NARUTO: GOD LEVEL FORGING SYSTEM

Kazuki felt a wave of exasperation, his brow furrowing in frustration.

It was difficult—almost impossible—to explain the situation.

Even if he mentioned that Hinata had collapsed due to a sudden surge of chakra when she was attempting to refine the Gentle Fist technique, would anyone believe him?

Fortunately, this issue did not escalate.

The Hyūga clan immediately dispatched medics to examine Hinata's condition.

After determining that she had simply overexerted herself and was not in any serious danger, they allowed Kazuki to leave.

At the Ninja Academy,

Kazuki's class had finally reached the end-of-year assessment—their first major test since enrollment.

The entire classroom buzzed with excitement as students shifted in their seats, eager for their turn.

Even Tenten, sitting next to Kazuki, clenched her fists with determination.

Her opponent for the match happened to be Rock Lee.

"Lee, just wait! Today, I'm going to take you down!" Tenten declared confidently.

Lee, however, responded with unwavering seriousness, "That's not going to happen, Tenten. I won't hold back just because you're a girl! Never underestimate my power!"

At that moment, his gaze shifted to Kazuki, who sat idly flipping a kunai between his fingers.

"But the most anticipated fight today is definitely between Kazuki and Hyūga Neji," Lee mused aloud. "Neji's strength is no joke. Almost everyone in the class believes he's going to be this year's top student."

Then, his expression grew more determined.

"However," Lee added, "I think you're the strongest in our class, Kazuki!"

"Of course my brother is the strongest!" Tenten chimed in firmly.

Kazuki merely smirked. "No need to overthink it. We'll know the answer after the fight."

The lively classroom suddenly fell silent.

The homeroom instructor, Iruka Umino, entered, scanning the students before speaking. "Everyone, gather at the training field."

Fifty-four students made their way outside, assembling in formation.

Iruka began pairing students based on their performance throughout the year, ensuring evenly matched battles for the assessment.

Unsurprisingly, the two highest-ranked students—Kazuki and Neji—had long been slated to face each other.

"The assessment begins now," Iruka announced. "First match: Inuzuka Kiba versus Nishi Keiko."

Two students stepped forward and took their positions at the center of the field.

After forming the traditional Seal of Confrontation, the match began.

Kiba, alongside Akamaru, moved in aggressively, while Keiko struggled to keep up.

Within moments, Kiba's relentless attacks overwhelmed her, securing him a swift victory.

Iruka noted their results before calling the next pair.

"Next match: Rock Lee versus Tenten!"

As their names were called, the two teammates confidently stepped forward.

Having sparred countless times before, both knew each other's moves inside and out.

Their battle began in an instant, with rapid exchanges of strikes and counters.

"You attack, I defend—you defend, I attack!"

Blades clashed, kunai flew, and chakra-infused movements dazzled the spectators.

In mere seconds, they had already exchanged dozens of techniques.

"Amazing…"

Whispers of awe rippled through the watching students.

Few had realized just how formidable these two truly were, their taijutsu skills ranking among the top five in the class.

Even Iruka's eyes gleamed with admiration.

In the end, Tenten seized victory by using a kunai Kazuki had given her—a strategic move that caught Lee off guard and exposed an opening.

With that, the match was decided!

"In this test, Tenten wins!" the Chunin instructor announced the result.

He cast a lingering glance at Tenten, his thoughts unsettled.

The ninja tools she just used… they weren't ordinary kunai or shuriken. The precision, the sheer volume—this girl's weapon proficiency is on another level.

Perhaps this warranted a report to the Hokage.

"Yeah!" Tenten cheered, jumping excitedly before rushing toward Kazuki. With a bright grin, she declared, "Big brother! I won the match just now!"

"Well done." Kazuki nodded, his tone calm but approving.

At that moment, Rock Lee approached. His brows were furrowed, clearly frustrated with his own oversight in battle, but his resolve remained unshaken.

"Congratulations, Tenten! But I won't make the same mistakes again. Next time, I will defeat you!"

Then, turning to Kazuki, his eyes burned with determination.

"Because my ultimate goal is to surpass you, Kazuki-kun!"

Kazuki smiled faintly. "I'll be waiting."

The combat assessments continued, one match after another.

Time passed.

As dusk settled over the training grounds, the final match was announced.

"For the last evaluation—Hyuga Neji versus Kazuki!"

The murmurs among the students grew louder as both Neji and Kazuki stepped into the center of the training ground.

"Neji should finish this in three moves. He's the Hyuga clan's prodigy."

"No doubt. We've already recognized Neji as this year's top student. Even the Hyuga elders praise his skill."

"Well, losing to Neji is nothing to be ashamed of."

Tenten and Lee heard the whispers but remained silent. Soon, these people would realize how wrong they were.

Kazuki's strength was overwhelming—so much so that even Might Guy had called him a monster.

"Begin!"

As soon as the match started, Neji and Kazuki assumed their fighting stances.

"You're strong enough to be a worthy opponent," Neji stated, his voice filled with confidence.

"But against a genius like me, your fate is already sealed."

Neji had already gauged Kazuki's chakra with his Byakugan.

This amount of chakra… it's far beyond what any Genin should have.

Kazuki sighed inwardly.

Ah, classic Neji. Still stuck in his "fate is predetermined" phase. He hasn't been humbled yet.

Too lazy to argue, he simply smirked.

"Come at me."

Neji needed no further prompting.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Veins bulged around Neji's temples as his Byakugan surged to life.

The spectators gasped.

"Oh wow, that's the Hyuga clan's Byakugan!"

"He activated it immediately? He must be planning to end this fight quickly."

At the center of the field, Neji wasted no time.

"Gentle Fist!"

His right palm surged with visible chakra as he lunged at Kazuki.

"Decent power," Kazuki noted, sidestepping effortlessly. "But your speed is lacking."

Having sparred against Might Guy's clones, he found Neji's attacks almost slow in comparison.

"Hmph! You've already stepped into my domain!" Neji smirked.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms!"

A circular pattern of the Eight Trigrams spread beneath Neji's feet.

This was his battlefield.

He may not have mastered the full Sixty-Four Palms yet, but he was confident that sixteen strikes were more than enough to finish Kazuki.

After all, even Chunin had struggled against this technique.

"Two palms!"

But before Neji could land his first strike—

Kazuki moved.