029: Practical Exam, Naruto with the Bottomless Health Bar

The next day, Sasuke arrived at the Academy with swollen cheeks.

He had been happy learning the Fire Style Technique the day before. But his father's subtle sigh had turned his joy into dejection.

Indeed, he was far inferior to his brother. 

Afterall, Itachi had learned the Great Fireball technique after seeing it only once.

While he, unwilling to admit defeat, had puffed up his cheeks until they were swollen, yet still failed.

"Sasuke, what's wrong with you?"

Sakura asked worriedly, seeing Sasuke's condition.

Sigh, Sasuke's looks were so inconsistent. Compared to Natsuki, he was completely outmatched.

"Noth'n, i'sh none of your b'shness," Sasuke mumbled, waving his hand irritably, his speech slurred.

Sakura was good in every other aspect, but she was clueless, always inadvertently rubbing salt in his wounds.

But compared to another certain someone...

"Hahahaha, Sasuke, what happened to you? You look like a toad!

"I can't, I'm dying from laughter, puhahaha~~~"

Naruto, in the back row, laughed so hard he slammed his desk.

"You bashtard! You're lookin'g for a beathing!"

Sasuke was enraged. He turned, vaulted over the desk, and pounced on Naruto, ready to vent all the frustration he had bottled up yesterday.

"You two, are really close, huh?"

Sasuke was straddling Naruto, raining down a series of punches.

Naruto, though thoroughly beaten, had thick skin and occasionally managed to counterattack under pressure.

No matter how much Sakura tried to persuade them, they wouldn't let go. But after hearing Natsuki's words, they exchanged a glance.

This was the scene that greeted Natsuki as he entered the classroom. 

"Ugh~~"

Both dry-heaved and quickly separated.

Now, Naruto's cheeks were also puffed up, resembling a toad.

And Sasuke, on top of his existing swelling, had added dark circles around his eyes.

Moments later, the class bell rang.

Iruka walked in, scanned the attendance, and said:

"Students, gather at the training grounds."

As for Naruto and Sasuke. They got into this kind of situation every other day, and he was used to it by now.

At first, he worried about their injuries and would apply medicine for them. Later, he discovered that these two had astonishing recovery abilities, especially Naruto, who would be completely healed before he even got the ointment.

Iruka had decided not to waste the ointment, and save it for the other children.

…

On the training grounds:

"Over the past few months, most of you have undergone theoretical lessons, and your thinking has undergone a significant transformation. You've also trained to a certain extent in taijutsu, shuriken throwing, and basic blocking techniques."

"But you haven't had any practical combat training. Today, we'll have a small test, a comprehensive assessment to assess your recent learning achievements."

As soon as Iruka finished speaking, someone raised a question.

"Teacher, are there any restrictions on the sparring?"

"No major restrictions. This is for you to experience a real confrontation, to feel the atmosphere of a ninja battle beforehand, and to clarify your future learning direction.

"Of course, for tools like kunai, you must use the wooden ones provided by the school; no metal tools are allowed. I'll be watching for other safety issues. If you're afraid of a few bumps and bruises, then you shouldn't even become a ninja.

"Any other questions? If not, let's begin."

"One more thing. Teacher, isn't today Shimada-sensei's outdoor physical education class? Why isn't Shimada-sensei here?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention. Your Shimada-sensei caught a cold yesterday and took a day off."

"Darn it, Shimada-sensei has had three colds and two fevers this month..."

Iruka quickly stopped the students' complaints and took out a list, calling out the students one by one.

The practical exam officially began.

Although they hadn't had any actual combat experience yet, everyone had a general idea of who ranked at the top of the class.

Natsuki was first in overall strength.

He also scored 98 on written exams.

In shuriken throwing, he always accurately destroyed the target, making it impossible for the teacher to determine how many rings he hit. 95 points.

His other comprehensive scores were also above 95.

Sakura was first in theory, always scoring a perfect 100 on written exams.

The rest were slightly inferior.

Sasuke also excelled in all aspects. His comprehensive score was around 92. If Natsuki weren't around, he would be first.

...

Therefore, the order of this exam placed the more interesting and anticipated students at the back.

The weaker ones went first, followed by the stronger ones, to avoid an anticlimactic ending and discourage the later participants.

Soon, several rounds of combat passed. As expected, they were still children, especially the civilian children without much special training. Most battles were resolved with wild punches and wrestling.

"Next match: Naruto Uzumaki versus Daimon Tobikaze!" Iruka shouted loudly.

"Teacher, I object! My opponent is too weak. Can I switch to Sasuke? I want to beat him into a pig's head."

Hearing the matchup, Naruto immediately jumped out and refused.

Before Iruka could respond, Daimon, the student who had been looked down upon, rushed onto the stage, his expression furious. "You bastard! You're at the bottom of existance, scoring zero on every exam, and you dare call me weak? Come up here, I'll beat you ass fucking right now!!"

"The list is already set, no changes can be made." Iruka also shook his head and refused.

"Damn it, then I'll just have to finish you off first."

After running onto the stage, the two formed opposing hand seals.

Naruto, furious, took the initiative, throwing a right hook.

But before he could even reach him, Daimon grabbed his neck and threw him away.

There was no other reason, Naruto was a head shorter than Daimon, and his arms weren't even as long.

"Shorty, where's all that bravado now?"

Daimon stretched his neck and mocked.

"Damn it, it's just getting started."

Naruto gritted his teeth, got on all fours, and charged again.

"Bam!!!"

"Bang!!!"

"Thud!!!"

Naruto's health plummeted, but he still hadn't touched Daimon.

Realizing he might lose, he finally resorted to his usual tactic against Sasuke.

He faced the punches head-on!

Bam!!!

Excellent, Daimon landed a critical hit.

But as Naruto endured the punch, he finally managed to graze Daimon.

At this moment, both had taken damage, and their health bars finally appeared.

Daimon Tobikaze: 280/300.

Naruto Uzumaki: 9870/10000.

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