[Shadow Clone Jutsu] wasn't hard to learn. With Zhao Yi Qianming's fine control over Chakra, he mastered it in just a few hours.
Because [Shadow Clone Jutsu] splits the user's Chakra evenly, many shinobi avoid using it mid-fight, relying on it more for lures or reconnaissance. That said, a physical clone used in tight coordination with the original enables many tactics.
Zhao Yi Qianming asked to learn [Shadow Clone Jutsu] precisely because he'd thought of one such tactic—a setup even the elite jōnin Zabuza Momochi once failed to see through.
During the remaining seven days, aside from frequent spars with Yamamoto Hideyoshi, he spent every spare moment rehearsing that tactic so he could deploy it flawlessly on exam day.
Clear skies. Warm sunshine. It felt good on the skin.
With his ninja tools packed, Zhao Yi Qianming left home for the Academy.
Compared to a week ago he had improved a great deal. Not just in Ninjutsu, but, more importantly, in experience.
In those seven days Yamamoto had gone all in. Whenever he caught an opening, he would slam Zhao Yi Qianming hard to the ground.
It was exactly why Zhao Yi Qianming grew so fast.
His exam room was a fairly empty chamber with no terrain to exploit. Few had come to watch: Yamamoto Hideyoshi, several Academy instructors, and two shinobi Zhao Yi Qianming didn't know—one of whom looked like a jōnin.
In live combat accidents happen. A veteran jōnin can often intervene before tragedy strikes.
His opponent was a guy named Tian, around twelve or thirteen by the look of him. According to Yamamoto, Tian's overall qualities were balanced. In a few years he ought to make chunin.
To Zhao Yi Qianming's eye he was middling. His future wouldn't be bright.
"All right, time's up. Begin." The jōnin sounded impatient. Seeing Zhao Yi Qianming ready, he started the exam.
"Exam start! Both parties, form the Seal of Confrontation!" Yamamoto called.
"Please guide me," Zhao Yi Qianming said, forming the seal.
Tian nodded casually, signaling Zhao Yi Qianming to go first.
Without hesitation, Zhao Yi Qianming sprinted in with a Kunai in each hand. Tian met him head-on, Kunai raised.
Genin battles are simple. Especially between civilians, with little access to advanced Ninjutsu, most fights are the Three Basic Techniques paired with Taijutsu.
The flashy variety seen in the Chūnin Exams did not appear in civilian skirmishes.
They passed and clashed. Sparks skittered off the Kunai.
Zhao Yi Qianming whipped his left-hand Kunai in a backhand throw.
With a lazy flick, Tian knocked it aside. Then he saw the smoke bomb tied to the Kunai's ring and thought, 'Not good.'
Boom.
Smoke swallowed his sight. An experienced shinobi, Tian knew standing still in the haze made him easy prey for a Shuriken volley. But bolting blindly out could run him into an ambush.
So he hurled a few Shuriken toward where he remembered Zhao Yi Qianming being and moved to exit the smoke.
Sure enough, just as Tian burst from the smoke, three Kunai came at him in a chevron.
"Not that easy!" he barked, rolling to slip the trio of blades.
On the sideline, several chunin instructors and the jōnin all shook their heads. They had seen everything Zhao Yi Qianming had set up.
As Tian finished his clumsy roll to avoid the three Kunai, Zhao Yi Qianming drew six Shuriken and sent them screaming at him.
At the same time, a Kunai that had landed behind Tian burst with a pop into Zhao Yi Qianming's body. He flew through rapid Hand Seals.
[Earth Release—Rock Pillar Spear]
"I win."
As his seals finished, Tian—utterly unprepared—felt the ground tremble under his feet…
Just before the spikes could skewer him, the watching jōnin flashed to Tian's side and yanked him clear of the eruption.
The Rock Pillar Spears stabbed into empty floor.
Truth be told, the tactic was lifted straight from Naruto Uzumaki's fight with Zabuza Momochi. Zhao Yi Qianming might not have devised such a classic ploy on his own.
"I hereby declare Zhao Yi Qianming an official genin of Konoha." The jōnin placed a fresh Konoha forehead protector in Zhao Yi Qianming's hands. The graduation was complete.
A simple ceremony.
He wasn't Kakashi Hatake. Even if he had once beaten Kakashi, it couldn't match the ring of 'son of the White Fang,' and Kakashi had passed the exam at age five.
That record, even by the start of the original storyline, stood unbroken.
"Thank you, sir," Zhao Yi Qianming said to the jōnin. His tone was so flat it was hard to like.
The jōnin didn't mind. He even praised him. "Good tactic. You took down a seasoned genin cleanly."
"Thank you for the compliment," Zhao Yi Qianming replied.
He glanced at Tian. The boy's face was dark. If word got out, he might not lift his head for a while.
Zhao Yi Qianming felt a twinge of guilt. But if their places had been reversed, his own fate would be just as bad—at least the label of arrogance would stick.
After a few perfunctory words with the jōnin, Yamamoto Hideyoshi dragged Zhao Yi Qianming to a yakiniku shop to celebrate his excellent performance and to congratulate him on officially becoming a Konoha shinobi.
It had to be said: despite the village's contradictions and darkness, its shinobi loved the village. You could hear it in Yamamoto's voice on any given day.
Zhao Yi Qianming didn't feel much belonging to Konoha, but he did his best to present as deeply loyal.
A yakiniku shop was normally out of reach for a boy living on stipends. Since Yamamoto was generous today, Zhao Yi Qianming ate without mercy.
Yamamoto's wallet hurt, but as teacher he fulfilled his duty to the end. He talked through all the key points Zhao Yi Qianming should watch for when teams were formed.
After leaving the shop, Yamamoto told him to register for his shinobi ID the next day and then wait at home for the team assignment notice.
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