Naruto: Stormbreaker

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: I Ain’t Scared of No Tests

I was in the final stretch before the first-year exams. Not much had changed in my routine, except that I’d been spending more time with Shizuru in the library, reviewing everything that was going to be on the written test. My mind was already primed from all the studying, and it had kicked into full gear. I started absorbing knowledge like a sponge, comprehending it faster than ever. Not surprising, considering my actual mental age. It felt good, stretching that top-of-the-class brain muscle I’d had in my previous life before everything went to hell.

Daiken, meanwhile, was hammering chakra control into the handful of students who still hadn’t gotten it perfectly down. It was the final stretch, after all. Knowledge and intelligence were important, sure, but for shinobi, chakra and physical strength took priority when it came down to survival.

On the morning of the exam, I arrived feeling refreshed and ready. Honestly, switching my meditation to early morning had been a great call. It kept my mind focused during the day and helped steady my chakra when I trained.

We weren’t in our usual classroom. Instead, we were guided into a separate exam hall prepared just for the written test. The room was full of stiff-backed chairs and old wooden desks that creaked every time someone shifted. The official Academy scrolls in front of us looked like they hadn’t been reprinted since Tobirama was alive. I half-expected one to crumble into dust the moment I unrolled it.

Daiken stood at the front like a stone statue with murder eyes, arms crossed, daring anyone to speak. One unlucky kid coughed, and I swear Daiken’s gaze alone nearly erased him from existence.

Daiken then simply said ”start ”

I glanced down at the scroll.

Section One: Shinobi History and Law.

Which battle ended the Warring States Period? What was the main purpose of forming hidden villages? List the core principles of the shinobi code.

I sighed. Easy. Shizuru had drilled this stuff into me so many times I could probably answer it in my sleep. Or a coma. I started writing, careful not to rush and make stupid mistakes. I wasn’t about to repeat the humiliation of my entrance exam.

Section Two: Chakra Theory and Application.

Explain the difference between molding chakra and converting chakra. Define the five basic nature types. What are the risks of incorrect chakra circulation during wall walking?

At least now they were trying.

I leaned back slightly as I wrote, glancing at Shizuru and immediately regretting it. Her speed and calmness were downright horrifying. Around me, I could hear the quiet scratching of brushes on scrolls, the occasional sigh, and Sena’s brush moving at a disturbingly steady rhythm three rows ahead.

I looked up to confirm my suspicion.

Sena was already on the last section. Her posture was perfect, her brush held like a scalpel. A faint smile played on her lips like the test was a warm-up. And based on the way the Uchiha boy beside her kept glaring at her paper, I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

I returned to my scroll and, a few minutes later, raised my hand to signal I was done. Daiken gave me a barely noticeable glance, almost impressed before his face snapped back to its standard ”muscle statue 1” expression.

Shizuru raised her hand a second later, and she looked... annoyed. Maybe even a little insulted that I finished first. But the truly terrifying part was Sena. She’d already finished before either of us, but pretended like she hadn’t. The moment Shizuru raised her hand, Sena raised hers too, smiling at both of us with her perfect politician grin.

She didn’t know that I’d noticed. I sighed.

”She never does anything the simple way. There’s always a layer under the layer.”

We were dismissed while Daiken kept his gaze locked on the rest of the class, most of them now scrambling to finish faster after seeing who turned in their scrolls first. My feat alone was enough to light a fire under their seats. Daiken was ready to shine a beam of chakra down on the next kid who whispers, turning them into a statue to guard the training field.

Outside, Sena turned to Shizuru with a sweet smile.

”Shizuru, your intelligence never stops amazing me. Such a strong performance, it’s no wonder the Nara are considered the smartest clan in Konoha.”

To my horror, Shizuru blushed a little. Blushed.

My brain screamed, What?! She should’ve seen through that! Was she seriously falling for it? Or was this just the reality. that Shizuru, for all her intellect, was still a kid? And maybe I was the only one who saw the danger behind Sena’s carefully sculpted smile?

Where most people would see a kind compliment, I sensed the truth underneath. There was no sincerity in Sena’s tone. Not really. Just polish. But I couldn’t help but be impressed. She was already weaving a web around the influential clan kids, one smile at a time. And she was good at it.

We walked together as Sena continued chatting, somehow making Shizuru laugh, not an easy task. She included me in the conversation, casually, as if I was just part of the circle. And maybe I was. Maybe I’d already been pulled into her web without even noticing.

Eventually, we were called to the training grounds for the second half of the exam. The physical evaluation.

Some kids looked confident. Others wore that blank, soul-drained face you only see on children of divorced parents who’ve accepted their fate. Daiken stood in front of the assembled class, arms folded, looking like a thundercloud with abs.

The field had been marked out with chalk. Sprint lanes, rope climbs, wooden platforms, even a suspiciously tall wall that looked like it had been designed by someone who hated children.

”This is your physical evaluation,” Daiken said. ”You are not competing against each other. You are competing against yourselves. Against your past performance. Against your limits. Pure physical performance. No chakra.”

He let that hang in the air.

”If you fail to meet the benchmarks I’ve tracked across the year, you fail. If you exceed them, good. If you try to cheat, I will notice. You’ll repeat the test. With weights.”

Several kids paled. I almost smiled.

We started with sprints. Short bursts across sandbag lanes. Then push-ups, pull-ups, core work. Every station hit us hard, but not unfairly. Daiken wasn’t out to kill us. Just to measure who’d grown and who hadn’t.

I didn’t hold back. I hit my top speed, exceeded every mark I’d tracked for myself, and still had gas in the tank. All those months of physical training were paying off.

Shizuru struggled, but she completed everything. Her form was stronger. Her breath control was sharp. She even outlasted one of the Uchiha boys in a plank hold, which made him look like he was considering ritual suicide for the dishonor.

Kaen Uchiha, of course, did everything loudly. He grunted during pull-ups like he was lifting a building and dropped from the rope climb like he wanted applause. Daiken didn’t react. At all.

Sena was, predictable. Precise. Graceful. Not fast. Not slow. She didn’t try to impress. She just met expectations flawlessly. Which, honestly, was more terrifying than anything else. Because she knew exactly where to draw the line.

When it came time for the wall climb, half the class looked ready to drop.

”Maintain speed and focus. You’ve done this before,” Daiken said. ”You’re being graded on consistency, not just power.”

I climbed in one clean motion. I considered using a bit of lightning chakra in my calves, just a flicker, to avoid twisting anything.

And then I felt it.

Like a snake staring at the back of my head.

I froze mid-thought and abandoned the chakra idea entirely.

My eyes widened.

”How the hell did he even know what I was thinking?”

I kept climbing. No chakra. No shortcuts.

At the end, Daiken walked down the line of exhausted students, his gaze sharp and unreadable.

”No collapses. No crying. Acceptable.”

That was the nicest thing I’d ever heard him say.