"The winner—Hatake Kakashi!"
The jōnin referee's voice carried across the training ground, even he staring in disbelief. It was the first time he'd ever seen someone this young stand victorious against a fully trained shinobi.
Even during wartime, when standards were relaxed, graduates were usually eight or nine. A five-year-old becoming a ninja… that was unheard of.
Kakashi, however, showed no pride in his victory. Without a word to his opponent, he turned and walked away, cold and unbothered.
The defeated Furukawa Yuki looked humiliated, his face twisted with bitterness. Around the arena, a few older shinobi frowned at Kakashi's lack of respect. Normally, win or lose, courtesy was shown.
"This brat's got quite the temper," Jiraiya muttered, half amused.
Orochimaru smirked faintly. "If your father died, you'd be the same."
Tsunade rolled her eyes at their bickering, while the Third Hokage's face tightened. He knew Kakashi had the strength to be a ninja—but his character was becoming a problem.
"Lock, it's your turn."
At Yagyū-sensei's call, Lock exhaled slowly. He didn't want this much attention, but there was no choice now.
"Is this the other genius we've been hearing about?"
All eyes turned as Lock stepped forward. Kakashi had already stunned the crowd, but most of them hadn't come only for him. They wanted to see the boy who was said to rival White Fang's son.
"Doesn't look like much," Jiraiya said after squinting at Lock for a while.
"Idiot," Orochimaru said with a curl of his lip. "Look closer. That calmness at his age isn't normal."
Even Jiraiya fell quiet at that.
Across from Lock, a tall blond teenager stepped forward, no older than fifteen, with his hitai-ate keeping his hair pulled back neatly. His expression was warm, almost gentle—enough to put anyone at ease.
Lock froze. That face. That name.
"Namikaze Minato," the boy introduced himself with an easy smile. "Please take care of me."
Lock's mind went blank. You've got to be kidding me… Minato? For a graduation exam?
Namikaze Minato—the future Fourth Hokage. A man destined to be praised as one of the greatest geniuses in history. A shinobi who would one day clash with the strongest of the ninja world and come out unrivaled.
And this was the opponent standing across from him in a school exam.
Lock's lips twitched. "Can I… admit defeat?"
The entire arena went silent.
Students gaped. "What? Before it even starts?"
Obito nearly jumped out of his seat. "Oi, Lock! What are you doing?! Are you seriously giving up now?"
Even Yagyū-sensei ground his teeth, face twitching in embarrassment. He'd spent months praising Lock's potential to the Hokage, and now his student was asking to surrender before throwing a single punch.
The Third Hokage's smile froze, his pipe pausing mid-air. He'd chosen Minato specifically to test Lock—to force the boy to reveal his hidden edge. But Lock's sudden request left even the old Hokage at a loss for words.
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