Hokage, no one knows better than me how to cultivate talent.

"Iruka, you flatter me," Qiushui said sincerely. "It's mainly because you trained him for three years, laying a solid foundation for him. Otherwise, I couldn't have gotten his Shadow Clone Technique to a passing level in just one month."

Iruka paused for a moment, then smiled.

Akisui stood up and announced, "In the Shadow Clone Technique exam, Hinata Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha are tied for first place."

A round of applause broke out from the crowd.

Hinata lowered her head, her face slightly flushed.

The applause subsided.

"Next," Akisui flipped to the next form, "Ninja Tool Throwing Exam."

Throwing ninja tools.

In this exam, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuga once again tied for first place.

Sasuke's kunai seemed to have eyes; every single one hit the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy. He threw ten times and hit the bullseye every time.

Hinata's movements were gentle yet steady, and she hit the target ten times out of ten.

But what surprised everyone even more was Naruto.

He hit the target seven times out of ten, achieving a commendable 15th place.

Sasuke Uchiha looked at Hinata, who was talking to Naruto, and his expression was not good. He had always won first place by himself before, but now there was someone else.

After lunch and a short rest...

The last exam in the afternoon was a physical fitness test involving a 300-kilometer run.

The sun was blazing, and the playground was sweltering. Students gathered in twos and threes, doing their final warm-up exercises.

Kiba Inuzuka watched Naruto stretch his legs and couldn't help but walk over to him and remind him, "Naruto, you need to be careful when you're running."

Naruto looked up, a hint of confusion on his face.

"Today's test is 300 kilometers," Kiba Inuzuka said seriously. "Don't rush ahead like last time, or you'll collapse on the ground in the second half."

Naruto paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously and said earnestly, "Kiba, thank you for reminding me. Don't worry, I definitely won't do anything reckless."

Kiba Inuzuka felt a little uncomfortable looking at his serious expression. "Fine... fine then." He scratched his head and walked away with Akamaru.

As soon as the match started, Naruto Uzumaki rushed out, and Inuzuka Tsurugi, who was right next to him, immediately froze.

Didn't we just agree not to rush in at the beginning?

Didn't you promise me?

Why did you change your mind so quickly?

But he didn't have time to think, because in those few seconds of delay, he was already at the very back.

The 300-kilometer run quickly divided the team into three distinct echelons.

The first group ran at the front, with four people walking side by side: Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, and Aburame Shino.

The second group, about 200 meters behind, consisted of Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara.

Kiba Inuzuka was accompanied by Akamaru, and the two of them ran relatively easily; Choji Akimichi's steps were a little heavy, but his speed did not drop too much; Shikamaru Nara still looked lazy, but if you looked closely, you would find that his pace was actually very stable, not at all as careless as he appeared.

The third group, further back, consisted of a group of girls led by Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, who were vying for dominance, glaring at each other as they ran, neither willing to give way. Behind them followed other girls and a few boys who had fallen behind.

The line stretched out in long rows, like winding snakes, moving slowly along the track.

In the first group, the four players maintained the same speed throughout.

Sasuke Uchiha glanced at the three people beside him out of the corner of his eye, silently making plans in his mind.

Aburame Shino, he wasn't worried.

In previous long-distance races, he always came in first place, while Shino Aburame could only come in second or third at best. Although Shino had good endurance, his explosive power was limited, and he was no match for him in the final sprint.

But the other two....

Sasuke's gaze swept over Naruto and Hinata. If it were before, he wouldn't have considered them opponents at all, but now he was somewhat wary of them.

During this period, he watched Naruto and Hinata train every day, observing the intensity of their training, which was something that most people could not withstand.

Sasuke looked at Naruto's profile.

Normally, you can only see his back or see him panting, but now he is running steadily, breathing evenly, taking powerful strides, and even has a hint of excitement on his face.

The sun was gradually setting in the west, and the sunlight was no longer so scorching, but everyone's clothes were already soaked with sweat.

After 150 kilometers, most students began to show signs of fatigue, their breathing became heavy, their steps became sluggish, some started to gasp for breath, and some slowed down and fell further behind.

But the first tier maintained its original pace.

Two hundred and fifty kilometers later.

Apart from the four people in the first group, the speed of the rest of the people has obviously decreased.

The gap between the second and first tiers is widening, and the third tier has already been overtaken.

Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka were still competing, but their speed was clearly not as good as before, and their expressions changed from "I want to win" to "I want to hold on".

Ten laps to go.

On the track, the four people in the first group were still running side by side.

Just then.

Naruto Uzumaki moved.

His pace suddenly quickened, like a sports car that had been holding back for too long finally releasing the accelerator, instantly shooting out of the group, so fast that the others couldn't react in time.

Hinata Hyuga followed almost instinctively.

Her steps were lighter than Naruto's, and her speed was no slower; she followed closely behind him.

As Shino Aburame watched the two figures rush out, her mind quickly began to calculate.

According to his energy allocation plan, he should start sprinting in the last five laps. If he sprints now, he can keep up for a while, but he may run out of energy later.

Shino Aburame pushed up her sunglasses and watched the two figures run further and further away.

He chose to maintain the original speed.

Sasuke Uchiha's thoughts were similar to Shino Aburame's. Based on his previous experience, sprinting for the last five laps was the most reasonable approach. Sprinting now might disrupt his rhythm.

Although reason told him he should follow the plan, he couldn't stand Naruto rushing ahead of him, so he suddenly quickened his pace and rushed out.

Three figures are chasing each other on the track.

Naruto was at the front, running like the wind, with Hinata close behind.

Sasuke was chasing after him with all his might. He was very fast, but the distance between them did not decrease significantly.

"I announce that the winner of this physical fitness test is Naruto Uzumaki, the second place is Hinata Hyuga, and the third place is Shino Aburame..." Shusui said after everyone had finished running.

As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto Uzumaki, his face beaming with excitement, clenched his fists and couldn't help but jump up and down, shouting, "Yay!"