Bab 3: Graduation Exam
A/N: How the Graduation exam is set up, has been slightly altered to make for better writing. Get this story to 50 powerstones by the coming Sunday and I'll do a double release next Monday. This fic continuing is dependent on the support it receives e.g. Powerstones. Enjoy!
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The class buzzed with nervous energy as the children awaited Iruka's arrival with the exam papers.
Goro sat on the edge of his desk. To his right were two unfamiliar students he'd never seen in the show.
As the minutes passed, Goro's mind began drifting, thinking about future events and how he might use them to his advantage.
'The Third Hokage should die soon. It would be good to copy his skills. Who else… Hmm…'
While Goro daydreamed about his next target, Iruka entered the classroom, holding a box of headbands and organizing them on the table at the front. Following him was a white-haired man.
'Mizuki is here too…'
Iruka's stern expression underscored the gravity of the day. The graduation exam would determine the future of the young ninjas in the class, making it crucial to maintain strict exam conditions and prevent extraneous variables from affecting the results. The day was significant not only for the young ninjas but also for the village as a whole. The village needed capable shinobi to demonstrate military might and for economic stability.
Standing at the front of the class, Iruka cleared his throat and began, "As you all know, today we will be conducting exams to see if you're qualified to graduate from the academy and become genin."
Holding up the exam papers, Iruka continued, "I'll be coming around and handing out these papers. Starting now, you are not to look at or talk to one another. If you are caught doing any of these actions, you will automatically be disqualified from the exam. Understood?"
"Yes, Sensei!" the class replied in unison. Their response prompted Iruka to start distributing the papers.
'This shouldn't be too hard, right? If I can't do ninjutsu, I should at least manage this written exam.'
It wasn't long before Iruka passed by Goro's row, handing him the exam paper. Shortly after finishing the distribution, Iruka returned to his original position.
"You may now begin!" he instructed. Almost instantaneously, after hearing Iruka's signal, the class put their heads down and flipped to the first page.
Goro, however, was never one to stress about exams. He took his time to open the paper and scan the questions. Registering the information, a subtle smile formed on Goro's face.
'System, I'm screwed, aren't I?'
[Calculating if Goro is screwed…]
'Cut the crap! Just tell me if you have the answers or not!'
[Searching answers for questions… Answers found!]
Goro placed his hand on his chest and let out a deep sigh of relief.
'I thought I'd fail and have to study for another year.'
Iruka kept an eye on the worst-performing students in his class as they were the most likely to cheat. Noticing Goro's sigh of relief, Iruka felt a wave of confusion.
"Is he playing psychological mind games to convince himself it's easy? Eh… whatever. It doesn't matter. All that matters now is the effort you put in," Iruka thought.
Goro continued flipping through the rest of the paper, asking the system if it knew the answer to each question. To his surprise, the system knew the answer to every question.
'This'll be a breeze. But I have to ask, how much do you know, System?'
[I have access to all basic knowledge about the Naruto world. To put it simply, I know everything that is widely known. However, I am unaware of things that are hidden or known by only a few people.]
'Even so… That's an incredible advantage. The more I learn about the system, the more helpful it becomes. This world will be under my thumb in no time. I just need to be smart and play the right moves. For this exam, to avoid suspicion, I'll aim to scrape a pass.'
An hour had passed since the exam started. Goro lounged in his seat, his hands behind his head, smirking at Iruka.
"This kid isn't even taking the exam seriously! He's been sitting like that for at least 30 minutes now! There's only 5 minutes left. I guess I'll be collecting another blank paper from him…" Iruka pondered.
Five minutes passed in a flash.
"Everyone drop your pencils; time is up! Anyone caught writing will be disqualified!" Iruka informed the class.
Every student put their pencils down and waited for Iruka to collect their papers. As Iruka picked up Goro's paper, he noticed that, unlike earlier, the exam was filled with answers. Iruka's jaw dropped, his eyes lingering on the paper. Not only had Goro filled the entire paper with answers, but some were also correct.
Shaking his head, Iruka moved past Goro and resumed collecting the other exam papers. "Even if he got some answers right, it probably won't even amount to a pass."
Having collected every exam paper, Iruka returned to the front and explained that their next and final exam would be the Clone Jutsu. However, they would have a brief break while he and Mizuki graded the exams.
Looking over at Naruto, Goro felt a sense of deja vu. Naruto was making the same stressed expression that he had in the show.
'Naruto is going to steal the Scroll of Seals tonight. If I can tail him, I'll get my hands on some incredibly powerful jutsu. I wonder what I can snatch...'
Goro sat back, enjoying himself, as he waited for Iruka and Mizuki to return with the exam results. About an hour later, both Iruka and Mizuki returned to the room. Iruka wore a pale expression.
'Is it that shocking that I passed? That's the kind of face you'd make if you found out aliens are real... It's kind of insulting…'
Iruka drank the glass of water in front of him and cleared his throat. He began listing off each name that passed and their mark. Goro waited patiently.
"Obachi Goro... 53%. You pass. I triple-checked, and yes, you really did pass. It may sound unbelievable to y—"
"That's enough, wouldn't you say, Iruka?" Mizuki interjected, preventing Iruka from continuing.
'All that's left is the Clone Jutsu, and I'll be a genin.'
Mizuki initially led the Clone Jutsu test, but Iruka quickly regained his composure and took over. Goro watched as the majority of the Rookie 9 successfully performed the Clone Jutsu.
As Sasuke returned to his seat, Naruto was the only one left.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka called out.
Upon hearing his name, Naruto confidently walked down the steps and stood at the front, facing the class. He weaved the required hand sign and yelled, "Clone Jutsu!" What appeared beside him wasn't a clone—it was a poor excuse for a jutsu. Goro couldn't help but think it looked worse in person.
"Naruto, you fail!" Iruka shouted, angered by the sight of such a pathetic clone. Laughter rang out, but Iruka quickly silenced it, wanting to preserve the formality of the exam.
Mizuki, just as in the show, tried to advocate for Naruto, but his attempt fell flat when Iruka explained that to pass, you needed to make three clones, and Naruto could barely make one. His last hope dashed, Naruto slunk back to his desk, unable to meet the other students' eyes.
"Next, Obachi Goro!" Iruka called.
Goro stood up and made his way to the front, facing the other students. He could already hear snickers from the back.
Weaving the hand sign, Goro intended to use the Clone Jutsu, but this time, he aimed to create three clones. Goro successfully formed the clones, which was evident when three identical figures popped into existence.
"You fail—" Iruka couldn't finish his sentence, his jaw fell to the ground.
"You've passed, well done. Goro, was it?" Mizuki said, covering for Iruka's mistake. Mizuki extended his hand, offering a headband to Goro.
Goro nodded, accepting the headband from Mizuki. "Thanks," he said, taking the headband and walking back to his seat.
"Wasn't he a loser? What changed?" a pink-haired girl asked.
"You're not one to talk, Sakura. You aren't all that special either," Goro mumbled, passing by her seat.
Mizuki, baffled by Iruka's frozen state, tapped him on the shoulder and urged, "We need to continue."
"Y-yes," Iruka stammered, proceeding to call the next student.
Goro looked at the headband he had placed on the desk in front of him.
'I did it. I wonder who I'll be placed on a team with… Hopefully, it's not with these irrelevant characters. I'm hoping to do the Chunin Exams sometime soon.'
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Reminder: Get this story to 50 powerstones by next Sunday to get a double release next Monday. The continuation of this story depends on how much support it gets e.g. Powerstones.
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