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

Hinata Hyuga was happy to see Naruto so happy.

"Hinata is amazing, she's ranked ahead of so many boys." Many girls started to discuss.

Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura ranked fifteenth and sixteenth respectively. Seeing Hinata, who was also a girl, get second place, they looked on with envy.

If they could also achieve such a high ranking, it would definitely impress Sasuke, and they could run side by side with him when they run in the future.

Shino Aburame stood to the side, adjusting her sunglasses.

His original goal was second place. From a rational perspective, his physical fitness and endurance, after precise calculation, should have been able to consistently rank in the top three, but second place was his expectation.

However, he glanced at Uchiha Sasuke, whose face was pale, not far away. This was the first time he had surpassed him in a running competition. Even though he hadn't achieved the desired result, he was still in a very good mood.

Kiba Inuzuka collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

His fifth place wasn't bad, but the problem was that Naruto actually came in first. He remembered what he had said to Naruto before the race, and his face burned with embarrassment.

Not far away, Uchiha Sasuke stood silently, his fists clenched slightly, his face grim.

He found it hard to accept not getting first place, let alone failing to even make the top three and falling directly to fourth place. This was the first time he had received such a poor ranking since entering the university.

Sasuke's gaze unconsciously fell on Shusui, who was standing not far away chatting with Naruto and Hinata.

Previously, he thought that Shusui was just good at making his lectures more interesting and keeping the class from getting sleepy. Even when he saw Shusui use fire-style ninjutsu last time, he was not too shaken. It was just fire-style ninjutsu. As a member of the Uchiha clan, he had seen countless masters of fire-style ninjutsu.

But today was different. Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga's running and kunai throwing results made him somewhat uncertain.

In just one month, these two people made progress at an abnormally fast pace.

Sasuke frowned slightly.

Could it really be because of Qiu Shui?

He thought for a moment, then shook his head.

What are running and kunai?

Good physical fitness is just the accumulation of endurance and skills; accurate throwing is something that can be achieved through more practice. These are not true strength. True strength is combat.

He only made one mistake today.

The real test will come in the next two days, that's when we'll truly show our strength.

First training ground.

Students from all grades gathered here, and the once empty training ground was now bustling with noise.

Since the entire school takes the exam together, and the practical exam requires space and terrain, the school's playground obviously cannot accommodate hundreds of students. Therefore, the exams at the end of each month or the final exam are always held at the training ground in the village.

Qiu Shui stood at the front of the fourth grade, class one line, holding the attendance sheet in her hand, checking the number of people one by one.

"Haruno Sakura".

"arrive!"

"Yamanaka Ino."

"arrive!"

"Naruto Uzumaki"

"arrive!"

Naruto's voice was exceptionally loud, attracting the attention of students from several surrounding classes.

Qiu Shui continued reading, calling out each name one by one, and responding with "present" to each one. After confirming that everyone was present, he closed the attendance book and took out a cardboard box from the side.

A round hole was cut in the box, and it was filled with folded tags.

Mie Matsumoto stood beside him, assisting with taking notes.

"Listen up, everyone." Qiu Shui raised her voice so that the whole class could hear her clearly. "The rules for the practical exam are simple. You will draw lots in the order of the attendance list. The number you draw will determine your opponent. Number one will fight number two, number three will fight number four, and so on. If any class has an odd number of students, one student will be lucky enough to automatically skip the round and advance directly to the next round."

"Start the lottery."

The students stepped forward one by one, reached into the cardboard box, and took out their numbers.

After drawing his lot, Naruto glanced at the number in his hand. Instead of returning to his seat, he ran straight to Hinata and asked, "Hinata, I drew number one. What number did you draw?"

Hinata had just finished drawing her lot and was looking down at the slip of paper in her hand when she heard Naruto's voice. She looked up and said softly, "I'm number eleven."

I don't know if it's because she's been seeing and chatting with Naruto a lot lately, but now although she still gets nervous when talking to Naruto, she doesn't blush or get so shy that she can't speak like before.

"Hinata, do your best! Let's try to get a good ranking in this competition and make Akisui-sensei happy," Naruto said.

After training with Qiu Shui for a month, he not only made significant progress in physical fitness and theoretical knowledge, but also mastered a shadow clone technique. Compared to himself a month ago, he felt much stronger, and he was eager to try out today's actual combat.

He had also noticed Hinata's personality over this period of time; she was a bit soft and timid, and always hesitant to take risks. He thought that encouraging her with the name of Shusui-sensei would be helpful.

Hinata paused slightly upon hearing this, then nodded earnestly and said, "Yes, Naruto-kun, you're the first to go, so do your best too."

the other side.

Ino Yamanaka, holding her number three fortune slip, walked over to Sakura Haruno and asked, "Sakura, what number did you draw?"

Sakura Haruno looked up at her, but didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "Tell me first, what number did you draw?"

Ino waved the slip of paper in her hand, a provocative smile playing on her lips: "Number four, I hope you don't draw number three, otherwise you won't be as lucky as last time. I'm sure I'll beat you."

Sakura Haruno's expression stiffened slightly.

She glanced down at the note in her hand; it was number three.

Sakura Haruno knew her own fighting skills; she was indeed a step behind Ino. To be honest, there was an element of luck involved in the last draw.

But you can't admit defeat verbally.

She raised her head and glared back defiantly: "Hmph, what do you mean by good luck? If you're not capable, don't make excuses."

Ino raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more.

Choji Akimichi, unusually, didn't eat any snacks. He held the slip of paper in his hand, walked over to Shikamaru Nara, and said, "Shikamaru, I drew number seven. What number is yours?"

Shikamaru paused for a moment, then sighed, held up the note in his hand, and said, "Number Eight."

"What a hassle..." Shikamaru muttered. He had originally planned to play a few good matches this time and try to get a good ranking, but he ended up running into his good friend in the first round.

Or should we just admit defeat like we always have?

The thought had barely formed when Choji's voice interrupted it.

"Shikamaru." Choji looked at him with an unusual seriousness in his eyes. "Don't just admit defeat like you used to. Even if I win, it won't be honorable, and it would also betray the teachings that Shusui-sensei has given us."