Three days later, in the morning, at the exam grounds of the Iwagakure Ninja Academy.
The arena was a circular area enclosed by stone walls, roughly thirty ters in diater.
Several dozen people sat in the spectator stands, mostly academy teachers and students who had co to watch.
Kyoshin stood behind Onoki, his calm gaze resting on the center of the arena.
Kurotsuchi stood on one side of the field. Her dark brown clothes outlined her figure neatly, her eyes focused, a faint confident curve on her lips as she waved toward Onoki and Kintsuchi.
The examiner was a middle-aged Iwagakure chūnin. He stepped into the center of the field.
"Kurotsuchi, you already know the rules for the early graduation exam. You must fight a genin. A draw or victory will count as a pass. Your opponent is…"
He pointed toward the other side of the field, where a ninja around fifteen or sixteen years old walked out.
The battle began.
The genin attacked first. After forming hand seals, he slamd both hands against the ground, causing several stone spikes to erupt toward Kurotsuchi.
Kurotsuchi leapt sideways, avoiding the spikes while rapidly weaving hand seals. Her movents were faster and more precise than her opponent's.
"Stone Pillar Technique!"
A thick stone pillar burst upward from the ground and shot toward her opponent.
The genin hurriedly dodged, but Kurotsuchi didn't let up.
She ford seal after seal, causing more stone pillars to rise continuously from the ground, forcing her opponent backward again and again.
After dodging, the genin tried to form hand seals for a counterattack.
But Kurotsuchi was faster. She seized the opening while he was mid-seal and closed the distance instantly. Rock wrapped around her right fist and forearm as she threw a punch.
The genin took the hit head-on and crashed to the ground. A small hand imdiately pressed a kunai to his throat.
The examiner nodded and loudly announced, "Kurotsuchi passes the exam!"
Applause erupted around the arena.
Kyoshin watched quietly from the stands. Kurotsuchi's strength was genuinely impressive. Her tactical decisions were sound, and her movents were smooth.
More importantly, the calmness and judgnt she displayed during battle surpassed the level of an ordinary genin.
Onoki's strict training was clearly paying off.
The atmosphere at the scene was lively. Among the watching academy students, a blond kid suddenly raised his hand.
"I want to graduate early too! Hmm! Hmm-hmm!!!"
Everyone's eyes turned in that direction.
A blond boy stood there, looking a year or two older than Kurotsuchi. His long blond hair covered one eye, while the visible eye sparkled with excitent.
Deidara strode into the arena without caring about the attention focused on him.
He carried a small pouch filled with clay. "I want to graduate early so I can have more ti to create art, hmm!"
The examiner frowned and looked toward the spectator stands.
Onoki's expression turned serious.
He knew this brat's personality far too well.
Deidara was obsessed with explosive art. If he graduated early and gained more freedom, he would definitely beco even more unrestrained.
Who knew what kind of trouble he would cause then.
Onoki thought for a mont before speaking, "Deidara, if you want to graduate early, fine. But the examiner is already tired and needs to be replaced."
Deidara raised a brow. "Then who's going to be my examiner?"
Onoki turned his gaze to the person beside him. "Kintsuchi, you'll be Deidara's examiner."
"Alright." Kyoshin stood up and walked from the spectator stands toward the arena.
Everyone's attention focused on him.
A new face. Wearing a genin forehead protector, but his age…
Was there really a genius capable of early graduation like this among them?
Quite a few Iwagakure ninja grew curious.
Beside Onoki, Kurotsuchi shouted loudly, "Kintsuchi! Beat the hell out of him! Hit him as hard as you can!"
"Hmph!" Deidara shot Kurotsuchi a disdainful look. "What a troubleso girl. But…"
He looked Kyoshin over again. "Kintsuchi, huh? You're younger than , but already a genin?"
"Hmm, but in front of my explosive art, everything is fragile!"
Kyoshin walked to the center of the arena and stood facing Deidara, calmly watching him.
Deidara rubbed his hands excitedly, seemingly unaware of what he was about to face.
As the examiner announced the start...
Deidara pulled clay from his pouch. His fingers skillfully kneaded it, quickly shaping several spiders. Then he infused chakra into the clay, bringing them to life. The spiders crawled across his palm.
"These are my artistic explosive spiders! Witness them for yourself, hmm!"
The spiders were thrown toward Kyoshin.
Kyoshin's calm black eyes tracked their trajectory as he reached into his ninja pouch.
Almost instantly... Several shuriken flew from his hand, tracing twisting arcs through the air and striking each clay spider with pinpoint accuracy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Small bursts of fire erupted almost simultaneously.
That display drew surprised reactions from the surrounding Iwagakure ninja.
"That level of throwing skill doesn't look like a genin's!"
"Where'd this kid co from? Never seen him before, but he looks really strong."
Deidara froze for a mont. "Wait, don't tell you're actually a jonin disguised as a genin just to stop from graduating?"
The kid was seriously scatterbrained. He completely forgot they were in the middle of a fight.
While Deidara was busy questioning him, Kyoshin had already brought his ninja blade to Deidara's neck.
"You lost."
Deidara looked down, then glared at Kyoshin. "You sneak attacked !"
Kyoshin: "..."
'Seriously?'
'A ninja's whole job is sneak attacks, isn't it?'
The examiner announced, "Deidara fails the exam."
Deidara refused to accept it. "That one doesn't count! Hmm!"
"Next month I'm applying for the early graduation exam again, and I'm picking you as my examiner! Next ti I'll prepare properly, so get ready to beco the loser beneath , hmm!"
Kyoshin gave no response. He simply gestured toward Onoki with his eyes.
"What a goody-two-shoes, hmm!" Deidara sneered at Kyoshin before turning his attention toward Onoki.
Onoki pondered briefly, then nodded.
This was exactly what he wanted.
Deidara was already one of the most outstanding students of the younger generation, yet he still hadn't forced Kyoshin to use his full strength.
Next month, he would definitely lose again.
And after that, he would challenge him again.
This way, having Deidara challenge Kyoshin every month would both suppress Deidara's arrogance and test Kyoshin's growth.
Killing two birds with one stone.
"Fine," Onoki said. "But until you graduate, stop causing trouble."
Deidara grinned widely. "No problem! I'll definitely beat him, hmm!"
———
[One Month Later, At The Sa Examination Arena]
Deidara once again stood across from Kyoshin.
Over the past month, he had trained taijutsu like mad, improved his control over the explosive spiders, and even developed new clay creations.
He believed he would definitely win this ti.
But once the battle started, Deidara realized he was wrong.
His clay creations were too slow and could be intercepted by ninja tools.
The taijutsu he had desperately trained was insignificant before Kyoshin. It was as if the other side already knew what he was about to do next.
The dust clouds kicked up by the clay explosions instead beca cover for Kyoshin. After closing in on Deidara, Kyoshin knocked away his kunai with his ninja blade.
And then… the battle was over.
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