The dew on the grass blades slid down to the ground and quickly evaporated under the sunlight, leaving no trace behind. The dry earth was soon trampled by several figures rushing toward the school.
Uchiha Jin and the other two let out a breath of relief when they saw the line. "We made it in time."
Up ahead, a small room served as the testing site, and many Academy students were lined up to enter. However, Namikaze Minato looked over the queue, and his expression turned grim. "There are a lot of kids younger than us."
The children in line were all buzzing with excitement, and among them Minato recognized many familiar kōhai. The youngest were only seven. Even with graduation being pushed forward, it should not be possible for kids that young to take the ninja exam. It was absurd. What was the village thinking?
"And the passing rate is really high," Jin said with heavy sarcasm.
Looking to the side, many children ran out cheering, happily clutching their ninja forehead protectors. Some came out empty-handed and disappointed, but compared to the number who passed, they were very few. Even from here, they could hear the shouts of the newly graduated kids.
"I became a ninja!" "Hahaha, starting today I'm a real ninja!" "Dad, Mom, I'm an adult ninja now! Hahaha!"
The children laughed and celebrated, and their excitement spread easily. It was truly ironic. Senju Hashirama had founded the village to stop children from going to war. Sarutobi Hiruzen sent children to war in the name of the village. An irony beyond words.
Minato's face was heavy.
"What are you two talking about? The exam is about to start," Kushina said, completely unaware of how serious it was and full of enthusiasm. She could already see the ninja path waving to her. "This is the beginning of my path to becoming Hokage." "I'll definitely be the first woman to become Hokage!"
Well, that dream does come true in the future, Jin thought, throwing a subtle glance at Minato. Minato, meanwhile, was strangely quiet.
The line moved forward. Minato was the first to enter. Unlike the others, who stayed inside only a short time, he took quite a while to come out.
"Did something happen?" Kushina asked, worried.
"Don't worry. It's probably special treatment for the number one student," Jin said with a shrug. Then he looked at Kushina with exaggerated pity. In his previous life, he had specifically checked Kushina's data. After all, other people's wives... ahem. He did not like being a Cao Cao. But that was not the important part. He remembered that, unlike Minato whose graduation age was uncertain, Kushina had graduated at twelve. That meant she should have repeated two years, just like him. This exam, for her, should have been a formality. As a Jinchūriki, she had no control over her own fate.
"You bastard Uchiha! What's with that look?!" Kushina felt Jin's pity and instantly exploded. She raised her fist, ready to punch him.
Jin looked at her, clicked his tongue, and shook his head.
Even more irritating!! Kushina's red hair began to float. "Fight me to the death, bastard!!"
Just as she was about to attack, a brown-haired ninja in a tactical vest stepped out of the exam room and shouted, "Next!"
Jin gave Kushina a casual thumbs-up, then flipped it downward with a smug face. "Next time."
"Bastard!!!" Kushina roared.
Jin rushed into the exam room. If he did not run, he would get beaten.
The room looked small from the outside, but it was surprisingly spacious within. The floor was covered with scorch marks, puddles of water, and splintered wood. In the center stood two ninjas in tactical vests, a purple-haired woman and Inoue Satoru.
The purple-haired woman held a notepad. "Uchiha Jin?"
"That's me."
She wrote something down. Inoue Satoru stepped forward. "Your test is to last one minute against me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the smile on Inoue's face gradually turned sadistic. It was definitely not revenge for Jin ignoring him completely for three months. Definitely not!
Jin looked at the tall Inoue Satoru. He was considering how much strength he should use. Part of it had already been exposed anyway. The main question was whether he should show Inoue any respect. After all, he was still his teacher.
While he was thinking, Inoue had already rushed in, drawing a kunai from the pouch on his lower back. Jin casually tossed three shuriken. In midair, the shuriken struck each other, clang, clang, clang, changing their trajectories and flying toward Inoue from three different angles.
Inoue's eyes narrowed. Uchiha shurikenjutsu.
The next instant, poof. Inoue turned into a log, and the shuriken embedded themselves into it. Inoue's real body suddenly appeared behind Jin and threw a kick.
Jin only glanced back. Moving faster than Inoue, he jumped and delivered a spinning kick in midair.
BAM!
Inoue's body was launched into the wall and slid down to the floor.
