Yamanaka Yukio stepped into the classroom, sweeping his gaze across the room. His eyes paused when they landed on Yuki Seisui, and only then did he nod slowly.
"Yuki Seisui, get back to your seat, now!"
Seisui froze mid-motion, sheepishly retreating to his desk. He had completely forgotten that the teacher had arrived.
"Settle down, class," Ino said.
"Today is the last day of the month, which means... monthly evaluation time."
He paused for dramatic effect, putting on a grim expression like some kind of strict overlord.
"Anyone who fails the assessment will face... severe punishment."
The evaluation had two parts: a written test in the morning and a practical combat assessment in the afternoon.
Yamanaka Yukio glanced around the room again, his expression flickering with worry as he looked at the civilian students. As a responsible teacher, he always tried to treat everyone equally. But some gaps simply couldn't be bridged, like the one between ordinary kids and those born into shinobi clans.
Some students were still learning how to read. Others had already mastered basic ninjutsu.
That kind of difference was massive.
He sighed and looked back at Yuki Seisui, a small sense of relief in his eyes. At least Seisui was a civilian too. He was proof that not all hope was lost for the non-clan students. At the very least, he helped save face for them.
It had been nearly a month since the Ninja Academy started, and there still hadn't been any actual combat training.
But Ino believed in Seisui.
With his talent, as long as he didn't slack off, practical experience would come naturally.
As for the written test that morning, no surprises there. Seisui completed it with ease.
He was confident in his results.
After all, most of the exam was centered on interpreting the "Will of Fire."
And if there was one thing Yuki Seisui excelled at, it was reading comprehension.
You could even say the entire population had been raised on reading comprehension tests.
A little thing like the Will of Fire? That was child's play for him.
While collecting the tests, Yamanaka Yukio lingered on Seisui's paper a bit longer.
"The greatness of the Will of Fire and the strength of Konoha..." Ino read aloud, his face taking on a strange expression.
This Will of Fire... was so passionate, even he couldn't compare.
It suddenly made sense why the Third Hokage had specifically asked him to deliver Seisui's paper personally.
"A boy with such a strong Will of Fire... how admirable."
Once the written portion was complete, Ino gave a brief overview of the afternoon's practical test.
It turned out to be different from what Seisui had imagined. He had assumed it would be a basic one-on-one sparring format: winners advance, losers fail.
Instead? It was just shuriken and kunai target practice.
Thinking about it, it wasn't so unreasonable. After all, they'd only just started school a month ago. None of them had fought for real yet.
Still, Seisui couldn't help feeling a little cheated.
If it's just target practice, a Shadow Clone could handle it... and they still dragged me out here personally?
He shot a resentful look at Yamanaka Yukio, who was now explaining the scoring criteria from the front of the class.
"That's all you need to know, students. Best of luck this afternoon!"
"Yes, sensei!"
"I'm totally gonna be the top student!"
"Yeah right, get over yourself!"
"You bastard! Are you trying to compete with me for the top spot?!"
Chaos erupted in the classroom, but Ino didn't bother to stop it. He just left with the stack of tests.
Then, like clockwork, Inuzuka Ryo jumped out, pointing dramatically at Seisui.
"You hear me, Yuki Seisui?! This time the top rank is mine!"
He then launched into an elaborate fantasy about becoming Hokage.
"Kneel before me now, and maybe I'll let you be one of my advisors when I take the title!"
Ryo burst into obnoxious laughter, leaving Seisui speechless.
Ever since that time Seisui had accidentally knocked him out cold during a training match, Ryo had been pestering him non-stop, like Seisui was some final boss he had to defeat.
"Idiot," Seisui muttered, barely sparing him a glance as he walked away.
"You better watch your back, damn it! I'm definitely gonna beat you in the afternoon!"
"Ryo's hopeless..." said Minato, walking alongside Seisui, shaking his head helplessly.
"Hey, Minato," Seisui suddenly turned to him, "Wanna have a match after lunch? Something fast and intense?"
Minato hesitated. There was a test later... but seeing the look in Seisui's eyes, he sighed and gave in.
He had long since figured out that his best friend's favorite pastime was challenging people to fight.
Bad mood? Duel.
Good mood? Still duel.
Hungry? Duel.
Full? Duel anyway.
The reasons were endless, but his favorite sparring partner was always Minato, probably because they knew each other best.
And like the sunshine he was, Minato rarely said no.
"You're too nice, Minato!" Seisui grinned, slinging an arm around his shoulder.
"Ugh, don't say it like that. You sound like a creep."
Seisui ignored the disgust in Minato's tone. "So what do you wanna eat for lunch?"
"My treat!"
"Ramen."
"Let's go!"
The two of them headed to a ramen shop just outside the school grounds and ate their fill.
Then, predictably, Seisui couldn't wait any longer. He dragged Minato into another duel.
He was hyped. After all, a ten-roll draw was waiting for him.
What if I pull a full Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke card?
[Note: "Ten-roll" or is slang from gacha games, referring to pulling 10 randomized rewards at once. Think of it like a loot box lottery.]
Everyone has bad luck, but you gotta dream like you're the chosen one. Getting a full S-rank ninja card isn't too much to ask... right?
Seisui and Minato walked casually down the street, chatting and laughing like any pair of students. But in the blink of an eye, both their movements froze. Minato clutched his chest in pain.
"I thought you were gonna use that Water Flow Beheading move again!"
"I let my guard down this time... next time, I'll win."
Minato slowly calmed his breathing, the phantom pain in his heart from the 'killing blow' fading.
He'd gotten used to dying by now. A hit like that wasn't even a big deal anymore.
What was terrifying was the Water Flow Beheading, a move that made you walk yourself into a beheading. You'd feel death creeping in, helpless to stop it.
Even after twenty simulated "deaths," Minato still hadn't gotten used to the feeling of watching his own head fall off.
After a glance at Minato, Seisui suddenly summoned a Shadow Clone.
"I'm not going to the practical test this afternoon," he said casually. "I've got a great idea. Later!"
With that, he vanished, leaving Minato and the clone staring blankly at each other.
"The real one seriously pisses me off sometimes," grumbled the clone. Then he turned to Minato.
"Hey, do you know any girls who are pretty but super annoying?"
"I'm gonna hook one up with him. Make her bug him every single day."
Birds of a feather, huh?
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