Taking the special graduation test

A couple of months have passed since I forged my own short sword and right now I was sitting with Jiraiya in the shade of a tree. We were currently studying to prepare for a special test which would grant us an early graduation.

We also asked Tsunade and Orochimaru if they had any interest in participating in the study group but Tsunade was busy with some clan-related business and Orochimaru preferred to study alone. Hence, we decided to meet behind the Academy after our regular classes.

In the anime a special graduation test was never mentioned and if I correctly remember the later generations graduated only after attending the Academy for a couple of years. Only in times of war were exceptions made – Perfect examples would be Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake.

It seems Konoha had a noticeable surplus of Jonins after the first Ninja World War who could teach their students in a more personalized and in-depth way. Therefore the test was offered to every student of the Academy at the end of the school year.

It covered all the topics of the original graduation exams and added a Taijutsu evaluation in form of an individual spar against a Jonin. In addition our potential future Jonin teachers would also supervise the tournament to ensure our safety and a fair evaluation.

“DAMN IT!!! WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL RANKS OF NOBILITY!?!?!?”, cried Jiraiya.

“Keep down your voice Jiraiya. We’re still in school and if you’re too loud the teachers are going to lecture us.”, I pointed out.

“Shit, you’re right.”

“And to answer your question: If you’re going to participate in an infiltration mission, the chances of interacting with a noble are fairly high. Your disguise could be busted if you don’t know how to act according to the noble’s rank.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it but still, this is so frustrating.”

“Well let’s take a break. I’m also pretty burned out after studying for such a long time.”

We both closed our books and decided to enjoy the calming breeze under the shade of the tree. As the breeze blew past me, Jiraiya began to search for something in his pockets and pulled two apples out.

“Wanna one?”

“Sure, why not? Where did you get them?”

He threw one toward me while chewing on the other one. After taking a bite he looked at me and started to grin.

“It just so happens that I decided to train my stealth and a stall owner was selling some fruits. I sneaked to his stall and took two apples and paid him after checking whether he detected me.”

“Well, it’s nice you didn’t steal anything. I’m sure in a couple of weeks your stealth is going to be good enough for sleeping in class.”, I sarcastically commented.

“That’s right. No way only Orochimaru is allowed to do things he likes during class.”

“But to be fair, he already knows the things we’re currently studying so he’s reading some books to lessen his boredom.”

“That smartshit has it good. Doesn’t need to study and still ranks in the top 3.”

“Now, now. No need to be depressed.”, I joked and added with a grin:

“You can just surpass him after learning an ultimate S-rank Jutsu, am I right?”

“YEAH! JUST WAIT OROCHIMARU! I, JIRAIYA, WILL SURPASS YOU IN NO TIME!”

“WHO’S SHOUTING LIKE AN IDIOT AT THIS HOUR? DON’T YOU KNOW CLASSES ARE STILL BEING HELD!?!? JUST WAIT WHEN I GET YOUR NECK BETWEEN MY FINGERS!”

‘Fuck! Now he has finally done it!’,

I thought to myself while grabbing my books and sprinting toward a low fence. Behind me was Jiraiya who also decided to flee from the teacher. Jumping over the fence we ran to the market while taking many turns to get rid of a potential pursuer.

After a while, we stopped at a small alley while catching our breath. I silently looked at him while supporting my body on my shaking knees. His eyes locked with mine and both of us suddenly burst out in laughter.

OOO

The day for taking the special graduation test has come and the students who wanted to participate were asked to head to an empty classroom. While walking with my classmates I noticed a couple of older students who also walked down the hallway. Just like most first-years most of them were nervous and looked gloomy.

‘Why are they looking so depressed? Is the test really that hard? Better hope Jiraiya remembers most of the test content then.’

A couple of minutes later we arrived in a half-filled classroom and received a ticket with a number on it. We were told to go to the seat with the same number as our ticket and quietly sit down.

*12*

I searched for my seat and found it: It was on the window-side of the classroom in the middle of the row. Beside me were two older students who were busy cramming more knowledge into their brains.

The gloomy atmosphere was beginning to bother me when a teacher showed up with a stack of test papers. They were distributed to each of us and the special graduation test finally began.

