Chapter 23: Fleeced
Ring, ring, ring…
Izayoi and Hinata had only whispered for a moment when the class bell rang.
The entire classroom fell silent instantly.
On any other day, this would've been a rare sight.
"The graduation exam is the Clone Technique. The testing room is at the end of the right corridor. When your name is called, come out."
Barely moments after the bell, Umino Iruka appeared at the classroom door.
Instead of stepping to the podium, he gave his instructions from the doorway and left.
Soon, a Chunin in a green vest appeared, holding a list, and began calling names: "Minako…"
One by one, names were read every minute or two.
Those called stood, some nervous, others confident, and left the classroom, never returning.
Hinata was among them.
"…Izayoi."
Just minutes after Hinata left, Izayoi heard his name.
He stood, walked out, and headed to the testing room at the corridor's end.
Pushing open the door, he saw Umino Iruka and Class 2's teacher, Mizuki, sitting behind a long table.
Seeing Izayoi enter, Iruka's face broke into a warm smile. "Izayoi, begin."
"Yes."
Izayoi nodded, swiftly forming hand seals, and called out softly, "Clone Technique!"
Poof—
Two sounds, like bursting balloons, overlapped.
Two clouds of white smoke appeared on either side of Izayoi.
As the smoke cleared, two illusory clones stood beside him—identical to Izayoi in every way, from appearance and height to clothing and minute details.
Iruka and Mizuki exchanged a glance, inspecting the clones, then took a Genin headband. Iruka stood, smiling. "Your clones are flawless. Congratulations, you've passed the graduation exam. From now on, you're a Genin."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei."
Izayoi stepped forward, accepting the headband with both hands, then bowed slightly to them.
Iruka added, "You don't need to return to the classroom. Don't leave the school yet either. Head to our class's training field and wait for the others to finish. I'll take you all for profile photos afterward."
"Yes."
Izayoi nodded and left the testing room.
Stepping out of the building, he immediately spotted Hinata waiting for him.
They exchanged smiles and headed toward the training field.
About a dozen classmates were already there waiting.
"Yo, Izayoi, Hinata, you made it!"
"The graduation exam was no challenge for you two, huh?"
"After the photos, should we celebrate?"
"Eh, maybe not. I want to celebrate with my family—they're waiting outside."
"True, let's get together another time then."
"How many from our class do you think will pass?"
"At least twenty, right? We're Class 1, after all."
"No way Naruto's passing, though."
"…"
As Izayoi and Hinata arrived, several classmates crowded around, chatting with Izayoi.
He joined in with a smile.
Then, a figure approached.
"Izayoi, wanna spar after?"
Issuing the challenge was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.
Seeing the grade's third-ranked student—who occasionally stole second place—approach, the other classmates tactfully dispersed.
Looking at Sasuke, brimming with fighting spirit, Izayoi shook his head with a smile. "Not right now. From what I've heard, Genin are grouped in teams of three, training under a Jonin instructor."
"We both know each other's strengths. No matter how many times we fight, the outcome's the same. Why not train with our Jonin instructors for a while and then see how we've grown?"
Sasuke paused, recalling the many times he'd been thoroughly beaten.
His fighting spirit fizzled out. He nodded. "Alright, let's fight again later then."
"No problem."
Izayoi agreed with a smile.
Over the years, the points Izayoi used to upgrade his Chakra Control, with over ten thousand left, were largely thanks to Sasuke.
For the first two years, Izayoi fought Sasuke almost weekly, sometimes twice a week.
Beyond the one-time drop of Sage's Eye (Red), entries like Kage-level Potential (Purple), Uchiha Bloodline (Purple), and Otsutsuki Bloodline (Blue) had dropped multiple times.
Izayoi broke them all down into points.
Those ten-thousand-plus points? Mostly from Sasuke.
The rest came from Hinata and other classmates.
Hinata contributed the bulk.
In the class, Izayoi's strength was unmatched. Sasuke and Hinata were top-tier, clan kids second-tier, and everyone else third-tier.
From third grade on, aside from Sasuke and Hinata, it was hard to get drops from clan kids like Yamanaka Ino or others.
Even when a drop occurred, it was usually low-tier.
Good thing strength wasn't measured by Chakra reserves, or the only one in the class—maybe the whole school—dropping high-tier entries would be Uzumaki Naruto.
Over the years, Izayoi had thoroughly fleeced Sasuke.
Both his entries and his family's Ninjutsu scrolls had been tapped more than once.
Yet, through it all, Izayoi and Sasuke had become friends.
Their regular spars became a ritual.
Fighting Izayoi for years, Sasuke's strength far surpassed his original story counterpart.
Among the bubbles floating around him, one had changed.
Uchiha Bloodline (Purple) had become Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Purple).
In other words, Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan.
More precisely, he could now activate it freely.
He'd first awakened it on the night of the clan massacre.
With the Sharingan, Sasuke grew cocky.
Aside from Izayoi, the only one he respected was Hinata—who could steal his second-place spot and outmatch him in Taijutsu.
In a no-rules fight, though? With his Sharingan awakened, Chakra surging, and more Ninjutsu learned from Izayoi, Sasuke didn't see Hinata as a threat.
If Izayoi, Sasuke, and Hinata were teamed together, they'd be the strongest Genin squad.
Neither the new generation's Ino-Shika-Cho nor Sunagakure's Gaara and siblings could rival them.
But that was impossible.
The fated bond between Sasuke and Naruto, plus their identities, guaranteed they'd be in the same team.
And in all of Konoha, no one was better suited to guide them than Hatake Kakashi.
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