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"The winners are Uzumaki Naruto's team!"
Kitazawa announced the result without hesitation.
Although Sasuke and Kimimaro had managed to break through the Konoha Dragon God earlier, that was when there were only one or two of them.
One Dragon God versus eighteen was an entirely different matter.
With their chakra nearly exhausted, Sasuke's team conceded without dragging things out.
"In the end, Naruto's team took first place," Kiba said with a long sigh.
"More accurately," Shikamaru added, shaking his head, "Naruto took first place."
Lee and Jugo had done their best to hold back Kimimaro and Sakura, but the final stage still turned into Naruto fighting three opponents on his own.
"His chakra reserves are ridiculous," Tenten complained.
"It's like he's not even in the same generation as us."
Iruka fell silent.
It wasn't just among students—Naruto's chakra would be monstrous at any age.
Compared to him, Iruka suddenly felt his twenty-plus years of training had been lived in vain. The gap between people could truly be terrifying.
"Even in team battles," Ino said thoughtfully, glancing at Neji, "individual strength still plays a huge role—unless the tactics are exceptional."
Out of all three rounds, only Neji's team defeating Yakumo's squad truly counted as an upset.
But such a result was hard to replicate. It required flawless coordination, the Byakugan, and specialized long-range combat.
In theory, only Hinata's team could pull it off.
Even then, it still wouldn't mean much against Naruto.
"At least we can change teammates every time," Shino said, adjusting his glasses.
"That only works when everyone's strength is close," Kiba replied with another sigh.
"With Naruto around, he should be banned from team battles altogether!" Tayuya complained.
"Otherwise, first place will always be his!"
Shikamaru instinctively began thinking.
Banning Naruto outright was impossible.
But restricting his strength was unfair.
"…Missions have more variables," Shikamaru muttered, rubbing his brow.
"For now, I don't see a perfect solution."
"Team battles are inherently random," Neji said calmly.
"And the battlefield will change next time. Beating Naruto is difficult—but not impossible."
"Neji's right," Tenten agreed.
Hinata, who had been quietly listening, lifted her head slightly.
At that moment, Kitazawa, Naruto, Sasuke, and the others walked back toward the Genius Class.
Tsunade and the instructors descended from the Wood Dragon as well.
"You all performed extremely well in this team battle," Kitazawa said as he stopped in front of the students.
"More than well," Tsunade added, glancing at him.
"You're likely the strongest class since the Ninja Academy was founded."
"If we compare everyone at the same age," Hiruzen said with a chuckle, "then yes—this is undoubtedly the strongest class."
Since the Academy's creation, only two classes had ever been described as overflowing with talent.
The first was Hiruzen's own—featuring Danzo Shimura, Uchiha Kagami, Homura Mitokado, and others.
The second was Kakashi Hatake's generation, which included Kitazawa and Asuma Sarutobi.
Even so, both paled in comparison to the current Genius Class.
At the same age, these students were simply stronger.
Hiruzen stroked his beard thoughtfully.
He, Kitazawa, and Tsunade had all been late bloomers. During their academy days, none of them had possessed strength close to a jonin.
Hearing this praise, the students' faces lit up with excitement.
With Kitazawa and two Hokage saying it, this was no empty flattery.
"I'm very much looking forward to your futures," Tsunade said, clearly pleased.
"Now," Kitazawa continued once the chatter settled, "I'll announce the final rankings for this team battle."
Naruto, Sasuke, and the others immediately focused on him.
The area fell quiet.
"First place: Uzumaki Naruto.
Second place: Uchiha Sasuke.
Third place: Hyuga Neji."
Kitazawa read them out in one breath.
There was no debate about the top three. Each of them had served as team captain and led their squads through multiple rounds.
After that, the rankings shifted significantly compared to the previous practical exams.
Winning teams earned team points and additional captain points.
Losing teams received fewer of both, making it extremely difficult to overtake the winners.
"Fourth place: Jugo.
Fifth place: Rock Lee."
Jugo and Rock Lee—Naruto's teammates.
As members of the winning team, even without extra captain points, they had surpassed the rest.
"My youth… has finally broken through!" Lee shouted, fists clenched, his entire body trembling as tears streamed down his face.
"It's burning brighter than ever!"
In theoretical exams, he was always dead last.
In practical exams, he rarely even reached the top ten.
There was no helping it—the Genius Class was filled with monsters.
But fifth place in a team battle?
For Lee, it was nothing short of a miracle.
"Lee!"
Naruto flashed a thumbs-up, grinning.
"That was a team battle overflowing with youth! Gai-sensei is definitely going to be proud of you!"
"Thank you, Naruto!" Lee replied enthusiastically.
"My youth hasn't reached its limit yet! I'll keep training until I can catch up to you and Gai-sensei!"
"Jugo actually placed fourth…?"
Tayuya glanced at Jugo instinctively, envy flickering across her face. She'd been in the Genius Class for so long and had never once reached fourth place.
