21 Timeskip

It has been four years since Yasui reincarnated into the Shinobi world.

Today is the day of the graduation exams, and Yasui was more than ready to pass. Over the past few years, he restlessly trained himself in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and fuinjutsu. His Chakra control had also improved a lot, and he already got the hang of chakra's wind nature to a certain extent.

Furthermore, he also gained a chakra reserve that would allow him to create five perfect shadow clones. This increase came from his repeated chakra training over the years.

With all of these abilities in his arsenal, he could have applied for early graduation, but he did not. For one, he was also very busy with the early stages of the fast food restaurant and the civilian technology research facility. And two, he wanted his skill to stay hidden from the eyes of Danzo until he got a bit stronger. When he got strong enough, he planned to poke Danzo to death in one swell swoop.

His improvement wasn't the shocking thing, though. The lively event that happened recently was Naruto's vandalism of the Hokage sculptures. Like the canon, that dude drew paint snot and other designs on the faces of the Hokage stone, and this created an enraged atmosphere in the village.

…

…

"We will now start the final exam. When your name is called, proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on… the clone jutsu." Iruka stood in front of the class like he always did.

When Naruto heard about the testing material, he grabbed his face in horror. The bane of his existence is the clone jutsu!

Yasui grinned when he heard that the test is on the clone technique. He had already mastered this ages ago. Plus, it's even a simpler technique compared to the shadow clone jutsu where you have to materialize your clone with a controlled amount of Chakra.

When he was called to the exam room, Yasui saw Iruka and the light blue-haired Mizuki.

He focused his gaze on Mizuki for a bit and laughed inwardly. Soon, Mizuki is going to be a pawn that will help him gain the forbidden scroll!

Yes, that's right. Yasui planned to get his hands on the forbidden scroll that Naruto is going to steal later. He already had this idea way back then. Hence, he tried his very best to not change anything major in the graduation exam.

This meant that he didn't help Naruto master the clone jutsu solely because of his plan to pull a fast one on the village.

"Alright, Yasui Uchiha. Please show us the clone jutsu." Iruka crossed his arms and waited on his chair.

Yasui nodded and made the hand sign for the clone technique and an identical version of himself appeared next to him.

He didn't show anything amazing. If anything, he is considered to be of a normal level.

"Great job. You passed, Yasui!" Mizuki clapped his hand Iruka also did the same.

"Thank you for your teachings, Iruka sensei." Yasui walked up to the two and bowed.

Iruka handed the Konoha ninja headband to Yasui. The headband had a metal piece with the design of a spiral and a beak, similar to the look of a bird.

Yasui accepted the headband and tied it to his forehead. As of current, his fashion style consists of the traditional Uchiha brand. He wore a black short sleeve Uchiha branded shirt, and he also wore knee-length pants with a stripe on the right side. With the headband included, he looked similar to the young Itachi and Shisui.

After obtaining his headband, Yasui left the exam room and went directly outside of the academy building.

Out there, the students who graduated met with their parents and happily took pictures with an old-styled camera that a picture man brought. They celebrated cheerfully and congratulated each other on the joyous day. They also compared their kids with one another like parents usually do.

Yasui looked around and didn't find Sasuke. Sasuke finished before him, and he should've left already.

Once they finished the exam, they were free to leave. They only needed to come back a few days later after a short break.

Yasui also made himself scarce. He didn't want to meet up with Naruto. He knew for sure that Naruto is going to fail, and it is going to have a heavy effect on him.

As a friend of Naruto, he knew should be there for him, but he still wanted Mizuki to approach Naruto. After all, he hadn't been trying to make naruto stronger all for this moment. So, he could only let Naruto suffer for a bit.

…

Naruto was the last one to come out of the academy. He didn't have his goggles on because he thought that he was going to get the headband today. But things didn't go to plan, and he failed. In fact, he failed miserably.

Naruto drooped his shoulders down as light left his eyes. He went and sat down on the swing under the tree.

The tree seems to have felt his mood and it casted a shadow over Naruto while he stared at the cheerful crowd of parents.

"Hahaha."

"I'm a Ninja now."

"I'm so proud of you, son."

Their cheerful voices echoed in the air. Naruto wished that he could be over there with his parents, also having a fun time during the graduation exam.

It's too bad… that he didn't even qualify to become a ninja–the one way that could've helped him achieve his dream of becoming Hokage.

"There, it's that boy. I heard that he's the only one who didn't pass."

"Well, it serves him right. I heard he's the boy that…"

"Shh."

Some women saw Naruto sitting in the distance and remarked to one another. They never liked Naruto being in the same class as their children and seeing him fail made them happy.

Naruto wasn't oblivious to their comments. He gloomily took out his goggles again and placed them over his eyes, hiding his face.

It was at this moment that Naruto heard a footstep beside him. When he looked up, he saw the light blue-haired Mizuki…