"Kaito! How is it going for you?" Mirei asked enthusiastically.
When they were in the wide corridor, Kaito noticed several people already coming out from the previous class.
Some looked depressed, while others sighed in relief.
He turned to Mirei, adjusting his collar, and asked, "Did you finish?"
"Yes! Thanks to you, I was able to do it easily!"
Mirei smiled brightly, patting her sleeve where he had slipped the cheat sheet.
She then saw that Kaito had just stepped out of the reinforced Ninjutsu room.
She asked, "How did the Ninjutsu Test go?"
"Good, I scored a perfect score."
"As expected! You're awesome, Kaito."
"I believe you can do it too. What is your practiced Jutsu, Mirei?" Kaito asked.
Mirei put a finger on her chin, thinking carefully.
"Umm... I'm thinking of doing the Great Fireball Jutsu. What do you think?"
"That's a very good Jutsu. You will be able to pass easily with that."
In his inherited memories, Mirei used to perform it quite well during their time in the Academy.
And honestly, she didn't need his help to pass the Ninjutsu Test. She had genuine talent!
"The Taijutsu Test requires us to wait before the other students finish, so I have some free time right now," Kaito explained.
"Oh? Are you going somewhere?" Mirei asked, tilting her head.
"Hmm... I want to go out to the training field. Maybe do some stretching and practice my Taijutsu."
"Okay, I will be going to do the Ninjutsu Test then. Wait for me!"
"Fine, do your best, Mirei!"
"Mhm! I will!"
Kaito then walked outside towards the massive dirt field that the Academy used to train students.
The fresh air felt good against his skin.
He clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling a terrifying new strength coursing through his veins.
'Amazing, I instantly learned decades of Taijutsu experience in a single second.'
The system's reward was truly heaven-defying.
'Wait, does this mean I can even open all the Gates? No way, could I even open the Eighth Gate of Death?'
Kaito shook his head firmly.
He definitely wouldn't open that Gate.
Otherwise, he would literally throw away his precious second life just for a momentary power boost.
However, the base physical stats and martial arts instincts he gained from the mastery were more than enough for now.
After a while, dozens of people gathered in the field Kaito was resting in.
Some had already finished the Ninjutsu Test and were waiting for the final exam.
After successfully doing her part, Mirei immediately looked for Kaito in the crowd.
As usual, she happily latched onto his arm.
"I wonder who my opponent will be," Mirei said, looking around nervously.
"Don't get carried away, Mirei. We need to give our best here as well."
"Of course! By the way, Kaito, are you going to be fine? You know..."
Mirei hesitated for a second, looking at his slender frame.
"...Taijutsu isn't exactly your biggest strength after all."
Kaito smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek.
He remembered that his past self was terrible at hand-to-hand combat.
He used to get beaten up quite often during sparring sessions.
"Well, yeah... Don't worry, I have practiced secretly in my free time."
Mirei didn't say anything further.
She didn't want to provoke Kaito's feelings or make him nervous before his match.
After a while, the Jōnin instructor finally arrived at the center of the ring.
He held a clipboard and shouted loudly.
"Next match! Kaito Uchiha!"
When Kaito calmly stepped forward, a lot of people stared at him in pure awe.
Whispers immediately broke out among the students and parents.
An Uchiha with snowy white hair?
And eyes that glowed like bright blue jewels?
That was incredibly rare!
When his opponent was called to the ring, Kaito slightly lifted his brows in surprise.
It was Minato Namikaze!
"Nice to see you here, Kaito. I thought you had already passed the exam and went home after the Ninjutsu Test."
Minato smiled gently as he walked into the ring.
Clearly, Minato knew that Kaito was the one who had scorched the Ninjutsu testing room completely black.
"We need to complete all three tests to officially become a Shinobi, remember?" Kaito said casually.
Minato just smiled brighter as he stepped closer, getting into his combat stance.
"Then, let's do our best!"
They both performed their traditional sparring stances.
The Jōnin instructor stepped between them, holding a silver whistle in his mouth.
When he saw that both of them were completely ready, he blew a loud, piercing noise.
Fweet!
Minato moved first.
His speed was astonishing for a kid his age, instantly closing the distance between the two of them.
Right now, Minato hadn't mastered the legendary Flying Thunder God Jutsu yet.
He was just relying on his natural, raw speed and reflexes.
However, Kaito could still see the exact trajectory of Minato's movements pretty easily.
With his Six Eyes, Minato's lightning-fast sprint looked as if it were moving in slow motion.
Bugh! Bugh!
They quickly exchanged a flurry of rapid-fire blows.
Fists and kicks collided heavily in the center of the ring, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Kaito didn't hold back for long.
His newly acquired Taijutsu instincts took over his body completely.
After smoothly dodging a direct, high-speed kick from above, Kaito shifted his weight.
He moved sideways at an impossible angle and landed a devastatingly hard blow right to Minato's abdomen.
Bugh!
Minato gasped for air and was sent flying back several feet.
However, the blonde prodigy immediately regained his composure, flipping gracefully and landing on his feet before rushing back in.
When Kaito saw this, he focused his Six Eyes intensely.
He analyzed the muscle twitches in Minato's legs to perfectly predict where he would strike next.
After confirming the trajectory, Kaito charged forward aggressively.
He suddenly shifted his body downward, sliding right under Minato's incoming punch.
In a fluid, viper-like motion, Kaito spun around and tightly locked Minato from behind.
When Kaito's arm securely sealed around Minato's neck in a perfect chokehold, they both knew the fight was instantly over.
Minato struggled for a brief second before tapping Kaito's arm in surrender.
The Jōnin instructor raised his hand high.
"The winner is Kaito Uchiha!"
The crowd erupted into loud cheers and shocked gasps.
"Very well, now do the Unison Sign!" the Jōnin commanded.
Kaito immediately released his lock and stepped back.
He stood tall and offered Minato a two-finger Unison Sign, showing his respect.
Minato caught his breath and smiled helplessly.
"You're very strong, Kaito. I can't believe you predicted my movement and choked me out like that."
Minato made his own gesture, interlocking his fingers with Kaito's.
"I was just lucky. Soon enough, I don't think I'll be able to keep up with your crazy speed," Kaito replied smoothly.
Minato just laughed lightly, thinking Kaito was just being humble and comforting him.
After Minato stepped down, the Jōnin instructor decided to test Kaito's limits.
Kaito then fought consecutively with several other top students in the class.
He ended up beating all of them even faster than before, not even breaking a single drop of sweat.
Standing on the high balcony overlooking the training field, Hiruzen Sarutobi observed the entire spectacle.
He took a slow puff from his pipe and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
When Hiruzen saw Kaito flawlessly dismantle every opponent with zero wasted movements, he smirked.
"What a very interesting boy."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, deeply intrigued by the anomaly below.
"I wonder who his father is."