The youngsters were surprised to hear that they would take a mission on their first day. After such a long talk, they expected at least a few weeks of training.
Teru asked in surprise, "A mission on our first day?"
Both Fujin and Kaen also had the same question.
Tsuyoshi waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. Since you are new here, we will be taking an easy mission. So you will get to do a mission and get used to the Anbu way of operating at the same time."
He grabbed his mask and put it on and said, "As I said, outside the room, you will only refer to me by my code name."
He walked out of the room. The boys put on their masks and followed him out.
At the same time, the Konoha Academy was very busy. It was the day of the Graduation exam. 359 Students from the final year were taking the exam in various classrooms.
Hyuga Hachiro looked at the file and said, "Next, Daisuke Daisuke."
Daisuke stood up and walked to the front of the classroom. Hachiro looked at him and said, "Transform into Lord Hokage."
Daisuke weaved hand signs and soon transformed into Hiruzen. He looked exactly like Hiruzen with no flaws in appearance. Hachiro nodded in approval. He and a couple more teachers entered his marks in their files.
Hachiro said, "Good. Now show me substitution jutsu."
Daisuke weaved hand signs and substituted himself with a log of wood placed in the class. He was even better at this jutsu than the Transformation jutsu.
Hachiro nodded once again and said, "Now create clones."
Daisuke weaved hand signs and 3 clones appeared next to him.
Hachiro was surprised. He said, "Good work. I can tell that you have worked hard in the last few months."
Daisuke replied, "Thank You Sensei. It is all because you were such a good teacher."
Daisuke didn't have any reluctance or shame in giving him the credit. He was aware that Hachiro would have a major say in his final marks and could influence which squad he would be assigned to and who his Sensei will be.
Hachiro was pleased by the praise. He said with a smile, "You have passed the exam. Go back to your seat. Next, Anzai Buncho."
Daisuke returned while Buncho took his place. Just like Daisuke, Buncho too did the 3 jutsu perfectly. Hachiro was surprised once again. He wondered, 'Both Daisuke and Buncho were struggling a lot a few months ago. I was sure that they would fail the exam. How did they suddenly improve so much?'
He looked at the other 3 orphans in the classroom and wondered, 'Have these 3 improved as well?'
He called out Iriye Ryoma next. Just like the ones before him, he too completed the 3 jutsus.
Hachiro praised him as well and called out, "Next, Uzuki Tatsuya."
Tatsuya walked up to the front. Like others, he too performed all the 3 jutsus. This time, Hachiro wasn't surprised but he was very curious about how they improved so suddenly. He said, "Good, you have passed the exam as well. Nex…"
However, Tatsuya interrupted him, "Sensei, I have a question."
Hachiro looked at him and said, "Ask."
Tatsuya asked, "Can I perform other jutsus to improve my score even further?"
Hachiro was surprised. He nodded and said, "Sure, go ahead."
However, he thought, 'What is going on? Not only has he mastered the 3 jutsus but even mastered more?'
A frown formed on his face, 'I already sent all the talented people from my class to the Elite batch. Did I misjudge their talent? No, they definitely weren't this good half a year ago.'
Tatsuya's question also surprised the kids in the classroom. They didn't expect Tatsuya to learn a new jutsu in addition to learning the 3 required jutsus. After all, most of them had a hard time mastering those 3 basic jutsus. Daisuke, Buncho and Ryoma especially stared at him. Despite being close friends, they weren't aware that Tatsuya learnt another jutsu.
Tatsuya weaved hand signs and pointed a finger at the log of wood.
'Fire Release: One jutsu'
A fire ray was released from the tip of his finger and landed on the wood. Soon, smoke appeared from the point of contact and after a few seconds, it caught fire.
Hachiro quickly made a move and doused the fire. At the same time, the entire class looked at Tatsuya in awe. Among the 50+ students who took the exam, he was the only one to perform another jutsu.
Hachiro patted Tatsuya's shoulder and praised, "Great work Tatsuya. This will improve your score a lot. Do you have any other jutsu you want to show?"
Tatsuya shook his head and said, "I have just learnt one jutsu so far, Sensei. I am also training in Fire Release: Two jutsu, but I haven't learnt it yet."
Hachiro said, "That is a rank D jutsu. You will need some time to learn it. But it's good that you have taken the initiative to learn by yourself. Keep working hard."
Tatsuya excitedly said, "Yes, Sensei."
Tatsuya returned to his seat as everyone stared at him. He felt very pleased with himself. Hachiro called out, "Next, Handa Bunjiro."
Bunjiro walked to the front. He was very pumped after seeing Tatsuya's performance. He performed the 3 jutsus and said, "Sensei, I also want to perform another jutsu."
Hachiro didn't show his surprise and allowed him. Bunjiro quickly weaved hand signs.
'Water Release: Water Pellet jutsu'
He spat a bullet made of water at the log of the wood. It hit the spot Tatsuya had burned earlier and pierced 8 inches into the log.
This time, Hachiro couldn't hide his surprise. He thought, 'That was a rank D jutsu! Though the piercing power of his jutsu was only because of the damage Tatsuya did to the log, the fact that he could aim it on point is even more amazing. He should have excellent chakra control and aim to do so.'
Hachiro's gaze towards Bunjiro changed. He praised him a lot before sending him back. He looked at the class and said, "It is already noon. We will take a 30-minute break for lunch."
As soon as he and the other teachers exited the room, Tatsuya and Bunjiro were surrounded by their classmates. In a matter of minutes, they had become the most popular kids in the classroom. Only Daisuke, Buncho and Ryoma were upset and had a look of jealousy on their face.
Fujin's analysis regarding the five orphans was on point. As he had speculated, there were slackers and hard workers in this group. Daisuke, Buncho and Ryoma stopped training right after they learnt the 3 jutsus and could perform them without failing even once. They spent their time relaxing and playing.
On the other hand, Tatsuya and Bunjiro checked their nature affinity and chose jutsus to learn from the Library. As a result, they made much higher progress as compared to the other three. Without the requirement of having to wait for everyone else to finish in order to visit Fujin, the differences became visible immediately.
And in the future, these differences would expand further and break their little circle of friends. Daisuke would convince Buncho and Ryoma with his silver tongue and they would accuse Tatsuya and Bunjiro for training in secret and not hanging out with them. It would result in an argument that would end their 6-year-old friendship.
While Tatsuya and Bunjiro were getting all the attention, Hachiro walked with a frown on his mouth as he wondered, 'How did these 5 improve so suddenly? It's unnatural. And they don't have any family members to guide them either. Though Daisuke praised me, I didn't have anything to do with their progress.'
He analyzed a lot before having a bad feeling. He thought, 'Don't tell me that they are spies planted by other villages! After all, brainwashing young kids and sending them to other villages as a spy is done quite frequently. Though we do a background check, it isn't foolproof. I need to inform Lord Hokage.'
He quickly hurried to the Hokage's office.
