This battle could still be described with a single word—instant defeat.
"Teacher Aizawa…"
"Ah—oh!"
Snapped back to his senses by Hagoromo's reminder, Chūnin Aizawa hurried onto the training field. After a quick examination, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Might Guy had merely lost consciousness; his life was not in danger.
Hagoromo had held back during the final blow. No matter what, he would never go all out against his classmates.
"Hagoromo," Aizawa said seriously, "I don't know when you mastered such a powerful Lightning Release, but I have to warn you—this kind of jutsu is not meant to be used on comrades."
"I understand, Aizawa-sensei," Hagoromo replied obediently.
This was the first time he had openly displayed his true strength. It was inevitable that he hadn't fully restrained himself—otherwise, Guy wouldn't have ended up unconscious.
The medical-nin arrived once more and carried Might Guy away.
"Second round of the ninja graduation exam, first match—winner: KamiKamishiro Hagoromo!" Aizawa announced.
When Hagoromo returned to the group of students, everyone instinctively made room for him.
He could only smile bitterly to himself. He really had gone too far today. Two opponents in a row had been knocked out. Rin was one thing—but Guy, especially, had been beaten so badly it was hard to look at him. His injuries would likely take some time to heal.
"Hagoromo! Don't you think you were way too rough on Guy?!"
No sooner had Hagoromo returned than Uchiha Obito rushed up to him. True to his reputation as one of the class's dead last, Obito—despite having been beaten black and blue himself—immediately stood up for Guy.
"Let's go check on Guy first," Hagoromo said.
Nohara Rin was already by Guy's side, while medical-nin were treating his injuries.
"He looks terrible, but the injuries aren't serious," Rin explained calmly. "They're all external wounds. A few days of rest and he'll be fine."
By now, Rin had already received formal medical-nin training, so she could accurately judge his condition.
"It's all Hagoromo's fault—he hit way too hard," Obito muttered again.
"I'm sorry," Hagoromo said quickly. "I didn't pull back enough on the last strike."
He truly had misjudged things. He'd been focused on fighting Guy seriously, without properly accounting for how much punishment Guy's body could actually take.
"But giving it your all is a sign of respect to your opponent, isn't it?" Hagoromo continued, speaking matter-of-factly. "When I fight you, Obito, should I hold back instead?"
"I…"
Hagoromo's point was simple. No one wanted to be treated half-heartedly by their opponent.
Which would you rather hear:
'I only needed thirty percent of my strength to beat you,'
or
'I'll go all out against you'?
Obito understood that well enough.
"When will Guy wake up?" Hagoromo asked.
"He's fine. He'll regain consciousness within an hour," a medical-nin replied. "Still, it's rare to see someone beaten this badly during a graduation exam."
"…"
Hagoromo felt even more awkward.
After the second round ended, due to Hagoromo and Guy effectively eliminating each other, only Hagoromo and Rin remained from their original four-person group. Their results had already placed them among the top eight in the class.
Then came the third round, third match—after Might Guy, Hagoromo once again found himself facing Nohara Rin.
"Don't forget what you just said," Rin told him on the training field. "Going all out is how you show respect to your opponent."
This was karma, plain and simple.
Off to the side, Uchiha Obito was glaring at him intensely. If Hagoromo treated Rin the same way he'd treated Guy, the class dead last would definitely rush in without hesitation.
So Hagoromo decisively raised his hand.
"Shimokawa-sensei," he said to the supervising Chūnin, "I exhausted my chakra during my fight with Might Guy. I forfeit this round."
"You—" Aizawa started to scold him, but stopped midway.
On second thought, Hagoromo's explanation might actually be true. During his fight with Guy, Hagoromo had used extremely powerful Lightning Release jutsus. For someone his age to already achieve chakra nature transformation was exceedingly rare. It wasn't impossible that such jutsus had drained him dry.
"I understand," Aizawa said at last, nodding. Then he announced loudly,
"Third round of the graduation exam—KamiKamishiro Hagoromo forfeits. Nohara Rin wins by default!"
In truth, Hagoromo knew that based on his performance in the previous two matches, he had already secured his graduation. There was no need to fight Rin at all.
Ignoring the look Rin gave him, he quickly left the training ground.
Was his chakra really exhausted?
Of course not.
He still had plenty of chakra left. However, lacking a clear comparison, Hagoromo couldn't precisely judge where his chakra reserves stood. Judging from his physical condition and mental energy alone, though, they certainly weren't low.
And that assessment was accurate.
Among his peers, Hagoromo's chakra reserves were considered excellent—but only excellent. They couldn't compare to monsters like the Senju Clan or the Uzumaki Clan, whose chakra capacity bordered on abnormal.
What he did possess, however, was another advantage: exceptional chakra control.
When most ninja used ninjutsu, a portion of chakra was inevitably wasted. Hagoromo was different. Thanks to his precise control, he could save 30% to 60% of chakra compared to ordinary ninja when using the same jutsu.
Compared to A-rank jutsu or S-rank bloodline talents, this near-bug-like brain of his was the true foundation that allowed Hagoromo to survive in the ninja world.
In the fourth round of the graduation exam, Rin's luck finally ran out. She was defeated in the following match.
Hagoromo's prediction proved correct. The pass rate for Class One in this practical exam was remarkably high. Even Uchiha Obito managed to graduate successfully—let alone KamiKamishiro Hagoromo.
And so, they all graduated.
Which also meant that the real war was about to begin.
Soon, they would be heading to the battlefield.
Unlike the team assignments of peacetime, wartime organization didn't rely on freshly formed rookie teams. Instead, graduates from the Ninja Academy were used to fill manpower shortages in existing squads.
As a result, the assignments were uneven.
Some were placed in two-person groups.
Some were assigned alone.
But almost no one was placed into brand-new three-man teams.
For example, Rin and Obito were grouped together, meaning they would be added to an existing two-man squad.
Hagoromo and Guy, on the other hand, were both assigned individually—meaning they would be placed into separate three-man teams.
However, Hagoromo had miscalculated.
Almost every new graduate was sent to the front lines—but almost did not include him.
He wasn't assigned to any frontline squad.
He wasn't sent to the battlefield.
Instead, he was ordered to remain quietly in Konohagakure.