"What kind of jutsu was that?"
Naruto Whirlpool, who had been charging forward, stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened at the massive crater ahead.
He could easily imagine, if he had taken that hit head-on, it would have drilled straight through him.
"It's called the Rasengan," Kitazawa said calmly.
"It's a ninjutsu created personally by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze."
"What?!"
Naruto instantly lit up.
"Kitazawa-sensei! I want to learn it!"
"I'll come find you the day after tomorrow."
Kitazawa wasn't surprised at all. Naruto's biggest dream right now was to surpass all the previous Hokage.
"It's Kitazawa-sensei's victory, after all," Ino said with a grin.
"Looked pretty easy for you."
"What kind of jutsu was that? I've never seen it before! But it looked crazy strong!"
Kiba asked, still staring at the crater.
"And Kitazawa-sensei didn't even form hand seals," Shino added, unable to stay silent.
"A no-seal jutsu with that level of force?"
"It's that jutsu."
Shikamaru suddenly realized.
"The Fourth Hokage's Rasengan!"
"My dad said the Fourth Hokage had two signature techniques: the Flying Thunder God, and the Rasengan," Sakura added with a nod.
Sasuke Uchiha felt something stir inside him. He remembered that the Rasengan was an A-Rank technique. Could he ever learn something like that?
…Probably not.
Kitazawa wouldn't teach him such a jutsu lightly.
Sasuke shook his head. What was an A-Rank ninjutsu compared to the Sharingan of the Uchiha?
"Rasengan…?"
Iruka felt dazed.
At first he saw Kitazawa as a regular senior ninja. But now the gap between them was enormous.
If Kitazawa could learn even the Rasengan, he definitely wouldn't remain a special jōnin for long.
Sooner or later he'd be promoted to jōnin… maybe even become the Academy's principal someday.
System Notification
Current Mission: Achieve first place in the final exam with overwhelming superiority.
Reward:First Gate of the Eight Gates Formation.
Mission completed. Reward issued.
It arrived.
Kitazawa finally relaxed a little. The system had acknowledged his strategy.
A wave of information poured into his mind. He clicked his tongue.
The Eight Gates really were monstrous. Even the First Gate offered a massive power boost, well worth its brutal training difficulty.
But with his current physical condition, opening the next gate would require heavy training. Unless the system rewarded him with more Senju or Uzumaki bloodline enhancements.
"Naruto, go back to your spot. The scores will be announced soon," Kitazawa told him, patting his shoulder.
"Okay!"
Naruto nodded energetically.
He had defeated Sasuke Uchiha, so he was sure he'd get first place in the practical exam.
"I'm back, everyone!!"
Naruto shouted excitedly, waving as he ran.
"Don't get too cocky!"
Kiba snapped.
"It's only the first semester!"
"Yeah!"
Sakura agreed.
"Next semester, Sasuke will take back first place!"
Sasuke gave her a look.
He noticed something strange. Lately, Sakura had been more confident in him than he was in himself…
And that confidence usually backfired.
Weird.
"I won't stop getting stronger. Next semester, I'll be way better than this!"
Naruto clenched his fist.
"That's the burning spirit of youth!"
"…Ugh."
Shikamaru winced at the word youth.
During their special combat training, every time Naruto screamed about youth, he powered up and kept going, forcing his teammates to suffer with him.
Sasuke quietly stepped back two paces. He had suffered the most.
Might Guy's training was brutal on both body and spirit. With three maniacs shouting about youth around him every day, and him unable to outrun them, it was enough to make his blood boil.
But at least that training was almost over. For summer break, only Kitazawa's training awaited him.
"Kitazawa-senpai!"
Iruka hurried forward with the report sheet, excited.
"Why are you so worked up?"
Kitazawa chuckled as he took it.
"I'm just happy! So many geniuses in First-Year Class A!"
Kitazawa checked the results. Pretty much what he expected, no surprises.
"Quiet!"
He stepped in front of Class A.
"I'll announce the rankings for the practical exam first."
Unlike the monthly exams, the final exam separated practical and written results.
This time was true combat.
"If it's real combat," he said, "then the rankings must be clear."
"First place: Naruto Uzumaki."
"Yes!!"
Naruto jumped with joy.
This was his first real first-place finish, not just in physical tests, but in an actual practical exam.
