The day of the graduation exam had finally arrived.
Naruto grinned as he snatched a potato chip straight from the bag in Choji's hands, earning a frown from the bigger boy.
"So, Shikamaru, Choji, you guys ready for the test?" Naruto asked with a mischievous smirk.
Shikamaru sighed, hands folded behind his head. "Exams are such a drag."
Choji popped another chip into his mouth and spoke with confidence. "It won't be a problem. Passing should be easy."
They were both heirs to established families. If they couldn't even clear the Academy's final test, then what face would they have left? They might as well rot at home.
The jutsu for the exam was simple basic Clone Technique. The graduation requirement of the Leaf Village was surprisingly modest, and yet, there were always people who failed.
Naruto found it unbelievable. Six years at the Academy, and they can't even get this down?
When his turn came, Iruka handed him the Leaf forehead protector without hesitation. Naruto's grin widened as he tied it around his head.
He had finally graduated.
He was now an official Genin of the Hidden Leaf.
Naruto gave Iruka a nod of respect, about to head out when he noticed Mizuki standing beside Iruka. There was something unsettling in Mizuki's eyes.
Naruto squinted. Mizuki smiled back, perfectly gentle and handsome on the surface.
Naruto's lips twitched. What's this guy up to?
Shaking the thought aside, he walked out of the classroom and into the bright sunlight. Sasuke and Hinata were already waiting for him at the Academy gate.
"Test's done. Time to move on," Naruto said. "I already told the old man we'd meet today."
Sasuke gave a small nod, while Hinata blushed lightly but held her composure. Both of them were curious, even eager, to see Naruto face off against the Third Hokage.
Naruto waved goodbye to Shikamaru and Choji, then vanished with Sasuke and Hinata in a blur of movement.
"Did you catch that?" Choji muttered, still staring at the spot where they disappeared.
"Not at all," Shikamaru replied with a shake of his head.
Choji pouted. "The gap between us is ridiculous."
Shikamaru shot him a sidelong glance. "Then why not train with them?"
The idea alone made Choji shudder. "No way. Their training is insane. I wouldn't last a day."
Shikamaru sighed. "Exactly. That's why they're ahead. It's not talent it's effort. They earned it."
In truth, even Sasuke and Hinata's training regimen was far beyond what Shikamaru could tolerate. He was lazy by nature. Forcing him into their lifestyle would be torture worse than death.
Meanwhile, Kiba scowled as he watched the trio vanish. Akamaru barked from his perch on Kiba's head.
"Yeah, I know, Akamaru. We're going back to train. I'm not letting Naruto and the others leave me in the dust," Kiba growled.
Ino trotted over to Shikamaru and Choji, rolling her eyes as she spotted Sakura staring dreamily after Sasuke.
"Sasuke is so cool…" Sakura whispered, hands clasped over her chest.
"Typical," Ino muttered, but she didn't look surprised.
That same afternoon, the Sarutobi Clan's private training grounds had been completely sealed off. Even the clan members themselves weren't allowed near. An Anbu squad had secured the perimeter under direct orders from the Hokage.
At the center of the field stood Naruto and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, both radiating an oppressive aura.
Sasuke, Hinata, and an Anbu captain in beige uniform stood at the edge, watching silently. The air was heavy with anticipation, every breath laced with tension.
Hiruzen wore his battle armor, and for a moment, he looked nothing like a frail elder. He was the Professor, the man who had once commanded the battlefield as the Third Hokage.
He struck first.
With a flick of his wrist, a shuriken spun toward Naruto. In the same breath, Hiruzen's fingers blurred into a sequence of seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The single shuriken multiplied mid-air into a storm of steel, blotting out the sky.
Naruto slammed his palms to the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
A massive wall of rock rose up, catching the barrage of steel with a deafening clatter.
But Hiruzen wasn't done. He darted around the wall with blinding speed, far faster than any old man had a right to be, and closed in. His strikes came sharp and merciless fingers, palms, elbows, and knees honed from decades of real battle.
Naruto met him head-on.
Thanks to years of training under Might Guy's brutal regimen, his taijutsu was explosive yet controlled, strength tempered by agility. Every punch cracked the air, every kick carried the weight of a hammer, and yet he flowed seamlessly between hard and soft.
Their clash became a storm of blurred limbs and thunderous impacts.
Hiruzen's brows furrowed. His arms tingled from the force of Naruto's strikes. The boy was stronger than him undeniably so. If he kept trading blows, he would lose.
He baited Naruto with an opening, then suddenly unleashed.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A dragon of mud and stone erupted point-blank, aiming to swallow Naruto whole.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. He inhaled sharply and exhaled a roaring fire.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Flame met earth, exploding in smoke and shards.
Hiruzen countered immediately. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" A gale whipped the flames and debris straight back at Naruto.
Then lightning sparked along the ground. "Lightning Style: Earth Current!" Bolts raced forward in deadly arcs.
Naruto vaulted high into the air, chakra bursting from his feet. He inhaled again.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!"
A blade of compressed air shrieked through the sky, colliding with the lightning and scattering it in a storm of sparks. The vacuum wave carried on, surging toward Hiruzen.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" Hiruzen unleashed three blazing dragons, colliding with the wind blade and tearing it apart in a fiery blast.
Naruto had no time to breathe as the ground beneath him turned to flowing mud.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow River!"
If he landed in it, he'd be swallowed whole.
But Naruto was calm. He clapped his hands. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
From thin air, three mighty dragons of water surged forth, smashing into the fire dragons with explosive force. At the same time, he conjured a shimmering water wall beneath his feet. He landed lightly atop it and slid down the flowing surface, bypassing the earth river entirely.
The Anbu captain watching gasped. "His control… to use Water Wall as footing like that… astonishing!"
Sasuke's eyes glinted. "They're both fighting with all five elemental natures, using nothing but counterplay. Every move is about balance."
His jaw tightened. He had already begun training a third chakra nature beyond his fire and lightning, but his progress was slow. Watching Naruto and Hiruzen weave elements like threads in a tapestry filled him with both awe and frustration.
Hinata, meanwhile, watched silently, her hands clenched tightly in front of her chest. She knew this battle wasn't just about power it was a test of Naruto's resolve.
The clash of fire, wind, water, lightning, and earth shook the training grounds, the old master and the rising prodigy locked in a storm of raw will and elemental fury.
And this was only the beginning.