"Thousands of people, I..." I was ridiculed and bullied. Even someone as energetic as Might Guy couldn't help but take notice at this moment. Especially in front of his classmates, Might Guy flushed red and appeared at a loss.
"Don't be discouraged..." Looking at the dejected Might Guy, Chao Yanqianming struggled to find words of comfort. After a pause, he recalled the advice Might Guy had once given to Rock Lee in the original series and repeated it to him: "There are two kinds of geniuses in this world. One is a natural-born genius, and the other is a hard-working genius."
Maybe Might Guy was truly uplifted by these words, for he immediately bounced back, his spirit reignited. He shouted enthusiastically, "I see now, Chao Yan! Let's work hard to surpass those natural-born geniuses!"
"I'm heading back!" Chao Yanqian said, feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
Although this was probably the best time to befriend Might Guy, Chao Yanqian realized that communicating with him while he was exuding his overwhelming enthusiasm was a bit too much.
"Going back so soon? I'm going to keep training!" Might Guy looked confused.
"Yeah! I need to prepare for tomorrow's exam!" Chao Yanqian responded. "Tomorrow afternoon's actual combat assessment—I'm going to challenge Kakashi!"
The next day, Chao Yanqianming woke up early on purpose. After a morning run, he completed some simple physical training to ensure he was in top condition.
For most of his classmates, today's exam was just another test at the Ninja Academy. Doing well was a reason to be happy, but doing poorly wasn't considered the end of the world.
However, for Chao Yanqian, this test held a much greater significance.
If Kakashi applied for early graduation next year, this might be Chao Yanqian's final chance to face him at the academy.
Chao Yanqian knew that as the son of Konoha's White Fang, Kakashi was already under the watchful eye of Konoha's higher-ups. If Chao Yanqian could defeat Kakashi in front of everyone, he would undoubtedly catch the attention of Konoha's leadership.
This would be highly beneficial for Chao Yanqian's future. At the very least, when it came time for him to be assigned to a squad after graduation, he wouldn't be placed under a less distinguished team leader.
While early graduation would attract attention, it wasn't the right path for Chao Yanqian. Kakashi was being mentored by his father, Konoha's White Fang, and had learned countless things. Chao Yanqian, however, had only the Ninja Academy instructors to rely on.
Graduating early would mean being thrown into mission after mission, which could hinder Chao Yanqian's future development. The time spent at the Ninja Academy was crucial for him. It was his only chance to learn as much as possible, and performing missions too early would significantly delay his training—a fatal drawback.
Perhaps Kakashi's own future limitations were due in part to being thrust into endless missions, leaving little time for further training.
At the academy playground:
"Wow! So cool!"
"Kakashi is really amazing!"
Kakashi stood several meters away from a wooden training post. With a casual flick of his wrist, he threw a kunai and shuriken. There was a series of 'thunks' as the kunai and shuriken hit dead center in the targets without fail.
Cheers erupted from the surrounding students. As the top student in the class and the son of Konoha's White Fang, Kakashi's every move drew admiration from his peers.
In contrast, though Chao Yanqian's performance was also excellent, he received far less attention.
In all honesty, Chao Yanqian wasn't bad-looking-fair-skinned, handsome, and cool headed, a typical young ninja. But under the brilliance of Kakashi's achievements, his qualities seemed insignificant.
Being number one was always dazzling, but the second-place student might as well be invisible, whether he was ranked second or tenth.
"Today will be different..." Chao Yanqian thought as he looked at Kakashi, his eyes flashing with determination.
After six months of hard training, today would be the day his progress was put to the test.
"Watch me!"
Just then, a boy wearing goggles pushed past Kakashi and stepped forward, pulling out his own shuriken and throwing them at the wooden target.
Thud! Thud!
Only two of the six shuriken hit the target, while the others flew off in random directions.
"Dammit, Kakashi! I can't focus with you standing so close!" the boy with goggles shouted, his face turning red with embarrassment.
It was Uchiha Obito.
Chao Yanqian watched Obito in disbelief. It was hard to imagine that this boy—who was now clumsy and reckless—would one day become the masked man who would plunge the world into the chaos of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
"Uchiha's power… it's truly incredible," Chao Yanqian thought to himself.
Despite Obito's current ineptitude, he had the latent potential that all Uchiha possessed. Eventually, through the tragic awakening of his Mangekyō Sharingan and the fusion with the First Hokage's cells, Obito would become one of the most powerful figures in the ninja world. The Uchiha clan's Sharingan truly was a fearsome advantage.
"At least you didn't hit anyone this time," Kakashi commented dryly.
"Shut up, Kakashi!"
"Next, Chao Yanqian!" the Chūnin instructor called out.
Soon, it was Chao Yanqian's turn.
Throwing shuriken at this level was a basic task for Chao Yanqian. With a calm step forward, he pulled out his shuriken from his ninja pouch and threw them. All six shuriken landed dead center on the target.
"Excellent! Perfect score!" the Chūnin instructor, Yamamoto Hideyoshi, smiled proudly.
As a civilian ninja, Yamamoto Hideyoshi was delighted to see a civilian student showing such promise. He had taken a particular interest in Chao Yanqian's progress and frequently offered him extra guidance.
In the past six months, Chao Yanqian's rapid improvement was largely due to the dedicated teaching of Yamamoto Hideyoshi, his first real mentor at the academy.
Soon, the shuriken throwing and transformation assessments were completed, and Yamamoto Hideyoshi prepared the students for the next stage.
"Students, the next part of the exam is the combat assessment. I'll assign each of you an opponent based on your performance in previous combat tests."
The combat assessments at the Ninja Academy were not about ranking the students but about observing their reactions, strengths, and weaknesses in battle. Teachers would use the assessment to identify areas where students needed improvement and guide their training accordingly.
To prevent one-sided battles, students were typically paired with classmates of similar strength.
"First match... Shiranui Genma and Hōki!" Yamamoto Hideyoshi called out.
Both Shiranui Genma and Hōki stepped forward, standing across from each other.
"First, the Seal of Reconciliation!" Hideyoshi instructed.
The two students performed the seal, then drew their wooden kunai and readied themselves for battle.