She then continued to perform Fireball Technique and Fire Dragon Technique to complete the exam.
Her performance was excellent. In Feng Zheng's opinion, in terms of Ninjutsu, her performance was second only to a fifth-year Hatake student.
After the exam, the teachers began to tally the scores.
Nara Takamasa left this task to his subordinates. His work was done once he decided to let these 41 students pass.
Nara Takamasa reported to Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama, all 41 of these children passed my exam. There was 1 from third grade, 9 from fourth grade, and 31 from fifth grade. They should become excellent Ninja. Plus the 94 children who passed from the highest grade, this year's results are very good for us."
Hiruzen nodded and said a few polite words to Nara Takamasa.
After the scores were tallied, they were displayed to all the students.
Feng Zheng was still first in the class. Closely followed by Hyuga Hana, then Hyuga Hodaka, who moved up in rank due to his excellent performance in the graduation exam.
Subsequently, all 41 students gathered before Hiruzen. Hiruzen smiled and began his speech about the "will of fire" once again.
Only this time, he was more enthusiastic, more passionate, and more intense than any of his previous speeches.
Even Feng Zheng was a little dumbfounded, wondering how anyone could so blatantly brainwash children and be so proud of it.
However, as soon as the words fell, Feng Zheng sneered in his heart.
"will of fire, will of fire, will of fire! Now let me see how much will of fire you truly possess. Hahahahaha."
After the speech, Hiruzen said.
"Hatake Rai, Suzuki Kazemasa, Uchiha Mieko, step forward."
The three children all stepped forward and stood before Hiruzen. He said.
"All three of you have worked very hard and performed exceptionally well. Tell me, what reward do you wish for?"
As soon as the words fell, Hatake Rai took a step forward.
Many people, including Feng Zheng and Mieko, considered this rude.
But Feng Zheng didn't mind, while Mieko pouted.
However, Hatake Rai's next words made everyone understand why he was so eager. He said.
"Hokage-sama, my mother is very ill, and all the doctors we've seen can't cure her. Can you arrange for a good Medical Ninja to treat her?"
Although everyone now understood why he was so anxious, another question arose in their minds. Feng Zheng thought.
"Isn't he from the Hatake Clan? Sakumo Hatake has indeed been dead for a long time, but their situation shouldn't be that desperate, right? Moreover, they should have enough money for treatment, right? Unless the illness is very difficult to treat and requires someone like Tsunade, then I can understand. But even so, I don't think Hiruzen can summon Tsunade back."
Kakashi was also clearly confused.
Only a few teachers and Hiruzen knew the truth. Hiruzen thought.
"Alas, after Sakumo Hatake's death, the Hatake Clan has truly gone downhill. It's a pity that Kakashi hasn't paid much attention to this clan. This boy suddenly performed exceptionally well this year, so I investigated his background. His father died in the Third Ninja War, and his mother is just a civilian, not even from the Hatake family. So she hasn't received much attention from the clan."
"She fell ill half a year ago, becoming the motivation for this young man's efforts. Although I do want Kakashi to lead a Genin squad, this is my main purpose for bringing him here today: to have him take over the Hatake Clan and restore its prosperity."
Hiruzen nodded and said.
"I will arrange for the best Medical Ninja to treat your mother."
He smiled and continued.
"Continue to train hard and let the will of fire within you burn even brighter."
Hatake Rai excitedly said yes and promised to continue training hard.
Kakashi observed the young child and decided.
"I need to properly understand what's happening within the clan."
Hiruzen secretly watched Kakashi's reaction and was very satisfied with it.
He could foresee the Hatake Clan's quick resurgence.
After listening to the Hokage's instructions and receiving the Hokage's promise to treat his mother, Hatake Rai stepped back.
Mieko stepped forward and said.
"Hokage-sama, I don't want any reward."
This surprised everyone. Even Hiruzen was surprised, but he still concealed it and calmly analyzed.
"Is this a form of retaliation from the Uchiha Clan due to constant surveillance?"
He then tried to persuade her multiple times, but she refused to accept any reward.
Hiruzen sighed, looked at Feng Zheng, and thought.
"The Uchiha incident makes me feel my age. Well, at least he should have a reasonable request. This day should end well."
On the other hand, Feng Zheng was stunned by his two 'top performers.' He thought.
"What the hell is going on? One begs for his mother's life, while the other refuses any reward? Why do their actions leave me speechless?"
Then he calmed down and muttered to himself.
"Alas. It doesn't matter. The shameless path must continue!"
He steeled himself and walked forward. He displayed a smiling and excited expression, while thinking.
"This is the moment. For this moment, I've carried two swords with me for five months!"
Then he said.
"Hokage-sama, as my reward, I want two swords made of Chakra metal."
Then he looked at the Hokage with an excited and hopeful expression, hoping his eyes would sparkle like in anime.
Most students didn't know about Chakra metal. However, almost every teacher knew about it.
They were extremely shocked by this request! Genshu, standing by, dropped his jaw when he heard Feng Zheng's words.
If Feng Zheng had seen him, he could definitely have put an egg in Genshu's mouth.
Kakashi's eyebrow twitched in response. He thought.
"How extravagant! Even my father's sword isn't entirely made of Chakra metal."
However, the most shocked was Hiruzen.
Despite wearing the Hokage hat and maintaining good emotional control, Feng Zheng could still see his shock.
Of course, he completely ignored this. He thought.
"Whether Hiruzen is happy or dies of a heart attack from shock, it has nothing to do with me. Hmm, wait! If he dies now, that would be terrible. But... yes, I don't think such a small amount of shock can kill this old monster. After all, he went through three brutal wars without suffering a single major injury!"
Hiruzen's mind went completely blank for a moment. Then he thought.
"Completely made of Chakra metal? Even the swords sold in Konoha only have about 15% Chakra metal content. The rest is made of other ordinary materials."
"The last time someone made a sword entirely of Chakra metal was when my teacher commissioned that sword. And the cost of making that sword exceeded 100 million ryo! Of course, this kid probably doesn't know this, I can fool him, but it's still worth tens of millions of ryo!"