After Liu Sheng and the others finished taking their ID photos, the school gate was already crowded with parents who had come to pick up their children.

Some students were either holding their ninja headbands, receiving praise from their parents, or had failed the graduation assessment and were crying in their parents' arms, receiving comfort or scolding. Just like in the original story, Naruto, sitting on a swing, had also failed the graduation assessment and looked very dejected.

Many people noticed Naruto, and they either glared at him with hostility or turned away in disdain.

Whispers began to circulate among the parents.

Liu Sheng also observed this scene but did not go over to comfort Naruto.

Despite Naruto's current misfortune, only Liu Sheng knew that after today, Naruto would begin his comeback.

In contrast, Uchiha Sasuke was starting to face hardships.

After parting ways with Hinata and the other two girls, Liu Sheng returned home.

After having dinner and taking a shower, Liu Sheng lay on the balcony sofa, gazing at the starry sky with the moon hanging high.

As he enjoyed the scenery, a black shadow occasionally darted across the night sky.

Usually, there were also patrolling ninjas zipping by on the rooftops.

But tonight, the number of shadows scaling the eaves was several times higher than usual.

Moreover, when these shadows stopped, each of them wore a green vest, with ranks starting from at least Chūnin.

From their appearance, they seemed to be searching for something.

Liu Sheng knew they were looking for Naruto.

If nothing unexpected happened, Naruto was probably learning or had already mastered the Shadow Clone Technique.

Like the Rasengan, this A-rank forbidden technique would be one of Naruto's future trump cards.

Shadow clones, Rasengan, and Sage Mode… Naruto's skills may not be as numerous or flashy as Uchiha Sasuke's, but with the support of the Sage Body and the Nine-Tails, very few people in the future would be able to withstand Naruto's three major techniques.

Liu Sheng was also very envious of the Shadow Clone Technique.

While Liu Sheng's Shadow Clone Technique could create a large number of shadow clones, it took a lot of time, and he couldn't produce hundreds or even thousands of clones at once.

On the other hand, the Shadow Clone Technique utilized a massive amount of chakra to produce hundreds or thousands of clones all at once.

Developed by Senju Tobirama, this ninjutsu is undoubtedly one of the most suitable techniques for Sage bodies.

Although Liu Sheng was very envious, he did not intervene in this incident.

As the saying goes, "the person involved is confused, while the bystander is clear."

As the most important place in Konoha, how could the Hokage Building not have Anbu on duty?

Such an important item as the Book of Seals would never be carelessly placed.

Naruto's smooth acquisition of the Book of Seals was entirely thanks to Sarutobi Hiruzen's cooperation.

The Shadow Clone Technique was also a compensation from Sarutobi Hiruzen to the hero's son, and this technique was very suitable for Naruto.

If Naruto managed to learn it through theft, Liu Sheng knew that if he dared to steal it, he would probably have to go have tea with the interrogation department after the incident was over.

So, Liu Sheng had no intention of getting involved.

After enjoying the starry sky, Liu Sheng returned to his room to rest.

The next morning, after washing up, Liu Sheng tied his ninja headband around his arm and went out after finishing breakfast.

Since school was already on break, only students who passed the graduation assessment would come to the sixth grade, making the ninja school very quiet today.

However, along the way, Liu Sheng still encountered several classmates wearing headbands who greeted him.

Some were from his class, while others were from the neighboring class.

“Liu Sheng, good morning!”

When he arrived at the classroom, Ino and her two friends had arrived early as usual.

No matter the occasion, these three girls were always together.

This trio had already become famous at the ninja school.

Thanks to them shielding him from the cheerleading squad, Liu Sheng had not found himself surrounded by a large group of girls like Uchiha Sasuke.

Due to the nature of "eating alone," Ino and her friends faced rejection from all the girls in the school, and many girls in their class isolated them.

Fortunately, their grades were all in the top ten of their grade; otherwise, some girl group would have been unable to resist teaching them a lesson.

After greeting Liu Sheng, Ino propped her chin on her hands, looking expectantly, and said, “Class assignments are coming up soon; I wonder if we will be in the same group as Liu Sheng.”

Sakura and Hinata also looked eager.

Before Liu Sheng could respond, Nara Shikamaru, who was supporting his head with one hand, yawned and said, “Sakura and Hinata might still have hope, but you can forget about it.”

“Why?”

“It’s simple, because our parents are too famous.”

Nara Shikamaru said slowly, “If it were just me, you, and Choji, and one of us was missing, you might have a glimmer of hope.”

“Unfortunately, the three of us are the same age, which means that no matter how our entrance exam scores turn out, we’ll be placed in the same class, and we’ll graduate into the same group.”

“Just wait and see, our guiding Jonin will definitely not be an ordinary Jonin. His task is to train us into the new generation of the ‘Inuzuka, Nara, Akimichi’ trio.”

“How can this be!”

Ino exclaimed, looking frantic: “So you mean, I’ve already been assigned before even starting school?”

“More accurately, we were assigned the moment we were born,” Nara Shikamaru said mercilessly.

Seeing this, Liu Sheng, intrigued, asked, “So, Shikamaru, can you guess who I’ll be in a group with?”

“You’ve asked the right person; I’ve actually thought about it.”

Nara Shikamaru also became interested and shared his analysis: “It’s highly likely that Liu Sheng, you will be in the same group as Sakura or Hinata.”

“Why?” Ino quickly asked.

Sakura and Hinata looked excited.

“Because you four have been inseparable over the years.”

Nara Shikamaru explained: “First of all, in terms of chemistry, you are already ahead of the other girls, and secondly… specialties.”

“Liu Sheng is an all-rounder, while the three of you are supportive types. Considering the chemistry you’ve developed over the years with Liu Sheng, except for Ino, both Hinata and Sakura have a good chance of being in the same group as Liu Sheng.”

Hearing this well-reasoned analysis, the joy on Sakura and Hinata's faces grew stronger.

Sakura couldn't help but ask, “So Shikamaru, who do you think has a better chance, me or Hinata?”

“It’s definitely you, Sakura.”

Nara Shikamaru pointed at Sakura and continued, “Just like the trio of me, Ino, and Choji, there are many students from powerful clans in the class. They will likely be assigned to the same group based on their specialties.”

“In this way, the village won’t have to waste too many resources and can just assign a powerful guiding Jonin to lead.”

“Hinata’s bloodline limit is the Byakugan, which is a very famous sensing eye in the ninja world. If I’m correct, the best teammates for Hinata would be Inuzuka Kiba and Yamanaka Shino. You three would form a new sensing team.”

Upon hearing this, Hinata’s mood instantly plummeted.

Sakura, however, showed no restraint in her joy, her radiant smile contrasting with her two friends beside her.

Fortunately, under Liu Sheng’s influence, they had all become close friends who could talk about anything.

If their friendship were like the superficial relationships in the original story, they might not have been able to hold back from fighting.

“Impressive, Shikamaru, you really inherited the excellent mind of the Nara clan.”

Liu Sheng couldn’t help but applaud, looking at him with admiration.