"This is Uchiha trash?!" He stared at Jin in shock, unable to understand that absurd speed and reaction time. It felt like he had never truly understood this student's strength.
Jin wrinkled his nose. His reaction speed was only "decent." Minato could now catch kunai and shuriken with his bare hands, which was ridiculous. Some people had talent that made no sense. But in terms of raw pressure, Minato still could not push him.
"Instructor Inoue, you said there was no chance..."
"Impossible." Inoue cut him off sharply. Just looking at his face told him nothing good was coming. "How could I lose to a student?" Inoue was starting to panic.
Suddenly, a thump drew both their attention. The purple-haired ninja shot Inoue a glare. Inoue fell silent. It seemed she had also failed to beat Minato earlier.
"Hahaha." The ninja who had called Jin in from the door could not hold back his laughter. "Two instructors losing to students, hahaha."
"I haven't lost yet!!" Inoue roared and began forming hand seals quickly. But halfway through, he had to stop. A sharp kunai was pressed to his throat.
The other two ninjas stared in disbelief. "This guy... is a monster."
Jin stood right in front of Inoue, holding the kunai against his throat. No one had noticed when he moved.
Inoue swallowed hard and immediately raised his hands. If he did not surrender, his life would end here.
"Instructor Inoue, did I pass?" Jin smiled lightly. His theoretical strength was at the Tokubetsu Jōnin level, far above these Academy Chūnin instructors.
"Pas... passed." The ninja at the door stopped the stopwatch. One minute had already passed. He had defeated the instructor in under a minute. This Uchiha Jin was even stronger than Namikaze Minato. This was supposed to be "Uchiha trash"? If Jin was trash, then what were they?
"Here's your proof of being a ninja." The purple-haired woman tossed the forehead protector to Jin.
Jin caught it in midair, then finally withdrew the kunai. Inoue rubbed his neck and stood up, wearing the expression of a man who had lost his soul. Losing to a student. Was there justice in this world? Was there law? Well, the student was an Uchiha, so maybe there was not. But he had lost his confidence as a teacher!! Uchiha Jin really was his natural enemy!
"Your student number will become your ninja registration number. Tomorrow, don't forget to take your photo." Even in despair, he explained the next steps.
"Got it." Jin tied the forehead protector around his head and gave a careless wave.
He exited from the other side of the room and saw Minato waiting in the distance. "I knew you'd pass," Minato said with a confident smile. After all, in terms of real strength, very few in their age group were stronger than Jin. Maybe not even the late Nawaki could have beaten him.
"How could anyone fail an exam like this?" Jin sighed.
He saw a group of students leaving with their forehead protectors. Parents who had been waiting a long time saw the protectors in their children's hands. Unlike the children's joy, most adults' expressions became complex and pained. Adults understood better what it meant.
Jin could not understand how hatred still did not erupt. The Will of Fire was terrifying. Not even pyramid scheme organizations brainwashed that thoroughly.
"Uchiha Jin!!" A roar suddenly echoed, followed by a red blur leaping from behind him. "Die!!"
Kushina threw a punch at him. She wanted revenge for his provocation earlier. Jin shifted slightly aside from the punch and drove his knee into her stomach.
"Ow, that hurts." Kushina dropped to the ground with a pained expression.
"You never learn." Jin shook his head. How many times had he already taken her down? Kushina was truly persistent in defeat. Worthy of the future mother of the world's savior, with her airhead nature.
But thinking about it... was he really that annoying? If Kushina and Minato heard that, they would answer in unison, "Absolutely!!"
Jin's gaze fell on the forehead protector on Kushina's head. "You... passed?"
"Of course." Kushina pointed at it with a silly grin. "Starting today, I'm a ninja too."
"..."
Jin was speechless. He looked up at the sky. Under the twilight glow, fire-colored clouds drifted past. How did the village let her pass?
"Fate has changed."
"One, two, three, four." Might Duy ran around the mountain, doing squats as he went. "If I don't finish before it gets dark, I'll do a thousand push-ups!"
Sweat fell as he ran. More than ten years of daily effort to reach the Fifth Gate.
"Uncle Duy is as hardworking as ever." Jin hung upside down from a tree branch, his feet hooked in place.
"Yo, young Jin, long time no see." Duy gave a thumbs-up.
"Yeah, it's been a while." Jin dropped down from the tree.
"Uncle Duy, fight me with all you've got." He was in a very bad mood.
"With pleasure."