Taking the papers into my hand and I read the first question:

*You’re on an infiltration mission and your goal is to gain access to a noble’s house with high standing. Due to the noble’s high standing, many nobles from every class often visit him which makes him the perfect target for information gathering and as such you need to know how to properly address a noble. What is the correct way to address a noble?*

After reading the question I silently prayed for Jiraiya’s test score and took out my pen writing my answer below the question.

*The ranks of nobility are, if ranked according to their status in descending order, as follows: Daimyo, Duke, Count and Baron. Firstly Daimyos are referred as “Your Grace” or “Your Majesty”. Secondly Dukes are referred as “The most honorable Lord” or “The most honorable Lady”. Lastly, Counts and Barons are referred only as “Lord” or “Lady”.*

The rest of the questions covered a wide area of topics: Chakra Arts, Weapon Handling, Biology, Politics, Geography, Mathematics, Social Sciences and many more. All in all, I answered all 100 questions 5 minutes before the allocated time.

‘Puh. Let’s take a little break before my sparring match against a Jonin.’

Soon the teachers collected the tests before leading us to the schoolyard. Nobody could be seen except a man lying on his back. He laid inside a circle surrounded by a ring made out of stones. I suspected that our future Jonin teachers were secretly hiding and observing us.

“Get up, you lazy sloth!”, said an annoyed Ms. Sato.

“Hmm? Ah it’s just you Hanako. You’re just as cute as ever. Seems like the test has already finished.”, remarked the man while getting on his knees.

“Let me introduce myself, kids. I’m Jonin Kaito Ushui and I will be the one to spar against you during your special graduation test. Let’s hope you give your be-.”

“When I call out your name, you will enter the designated sparring area. The spar officially starts when I give the signal and ends after one admits his loss, steps out of the ring, when 10 minutes have passed or when I declare the end of the test.”, interrupted Ms. Sato in a cold tone. The Jonin was slightly amused at her act.

“Hideyo Hyuuga!”

Looking to my right I could see the Hyuuga boy standing alone. He looked neither nervous nor excited – Well, he at least tried to appear like that but after interacting throughout the year I noticed that his poker mask still wasn’t on the level of the older Hyuuga Clan members.

He stepped out and entered the ring while locking his eyes onto the Jonin who also began to study him. Their gaze was quite intense and I could feel the tension in the air. Both of them took their stances and waited for the signal.

“GO!”, shouted Ms. Sato.

At first, nothing happened and both opponents kept their distance from each other. Neither Hideyo nor the Jonin were willing to initiate the fight. Instead, they began to carefully circle around the sparring ring.

“Kid, you need to take the initiative or we can’t judge your Taijutsu prowess.”, remarked the Jonin while smiling.

Upon hearing his opponent’s words Hideyo instantly began to run towards the Jonin while activating the Byakugan. The Jonin just calmly held his position seemingly unfazed. When Hideyo was almost in the Jonin’s striking range, he kicked a bit of dirt toward the Jonin.

“Didn’t expect a Hyuuga to rely on dirty tricks. The longer you live, the more you see. Seems like there’s always something new to learn every day.”, mocked the Jonin while taking a few steps back before closing the distances between him and his opponent.

“But you need to have at least a plan B if you want to do this kind of stuff, kiddo.”

Hideyo remained silent while trying to reassume one of the Hyuuga’s basic Gentle Fist stances. He almost managed to do it but the Jonin was too fast and interrupted him with a basic kick.

Having seen the kick through his Byakugan Hideyo dodged it and prepared for his counterattack. He swiftly extended his right arm in a swinging motion while rotating to the left. The Jonin grabbed it with both of his arms and then rotated his body while bending down.

Taking advantage of Hideyo’s momentum he rolled him over his shoulder and twisted the arm with his hands. A scream could be heard and Hideyo looked like he was in extreme pain. To the Jonin’s surprise Hideyo didn’t lose his rationality and unexpectedly kicked between the man’s legs.

Having been forced to let go of the arm the man jumped backward and almost left the ring. Hideyo on the other hand used the gained time to go into a defensive stance. His right arm was hanging down and his face showed a crinkled expression.

