“The situation is getting worse.”
Akira naturally turned his gaze away.
The appearance of those observers gave him a growing sense of urgency.
“I must become stronger as quickly as possible.”
“The two-tomoe Sharingan is nowhere near enough.”
Akira looked ahead.
Yamabuki Yuki entered his field of vision, but he ignored her and walked straight past.
After everyone entered the classroom, Yamashiro Aoki cleared his throat.
“Ahem!”
“Students, you’ve been attending the Academy for quite some time now.
Today, we’ll conduct an assessment to evaluate what you’ve learned.”
“This morning, you’ll take an academic examination.”
“I’ll be supervising you.”
“This afternoon, Mizuki and Iruka will oversee your physical fitness and shuriken assessments.”
The students reacted differently.
Some immediately began complaining.
No matter the world, there would always be students who hated examinations.
The eyes of several others lit up.
These were the students who believed they had studied well.
For them, the examination was an opportunity to display their excellence.
Hyūga Hikaru looked toward Akira.
“If you refuse to fight me, I’ll use this examination to prove that the Hyūga are superior to the Uchiha.”
Akira ignored him.
“How boring.”
To Akira, this truly was meaningless.
Competition between two children meant nothing.
Naruto had remained at the bottom of his class throughout all six years at the Ninja Academy.
He even failed his graduation examination several times and only passed with Mizuki’s “help.”
Yet Naruto’s eventual achievements surpassed everyone else’s.
There were also students like Akimichi Chōji and Inuzuka Kiba, who hadn’t performed particularly well at the Academy but ultimately became far more accomplished than many students with better grades.
“It’s similar to university graduates entering society in my previous life.”
“Except for true geniuses like Sasuke…”
“Or exceptionally hardworking people like Lee…”
“For most people, the position they eventually obtain in society is closely connected to their family background.”
Akira had long since moved beyond the level of these students.
He possessed the two-tomoe Sharingan, could perform ninjutsu without hand seals, and had chakra reserves and a physique that would be considered above average even among chūnin.
He might not necessarily be at a disadvantage even against certain special jōnin.
Competing with Hikaru would be nothing more than bullying a child.
“Begin.”
The examination papers were distributed.
Suddenly, Akira felt someone touch his back.
He instinctively turned around and saw Yuki, who was seated behind him, shifting her examination paper to the side.
Akira immediately understood.
Yuki was allowing him to copy her answers.
He rarely listened during class.
He usually rested his head on the desk while secretly refining his chakra.
There was nothing Aoki could do about it.
Aoki had vaguely sensed the tension between the Uchiha clan and Konoha’s leadership, so he didn’t dare interfere too much.
Because of this, Yuki had concluded that Akira was a terrible student.
“I don’t need it.”
Akira turned back around.
The questions on the paper weren’t difficult for him.
Compared with the basic education he had received in his previous world, these questions were as simple as preschool exercises.
However, Akira had no intention of receiving an exceptionally high score.
He answered only two-thirds of the examination.
An average score was sufficient.
Akira wanted everyone to believe he was an ordinary, mediocre Uchiha.
Only then could he avoid attracting the attention of Konoha’s leadership.
“The examination is over!”
Yuki walked over to Akira’s desk.
“Why didn’t you look at my answers?”
“Not cheating during an examination was something Aoki taught us in our very first lesson.
Have you already forgotten?”
Yuki fell silent.
“Stop doing unnecessary things,” Akira continued.
“I already told you that there’s someone else I like.”
With that, he walked out of the classroom.
Yuki stared intensely at his retreating figure, her eyes becoming slightly red.
“I won’t give up.”
That afternoon, Aoki remained in the classroom to grade the papers while Mizuki and Iruka brought the students to the training ground for the afternoon assessment.
It consisted of two sections.
Physical fitness and shuriken throwing.
“Iruka and I will be responsible for this afternoon’s assessment,” Mizuki announced with a smile.
“You may choose which instructor will evaluate you.”
“Line up in front of whichever instructor you prefer.”
Mizuki’s smile soon froze.
Most of the students had run over to Iruka.
Only a dozen or so lined up before Mizuki.
This was far beyond his expectations.
Mizuki had believed he was doing quite well, but he hadn’t expected the students to make such a choice.
Was he truly that unlikeable?
Mizuki glanced toward Iruka, jealousy and resentment flashing through his eyes.
“Sir, may we begin?”