started.
Uchiha Sasuke stepped forward first.
He moved through the Clone, Transformation, and Body Replacement Techniques in a blur. Smooth. Flawless.
Hyūga Hinata followed—her Three Body Technique just as steady and precise.
No surprise there.
As heirs of major clans, they'd been mastering these basics practically from birth.
"Next," the Jōnin examiner announced, "you must withstand the Chūnin examiner's attacks for ten minutes to pass.
If you can defeat him, that counts as a pass too."
A tall Chūnin stepped forward, smiling politely.
"Who'd like to go first?"
"I will," Sasuke replied coolly, eyes burning with determination.
Just surviving wasn't enough.
If Naruto could defeat his examiner during his test, then Sasuke would too.
The crowd buzzed with whispers.
"Is he trying to copy Naruto and defeat the proctor?"
"He's out of his mind. That examiner is Shiranui Nohara—basically special Jōnin level."
"Seems like Konoha's been embarrassed enough. This time they're taking no chances."
And with that… the battle began.
Nohara steadily increased his strength, planning to test Sasuke and let him pass.
But the boy surprised him.
Sasuke's kunai clashed, parried, flipped—and suddenly three shuriken gleamed toward Nohara in a perfectly angled spread.
"Not bad," Nohara muttered, blocking.
He's stronger than I expected.
Sasuke's Sharingan spun to life. One tomoe. Clear. Focused.
He hurled another set of shuriken, then leapt back, hands a blur.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A blazing sphere roared across the field.
The crowd gasped as the massive flame swallowed Nohara.
But the proctor's form vanished—leaving only a smoking log.
Body Replacement.
Before Sasuke could react—
thwip
A kunai sliced air behind him. He'd already been flanked.
But Sasuke's body burst into smoke. Another clone.
The real Sasuke lunged with a kunai from behind.
It was fast. Clean. Calculated.
Even the Jōnin proctor had to admit it—
Sasuke's combat instincts were nearly Chūnin-level already.
The battle continued, Sasuke pushing his limits—
until finally, the ten-minute mark passed.
"Enough," the Jōnin decided.
"You pass."
But Sasuke didn't smile.
He clenched his fists instead.
"Damn it… if I had more chakra, I could've beaten him…"
While the crowd buzzed over Sasuke, the real shock hadn't even begun.
The next match was Hinata's.
When the proctor called "start," the spectators expected gentle footwork and subtle pokes. Maybe even tears.
Instead—
WHOOSH.
Hinata blurred forward like lightning.
A sharp crack echoed as her palm hit Nohara's guard—and actually forced him back.
"Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams, One Palm! Two Palm! Four Palm!"
She moved like a storm—faster and faster—striking in a perfect rhythm of speed and pressure that forced the Chūnin on full defense.
"This little girl—why are her strikes so heavy?!" Nohara thought in panic.
The crowd was stunned silent.
"That's Hinata? The shy Hyūga girl?"
"She looks delicate but fights like a beast!"
"I thought Gentle Fist was supposed to be subtle—this is terrifying!"
Her fists flashed like swift gusts of wind. Not a wasted movement.
No mercy. No hesitation.
Even Sasuke's performance paled in comparison to the fierceness Hinata unleashed.
And when the proctor finally stopped the fight, it was clear…
Hinata wasn't just passing.
She was dominating.
For the first time, Konoha saw not "the timid Hyūga girl"…
but a warrior.
Quiet. Determined. Deadly.
And as Naruto watched from the side, wearing his new Chūnin vest—
he couldn't stop smiling.
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