Timeskip to graduation exam
A pair of sharp, criticising, yet teasing eyes swept over the group of students, sending shivers of fright down their bodies. Well, other than Akira and his 'group'. It was pretty much clear that nothing could faze them at this point.
'There are far more students applying for early graduation this year. Is it plain arrogance, or certainty of their abilities? Well, no matter. I'll make sure to weed them all out.' a sadistic smile spread across her thin, blood-red lips, instilling even more fear into the audience.
Meanwhile, Akira just continued talking and arguing with his sister.
This made their proctor less than pleased.
'Tch. Arrogant brats. I guess they are Hokage-sama's relatives, but I'll put them to the test.'
A couple of other students, came in, this time, the rest of the first-years.
"Yutaka! Hikaru! Over here!" Tsunade noticed first, waving at them to come over.
Now, besides the three future sannin, Akira, and Uchiha Minoru, the two Hyuga and a civilian were also here for the exam.
In total, there were a whopping eight students - first years, no less - applying for the graduation exam. In fact, first-year students that were applying were almost more than the second, third, fourth or even fifth years that day.
It had definitely surprised their proctor, a pretty, slender woman with a natural beauty and charm, when she first read the list. She asked if there was a mistake, but the Hokage had indirectly praised them, saying all would surpass her expectations by miles.
Seeing that three were civilians, she mistakenly thought less than half would graduate at all. On top of that, she had free will to change the exam anyway she could, because the original would be far too easy.
"The early graduation exam shall commence now. My name is Yoshikawa Haruka, and I will conduct all stages of the exam." the proctor, now named Yoshikawa, announced loudly.
Confused murmurs spread through some of the third to fifth years, as for some with older siblings who already graduated.
"All stages?"
"Isn't there only a single test?"
"What does she mean by all stages?"
Yoshikawa slammed her fist down the wooden table, creating a loud boom, silencing any who dared to talk.
"Quiet! There are only three stages - first stage, ten clone test. Any who fails to create at least ten clones fails!"
"Second stage! Chakra control test. The rules are simple, if you fail to keep a leaf atop of your forehead for a fixed amount of time, you will be eliminated. The required time will not be disclosed."
Ripples of shock and desperation once again flooded through the crowd, as most would only learn about this in their third or fourth years.
Akira's mind was racing.
'Even though the early graduation exam should be a little different from the normal one, it shouldn't be this hard should it? Calm down, Akira. Maybe the tests were harder in the earlier years of Konoha's founding, but Hiruzen changed it to be easier.' he thought, but he didn't believe in his own words.
Akira's class, however, remained as unaffected as ever, having already learnt chakra control basics like this one in their second term only.
Yoshikawa continued, her voice sharp as a knife, with an underlying sadistic drip, "As for the last phase..."
She smirked, "It's details are currently unavailable. Pass the first two stages and you will know."
'Well the first two stages are easy anyways. The problem is the last stage.' Akira thought in his head.
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"Senju Akira! Create ten clones!"
'Ahhh, it's finally me! I was almost about to fall asleep!'
A lot of the older students could make five clones, but ten clones was pushing their limits, or maybe they were just not talented enough? If there were twenty at the start, only fourteen were left, with eight being the still untested first years.
This time, Akira didn't make basic clones though. Instead, he used a little trick his father taught him for his birthday...
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Making a cross with his fingers, Akira made ten real, solid shadow clones.
Silence.
Then a sound of hands clapping cut through the quiet like a knife.
"I'll be honest..." Haruka started, with her usual sadistic smile turning into something more genuine, more sincere, "Never would I ever dreamed of a six-year-old making shadow clones."
"Well, I'm not an average six year old," Akira replied sarcastically.
Her smile only widened in response before she continued the exam.
When Tsunade also displayed her shadow clones, a almost imperceptible sigh was let out. It seemed that she was outdated, hm? Mere six year olds creating shadow clones...
After the first phase ended, only the first years (eight), one third year (nine), three fourth years (twelve), and two fifth years (fourteen) were left.
Yoshikawa nodded in approval. The Hokage-sama really didn't lie to her, they were indeed more talented than most.
"Next stage! Take any leaf and when I say 'start', put it on your forehead and keep it there for as long as possible."
'Isn't this kind of like our entrance exam?' Akira and his classmates all thought collectively.
"Start!"
As usual, the first years dominated the exam. Their seniors couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed, ashamed but also a little irritated that their juniors were better than them by far. Add that to the fact some didn't have the clan advantage, and were just civilians, well, it was just pouring salt on the wound.
Akira and Tsunade's chakra control had gone up several degrees since they joined the academy. If their previous level of control, which was already very high for their age, was hills above the rest, their level now was mountains above.
Watching the two siblings argue about pointless topics while the leaf stuck onto their heads, even when they were moving about, it brought shame to their seniors, while Yoshikawa laughed at the ridiculous things they argued about.
Although they could hold on for much longer, everyone couldn't be bothered to wait for their chakra to run out, so Yoshikawa had to ask them to stop. She did enjoy listening onto their little banter though.
After the results were announced, only the first years (obviously, but barely), one fifth year, one fourth year and one third year were left.
'I wonder what the last phase is about...could it be a sparring tournament? Or is it just a simple evaluation?' Akira pondered.
