The next day.
Early morning.
Seimei arrived at the Academy early.
After listening to Sarutobi Hiruzen's long and pointless graduation speech, he walked into the exam room as required.
The Ninja exam, of course, doesn't only test the Three Basic Jutsu. Theoretical knowledge, like cipher decoding, map drawing, and so on, are also part of the assessment.
So, the first few parts were written exams.
However, compared to the Chunin Exams, the written portion of the Ninja graduation exam was very simple, mostly covering basic knowledge that every Ninja must know.
Anyone who had spent a few years in school could easily pass.
Of course, there were also some hidden agendas mixed in.
For example, understanding the Will of Fire.
Although Seimei hadn't written an essay in over ten years, considering both his past and present lives, writing a simple flattering piece was not an issue for him.
Ding-ling-ling~
Soon, the morning passed by quickly.
There were no exams scheduled for the afternoon, so the students were free to do whatever they liked.
Naturally, Seimei wasn't going to waste time at school. His "Chakra Refining Technique" had already reached level 1 (195/200), and with it so close to leveling up, he had to make the most of his time.
Returning home, Seimei immediately began his training.
After more than six hours, Seimei completed two rounds of training, finally pushing his "Chakra Refining Technique" to level 2 (1/500).
Although he had expected it, Seimei couldn't help but feel excited when he truly experienced the effects of the level 2 "Chakra Refining Technique."
Compared to level 1, level 2's "Chakra Refining Technique" doubled the efficiency in tapping into his body's potential.
Now, for every hour of refining, he can recover 200 points of Chakra and increase his Chakra limit by 4 points.
This means that his training efficiency will greatly improve.
However, achieving a doubling of the effect is almost impossible.
The reason is simple.
His body has limits. Even with an unlimited supply of Military Rations Pills, it's useless if he can't absorb them.
Not everyone is Naruto Uzumaki, who can eat Military Rations Pills like candy. After all, they are a type of compressed food, and eating too many can lead to indigestion.
Seimei had already sensed his limits over the past week.
Now, if he trains at full capacity, he can only boost his efficiency to about 1.5 times what it was before.
But this doesn't mean that the upgrade of the "Chakra Refining Technique" is meaningless.
At the very least, it will save him a lot of time.
In the future, when he needs to practice Ninjutsu, he won't have to worry about running out of time.
The next day.
Just like the first day, there was still no testing of the Three Basic Jutsu.
Today's exam focused on Basic Taijutsu and Ninja Tool Throwing.
Since each student had to go one by one, the process was slow.
It wasn't until mid-afternoon that it was Seimei's turn.
"Uchiha Seimei, ten out of ten on target, perfect score!"
Wow~
Immediately, a commotion broke out around him.
But Seimei in the arena showed no change in expression, maintaining his usual cold and aloof demeanor.
There was nothing to be proud of in this. With his current level 2 (120/500) in "Ninja Tool Throwing," hitting a ten-meter target was ridiculously easy.
He also scored a perfect score in "Basic Taijutsu."
In fact, anyone who reached level 1 (100/200) could easily achieve a perfect score, and those above level 0 (80/100) could at least pass.
This shows just how lenient this year's exam standards were.
The night passed without incident.
On the third day.
Compared to the previous two days, the students were noticeably more nervous today.
After all, while the exams over the past two days were important, they didn't have the final say.
Today was different. If you failed the exam today, no matter how well you did on the first two days, you would be eliminated.
In the end, Ninja life is all about strength. Without strength, no amount of theoretical knowledge will be of use.
As the saying goes, "Might makes right."
If your fists aren't strong enough, no one will listen to what you say.
And for a Ninja, Ninjutsu is their "fist." If you can't even master Ninjutsu, what's the point of keeping you around?
Of course, the above only applies to ordinary people.
The Ninja world has never lacked exceptions that break the rules.
Take Might Guy, for example. His talent for Ninjutsu was garbage, but his Taijutsu skills were unrivaled in the entire Ninja world.
Such anomalies naturally can't be measured by conventional standards.
However, the vast majority of people do not have the qualifications to make Konoha break its rules.
Therefore, today's exam is very important for all the students aspiring to become Ninjas.
This is precisely why they were more nervous than the previous two days.
Sitting in the classroom, watching as Sugiki Kazuto called each student to the front to test the Three Basic Jutsu, Seimei remained calm.
With his Three Basic Jutsu at level 2, he had enough confidence.
What's more...
"Aoki Ryuko, are you ready?" Sugiki Kazuto asked.
"Yes, sensei!" Aoki Ryuko nodded and responded softly.
"Very well, choose one of the Three Basic Jutsu and demonstrate it," Sugiki Kazuto said.
That's right—this year's exam didn't have the sensei assigning a specific Jutsu. Instead, the students were allowed to choose one of the Three Basic Jutsu to perform.
Obviously, this method was much simpler and easier to exploit compared to the former approach.
For instance, if someone had only mastered the Transformation Jutsu and wasn't proficient in the Clone Jutsu or Substitution Jutsu, they could simply choose to demonstrate the Transformation Jutsu and pass the exam that way.
In the past, if the sensei happened to assign the Clone Jutsu, then that student wouldn't be able to pass the exam.
Could Sugiki Kazuto not see such a simple loophole?
The answer, of course, is no.
His decision to do this was definitely prompted by higher-ups.
When combined with the more lenient exam standards from yesterday, it's not hard to guess that Konoha is expanding its reserve forces.
However, how many of these people will survive the battlefield remains unknown.
"Uchiha Seimei!"
Sugiki Kazuto's voice came from the front.
Seimei stood up and walked forward unhurriedly.
"You can begin when you're ready."
Seeing Seimei in position, Sugiki Kazuto spoke.
Hearing this, Seimei nodded, then raised his hands, quickly forming the hand signs and performing the Clone Jutsu.
Two shadowy figures appeared on his left and right.
"Three seconds, not bad!"
Sugiki Kazuto nodded in satisfaction, recorded Uchiha Seimei's results, and then said, "Alright, you may go back."
"Yes, sensei!"
Responding respectfully, Seimei returned to his seat.
"Wow, Seimei-kun is amazing!"
A girl from the crowd shouted, and the classroom immediately became noisy.
However, none of this affected Seimei. Once he was back in his seat, he began reviewing the contents of the Heart Reflection Jutsu in his mind.
Compared to Ninjutsu, learning Genjutsu is generally more difficult.
Especially with this technique, which mimics the hypnotic ability of the Sharingan—it's incredibly complex.
Most Genjutsu primarily affects others, so even if something goes wrong, it's not a big deal. But Heart Reflection Jutsu is different. Most of its effects are directed inward.
The so-called sensory manipulation is merely a side ability of this Genjutsu.
Otherwise, its actual effectiveness wouldn't be inferior even to a C-rank Genjutsu.
If not for the Progress panel, Seimei wouldn't dare to attempt this technique so easily.
But now, he was almost at the Beginner level.
That's right, after two days of intensive practice, his Heart Reflection Jutsu had risen from level 0 (61/100) to level 0 (92/100).
If nothing unexpected happens, he will reach Beginner level tonight.
At that point, he will be able to see whether it can positively influence the awakening of his Sharingan.