“As expected of a Ninjutsu created by Teacher Kitazawa, it really suits you,” Kiba said with emotion, looking at Ino, who had stepped down from the arena.

“Indeed.” Sakura nodded in agreement.

She knew that Ino’s family owned a flower shop. This Ninjutsu, with its sky full of petals from the very start, seemed tailor-made for Ino.

“Mhm.” Ino said with a beaming smile, “I really like these two Ninjutsu as well.” After all, they were both beautiful and practical.

“What a pity, we only saw one Ninjutsu,” Kiba said with some regret.

“It’s fine.” Shikamaru twitched his lips and said, “You can personally experience both of her Ninjutsu in the next round.”

“But I won’t lose!” Kiba immediately said. “I also have Ninjutsu created by Teacher Kitazawa!”

“You guys make me so happy—” Naruto was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

“You’ve learned Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan, what are you still envious of?” Kiba retorted.

“Teacher Kitazawa is drawing lots again. I wonder who will be drawn for the fourth match,” Shino Aburame said, adjusting his glasses.

“It’s my turn to shine!” Kiba immediately looked at Kitazawa.

“First round, fourth practical match: Sakura versus Tenten,” Kitazawa announced.

“It’s over!” As soon as Sakura heard that her opponent was Tenten, she knew she was going to lose.

Tenten excelled at Ninjutsu throwing, and although it wasn’t Ninjutsu, it was as effective as Ninjutsu, and all of her attacks were wide-area. The only Ninjutsu she knew was Water Release: Water Bullet.

Sakura once again lamented that her time studying Water Release was too short. If she could master Water Release: Water Formation Wall, her chances of winning would be much higher.

“Sakura, you can do it!” Ino clenched her fists and said, “Don’t lose too quickly!”

“Hmph, maybe I’ll win!” Sakura glared at her and walked aggressively into the arena.

“Tenten, burn with youth!” Rock Lee said, his teeth sparkling.

“…” Tenten immediately turned her head and looked at Neji.

“Be careful,” Neji said calmly. Tenten nodded and walked to stand opposite Sakura.

The battle began. Tenten immediately took out a scroll. As soon as the scroll opened, various ninja tools were continuously thrown out.

“Water Release: Water Bullet!” Sakura stood in place, forming hand signs.

She arched her body and spat out a high-pressure water stream from her mouth. Although Water Release: Water Bullet was a basic C-rank Water Release Ninjutsu, its power depended on the chakra output.

As long as there was enough chakra, it could even destroy a forest. Of course, such an approach would be more trouble than it was worth. Using higher-level Water Release Ninjutsu could also destroy a forest, and it wouldn’t require as much chakra.

Dull thuds continuously sounded. Under the impact of the high-pressure water stream, Tenten’s ninja tools were all deflected and fell to the ground.

But Sakura didn’t have time to breathe a sigh of relief when the shuriken on the ground suddenly leaped up.

“Manipulating Shuriken Technique!” Tenten manipulated the rubber ropes with both hands, causing four shuriken to cross in front of Sakura.

Sakura’s heart fluttered, and she subconsciously formed hand signs. Water appeared out of nowhere, surrounding her.

But in less than a second, it suddenly dissipated again. Her Water Release: Water Formation Wall was not proficient, and coupled with her unstable mindset, it ultimately resulted in the failure of Water Release: Water Formation Wall.

Kitazawa appeared behind Sakura with a Body Flicker Technique. He grabbed her shoulders and dodged the incoming shuriken in time.

“Winner, Tenten.” Kitazawa put down Sakura and said.

“Was that Teacher’s Water Release: Water Formation Wall?” Although Tenten won, Hiruzen directly ignored her, his gaze falling on Sakura.

Second Hokage Tobirama Senju’s Water Release: Water Formation Wall was different. A typical Water Release: Water Formation Wall defends one side, but his Water Release: Water Formation Wall surrounds all sides, completely defending.

The Water Release: Water Formation Wall that Sakura had just used was clearly the latter type.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was thoughtful. He had heard Kitazawa’s report about the Genius Class, in which Maruboshi Kosuke was leading the Water Release learning group.

Sakura most likely learned Water Release: Water Formation Wall from Kosuke.