As if reading his mind, their examiner then announced the last phase's exam.
"The final phase has started!"
"But first, I shall explain the rules."
Once again, the hall went deathly silent, everyone eagerly awaited for the unspoken question to be answered.
"There is only two rules."
"First, obviously no cheating or outside help of the any kind, and..."
"If you fail this phase of the exam, you cannot become a ninja. Whether you take the normal exam in your final year, or if you want to take the early graduation exam next year, you cannot become a ninja. You will be expelled from the academy, no reapplying allowed. You have one minute to decide."
A ghastly silence spread out. You could hear a person breathing or your heart beating. Then a clamor of noises and complaints coming from the older students broke the tranquil, peaceful quiet.
With her face hidden from view, a cold smile, unlike the teasing and sadistic smile earlier, flashed across her ruby lips, as if there was blood splattered over them. A glint appeared in her sharp eyes, devoid of the playfulness that reigned there before.
'Wait...isn't this exactly what happened at the chunin exams in the future?! But this time, the consequences are much more severe! Instead of simply being stuck genin, if you fail this time, you won't even become a ninja!' Akira thought panickedly, alarms ringing in his head.
'What if one of them fall for her intimidation?' he looked over to his friends, 'No...they wouldn't do that. But what about Miyako?'
The other civilian other than Jiraiya and Orochimaru - Shiraki Miyako - was fidgeting with a worried look in her eyes.
"This isn't fair!" One of the fourth years, the only one still present, shouted.
Yoshikawa lifted her head up, showing her less than comforting expression, tilting her head in an 'innocent' manner.
"Oh, is it?" she purred, "Hokage-sama gave me the rights to do anything I wanted, of course, as long as it was morally right. But..."
The glint in her eyes disappeared, leaving in its stead dull, emotionless purple orbs.
"...I've never been know to follow orders, nor to have morals."
'Yep. She's definitely in the Torture & Interrogations department. I can see the resemblance between her, Ibiki, and Anko. I wonder if she is their grandmaster or something.'
But that did the trick. One by one, their very few seniors left the hall, not wanting to lose their only chance of becoming a ninja.
There was only a little more than ten seconds left when Miyako was about to raise her hand hesitantly.
Akira's eyes widened. He knew that if she didn't raise her hand she would pass, but they couldn't know that he knew that.
But she was his classmate and friend, and he knew why she wanted to become a ninja. Her family was poor, her father left them, her mother working three jobs just to keep her in the academy, and her little brother no older than one year old.
Despite the mortality rate and all the dangers, Miyako wanted to be a ninja for her family, knowing her chances of dying.
He was close to her, standing almost right beside each other, so he quickly grabbed her hand discreetly.
Miyako looked at him with a mix of anger and confusion, but his hand wouldn't budge.
"Just trust me," Akira whispered softly, not letting her go.
Though she was confused and slightly angered, as she might not become a ninja because of him, Miyako relented but was still mad,
The second the minute was over, Akira let go of her arm, whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry, but you'll understand soon."
"Nine of you left? That's more than I expected. What's more, eight of you are first years. I've seen chunin crack under that kind of pressure. Well done, from this moment onwards, you all are now ninja, adults." she sighed and pushed forward a box filled with hitai-ate.
"Huh? What do you mean? What about the last phase?"
"You still don't get it? The last phase was that question. Let's say you have a mission. The mission is suicidal. You have to cross into the enemy's territory to destroy their supply of food and weapons. Do you accept it, or reject it? If you accept it, there is a 99.99% chance you would die.
So do you reject the mission? Of course not! No matter how high the risk, there are missions you cannot decline. A ninja must never hesitate, be cowardly, and overcome their fears." Yoshikawa explained less than gently.
'Ah, yes, I can definitely see the resemblance. Even their words are somewhat similar. But giving this kind of test to small children?' Akira mused in his mind.
Miyako realised that Akira had known this before, and therefore stopped her from quitting. She thanked him after the exam, ashamed she ever doubted his intentions.
"It's okay, Miyako! I'm glad you're not mad!" he replied, smiling.
She blushed and averted his gaze, being actually very shy.
"Alright, goodbye!"
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On the way home, for once, Akira and Tsunade weren't arguing. Instead, they were over the moon with their new ninja forehead-protectors, talking about useful topics for once.
"We're home!" they chorused together, happily bouncing about.
To their surprise, both their parents, grandma Mito and even the Hokage, their grand-uncle was waiting for them there.
"Congratulations!/." their parents and grandmother shouted, while Tobirama muttered it like he was forced to (which, he most likely was).
Then, after all the camaraderie died down, Mito pulled them aside with a small smile on her face.
"What is it obaa-san?"
"I have a present for you two for passing the exam and becoming a ninja."
"A present?" Both their eyes twinkled, wondering what it was.
"Yes, but not the kind you're thinking of. I'm teaching you two sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan."
"Sealing techniques?" Then, their eyes widened, as they both knew the importance of sealing techniques, and these were of the Uzumaki clan, a clan known for its sealing techniques.
"Yes," she replied calmly, as if she wasn't giving off a clan's prized techniques.
And while both Tsunade and Akira never asked for this present, they were not dumb enough to refuse such a gift.
"Thank you, Mito-obaa-san!"
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