“Quite the tenacious one, aren’t we? Sorry about your arm but you kinda provoked it. Let’s see what else you’ve hidden under your mask.”, provoked the Jonin before running toward Hideyo and attacking.

Their Taijutsu fight was intense and both of them didn’t leave an opening. But over time Hideyo’s right arm began to slow down and became less responsive which the Jonin mercilessly exploited.

At the beginning Hideyo could still somewhat evade the Jonin’s punches and kicks but the rate of forcibly blocked attacks by Hideyo steadily increased which eventually tired his body even more out.

“I surrender!”, cried Hideyo with his last remaining breath just as the Jonin’s fist was about to connect to his stomach.

“Nice performance kid. It’s important for a Ninja to know when to persist and when to surrender. Not bad at all.”, commented the Jonin who stopped his fist and instantly changed from his “asshole”-face to a far more amicable one.

Hideyo just nodded and left the ring while clenching his right arm. Next, the name of another student was called. Just like the students after him, he tried to show a similar performance to Hideyo but sadly fell short.

The only exceptions were Orochimaru, Tsunade and strangely Jiraiya: Orochimaru simply used highly efficient moves and his short physique to his advantage to keep his opponent at bay while trying to slowly gain an advantage.

By dragging out the match the examiner was forced to take the initiative to attack since he was running out of time and had to spar against more students. While Orochimaru still lost after surrendering, he stood the second-longest in the sparring ring and was entirely in control of the flow of the battle.

Contrarily to Orochimaru Tsunade simply relied on her battle instincts and brute physical force to stand her ground. Her abnormal strength forced the Jonin to take her a lot more seriously and in the end he won by pinning her to the ground after a combination of targeted provocation and fighting experience.

Lastly, Jiraiya had the strangest spar I have ever seen. Similar to Orochimaru Jiraiya planned to drag out the match but compared to Orochimaru Jiraiya just dodged the Jonin’s attacks or simply ran around inside the sparring ring.

What surprised all of us was his ability to slip like an oiled fish through the grappling attempts of the examiner. Just when it seemed he was finished, he miraculously escaped and taunted the Jonin. But after cheering for lasting 10 minutes inside the sparring ring he was caught by the Jonin who chained and hang him upside down on the branch of a tree.

“Takumi Kenjo!”

Finally my name was called out and I walked into the sparring ring. I mentally calmed myself down and once again went through my strategy inside my head.

‘I’m at a disadvantage because my opponent is already very vigilant after the last spars. That means simple tricks will lose their surprise momentum and therefore their effectiveness. But using conventional tactics is already doomed to fail – Even Orochimaru couldn’t last long enough against the Jonin.’

‘It’s decided. I’ll bet everything on this one card. Luckily, I stored a bit of dirt inside my palms before the match. With this, I’ll approach the Jonin and use it as a distraction while trying to climb onto his head and using my entire body to bring him down.’

I stood at my starting position and assumed the most basic Konoha Taijutsu stance. The only noticeable deviation was my hands being closed to form a fist. The Jonin noticed it too but that was all within my expectation.

“GO!”

Hearing the signal I immediately ran toward the Jonin with clenched fists. When I was about 2 meters away from him, I threw my first batch of dirt to his face. He blocked it with his right hand and prepared to counterattack with his left hand.

What he didn’t expect was the second batch of dirt I threw at him. It successfully got into his eyes and distracted him for a short period of time. I utilized this opportunity to kick off the ground and used his shoulders to perform a rotating front handspring.

When I successfully got behind his back, I used my right arm to form a choker around his neck. The suddenly added weight caused his body to arch backward which caused him to lose his balance.

I fell onto my feet and tried to push his back upwards. But I suddenly felt something pushing my shoulders down. My legs bent and I fell onto my face. An abrupt pain spread inside my body traveling to each limb.

“Damnit! What are they feeding our Academy students nowadays?!?!?”, muttered my opponent on top of me while rubbing his eyes.

“The spar has finished and the defeated student will now leave the sparring circle.”, announced Ms. Sato in an indifferent tone.

“You almost got me there, kid. Be proud of yourself!”, the Jonin admitted while chuckling.

