"..."
Looking at this epoch-making scene of Naruto and Sasuke, everyone in the classroom—whether they liked Sasuke or not—fell silent.
The next second.
[Ding! Emotion value from Shikamaru +999!]
[Ding! Emotion value from Choji +999!]
[Ding! Emotion value from Ino +999!]
[Ding! Emotion value from Sakura +999!]
[Ding! Emotion value from Naruto +9999!]
[Ding! Emotion value from Sasuke +9999!]
[...]
On Akali's system panel, a dense stream of emotion values refreshed across the screen once again.
Furthermore, these were all ultra-large amounts of emotion values!
In just an instant, Akali's emotion values surged to thirty thousand once more!
Gazing at her bountiful harvest of emotion values, the corners of Akali's mouth beneath her mask split all the way to the roots of her ears, bursting into a thoroughly uninhibited smile!
This made her deeply grateful for the benefits of wearing a mask; she could smile however she wanted, and since nobody could see it, it didn't cost her any karma.
Afterward, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, Akali put away the camera in her hand, wondering to herself how many emotion values this single photo would provide her with.
Yet right at that moment, another broadcast rang out!
[Ding! Emotion value from Hinata +999!]
"Oh? Hinata, has Hinata finally recovered?!"
Akali was first pleased, then startled.
After all, judging by the current situation, Hinata looked like she had fainted again!
Akali hurriedly turned her head toward the classroom door, where Hinata truly had just caught sight of this classic moment between Naruto and Sasuke.
However, contrary to Akali's expectations, as Hinata looked at Naruto and Sasuke, her pure white eyes trembled, her crystalline pearly teeth gently bit her lower lip, and she actually wore a subtle expression of disgust, as if she were looking at some kind of filthy object!
That wasn't right, though. It would be normal for Hinata to faint upon seeing Naruto and Sasuke kiss, and shock would be normal too, but this disgust...
Akali frowned deeply, an ominous thought popping into her mind.
Could it be that the effect of her desensitization therapy had been too intense, and now Hinata no longer liked Naruto?
[Ding! Emotion value from Akali +999!]
Feeling somewhat unsettled, Akali prepared to go over and ask Hinata how she was doing, to show a little concern.
However, before Akali could make a move, Iruka arrived first.
By this time, Naruto and Sasuke had long since recovered from their kissing posture, each squatting off to the side retching, calling each other names and shouting that they would kill the other.
The Sasuke Fan Club, spearheaded by Sakura, launched a verbal lynching against Naruto, turning the classroom into a noisy, chaotic mess.
Seeing this, remembering what they had been told during the meeting earlier, Iruka's expression visibly twisted, his anger gauge filling up at the speed of light.
Iruka took three steps in two and slammed his hand heavily onto the podium: "Everyone, get back to your seats right now!"
"Making such a racket, what kind of behavior is this?!"
"Always getting worked up over trivial matters—how do you expect to handle the graduation exam a month from now?!"
Under the intimidation of graduation, the crowd quieted down.
After all, even the most arrogant Sasuke cared about whether he could become a ninja.
Only Shikamaru muttered unconcernedly under his breath, "Isn't it just testing basics like the Shadow Clone, Transformation Technique, and substitution? What's there to care about?"
"If you think like that, you're dead wrong, Shikamaru!" Iruka caught Shikamaru's words.
"Oh?" Shikamaru piqued a bit of interest. "Could this graduation exam actually feature some new tricks?"
"It's not just new tricks!"
A somewhat mischievous smile crept onto Iruka's face.
"This graduation exam won't be handled by the academy."
"You will be divided into three-person squads, and every squad will be assigned a high-ranking ninja—perhaps a Chunin, perhaps a Jonin. You'll be facing direct assignments from them!"
"And those ninjas who have actually seen blood aren't going to test you on basic skills like the Three Basic Techniques!"
"So, get ready to spend another year keeping me company, brats!"
"Aaaaaah!"
Hearing Iruka's words, the crowd began to wail.
A small minority, such as Sasuke, wore interested smiles instead.
He loved a challenge; having experienced his defeat in the battle against Akali, Sasuke possessed an extreme craving for challenges.
Akali's expression, however, grew peculiar.
This assessment Iruka was talking about—when you boiled it all down, wasn't it just the Jonin trials after squad assignments?
Why did she get the feeling that because the current Naruto was now capable of using the Shadow Clone, the Mizuki plotline was too awkward to set in motion, so they simply dropped the pretense and did away with formal exams altogether?
Speaking of which, there was one thing Akali found extremely strange.
Only the Third Hokage, the Anbu, Kakashi, and Naruto knew about her battle with Sasuke.
The Anbu certainly wouldn't talk idly without orders, and neither Naruto nor Kakashi were big-mouthed people.
Moreover, Sasuke entering the hospital happened on Saturday and was even escorted there by Kakashi; even if someone guessed that Sasuke ended up there because he fought someone, how could it spread like wildfire in just a single day, reaching even the students at the Ninja Academy?
As a rule, Ninja Academy students should always be the very last link in the information chain!
Therefore, the upper echelons had directly promoted this news.
Furthermore, whoever orchestrated this had extremely clever methods.
If Akali guessed correctly, that person would soon find a way to leak the fact that she was the one who had beaten Sasuke into the hospital.
In this way, after the news of Sasuke being beaten into the hospital had circulated for a few days, announcing who was responsible would instantly amplify the news, making Akali famous in a single bound.
Yet, using Sasuke's reputation to bring her fame...
Was the Third Hokage trying to recruit her?
Akali harbored a few guesses.
Still, upon serious reflection, her attitude was that it didn't really matter.
After all, this wasn't the first time the Third Hokage had discovered her. In all the years since she transmigrated, she originally had no gacha system, possessing only the Akali template.
Coincidentally, her level increased by one each year, so Akali's plan was to lay low and grind until level 18 before making her debut.
By that time, the Fourth Great Ninja War would be over, there would be virtually no enemies left in the Shinobi World, and it would be extremely safe.
Therefore, during that period, Akali paid quite a bit of attention to keeping her personal information under wraps; after detecting surveillance, she hardly ever used her ultimate ability during her own training sessions.
Now, however, things were different. The current Akali could grow stronger through emotion values and cash gachas, meaning the bigger the commotion she caused, the better—that was the only way to provoke emotional fluctuations in others.
Under such circumstances, Akali naturally had no need to hide. Just as she knew full well that both the Third Hokage and the Anbu were keeping an eye on Naruto, yet still dragged Naruto over to film with her anyway.
Akali was confident that no one could control her; she would grow faster than anyone else.
Having figured this out, Akali cast the situation regarding the Third Hokage to the back of her mind.
At that moment, Iruka also finished announcing the news about the exam.
Just when Akali thought Iruka was about to launch into his hated Will of Fire brainwashing lecture, facing the students who were already prepared to fall asleep, Iruka smiled slightly: "Class dismissed!"