Intro. The training ground on a summer afternoon was steaming with a heat wave. I stood in the shade of the trees, waiting for the clone technique assessment with all the candidates. Sweat dripped down Ino's ponytail, and she stared straight ahead, her fingertips turning white from the force. Sasuke stood in the front row, his back straight like a kunai blade, and his face was indifferent. Naruto scratched his ears and cheeks on his left side, and his blonde hair was rubbed even more messily by himself. Sakura's gaze wandered between Sasuke and the examination room, and she pressed her hand to her chest as she took a deep breath. Shikamaru yawned for a long time, and Choji secretly poured the potato chips into his mouth when Iruka turned around.
It was Naruto's turn. When he sealed, he brought a clumsy wind, and after a bang, a clone that was as limp as mud fell to the ground. The snickering sound was like locusts sweeping through the crowd. Sasuke's laughter stopped abruptly as he stepped forward, and the three perfect clones stood awe-inspiringly, and he didn't even glance at Naruto when he walked back. Sakura successfully conjured up two clones, but when she took them back, she made one of them shake slightly due to peeking at Sasuke. Ino's clone and the main body glared at Sakura at the same time, like a mirror image competition.
I quietly retreated to the outermost part. Shikamaru single-handedly sealed a passing clone, his face full of trouble; Choji's clone is so round that it is no different from the main body. As the shadows of the trees tilted to the west, the names of all those who passed were sung. Naruto stood alone in the center of the clearing, and the others were surrounded by the elongated shadow of the setting sun like a fence. I turned around and heard Iruka-sensei's gentle sigh coming from behind, mixed with Naruto's suppressed snort. The days of Konoha are always long, long enough for some failures to slowly ferment in the afterglow.