NARUTO- CH-172. Naruto's clone technique

Although Naruto is no longer the dead last, his ninjutsu is still a mess.

The only thing worth mentioning is his taijutsu.

"Sorry."

Naruto clasped his hands together and said, "My target today is Shiki, not you."

"…"

Sasuke's face suddenly turned pale.

Why is he bringing up something completely unrelated?

What he hated most was when others hinted that he was always second best.

Before this, Naruto often said that he would surpass him first and then catch up with Shiki.

Now, he was being skipped entirely. This was intolerable!

"Shiki!"

Naruto said with full enthusiasm, "Just wait and see! This is the last dance of my youth!"

The last dance? That's not something you should joke about.

The corners of Shiki's mouth twitched slightly.

Since the test only involved the Three Basic Jutsu, it didn't take much time.

In less than thirty minutes, more than half of the students had completed their assessment.

Iruka's evaluation criteria were divided into five levels: ordinary, average, passing, excellent, and perfect.

Most students passed.

Only a handful achieved excellent marks, all of whom came from ninja clans.

For example, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and Ino.

"Sasuke!"

Iruka called out.

"Sasuke-kun! Do your best!"

With Sakura leading the cheer, the classroom suddenly became lively.

Sasuke, however, ignored the noise with a cold expression.

He walked into the next room and drew his test—Clone Jutsu.

Without saying a word, Sasuke formed the hand seals.

Poof!

Three identical clones appeared in front of him.

"Perfect score!"

Iruka announced without hesitation.

"Thank you, sensei."

Sasuke smirked slightly, nodded calmly, and accepted his forehead protector before turning to leave.

"How did it go, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura asked impatiently.

For the first time, Sasuke found her somewhat tolerable.

At least she gave him an excuse.

Otherwise, he would've had to announce his results himself.

"Perfect score."

Sasuke glanced at Shiki as he spoke.

"Sasuke-kun, you're amazing!"

Sakura cheered excitedly.

"Yeah, that was impressive."

Kiba agreed.

Though Sasuke was arrogant, his strength was undeniable.

"As long as I pass, I don't care."

Shikamaru mumbled, still lying on his desk.

Now, only he, Naruto, and Shiki remained untested.

Sasuke frowned slightly.

The reactions of the others were within his expectations.

But Shiki… couldn't he at least give some kind of response?

It wasn't fun to win like this.

"Naruto!"

Iruka called.

"It's my turn!"

Naruto stood up, gave a thumbs-up, and declared, "Watch me surpass perfection and embody the spirit of youth!"

"It's a pity that Guy isn't here."

Asuma chuckled as he watched through the crystal ball.

Naruto and Might Guy seemed to be cut from the same cloth.

At least in terms of their enthusiasm for youth.

"…"

Kakashi remained silent and thought.

'Are you sure you want Guy here?'

'Do you really want to risk him bursting into tears in the Hokage's office?'

"Guy and his team are out on a mission."

Shizune explained.

"I heard Naruto's grades fluctuate between third and tenth place in class."

Kurenai asked curiously, "Can he really exceed a perfect score?"

Naruto's unstable grades were due to his Schrödinger-like performance in written exams.

"It's hard to say."

Kakashi said with mixed feelings.

"He always does unexpected things."

More than once, Kakashi had doubted whether Naruto was truly Minato's son.

Their personalities were worlds apart.

"It's fine. We'll find out soon enough."

Asuma pointed at the crystal ball.

"Look, Naruto has drawn the Transformation Jutsu."

"Naruto, are you sure?"

Iruka asked, opening the back door.

"If you need, I can let you redraw."

"Of course, I'm fine!"

Naruto grinned, formed the seals, and shouted—

"Transformation Jutsu!"

Poof!

Iruka suddenly froze.

Standing before him was a blonde woman with twin pigtails, flawless fair skin, and an outfit so revealing it was practically a few strips of fabric.

"Sensei~ I want to… get a score beyond perfect~"

Naruto—now transformed—blew a kiss, his cheeks flushed, speaking in a delicate voice.

Splurt!

Two streams of blood spurted from Iruka's nose.

He quickly covered his face, but the bleeding wouldn't stop.

As a single man, he had never seen such a sight before.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted in the Hokage's office.

Asuma was dumbstruck, swallowing hard.

Soon, he felt something warm trickling down his lips—his own nosebleed.

Kakashi's face turned red as he stared at the crystal ball.

Yamato was completely stunned and looked away.

"A bunch of perverted men!"

Kurenai quickly covered the crystal ball.

"H-Hey! Kurenai, listen! It's not what it looks like!"

Asuma frantically wiped his nose.

It's not like he can control how much blood he lose!

"Who taught you this?!"

Tsunade slammed her desk, furious.

The entire room went silent.

"Guy wouldn't know such a technique…"

Shizune's gaze drifted toward Kakashi.

"Kakashi!"

Tsunade cracked her knuckles.

"Explain. Now."

"???"

Kakashi's face was full of question marks.

'What the hell does this have to do with me?!'

This is a complete injustice!

"It wasn't me!"

Kakashi shook his head desperately.

If he dared to admit it, he wouldn't leave this office alive.

"Did he… create this technique himself?"

Tsunade muttered, frowning.

"…"

Kakashi fell silent.

It was possible.

He was known as Konoha's Copy Ninja, a master of a thousand jutsu, and he could tell at a glance that Naruto's transformation was fundamentally simple.

It was still the same basic Transformation Jutsu.

Just with an… unusual application.

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