"Congratulations, Jugo," Kimimaro said sincerely.
Though he was disappointed about missing the top five himself, seeing his friend succeed softened the blow.
"I just got lucky," Jugo replied, shaking his head.
"Next semester's monthly exam, you'll definitely be back in the top five."
Normally, even breaking into the top ten would've been difficult for him. Fifth place—let alone fourth—was entirely thanks to Naruto's overwhelming strength.
After all, only the final exam used team battles. The next monthly exam would return to mission-based evaluations.
Maintaining a top-five ranking then would be nearly impossible—but achieving it once was already something to be proud of.
This was the Genius Class, after all—where prodigies were everywhere.
"And me!" Tayuya added loudly.
"I'm breaking into the top five next semester too!"
"It's over for me," Kiba groaned, scratching his head.
"I wonder how far I'll drop after this."
Hinata unconsciously tightened her grip on her clothes.
Now that the top five were announced—and given her underwhelming performance—there was a real chance she might fall out of the top ten for the first time.
She didn't care much about rankings themselves…
…but she cared about what Kitazawa and her father, Hiashi, would think.
If she dropped too far, they would surely be disappointed.
"It's just the first team battle," Ino said gently, noticing her expression.
"You can win it back next time."
"That's right," Yakumo agreed.
Previously, Yakumo hadn't cared much about results—but this loss had changed something in her.
No matter what, she couldn't afford to fall in the opening round again.
"Sixth place: Shino Aburame.
Seventh: Kimimaro.
Eighth: Tenten.
Ninth: Kurama Yakumo."
Kitazawa paused briefly, then continued.
"Tenth: Hyuga Hinata.
Eleventh: Sakura Haruno.
Twelfth: Tayuya."
The teams that won the first round were Sasuke's, Naruto's, and Neji's.
Excluding the captains, the members of Sasuke's and Neji's teams had very similar point totals.
Even the teams eliminated early weren't far behind once captain bonus points were added.
The three captains involved were Shino, Yakumo, and Hinata.
In short, from sixth to twelfth place, the point gaps were minimal.
Shino ranked highest among them due to his outstanding performance against Sasuke's team.
If Sasuke's individual strength hadn't been so overwhelming, Shino's team might have won outright.
Kimimaro placed below Shino because of Shino's surprise attack—but still ranked above the others.
In the later battles, Kimimaro performed consistently well, acting as Sasuke's main support while Sasuke handled offense.
By contrast, Sakura's role focused on containment and assistance.
Tenten, as part of Neji's team, played a decisive role in defeating Yakumo's squad—especially with her Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
As a result, she ranked higher than Yakumo.
"Damn it!" Tayuya complained.
"I actually dropped to twelfth!"
"Hey, look on the bright side," Kiba said weakly.
"At least you're still top twelve. I'll be lucky to stay top fifteen."
Kimimaro frowned.
His ranking hadn't changed much, yet he felt no satisfaction.
After mastering Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch, he'd thought the top five was guaranteed—but he'd missed it twice in a row.
Hinata let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She was still in the top ten—even if barely.
Combined with her Theoretical Exam score, her overall ranking might still rise by one or two places.
"Yes!" Tenten exclaimed happily.
"I finally made the top ten!"
With Shuriken Shadow Clone, her strength had skyrocketed.
While she still wasn't among the elite of the Genius Class, she was leagues ahead of where she'd been before.
Sakura felt both relieved and conflicted.
Eleventh place wasn't impressive—but at least she'd beaten Ino.
And more importantly, she'd fought side by side with Sasuke.
For her, this outcome was acceptable.
"Thirteenth: Inuzuka Kiba.
Fourteenth: Haku.
Fifteenth: Karin.
Sixteenth: Ino Yamanaka."
Kitazawa continued.
"Seventeenth: Akimichi Choji.
Eighteenth: Nara Shikamaru."
The remaining six all came from the three teams eliminated in the first round.
Shikamaru was the unluckiest of all—running straight into Naruto's battlefield-destroying tactics meant he never got a chance to show his intelligence.
"At least I didn't fall out of the top fifteen!" Kiba suddenly cheered—
—then immediately deflated.
Thirteenth place wasn't exactly worth celebrating.
Haku, however, was quietly pleased.
He usually hovered near last place—fourteenth was a personal best.
Karin felt the same.
The progress was small, but in the Genius Class, even small improvements were hard-won.
"After the holidays start," Ino declared fiercely, brushing her blonde hair aside,
"I'm doing extra training for sure!"
Having a low rank was bad enough.
But losing to Sakura Haruno?
That was absolutely unacceptable.
"It is what it is. I'll just work harder next time." Shikamaru spoke lazily, hands laced behind his head.
This loss wasn't really his fault.
Running into Naruto was what anyone would call an irresistible force.
"That concludes the final rankings for this final exam."
Kitazawa paused before continuing. "This semester ends here. You've all worked hard—go back and rest."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!"
The Genius Class instantly perked up at the word holiday.
