Ino didn't say a word. She wouldn't tell anyone that she had developed a condition called "headache at the sight of the Uchiha clan"!
Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara—just thinking about them was enough to make her feel overwhelmed. These guys were all trouble, one more troublesome than the next, and their abilities were downright broken. It was no wonder the Second Hokage harbored such hostility toward them.
She strongly suspected that Uchiha Sasuke had already awakened his Sharingan.
Sasuke's skill in Genjutsu was far inferior to his brother's, but even just relying on the Sharingan's abilities of observation, hypnosis, and replication, his strength could improve dramatically.
If he were to replicate a few Body Techniques, and if the fight didn't allow for distance, Ino really wouldn't stand a chance against him.
Ino muttered one of Shikamaru's favorite phrases, "What a drag."
Shikamaru pretended not to hear and continued to bury his head in sleep.
Sasuke's return didn't cause much of a stir. The pressure of the graduation exams weighed heavily on everyone's minds. Originally, the kids from ninja clans didn't care much about school grades, but Ino had been pushing herself so hard that they had no choice but to buckle down and study, train, and give it their all.
Their sudden surge in effort, in turn, made Ino feel even more pressure.
Training in Water Release Ninja Techniques, practicing hand seals, mastering Earth Style Chakra Nature Transformation, honing shuriken throwing skills, and training in her clan's Secret Techniques—all on top of her regular schoolwork.
Her strict father, Yamanaka Inoichi, had made it very clear that he expected her to take first place in her grade. This wasn't a hope; it was a demand.
Ino and her two Shadow Clones went full throttle in their studies. In the final days, she even stopped her Earth Style Chakra Nature Transformation training to focus entirely on her books.
Shuriken throwing, the Three Body Techniques—she knew these things, and so did the kids from the ninja clans. The only way to pull ahead was in the theoretical exams. Shino, Shikamaru, and Hinata all had good grades, but hers were even better.
In the manga, passing the exams seemed easy, but in reality, a lot of students couldn't pass and ended up failing to graduate. Ino's stats were Ninja Skill 8, Body 3, Genjutsu 3, Intelligence 6, Strength 2, Speed 5, Chakra 6, and Hand Seals 5. Meanwhile, many students had stats like 1, 1, 2, 2—they were lazy and lacked talent. For them, achieving a perfect score in shuriken throwing was like climbing to the heavens, and the same went for the Three Body Techniques.
Naruto, who was skilled in the Transformation Technique and the Substitution Technique but struggled with the Clone Technique, was actually a good student. Calling him the dead last was a bit unfair—he was the dead last in the elite class, not among the worst students.
To be fair, Naruto's level of skill in the Transformation Technique was genuinely impressive. He must have put in a lot of practice. For Ino, the theoretical exam, the physical fitness test, the kunai throwing test, and the most crucial Ninja Technique test were all a breeze. She passed with perfect scores.
Sasuke, Hinata, and the others mostly struggled a bit in the theoretical part.
Ino passed the graduation exams with perfect scores and then joined Shikamaru and the others to watch Naruto's exam.
This year, they didn't test the Transformation Technique or the Substitution Technique—they tested the Clone Technique.
The task was to successfully create two clones. The future Seventh Hokage, who would later dominate the battlefield with his Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, couldn't control the massive amount of Chakra Ton in his body at this point. Under the strange gazes of everyone, he produced a bizarre, misshapen thing. "Fail!" Iruka shouted angrily.
The exams concluded smoothly, and everyone officially graduated.
The Third Hokage personally visited the Ninja Academy to encourage the graduating students, urging them to follow the Will of Fire and so on. For those who didn't graduate, he set new expectations, encouraging them to keep striving and catch up in the days to come, not to be disheartened.
Ino, as the top student of her year, also spoke on behalf of all the graduates, saying, "Today I am proud of the Hidden Leaf Ninja School, and tomorrow the Hidden Leaf Ninja School will be proud of me." The Third Hokage nodded repeatedly as he listened.
Naruto, feeling utterly dejected, went off to the side to sulk alone, while Ino and the others lined up to receive the forehead protectors that symbolized their official status as ninjas.
It had to be said that the Genin of Konoha were all incredibly lax. They wore all sorts of clothes, and their forehead protectors were worn in every possible way—it was a complete mess, looking like a disorganized mob.
Over in Sunagakure, Temari and Kankuro also dressed haphazardly, but at least they wore their forehead protectors properly. In Konoha, it was pure chaos. Ino often felt that she was too orderly, making her stand out awkwardly among this group.
To avoid being ostracized by the small clique, she simply hung her forehead protector around her waist and called it a day.
After receiving their forehead protectors, the next step was taking photos and completing the registration of their ninja information.
Once the entire process was finished, Ino was officially considered a graduate.
She picked up the Ninja Registration Card issued to her and looked at it. Her ninja ID number was 012604, and her rank was Genin.
This meant that Ino was the 12,604th ninja to graduate from the Hidden Leaf Ninja School. She tucked the card into her waist pouch. In theory, there would be two more opportunities to use this card: when passing the Chunin Exam to be promoted to Chunin, and when receiving a recommendation from a ninja clan to be reviewed by the village's higher-ups for promotion to Jonin. However, most ninjas never advanced that far, and the next time this card would likely be used would be at a memorial service. Ino, Shikamaru, and the others, having received their forehead protectors, were ready to head home. At the corner of the school building, they happened to run into the white-haired Mizuki-sensei.
Shikamaru and Choji acted as if they didn't see him, their faces expressionless as they continued walking.
Ino hesitated for a moment. Although she had just graduated, it felt inappropriate to pretend not to recognize a teacher she had just seen five minutes ago.
Knowing that this guy wasn't exactly a good person, she still greeted him, "Hello, Mizuki-sensei."
Mizuki seemed no different from usual, maintaining his teacherly demeanor.
"Ah, Yamanaka-san. I heard you ranked first in your year. That's truly impressive. I doubt even last year's Neji Hyuga could match you."
What's he getting at with this? Is he trying to...?
As for the Scroll of Seals, it wasn't that Ino had no thoughts about it, but she knew full well that there was no way she could get close to it under the Third Hokage's strict surveillance.
She didn't want to get involved in this matter, so her tone cooled slightly.
"It's all thanks to the teachers' guidance. I'm no match for Neji-senpai. Goodbye, sensei."
She gave a slight nod and prepared to leave.
Mizuki, though outwardly calm, was inwardly cursing. What's so great about her? I, a Chunin, am trying to talk to them, and these kids from ninja families are acting all high and mighty.
Without changing his expression, Mizuki said, "Since today is such a joyous occasion, how about this? Tonight, Teacher Tsubaki and I will treat everyone to a gathering. Let's all go out and—"
Before his words could fade, Choji, who had walked more than twenty meters ahead and was about to exit the school gate, instantly "flew" back. His eyes were blazing with excitement: "Treat? Mizuki-sensei! What are we eating? Are we going for barbecue?!"
Damn it! Pretending not to know me earlier, and now acting like this just because of a treat? Mizuki's expression stiffened, and he forced a dry smile as he nodded.
Choji was overjoyed. He shouted loudly, "Mizuki-sensei is treating us! Shikamaru, Ino, let's all go for barbecue tonight!"