I slowly got up and thanked him for the match. He just laughed it off and advised me to return to my friends. Looking at them I could see most students being in awe or still stunned by my fight.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were especially cheerful and grinned at me. Even Orochimaru had his mouth almost drop in amazement but if I weren’t fast enough, I wouldn’t have seen it as he quickly regained his composure.

But I was glad that I pulled off that move. The countless hours of practicing parkour and acrobatics finally paid off. Now we just had to wait for the final evaluation by our teachers and the other high-ranked Ninjas.

OOO

“Like I said Hiruzen! We should just refuse to participate in this so-called student exchange program! Our training methods are far superior to the ones from Uzushiogakure! There’s simply no need to do this!”, scoffed Danzo while staring at Hiruzen inside the Hokage’s office.

“I understand your concerns Danzo but I believe we should deepen our relationship with this village. They have been our ally since the founding of Konohagakure and we must cherish this alliance!”, argued the Hokage whose face was illuminated by the faint light of a candle.

“Even if they are our ally, they should understand that Konohagakure is the leading partner of this alliance! Besides if they want to deepen our relationship, we could use other means to achieve this goal. Why are they stubbornly advocating this student exchange program!?!?”

“They are also proposing other ways to deepen our relationship: The joint Ninja Task Squadron was for example an interesting proposal. And to answer your question the student exchange program’s goal is to foster a more intimate relation between our villages because children are more flexible in their thinking.”

“That’s exactly the problem Hiruzen! Don’t you understand it!?!? It’s fine if they want to be our ally but we have to ensure that our Ninjas are only loyal to Konohagakure. If our Ninjas have to choose between them and us, they have to decisively prioritize Konohagakure!”

“Your concerns are justified but there are also advantages to the student exchange program. While Uzushiogakure has admittedly an overall inferior training method, they excel in one specific area our village has countless times tried to master: Fuinjutsu.”

“Sigh. It seems I can’t convince you Hiruzen. Fine, let’s drop this matter and discuss who we send to Uzushiogakure. It must be someone young and if possible, the child should come from a civilian family. The chances that a Ninja Clan would send their offspring to a different village for training are nil.”

“Yes, you’re right. We also don’t have any Genins who aren’t already assigned to a Jonin… Wait, that reminds me that the special graduation test has finished 4 days ago. We could send a civilian child, who passed the test, to Uzushiogakure.”

“…Not a bad idea. If I remember correctly there were three civilian children who successfully passed the test. Let’s send the one called Jiraiya to Uzushiogakure. He’s just an orphan, so nobody will complain, and he also just barely passed with his test results.”, admitted Danzo who had calmed down.

“I see your point but he’s also the only one who lasted more than 10 minutes during the Taijutsu examination. He has potential and I want him in my Genin Team together with Orochimaru who scored the highest in the written exam.”

“But that would only leave Takumi Kenjo as an option! Are you crazy!?!? I’ve read the report the Jonins made! He caught his opponent off-guard and had it been a weaker Jonin, he would have won his match! We can’t let someone that talented go to Uzushiogakure! In addition, his father is also one of the best smiths in our village and loyal to the village!”, said Danzo enraged.

“But he would be the best option. Only he and Orochimaru would have the intelligence to effectively learn Fuinjutsu. He ca-“

“Pah! Spare me from your excuses! You just want to keep your little Genin Team! As a Hokage, you should always act in the interests of the village and not for your personal gains. I can’t understand to this day why Tobirama decided to name you Hokage! He should ha-“

“Enough!”

“Don’t drag your personal frustration into this! You’re just trying to have this child join your Anbu forces! Takumi Kenjo will go to Uzushiogakure! This will not be furthermore debated and the decision is final! Am I understood?”, voiced the Hokage.

“Hmph! Just don’t regret your decision Hiruzen! I’ll take my leave!”, said Danzo angrily as he left the office.

When Danzo left the office, Hiruzen sat alone in his office and began to pinch the bridge of his nose. Lately, he was getting tired of his friend’s dissatisfaction with their teacher’s decision. After sitting for a while he resumed his work as the Hokage and worked on some documents.

