MTLNOVEL Chapter 6: Entrance Exam
Over the next two months, Yoichi mastered both the Tree Climbing Practice and the Water Surface Walking Practice. He also continued training in fire affinity and began learning how to throw shuriken and kunai.
Yoichi reflected on his recent progress:
"I managed to master the next chakra control exercises faster than the Leaf Concentration Practice. Maybe it's because back then I was just starting, right after recently unlocking my chakra, and didn't have the reserves I do now. Now that I have some control over my chakra, I should try strengthening my legs while running to increase my speed. The same goes for my fists; if I can properly focus chakra in my hands, my strikes should be stronger.
I also wonder if reinforcing my body with chakra during training will yield any results. So far, I've noticed that if I completely exhaust all my chakra every day, it increases faster than when I try not to use it up entirely.
I could also try sensing my surroundings using chakra. Covering my eyes and ears should help. Next, I need to focus on the Leaf-Burning Exercise. If I master it to a decent level, I might try creating a small flame at the tip of my finger.
The training with throwing kunai and shuriken should speed up once they buy another set, which would allow me to use them more often. I can already see that Hikaru and Kaito are slowly losing motivation. They don't want to wait for their turn to practice, and with each day, they're putting less effort into training.
There's still plenty of time until the exams, so I should be able to meet the requirements for the elite class at a steady pace."
A few months later, the day of the Academy exam arrived. Rising early, Yoichi refreshed himself and prepared to leave. He then waited for the rest of the children who were planning to take the exam. There were 13 of them in total, a larger number than last year. They all set off together with Naomi, the orphanage caretaker.
Upon arriving at the Academy, all the children were surprised by the large number of peers who had also come to take the exam. A boy named Shiro shouted:
"How many people are here?!"
Naomi, seeing the children's astonishment, replied calmly:
"Probably over a thousand. Last year, over 1500 children took the exam, but only about 330 were selected."
The children stared at her in even greater astonishment.
A girl named Saki pointed at several people wearing Konoha headbands standing near the children and asked:
"Are they going to take the exam with us?"
Naomi looked in the direction Saki indicated and commented:
"They are trained ninjas from various clans in our village. They're probably accompanying their children. Most of them will pass the exam easily."
Hearing this, Yoichi thought:
"Didn't they already ask what the exam entails?"
At that moment, a man dressed in a chunin vest approached the crowd and announced:
"The exams will begin shortly! All children must gather on the training ground behind the Academy!"
Inside the Academy, in a conference room, several chūnin gathered, most of whom served as teachers. They were discussing the entrance exam. At one point, a chūnin entered the room and delivered a report to the person chairing the meeting. Nara Kenshiro glanced at the document and sighed.
After the Third Great Ninja War, he was promoted to special jōnin due to his merits. The Third Hokage assigned him to oversee the Academy entrance exams, claiming it would be an easy job. He sighed again and thought: "What a troublesome task."
Reviewing the report, he discovered that 2028 children were taking the preliminary exam this year, which was about 30% more than the previous year.
After a moment, he made a decision. "Let's do it like last year." With a hand gesture, he signaled the assigned chūnin to start the exam.
Upon seeing the signal, Harada Satoshi, the chūnin responsible for the first phase of the exam, announced loudly:
"All candidates, the first stage of the academy entrance exam begins now. You must run 10 laps along the marked path on the training ground. Each lap is approximately 500 meters. Everyone will be monitored during this run. When I appear on the track, you may begin running."
He disappeared and reappeared on the track. Upon seeing this, all the children began running. Yoichi thought:
"Well, this will be pretty simple and so far it's going just like last year."
When everyone completed the first four laps, some began to fall behind. After ten laps, most of Yoichi's group, except for him and a few others, were clearly exhausted.
Satoshi said:
"Anyone who hasn't completed ten laps fails the exam. Return to the front of the Academy and join your guardians.
Because of the large number of participants, in the next round, you will keep running until I give the signal to stop. If you stop, you will be disqualified.
Begin!"
Starting the run again, Yoichi thought:
"Calmly, I can easily run another ten laps, and if I start feeling tired, I'll use chakra to keep going. Although I don't know if it will even be necessary."
After eight laps, Satoshi shouted:
"Stop! Anyone who stopped before my signal must return to the front of the Academy and join your guardians."
After completing the first stage, the participants were given a breakfast break. After eating, the examiner for the second stage appeared and announced:
"Everyone who has unlocked their chakra, please step forward. Those who haven't unlocked it yet, please wait a moment, then line up to unlock it."
Altogether, about half of the candidates had already unlocked their chakra. Every child from a ninja clan naturally possessed it. Yoichi sighed in relief upon seeing that many civilian children had also stepped forward.
The Hyūga examiner standing nearby activated his Byakugan and began carefully examining the chakra of those who stepped forward. He checked the quantity and quality of chakra and ensured that no one mistakenly believed they had unlocked it when they actually hadn't.
After the examination ended, everyone who stepped forward officially passed this stage of the exam.
Shortly after, the examiner for the final stage appeared and said:
"Now comes the final stage of the exam. You will run laps on the track until only thirty participants remain.
Begin!"
As he started running, Yoichi thought:
"After breakfast, everyone is fairly rested. I wonder how many laps I'll have to run before the number of participants drops to thirty."
The first participants began dropping out after seven laps. By twelve laps, roughly half of the participants remained on the track. As Yoichi was about to start his fifteenth lap, he heard the examiner shout:
"Stop! Congratulations on completing the final stage of the Academy entrance exam! Now we will wait for the rest of those who have unlocked their chakra. Then we will all proceed to receive official congratulations from the Hokage!"
Suddenly, all the children started chattering excitedly about the Hokage personally coming to see them. Yoichi looked around at the gathered children and thought:
"It's still hard to believe that so many children unlock their chakra. And of course, we'll soon be hearing the grand speech about the Will of Fire."