Chapter 42

First came the theory exam. I finished it quickly and was one of the first to turn in my paper. In the end, I proudly took third place in this test. I had already accepted the fact that Shikamaru had beaten me, but seeing Ino ahead was a pleasant surprise. So, without a hint of jealousy, I immediately congratulated her.

At first, she didn't believe me—especially considering how negatively Sasuke reacted to being beaten by Sakura (and she even tried to comfort him!). But once she realized I was sincere, she happily threw herself onto my neck.

Kiba also passed the theory exam, killing us all in the process…

"Yes! Thirty points with five minuses! I passed!"

At this scream, Shikamaru started monotonously banging his head against the wall.

"Is it just me, or did they pass him just so they wouldn't have to deal with him for another year?" Sasuke snorted from beside me, his usual scowl not quite as dark as before.

Well, yeah—anyone who scored below thirty points had failed, and the teachers made it pretty clear that Kiba barely scraped through just because they didn't want to suffer another year with him.

With my 98 points, I had nothing to worry about. I could graduate on the theory test alone. And there was still the taijutsu evaluation ahead.

Just a side note: Ino got a perfect 100, and Shikamaru even managed to find an inconsistency in the wording of a question. He wrote a detailed explanation about the issue and the potential consequences, all while still answering everything correctly. So, that cheat ended up with 110 points.

After a short break, the taijutsu exam began, where the teachers would assess our combat level. I was paired against Mizuki, while three unfamiliar instructors observed the fight. On the adjacent training ground, Iruka was doing the same, alongside three other academy teachers.

Now, I have to give credit where it's due—Mizuki didn't try to sabotage me or flex his Chunin-level skills (though a tiny worm of doubt still gnawed at me). He fought strictly at the level required for the exam. Honestly, it would be a shame if he really did go after that stupid scroll or convinced someone else to do it.

After receiving an "Excellent" in taijutsu as well, I headed to the room where they were testing our academy ninjutsu.

This part was more serious. The required techniques were announced in advance, students were called in one by one, and the commission consisted of Mizuki, Iruka, eight other academy teachers (which was basically all of them), and some old lady who was supposedly a Hokage Advisor.

The Substitution and Transformation techniques went smoothly—even earned me some rare praise. But when it came to Clones… I immediately showed Shadow Clones.

I mean, why bother with a weaker technique that I couldn't even perform properly?

This led to a debate among the teachers. On one hand, I hadn't demonstrated the required technique. But on the other—Shadow Clones were an impressive jutsu, far beyond academy level.

To my relief, they weren't arguing about expelling me (Who knows with this damn canon?), but rather about how many points I should receive. Mizuki and Iruka pushed for a high score, while the old lady argued for a deduction, saying that reckless Genin shouldn't be encouraged to use such dangerous techniques.

"If he had run out of chakra (ha-ha, as if, at least ten times over), he would've collapsed right here as a corpse."

The other examiners kept shifting between the two sides of the debate.

In the end, I walked out of there with 76 points. Not a hundred, but not bad considering the other tests—I still made it into the top ten of our graduating class. Although first place was as far away from me as China. However, Shikamaru ended up right behind me! He completely flunked the taijutsu part, but in everything else, he didn't just score hundreds, he even got a little more. I'm still not sure how he managed to do that in the ninjutsu exam, but the fact remains.

By the way, Kiba somehow managed to pass both taijutsu and ninjutsu, so even though he didn't make it into the top ten, he still passed calmly and, like me, was now putting on his forehead protector. Sasuke, standing nearby, snorted discontentedly about his third place, while Hinata, who was spinning around Kiba, looked like she might faint from all the attention. This modest girl wrote the test perfectly, just two points below me, and despite being extremely shy, she performed her clan's taijutsu flawlessly and passed ninjutsu with ease. Talk about a modest girl!

As you can guess, Hinata took first place. Second place, to everyone's surprise, went to Aburame Shino, third place was Sasuke, fourth place went to someone with an unfamiliar surname, fifth was Saya, sixth was me! Seventh was Shikamaru, eighth was Aya, and ninth was Ino. The surname of the tenth student was unfamiliar to me.

So, as we all left together, we almost ran into Chōji, who was lying on the floor. What's this all about? Did he just pass out after the exam?

"Uhm... Chōji, are you okay?" Ino cautiously asked, the first to regain her ability to assess reality. Well, being a Yamanaka, she was used to staying calm under stress.

"Yeah. I'm in 'mode'." Chōji answered briefly, causing a new stupor among the more sensitive members of our group.

"What mode is that?" I asked, curious.

"Stuffed ourselves and lying down?" Shikamaru snorted.

"SHIKAMARU!" Chōji jumped up, clearly taking even innocent jokes about his weight poorly. Considering what I once saved him from in the bushes, it's no surprise that he might not appreciate jabs about his size.

As for Shikamaru… I wonder if he'll ever learn to keep his mouth shut. It seems like spending time with Kiba and me is starting to have a bad influence on him. A corrupting influence, indeed.

"So, where is everyone heading?" Ino asked, watching the pair run off. Hm, I can sense some curiosity in her voice, but no, I have other plans today.

"Home. I'll go cheer up my mom and dad." Sasuke smiled just a little. Yeah, you can definitely see the difference in character between the dark avenger and the child growing up in a loving family.

"I have to report to my parents." Shino's voice made everyone, except me, flinch. They had forgotten about him again!

I had already figured out where Ino was going with this, and I weighed the pros and cons. I didn't want to go anywhere in particular, and I was worried about missing the right moment. Plus, as a clan heir, Ino would probably decide to stop by her home first and then gather everyone somewhere, maybe even at Ichiraku.

But I couldn't go home yet. So, after considering that I'd rather spend the day tracking a possible traitor and killing time that way—or go home as an official Genin, a full-fledged Shinobi with all the rights and responsibilities—I'd finally made up my mind.

"I still have some things to take care of, then I'll head home."

I decided to go track Mizuki. My abilities would help me with that.