The Third Hokage smiled warmly. In a class full of prodigies, taking first place was a big deal.
He remembered Minato Namikaze, who also placed first repeatedly during his Academy years.
Sakura sighed. She had already lost the first half of her bet with Ino.
But she was confident she'd win the written exam, making it a tie.
"Second place: Sasuke Uchiha."
Normally, Sasuke would have fought both Hinata and Shino. But that would have been a tiring round-robin fight.
For a regular exam, that was unnecessary. And realistically, Sasuke still had the higher chance of winning.
Thus, he was placed second.
Sasuke stayed silent. Second place meant nothing to him.
But Shikamaru was thrilled:
fifth place secured his summer vacation, no extra training.
"Third place: Hinata Hyuga.
Fourth: Shino Aburame.
Fifth: Shikamaru Nara.
Sixth: Ino Yamanaka."
Kitazawa smiled.
"Good progress overall. Stay humble and keep improving."
"Kitazawa-sensei," Naruto raised his hand.
"Will all future practical exams be like this, real combat?"
"That's right."
Sasuke's eyes sharpened.
Three or four exams each semester… nine per year…
He had only lost once.
Once he awakened his Sharingan, he'd take everything back.
Kitazawa raised his hand, silencing them.
"Now for the written exam."
Everyone fell silent.
Especially Sakura, who was confident yet nervous.
"First place: Shikamaru Nara."
"What?!"
Sakura shouted.
"N-No way!"
Naruto stared at Shikamaru.
Even Kiba couldn't believe it.
Choji Autumn-Way looked at Shikamaru.
"You actually… put in effort?"
Only Ino wasn't surprised.
"Second place: Sakura Haruno."
Sakura froze.
Sasuke glanced at her, he understood her feeling perfectly. He too had lost his number-one spot.
Ino patted her shoulder.
"It's fine. Plenty of chances to take it back."
Plastic friendship at its finest.
"Final exams are over. Summer vacation begins tomorrow," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Have fun."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!"
The students cheered.
"Take over from here, Iruka," Kitazawa said.
"I need to go to the Hokage Building."
"Yes, leave it to me!"
Iruka said proudly.
Kitazawa followed the Third Hokage into the office.
"Kitazawa," Hiruzen said, "Class A impressed me deeply today."
"It's all thanks to their hard work."
"And yours," the Hokage said warmly.
"I've never seen a class quite like yours."
"Just fortunate timing," Kitazawa replied modestly.
Still, Hiruzen waved off the modesty.
"Regardless, you deserve a reward."
Kitazawa's eyes brightened.
"You no longer need to monitor Terai."
Kitazawa blinked in surprise.
So his value had risen enough for the Hokage to counter Danzo directly.
"Once Terai leaves, you'll take over his class," Hiruzen added.
"Don't worry, you can use shadow clones."
"All right," Kitazawa nodded.
"And this, take it."
Hiruzen handed him a scroll.
Kitazawa opened it, and froze.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. A-Rank Forbidden Technique. The first jutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals.
Most jōnin could barely handle twenty clones. This was a big deal. Clearly, the Hokage wanted him to eventually teach it to Naruto.
Still, a free Forbidden Technique was a free Forbidden Technique.
Combined with the First Gate earlier…
Two forbidden jutsu in one day.
Unbelievable.
"With your strength, you can probably handle around a dozen clones safely," Hiruzen warned.
"But never overdo it."
Kitazawa nodded.
"Understood."
"You must memorize the scroll here. Forbidden Techniques can't leave the room."
Kitazawa expected that.
"Go outside and find Haru. She'll arrange a room for you."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Kitazawa headed out, notified Haru, and entered the adjacent office to memorize the technique.
He also waited… because he really wanted to hear the classic argument between Hiruzen and Danzo.
And he got it.
A loud crash. Two shouted words.
Just like the legends.
He felt spiritually fulfilled.
After memorizing the scroll, he returned it to the Hokage.
"Terai is gone," Hiruzen said calmly.
"You don't need to worry about him anymore."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
"If you ever struggle with the shadow clones, come to me."
"You've worked hard today. Go rest."
Kitazawa bowed slightly and left.
Out on the street, he stretched.
This final exam had been incredibly rewarding.
Two missions completed.
Two new missions unlocked.
A threat removed.
Two Forbidden Techniques gained.