OOO

A week has passed since I took the special graduation test and the results coupled with the usual graduation ceremony were going to be announced today. I was a bit nervous about my results but I eventually decided to not worry about it anymore. Together with my parents we left our home and walked to the Academy.

On the way we also met Jiraiya and Orochimaru walking to the Academy. We offered them to go together to the Academy and they gladly accepted. When we arrived, the graduation ceremony for each class was about to start.

After the regular graduation ceremony finished, a high-ranked Ninja walked onto the stage and asked the crowd to quieten down as he was about to announce the results of the special graduation test. The crowd became silent and listened to the Ninja.

“Ahem! I will now announce the names of the students who have successfully passed the special graduation test:

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Takumi Kenjo!

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As for those who didn’t pass the test, I hope that they aren’t discouraged by the result and I urge them to use the time to learn more and practice their skills. If they try hard enough, their chance of passing the special graduation test next year will be much higher!”

The crowd cheered for the ones who passed the test and I could feel my parents’ proud gaze. I was happy and felt my nervousness dissipate. Just as my parents were about to congratulate me, an Anbu-Ninja wearing a fox mask approached us.

“Mr. Ryuzen Kenjo, Mrs. Yoko Kenjo and Mr. Takumi Kenjo. Would you please follow me? The Hokage has requested the presence of you three. If you have any questions, the Hokage will gladly answer them in his office.”, asked the Anbu member politely.

Stunned by the Ninja’s words my parents looked at each other before nodding toward him. The Ninja escorted us to the Hokage’s office but not before passing by my classmates. Judging by the expression they made, they were equally confused by the situation.

When we arrived at the office the Hokage was already sitting inside his chair.

“Ah! Please sit on the chairs there.”, he said while pointing at the chairs opposite of him.

“You must be surprised by the situation and full of questions. But don’t worry, I will first explain the situation and afterwards answer your questions.”

As we sat down the Hokage began to explain the reason why he called us into his office. To summarize, he wanted me to participate in a student exchange program between Konoha and Uzushiogakure, the village of the Uzumaki Clan, because I was the only one who fitted the criteria of being young enough and having high scores.

My parents were immediately against it, especially my mother who strongly opposed me leaving my home and studying for 4 years in a different village. But what really upset them was the fact that I couldn’t even take a leave in these 4 years as I had to join a Genin Team in Uzushiogakure.

Because the Genin Team will regularly be participating in missions and train together, it was inconvenient for me to move between the villages so it was decided to let me stay in Uzushiogakure.

The Hokage and my parents argued back and forth with neither side willing to give up. Finally, the Hokage won the argument by pointing out the fact that I was technically already a Genin and therefore had to fulfill my duties as Ninja of Konoha.

“I know that this is an unusual situation but I can guarantee the safety and education of your son while he is staying in Uzushiogakure. He will do the same missions like the other Genins and it will be a valuable experience for him.”

“You can also write him letters and send him small packages which are then transported by an Anbu member. He will subsequently visit Uzushiogakure in fixed intervals. Believe me when I say that I can understand your worries but this is for the sake of the village.”

In the end my parents reluctantly agreed to the Hokage’s request which was more of an order from a military superior than a plea of a village mayor. Before leaving the office with my parents the Hokage spoke some perfunctory words and reassured my safety.

As I stepped out of the office, I saw the Hokage looking outside his window while smoking his pipe filled with tabacco. Just as the door was closing, I heard a long sigh coming from the office.

OOO

“Organize a long-term delivery mission between Konohagakure and Uzushiogakure for the Anbu forces which should last for about 4 years. The traveling duration should be two to three weeks and the interval should be a monthly one. Also, instruct an Anbu Ninja to keep a look after Takumi Kenjo. If the Ninja judges him to be in a life-threatening situation, use of lethal force is authorized.”, ordered the Hokage while watching the Kenjo family leave the Academy grounds.

“Understood!”, shouted an Anbu Ninja before flickering out of the office.

The Hokage stood inside the office while deeply contemplating about the recent events of this week. After a while, the smoke from his pipe stopped rising and the Hokage stored his pipe away before looking at Konoha-related documents.