January 14th, Year 43 of the Hidden Leaf
Hatake Kaede officially graduated from the Ninja Academy with a perfect score in all categories, earning the rank of Genin and being assigned the ninja registration number 010034.
The news quickly spread through the Ninja Academy and caused quite a stir. Although it couldn't compare to Kakashi, who graduated at five and became a Chunin at six, a perfect score across all fields was still an extremely rare feat. Kaede's achievement alone was enough for him to be hailed as a genius!
Inside the classroom.
Many students, upon hearing the news, were buzzing with excitement.
"A perfect score... Kaede is seriously amazing."
"With his level, he could've graduated early a long time ago. Maybe he's capable of achieving what Kakashi did, but he just never bothered."
Yuhi Kurenai, Nohara Rin, and the other girls all had admiring looks on their faces.
Genius.
Handsome.
Calm, warm, and mature.
Kaede possessed every admirable quality a person could have. Within the entire class, there were very few who could ignore his brilliance. Most simply felt too inferior to even try to approach him.
"Tch... What's so great about that?"
Uchiha Obito grumbled, irritated by all the praise floating around and Rin's obvious admiration.
Another boy beside him huffed in frustration, saying, "Seriously, if he could graduate early, why wait until now? Isn't that just wasting time?"
"Exactly."
Some others chimed in with agreement.
But one of the girls nearby scoffed at the complaints and said with a sneer, "If you're so jealous, why don't you try graduating early and challenge him?"
Ever since Kaede had utterly crushed Hyuga Homon in their match, his strength had become a fact that no one could deny.
Yamanaka Inoka's retort left Obito and the other boys speechless. They stewed silently in their frustration, unable to come up with a proper rebuttal.
Just then—
Inuzuka Kiba suddenly burst into the classroom, breaking the tense atmosphere and shouting in disbelief:
"GuYS! I just overheard the teachers talking in the office, Kaede applied for the Chunin Exams in three days!!"
"Hah?!"
The classroom went dead silent for a second before exploding into chaos.
All eyes turned toward Kiba.
"He signed up for the Chunin Exams? You must have misheard something," Aburame Shino said, frowning in disbelief.
What kind of madness was this?
Kaede had only just passed his graduation test. Signing up for the Chunin Exams right afterward, was he crazy, or was his confidence simply delusional?
Kiba glared at Shino and said, "There's no way I heard wrong. You can doubt my test scores, but don't you dare question my hearing!"
As a member of the Inuzuka Clan, that statement carried some serious weight.
If Kiba's eavesdropped info wasn't wrong, then Kaede really had applied for the Chunin Exams immediately after graduating!
"Is he trying to surpass Kakashi?"
"But this Chunin Exam isn't just the usual internal one. I heard from my family that other villages are participating this time! It's gonna be dangerous as hell!"
Everyone looked shocked and full of disbelief.
Obito couldn't help but ask, "Wouldn't the higher-ups reject an application like that?"
"Nope."
Kiba shook his head. "For some reason, they approved it. I double-checked, Kaede's name is already on the updated participants list."
At that, someone gasped and said, "Is he insane? This isn't some game! Just because he got a perfect score doesn't mean he's ready for something like this!"
"Way too overconfident…"
Obito and many others were stunned by the news, engaging in heated discussions. Meanwhile, those who had admired Kaede for his perfect score, like Kurenai and Rin, now looked deeply worried.
Hearing the chatter around her, Kurenai's expression changed as she gasped. "Why would Kaede sign up for this Chunin Exam…"
Normally, Konoha's internal Chunin Exams weren't too dangerous and mainly evaluated general skill. But when other villages participated, things became very different, ninja from different villages didn't hold back. Injuries and even deaths were common.
This particular Chunin Exam was even more extreme, held under rising tensions across the ninja world. It would be almost as dangerous as an actual war.
"This is bad…"
Rin hesitated. "Kaede probably thought it through. Maybe it was a calculated decision?"
Kurenai, however, shook her head with a grave look. "No. I don't think he knows that other villages are involved this time. I have to find him and make him withdraw from the exam!"
With that—
She ran out of the classroom.
Her father, Yuhi Makoto, happened to be one of the proctors for the upcoming Chunin Exam, and had mentioned the full details during dinner the previous night!
"Red!"
Rin called out, then hesitated briefly before chasing after her.
…
outside Kaede's house.
After listening to Kurenai's breathless explanation, full of concern and warnings, Kaede couldn't help but chuckle.
"You two came all the way here… just to tell me that?"
"I'm being serious!"
Kurenai stamped her foot anxiously when she saw his calm expression. "This is real information from my father, he's the lead proctor! There's no mistake!"
Rin also looked at Kaede earnestly. "I know you're strong, and you're probably already on par with a Chunin… but this exam is still too dangerous. You don't have to risk it. Why not wait for the one in six months?"
"Alright, alright. I get it. Let's talk inside."
Kaede smiled helplessly and gestured for them to come in.
But Kurenai didn't move. Instead, she fidgeted with impatience and said, "Kaede! Are you even listening to me?!"
"…"
Kaede didn't respond. Instead, he glanced down both sides of the street to make sure no one was watching, then suddenly reached out, grabbed both Kurenai and Rin, and yanked them inside his house—
Bang!
—shutting the door firmly behind them.
*******
Note: I know that Kiba and Shino should not be here but think of it as like their father or cousin with same name