Ten Months Later – Ninja Academy Graduation Exam

  [Name: Link]

  [Ninjutsu: ?] [Taijutsu: ○] [Genjutsu: △]

  [Teamwork: X] [Initiative: ○] [ Attitude: ○]

  [Notes: Mature personality, extensive knowledge, extraordinary trol ability. Dispys unique ninjutsu talent, possibly a special kekkei genkai. Struggles with genjutsu and cks teamwork skills but has the potential to bee a genin.]

  Iruka Umino g the evaluation form on his desk, then looked up at the small boy entering the room. He couldn’t help but ent, “Link, don’t you think yraduating a bit too early?”

  Eight years old and already trying to graduate? This wasn’t wartime—there was o rush.

  Link gave a slight bow but didn’t respond.

  Iruka sighed, shaking his head. “Alright, you may begin. This year’s graduation exam requires perf the Cloak of Invisibility Jutsu.”

  The Cloak of Invisibility Jutsu involves draping a cloth over oneself and blending into the surroundings, creating a pseudo-invisibility effect.

  Although it didn’t require chakra, it was still sidered a jutsu and included in the exam because successfully perf it in front of others required mastery of ninja tools, basic body flicker teiques, and the ability to ceal one’s presence.

  “Bang!”

  Link’s hand twitched slightly near his waist pouch, and a smoke bomb exploded on the floor, filling the room with smoke.

  [Smooth ninja tool handling.]

  Iruka nodded approvingly. This level of skill was endable, even among genin.

  Sing the room, Iruka took a moment to locate the didate.

  [Suffit cealment of presence.] Even though he didn’t like the idea of such a young child being a ninja, Iruka professionally aowledged Link’s performance.

  “You’ve passed, Link,” Iruka announced with a deep breath. “You’re now a genin.”

  The in beside him nodded in agreement. Though they shared simir reservations about young children being ninjas, Link’s abilities were undeniable.

  Link removed the cloth he had used for cealment, folded it ly, and tucked it into his waist pouch. Bowing politely, he said, “Thank you, examiners.”

  He stepped forward, received his graduatioificate, ao collect his forehead protector aer his photo for the records.

  “Click!”

  The old camera’s fsh captured the image of a-year-old Link, wearing dark gray pants and a hooded sweatshirt, his face calm and posed.

  [, the evaluation from my jonin instructor...]

  As Link walked out of the academy, he reminded himself not to celebrate prematurely. Still, he couldn’t help but smile as he left.

  Over the past ten months, he had worked hard, diligently attending the academy’s lessons and presenting himself as the perfect student.

  Unsurprisingly, the academy hadn’t tributed much to his growth.

  The ninjutsu taught were basic teiques he had already mastered in their mutated forms. The practical exercises were also unimpressive, sisting of mock battles between students. Even the children of ninja s refrained from using advanced jutsu during these exercises.

  Most of the sparring relied on taijutsu and ninja tools.

  In the manga, Sasuke Uchiha achieved top marks in his first semester without learning any signifit jutsu, which spoke volumes about the academy’s practical training.

  Thanks to his adult discipline and sistent effort, Link maintained an above-average performan taijutsu and practical exercises—anding out too much but never falling behind.

  His ninjutsu was a different story. The teiques he demonstrated were so unventional that they were frequently marked as “unknown” in evaluations.

  As fenjutsu—he was pletely hopeless.

  The only D-rank jutsu taught at the academy was the Binding Jutsu.

  Like the Body Flicker Teique, the Binding Jutsu e-based ninjutsu.

  The Body Flicker Teique involves moving quickly to avoid attacks. Teiques ranging from simple chakra bursts at the feet to the Flying Thunder God Jutsu fall uhis category.

  The Binding Jutsu immobilizes a target while keeping their mind scious. Variants include the academy’s basic D-rank jutsu, the Uchiha ’s Demonic Illusion: Shag Stakes, and Jiraiya’s Sage Art: Amphibian Jutsu.

  Type-based jutsu aren’t restricted to ninjutsu, genjutsu, or dojutsu. The academy’s version of the Binding Jutsu is the simplest form, using chakra to disrupt the target’s physical movements.

  It’s only effective against signifitly weaker oppos, making it more of a chakra trol exercise than a practical teique.

  Students also briefly learn a genjutsu-based version of the Binding Jutsu, which progresses from affeg the body to influeng the five senses. While this is sidered ary-level genjutsu, it has a high skill threshold—over 95% of students fail to master it.

  Even so, basic exposure to it is mandatory.

  Yet, Link couldn’t even mahe initial chakra release for the Binding Jutsu.

  The root of the problem was absurd: his excellent chakra trol ironically caused the issue.

  In private, he had successfully used the Binding Jutsu—but it mutated into a “Money-Binding Jutsu.”

  Whenever he activated it, his money flew out of his wallet, transf into semi-transparent, cash-colored symbols that restraihe target. The more money he spent, the strohe binding.

  And the money ermaly ed.

  “My money...”

  The memory of that i still pained Link. That day, he lost nearly all the money in his wallet. If not for some emergency funds at home, he might’ve gone hungry.

  For weeks afterward, he strategically “ran into” Mizuki, moog a few free meals. Only after receiving academy and orphan subsidies did he recover from that financial blow.

  From that point on, he abandoned any further attempts to learn the Binding Jutsu—he wasn’t made of money.

  …

  Speaking of Mizuki, the masked “nice guy” seemed to have wised up after being exploited for free meals multiple times. He stopped trying to “tally” meet Link.

  “Whatever,” Link thought. “He won’t be around much longer anyway. By the time Naruto graduates year, Mizuki will probably meet his end.”

  While he remained cautious of Mizuki’s iions, Link had no pns to provoke a direct frontation with a seasoned in.

  In the ninja world, information was crucial. Who knew what hidden abilities Mizuki might reveal in a life-or-death battle? After all, the manga only depicted his humiliati at the hands of Naruto’s Shadow e Jutsu.

  For now, keeping the pead avoiding unnecessary ges to the story was the best course of a.