She learned one and a half Water Release Ninjutsu in one month? Water Release: Water Formation Wall was not mastered, so it counted as half. This was undoubtedly a Water Release genius!

Sarutobi Hiruzen still remembered that Sakura had learned Medical Ninjutsu and was an intern at Konoha Hospital.

Water Release and a Medical Ninja? Sarutobi Hiruzen’s eyes lit up, feeling that Konoha Village would soon have another Elite Jonin.

Sakura was also from a civilian background, which made him even more pleasantly surprised.

After all, ninja from clans could easily succeed, so achieving something was normal. But for ninjas from civilian backgrounds, even one strong individual was considered a golden legend.

Hiruzen came back to his senses and thought of Tenten. Compared to the last final exam, her progress was also significant; she had learned the Manipulating Shuriken Technique.

But how to put it? Hiruzen felt that she relied too much on ninja tools and might not become a strong individual. After all, the destructive power of ninja tools was limited.

The Shadow Clone Technique for shuriken that he created was already the limit. Unless Tenten could possess the legendary Six Paths Ninja tools. But that was impossible.

“Good thing you only know one Water Release Ninjutsu,” Tenten patted her chest and said.

“It might not be the case in the next monthly exam!” Sakura clenched her fists and said.

“How are you learning Water Release so fast?” Kiba felt surprised. It had only been a month, and Sakura had almost mastered two Water Release Ninjutsu. Moreover, Water Release: Water Formation Wall was a B-rank Ninjutsu.

“Because she’s studying Medical Ninjutsu, her chakra control is very strong, so she’s naturally suited to learning Water Release Ninjutsu.” Ino finished speaking and immediately felt a sense of crisis. If this continued, she would sooner or later be surpassed by Sakura.

“Ino.” Sakura’s face broke into a smile upon hearing this, and she said, “I’m looking forward to fighting you in the next monthly exam.”

“It won’t be that easy for you to beat me!” Ino put her hands on her hips and retorted, “You’re definitely going to lose next time!”

Although her face showed no fear, desperate words appeared in her mind: Teacher Kitazawa, save me.

“Water Release, huh?” Shino thought of the Kikaichu mutation experiment he was conducting. If it succeeded, he wouldn’t have to worry too much about Sakura’s Water Release.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura. Her Water Release did indeed counter his Fire Release.

Fortunately, he didn’t just have Fire Release; he also had Genjutsu and Kenjutsu, so Sakura posed no threat.

“First round, fifth practical match: Akimichi Choji versus—”

The exam continued, but the subsequent practical matches were not as exciting.

Hyuga Hinata, Rock Lee, and Inuzuka Kiba’s opponents were all newly joined students of the Genius Class. Although they were older students, they were still quickly defeated when facing them.

The Konoha 12, plus Karin, Inuzuka Hana, and Yakumo Kurama, made fifteen.

At the end of the first round, all fourteen of them — except for Karin — performed very well. But Karin couldn’t be blamed either. She studied Sealing Technique and was not skilled in combat.

“The second round will begin after a fifteen-minute break.”

After Kitazawa announced this, the members of the Genius Class all sat on the training ground to rest.

Because they had all gone through a tough battle, they didn’t care if the training ground was dirty; recovering chakra as quickly as possible was the priority.

Hiruzen looked at the resting group and nodded involuntarily. It was no exaggeration to say that after a month of study, every student in the Genius Class had improved. The most significant progress belonged to Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was surprised, but he also felt it was reasonable.

They were basically all from ninja clans, and their own talents were not bad, so progress was normal. After all, with so many students in the Ninja Academy, it was expected to have a few geniuses.

But what truly surprised Hiruzen were the newly joined students of the Genius Class. Their talent, to be honest, was very ordinary.

With good luck, they might become Special Jonin in the future, but most would reach the Chunin limit.

However, their progress during this month was also very evident. Especially with the basic Three E-rank Techniques, they had all reached the graduation standard.

The only explanation was that the three teachers — Kitazawa, Kosuke, and Kakashi — played a huge role.

Hiruzen increasingly felt that establishing the Genius Class was a very correct measure. If this continued, the average skill level of Konoha Village would increase significantly.