After all, the final exams and rankings were already over. What lay ahead was a break, a new semester, and new challenges.
Hinata hesitated for a brief moment, then left with Neji and the others.
With Tsunade and Hiruzen still present, she didn't want to risk disturbing Kitazawa.
It didn't matter anyway—she could come back to the academy tomorrow.
For many students, even during holidays, training and class weren't all that different.
"That really was an excellent team battle," Hiruzen said with a chuckle.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform after graduation even more."
"They'll certainly surpass our expectations," Chen agreed.
"At this rate, I'll have to live a few more years."
There was no sorrow greater than a heart that had already given up.
In the original timeline, Chen had withdrawn from the world after losing his students. Though his death was never clearly recorded, it was certainly before the Fourth Great Ninja War—after all, he was revived via Edo Tensei during it.
"Exactly," Kosuke added.
"How could one die without seeing Naruto and the others become famous across the Ninja World?"
"Now, now," Hiruzen teased, interrupting them.
"This is the time for hard work. It's far too early to talk about such things."
"Even after graduation," Tsunade laughed lightly, "they'll still need guidance from seniors like you."
"Tsunade's right," Hiruzen said, nodding.
"The Final Exams are over. We should be heading out. Until next time."
[Current Mission: Lead the team to first place in the Final Exam.]
[Mission Reward: Featureless activation of the Byakugan.]
[Mission complete. Reward issuing.]
As Hiruzen and the others departed, three lines of text appeared before Kitazawa's eyes.
This was his true gain from the Team Battle.
Featureless activation of the Byakugan—much like the featureless Sharingan—meant that under normal circumstances, no one could sense him using it.
Unless, of course, he deliberately activated techniques such as Byakugan: Pressure or Byakugan: Puppet Control.
"Kurenai, want to go to the casino?"
Tsunade clenched her fist, brimming with confidence.
"This afternoon, I'm winning back everything I've lost!"
Kurenai subconsciously looked toward Kitazawa.
"I'll cover it," Kitazawa said, meeting her gaze.
"If you're interested, we can gamble a few rounds."
"…Alright," Kurenai agreed after a moment's thought.
"Let's go!" Tsunade declared, grabbing both of them and marching off.
They soon arrived at the casino.
"Kurenai, have you ever been here before?" Tsunade asked casually as she headed straight for a table.
"No," Kurenai replied, shaking her head.
"Perfect. I'll teach you," Tsunade said with a grin.
"I'll make sure you win big—just like me!"
Kitazawa and Kurenai exchanged a glance.
Both were thinking the same thing:
'Where exactly is this 'winning big'?'
Kitazawa didn't join in. He sat to the side, quietly observing.
Because of the Team Battle finals, it was already close to four in the afternoon. Even if he trained now, he wouldn't get much time in.
On a whim, he activated the Byakugan.
The entire gambling table became transparent in his vision.
'So this is another way to get rich', he mused.
Still, since the casino belonged to him, there was no need to exploit it.
He wandered over to a glass wall.
There were no bulging veins, no whitening of the eyes.
Kitazawa couldn't help but marvel—featureless Byakugan activation truly was a god-tier ability.
At 5:30 p.m., the three left the casino.
Kurenai looked exhilarated.
Tsunade… did not.
As usual, Tsunade had lost everything.
Kurenai, on the other hand, had won and lost in turns—ending up ahead by a hundred thousand ryo.
Not a massive sum, but impressive for a first-timer.
"How is this possible…?" Tsunade muttered, biting her thumb in frustration.
Kitazawa smiled faintly.
'Don't you already know why?'
Then again… maybe she really didn't. Otherwise, she wouldn't lose every day and still come back so faithfully.
The next day—Saturday—marked the first day of the holiday.
This spring break was short, lasting less than a month.
After breakfast, Kitazawa and Kurenai went to the Ninja Academy as usual.
More than half the Genius Class had already arrived, training early.
Kiba, Ino, and the others especially.
Their poor performance yesterday had lit a fire under them.
"Kitazawa-sensei…"
Hinata took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Good morning, Hinata."
Kitazawa smiled and gently patted her head.
"…I didn't perform very well yesterday," Hinata said softly, lowering her gaze.
"Who says?" Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.
"You did very well."
"Eh?" Hinata looked up in surprise.
"Your team was inherently weaker than Naruto's," he said kindly.
"Being able to fight like that was already impressive. Against most teams, the result might've been worse."
"R-really…?" Hinata smiled shyly.
The gloom in her heart melted away, replaced by warmth.
"Would I lie to you?" Kitazawa chuckled, lightly pinching her cheek.
"Since we're here, I'll teach you a new archery-based secret technique."
Hinata's eyes immediately lit up. "Mm!"
"It's called World-Ending Arrow," Kitazawa said seriously.
"Its power is immense. Unless it's a true life-or-death situation—never use it."
Hinata froze.
This was the first time she'd ever heard such a warning.
Just how terrifying was this technique…
that it could only be used when facing death itself?
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