Chapter 20: The Graduation Examination

Time flies swiftly.

Counting the days, tomorrow is the graduation exam.

“Childhood, ah!”

On the rooftop, Naruto and a few others lay back, gazing up at the sky.

This childhood is truly like sand—no matter how hard you try to grasp it, it slips away the moment you look away.

Fortunately, this childhood has been much happier than the last lifetime.

“Hey, Naruto!”

A shout came from below—it was Iruka-sensei.

Naruto peeked his head over the edge, followed by Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, and others, all lined up like a row of heads popping out.

For a moment, five fake dog heads and one real dog head looked down below.

Oh, right, Shino was forgotten—better add him in as well.

“Come down.”

Iruka beckoned.

“Coming!”

Without hesitation, Naruto jumped down.

He held a basic respect for Iruka-sensei, who often treated him to ramen and genuinely cared about him.

Besides the Hokage, Iruka was the second adult who had accepted him.

“School’s over; you all can head home now,” Iruka said to those behind Naruto.

“Goodbye, Sensei. See you tomorrow, Naruto.”

“Goodbye, Iruka-sensei! See you, Naruto!”

Everyone waved their farewells.

Seeing Iruka send the others away, Naruto suddenly felt a bad premonition.

“Sensei, something came up at home. Maybe I should head back first…”

Naruto turned to leave, but Iruka called out, “Stop right there, Naruto! Your matter has come up—are you trying to run away?”

“What matter, Iruka-sensei?”

“You forgot what you did yourself?”

Forgot? No. It’s too much to remember.

During childhood and ninja academy days, side missions were fairly routine—mostly pranks and such.

But as graduation approached, all sorts of side missions kept popping up in various forms.

There have been so many side missions lately that Naruto couldn’t keep track.

Some of these side missions weren’t exactly positive in nature. Now that Iruka wanted Naruto to face things head-on, he dared not refuse.

What if something undiscovered got exposed? That would be terrible.

“Iruka-sensei, can you give me a hint?”

Iruka said nothing, only gazed toward the Hokage Rock.

‘So that’s it.’

Naruto remembered, but that wasn’t really a mission.

Painting the Hokage Rock was just something he did on a whim—if he didn’t paint it at least once a week, his obsessive-compulsive tendencies would act up.

Actually, Naruto had a reason for sticking to this task.

Changing the Hokage Rock personally would be a historic event—a huge, huge reward he had long coveted.

But the Third Hokage never gave him the chance.

So Naruto could only quietly paint it once a week, showing the villagers how beautiful the Hokage Rock could be under his brush, with various artistic styles.

Those lifelike Hokage faces were far better than the plain, barren stones.

That old Third Hokage was truly stubborn!

“Hokage-sama, you are ordered to clean it all up by today,” Iruka announced.

“I’ve got a disease that prevents me from cleaning anything~”

Iruka snapped, “Get to work and clean it up properly.”

“Alright then.”

Naruto sighed, sincerely seeking Iruka’s support.

“Iruka-sensei, don’t you think the Hokage Rock with paintings looks better than the bare stones?”

Iruka scratched his head awkwardly but eventually praised him sincerely, “Your drawings are definitely better than bare stones.”

“See?”

Naruto immediately suggested, “Why don’t we petition the Third to listen to our opinions? If enough people support us…”

“Naruto!”

Iruka interrupted his daydreaming, “Such matters aren’t decided so easily. If you want to insist on changing it, wait until you become Hokage yourself.”

Naruto gave Iruka a speechless glance.

Wait until I become Hokage? That’s a long way off.

Don’t be fooled by the Third’s age—his body is still strong as ever.

Seeing Naruto’s reluctant expression, Iruka decided to offer a carrot.

“If you clean it up by this evening, I’ll treat you to ramen.”

“Alright.”

“Just ‘alright’?”

“Yay!” Naruto forced enthusiasm.

The next day, graduation exam day.

All students gathered in the classroom. Naruto counted—about 30 in total.

If he remembered correctly, six years ago at the opening ceremony, there were 90 students in the entire grade; now only these remained.

It seemed the path of a ninja was indeed arduous.

Two-thirds had dropped out, unable to become ninjas.

But Naruto Uzumaki, the academy’s notorious fool, had stumbled through and made it this far.

It could only be said that he managed his scores well.

“Graduation exam begins now. Those called, please proceed to the next room. The exam topic is the Clone Technique. Prepare yourselves,” Iruka soon announced.

One by one, students were called to the next room for their test.

“Naruto Uzumaki!”

“Coming!”

Naruto shouted and dashed next door.

The next room was spacious; chairs had already been moved away for the exam, with help from Naruto and his friends just yesterday.

Iruka and Mizuki sat behind a table, which held a row of ninja headbands symbolizing the identity of Konoha’s shinobi.

Naruto looked at them enviously.

Finally, the six-year-long main mission was about to be completed.

“Naruto, hurry up,” Iruka urged.

He knew Naruto well. Although his grades weren’t great, his Clone Technique was flawless, and graduation was assured.

“Okay!”

Signs: 未 → 巳 → 寅

Clone Technique.

Bang!

Three vivid clones instantly appeared around Naruto.

After a brief exchange with Mizuki, Iruka decisively passed him.

The moment Naruto received the headband from Iruka, he felt an urge to cry.

Six whole years! How many six-year spans does one have in a lifetime?

Wait, the next main mission won’t be becoming Hokage immediately, will it?

Might as well just kill me now!

“Remember to submit your ninja registration form tomorrow, and don’t forget the briefing the day after,” Iruka reminded.

“Got it.” Naruto waved goodbye.

“That kid…” Watching Naruto turn and leave, Iruka sighed with worry.

Just as he stepped outside, Naruto’s eyes narrowed.

The look Mizuki gave him seemed off.

Malicious.

Malice was common in the village, but Mizuki usually seemed nice. How had he suddenly changed?

He must be hiding it deeply.

Just like Naruto himself—both were masters at concealment.

But those days were about to vanish forever.

The days of hiding his strength were finally over. From today on, Naruto Uzumaki would show the world what true genius really meant!

Wait.

“Why hasn’t this main mission been completed yet?” Naruto glanced at the panel; the main mission still showed as ongoing.

He asked his canine strategist.

Shikamaru explained, “Graduating from school is just the start. You need your team leader’s approval before you’re officially a Genin.”

So that’s how it was.

“Hey, Naruto, come take a picture!”

“Okay, coming!”

Click—

A group photo was taken.

In the photo, Naruto wore his headband on his forehead, beaming brightly.