If Kitazawa knew his thoughts, he would tell him that this was the importance of basic education. Did Konoha Village value basic education? In reality, not particularly.

This could be seen from the fact that school teachers were generally Chunin, and the school only taught the basic Three E-rank Techniques. This educational model could only produce standardized Genin.

Of course, it couldn’t be said to be wrong; it was a problem of the broader environment.

Under the circumstances of frequent Ninja World Wars, this educational model was born, continuously producing active forces. However, in times of peace, certain modifications were needed.

The fifteen-minute break ended, and everyone dusted themselves off and stood up again.

They watched Kitazawa walk towards the lottery box, beginning to discuss who they would face in the second round.

“The first practical battle of the second round: Ino versus Kiba,” Kitazawa announced.

“You guys really did run into each other, huh?” Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and said. His mouth was quite accurate today.

“I’ll take the first victory of the second round!” Kiba Inuzuka said confidently. “Although your Ninjutsu has many petals, I have three heads!”

“We’ll see about that.” Ino held back a laugh and replied.

Half of her petals were real and half were fake; if Kiba didn’t realize it was Genjutsu, he had already lost half the battle. However, she wasn’t sure if she could defeat Kiba.

“Ino has only used one Ninjutsu so far, you know,” Sakura reminded. Although she and Ino had a superficial friendship, they were united when facing outsiders.

“Then—I’m not scared either!” Kiba paused and said. “I also learned a ninja clan’s Secret Technique!”

“Now that I also know your information, let’s have a fair fight,” Ino smiled and said.

Kiba scoffed. Had he been tricked into revealing information by Ino and Sakura working together? But it didn’t matter; just knowing he could use a Secret Technique was useless.

The two walked into the arena.

“Shadow Clone Technique!”

“Three-Headed Hellhound!”

Kiba immediately used his ultimate move. To everyone’s surprise, the three Kiba Inuzukas merged, transforming into a large ninja hound with three heads.

Ino watched the Three-Headed Hellhound warily. In terms of size, it was a third larger than the previous Hellhound and looked even more formidable.

“Ninja Art: Hundred Flowers Chaos!” Ino didn’t observe anything conclusive, so she immediately waved her hands.

A large number of petals flew from her hands, instantly turning into a sky full of flying flowers. Her figure also disappeared with them.

“One head watches one direction, I refuse to believe I’ll be ambushed like Shikamaru!” Kiba immediately commanded.

As his voice fell, his three dog heads and three pairs of eyes scanned the surroundings like a scanner, trying to find Ino.

“What is Kiba doing? Didn’t he see Ino?” Naruto scratched his head, feeling puzzled.

As a bystander, he wasn’t caught in the Genjutsu, so in his eyes, although there were many petals, Ino’s whereabouts were also very obvious.

“This Ninjutsu isn’t right!” Shikamaru reacted when he saw this.

Ninja Art: Moonlight Beauty used petals to obstruct vision, and Ino took the opportunity to ambush from above. He had lost too quickly back then to think carefully.

Now that Ino had switched to the more obvious Ninja Art: Hundred Flowers Chaos, he finally realized the problem.

This technique also used a large number of petals as a distraction, after which Ino would directly rush in.

“It’s Genjutsu.” Sasuke’s eyes narrowed as he spoke.

He thought of his own Genjutsu: Ephemeral, which combined reality and illusion — fake crows mixed with real kunai. This would make the target immediately think it was Genjutsu and thus ignore the true nature of the kunai.

But Ino’s two Ninjutsu were the opposite. They made the target believe the petals were real, causing them to overlook the Genjutsu.

“Sasuke-kun, do you mean these petals are Genjutsu?” Sakura subconsciously asked.

“Not Genjutsu,” Shikamaru paused and explained. “What we see isn’t Genjutsu, but what Kiba sees is Genjutsu plus petals.”

“A very clever Genjutsu,” Shino praised. “Without prior information, it’s very easy to be confused.”

“Kiba is under Genjutsu and doesn’t even know it; he’s probably going to lose,” Inuzuka Hana said, shaking her head.

“It depends on how good his Three-Headed Hellhound’s defense is,” Tenten added, watching Ino intently.

