Chapter 3: Naruto's Late Arrival
Naruto cautiously peeked his head in.
He expected to see Iruka-sensei glaring at him furiously, or his classmates snickering behind their hands, just like all the other times he'd been late.
He was even braced for a severe scolding, determined to take the exam no matter what.
But the moment he pushed the door open, what met his eyes was Iruka-sensei's concerned gaze.
And the varied looks from his classmates. Chouji nodded at him encouragingly. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Even Sasuke shot him a seemingly casual glance.
"Naruto, you're finally here. Any longer and we were about to send a search party to your house." Iruka's voice held no trace of blame, only a sense of relief.
"Hurry and take your seat. We'll continue with roll call now." He picked up the class roster from the lectern, finding his previous spot.
Naruto froze, unable to process what was happening. He only snapped out of it when Chouji waved frantically, and he ran to his seat with his head down, as if waking from a dream.
He accidentally knocked his chair as he sat, making a clatter. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, his face turning an even deeper shade of red.
"Chiba Shiraishi."
"Here!"
"..."
The roll call continued, and Naruto sat in his seat, his heart still pounding.
"N-Naruto-kun... wipe your sweat." A soft voice came from across the aisle, tinged with a shy, almost imperceptible hesitation.
Naruto whipped his head around. He saw Hinata, her face bright red, head bowed slightly. Her long, dark hair hung down, hiding most of her face, revealing only her small chin.
She held out a small hand, a neatly folded, snow-white towel resting in her palm.
Naruto stared, his eyes wide, completely forgetting to react.
He never expected Hinata to voluntarily speak to him, much less offer him a towel.
In his memory, this girl who was always looking down rarely spoke to anyone. Especially him. Every time they made eye contact, she would look away in a panic, like a startled deer.
"Ah... th-thanks, Hinata!" Naruto snapped back to reality and quickly reached for the towel. His fingertips accidentally brushed hers, and they both recoiled as if shocked.
Hinata's face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple. She buried her head even lower, her ears turning pink.
"I-I'll give it back when I'm done!" Naruto scratched his head, saying it a little too loudly in his embarrassment.
Hinata gave a soft "Mhm," so quiet it was barely audible, but it reached Naruto's ears clearly.
"Haha, Naruto, late again, you troublesome guy." Shikamaru turned around, looking Naruto up and down with a teasing tone.
After teasing Naruto, he turned to Hinata. "And you too, Hinata. It's been so long, and you're still like this."
Hearing Shikamaru, Hinata's face went whoosh and turned even redder. She ducked her head so low it almost touched the desk.
Chouji just smiled, stuffed a chip into his mouth, and nodded vigorously, mumbling an indistinct, "Yeah, yeah," around the food.
Chip crumbs fell onto his shirt, but he didn't care at all. He just kept watching Naruto and Hinata, finding the scene endlessly amusing.
Naruto felt a bit awkward from Shikamaru's comment, scratching his head with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, sorry! It was an accident. My alarm clock broke."
"The exam this time is the Clone Jutsu. I'm guessing that's not a problem for you, right, Naruto?" Shikamaru continued.
"Clone Jutsu? Whoa, you're amazing, Shikamaru! How'd you get classified info like that?" Naruto said, surprised.
"You didn't know, Naruto?" Shikamaru looked at him, confused.
"How would I know? Isn't that something Iruka-sensei announces right before the test?"
Naruto asked, puzzled. As a veteran of several failed graduation exams, he knew that much, at least.
"Never mind, then." Shikamaru stopped talking to Naruto and went back to resting his eyes.
"Kawakita Ayaka."
"Here!"
Roll call finally ended. Iruka closed the roster, his gaze sweeping over the class. It finally landed on Naruto, and he gave him an encouraging smile. "Alright, roll call is finished. We will now begin the graduation exam. When your name is called, please proceed to the next classroom."
It really is the Clone Jutsu. Naruto's heart sank.
Of the three basic jutsu, the one he was best at was the Transformation Jutsu. Especially transforming into a naked, older woman.
But the Clone Jutsu was different. He'd failed because of it plenty of times. Every clone he made came out all twisted or totally listless.
Anyone else might have wondered if Iruka-sensei had leaked the exam topic, but Naruto's train of thought was... different.
His actual thought was: That guy even knew the exam content in advance! He's so awesome!
For the next while, Iruka called the students one by one into the next room.
The remaining students chatted idly about the exam.
The Konoha Ninja Academy's graduation exam randomly selected one of the Three Basic Jutsu: the Transformation Jutsu, the Clone Jutsu, or the Substitution Jutsu. These three were the most fundamental skills for a shinobi, and every Academy student was required to master them.
Getting a jutsu you excelled at naturally increased your chances of passing. If not, you could only brace yourself and give it your all.
In a lull in the chatter, someone brought up the post-graduation arrangements, and the atmosphere suddenly grew a bit heavy.
One student lamented, "Honestly, the graduation exam isn't the hardest part. The real headache is the team assessment after we graduate."
As soon as this was said, many students nodded in agreement.
Everyone knew that graduating from the Academy was just the first step. The real test was yet to come.
After graduating, students would be assigned to various shinobi to form three-man squads and carry out missions. Their new leaders would be their guides into the real shinobi world.
These team leaders had various ranks, including experienced Jonin, Special Jonin who excelled in a specific skill, or—if Konoha was short-staffed—even an exceptional Chunin might temporarily lead a team.
If you were lucky, you'd be assigned to a responsible Jonin. That was a huge blessing.
Such a Jonin wouldn't just carefully guide the team's ninjutsu and tactics, but would also teach them survival skills and what it means to be a shinobi—things you could never learn at the Academy.
But if your luck was bad, and you got a team leader who only treated you as a subordinate, life wouldn't be so easy.
They might just coldly assign missions without any extra guidance. In a dangerous situation, they might even prioritize the mission itself. Such teams often struggled to grow and could even fall apart during a brutal mission.
Naruto listened to everyone's discussion, his own mind starting to churn.
He wondered what kind of team leader he'd get. Would they be like Iruka-sensei, kind and responsible? Or would they be like one of those legendary shinobi who were strict to the point of being inhuman?
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Coming!"