As her voice fell, Ino made her move. Two flowers suddenly accelerated, flying toward Kiba Inuzuka like kunai.

“It’s not that easy to ambush me!” Now with three pairs of eyes, Kiba quickly spotted the two flowers.

He unhesitatingly raised his front paw and swiped. The sharp dog claws shredded the flowers, scattering them across the ground. Just then, Ino appeared behind him.

She held two kunai — one in each hand — and thrust them down at Kiba’s backside.

“Ow!” Kiba immediately cried out in pain.

Fortunately, as a Three-Headed Hellhound, he had thick skin and flesh. In pain, he raised his hind leg and kicked toward Ino. She didn’t dare take the hit directly and quickly retreated.

Kiba turned to face her. Two bleeding holes now marked his backside, but his movement wasn’t affected.

The reason was that the Three-Headed Hellhound was formed by merging with two Shadow Clones. With three bodies sharing the damage, it wasn’t so severe.

But he knew he couldn’t drag the fight out; he had to finish it quickly. Kiba leaped, both claws extended. The giant dog’s claws, like sharp blades, slashed toward Ino.

“Ninja Art: Moonlight Beauty!” Ino’s lips curled slightly, and her body vanished from its spot again.

“What?!” Kiba looked around.

Again, a large number of petals surrounded him, obstructing his vision. Remembering Shikamaru’s predicament, Kiba subconsciously raised his head.

But to his surprise, there was no sign of Ino in the sky.

“What exactly is going on?” Kiba felt confused.

He gritted his teeth and directly dispelled the Three-Headed Hellhound. Three Kibas appeared, standing in a triangular formation. This move happened to counter Moonlight Beauty, because Ino couldn’t tell which was Kiba’s main body.

After a moment of hesitation, she chose one Kiba, descended from the sky, and kicked him. That Kiba was immediately sent flying.

“Fang Over Fang!”

But at that moment, the other two Kibas spun rapidly like tornadoes and crashed into her. Ino had just landed and no longer had time to counterattack.

Kitazawa’s Body Flickered behind her, grabbed her, and moved several steps to the left. Their target suddenly lost, the two Kibas roared and sped away.

“Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!” Ino exhaled.

“You’ve already done very well.” Kitazawa patted her head.

Ino immediately showed a brilliant smile upon hearing this.

In fact, she had held back. Otherwise, those two kunai would have aimed not at the Three-Headed Hellhound’s backside but at its head or heart. But the head and heart were vital points — Kiba would certainly be more vigilant, and she might not have hit.

From the results, Ino was still a little short, but Kiba’s victory was a narrow one.

“Winner, Kiba Inuzuka,” Kitazawa announced the result.

“Kitazawa-sensei, save me quickly!”

Kiba dispelled his two Shadow Clones; his face immediately turned pale as he covered his backside and came to Kitazawa.

“It’s only a minor injury.” Kitazawa extended his hands and healed him.

“Three new Ninjutsu?” Hiruzen looked at Kitazawa and Kiba, stroking his beard.

He hadn’t expected Kitazawa to possess such talent for creating Ninjutsu. Although these three techniques weren’t particularly powerful, they were very suitable for Kiba and Ino.

Hiruzen was pleased to see the emergence of a creative ninja. After all, the more Ninjutsu, the more beneficial it was for Konoha.

If a second Senju Tobirama appeared, the contribution would be self-evident. Unfortunately, creative ninjas were too few. Many geniuses could learn Ninjutsu, but couldn’t create it.

Creating Ninjutsu required extremely strong chakra shape transformation, chakra nature transformation, and a lot of creativity. He wondered if Kitazawa could create more in the future.

“How was it?” Kiba, having left the arena, immediately became smug. “The victory of the first match ultimately belongs to me!”

“But you were also the one screaming and asking Kitazawa-sensei for healing.” Shikamaru chuckled. “And you were the first one to ask Kitazawa-sensei for healing.”

“Your win wasn’t your own doing.” Sakura hugged Ino’s arm, smiling. “It was Kitazawa-sensei’s doing.”

“I—I—” Kiba was speechless.

Without the Three-Headed Hellhound, he indeed wouldn’t have been able to defeat Ino.

—

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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep