Qualified, the Will of Fire

Shuichi walked up to a teacher dressed as a ninja and relaxed his mind as instructed.

The teacher came over and placed a hand directly on his shoulder. Shuichi felt a warm energy enter his body.

After entering through his shoulder, the energy circulated from top to bottom, first passing through the various organs in his upper body, then through his limbs.

Before it had made more than a few rounds, Shuichi seemed to feel one of his organs drawing his attention. Just as curiosity made him ready to immerse himself in that sensation, most of the still-flowing Chakra quickly vanished from his body.

"Takeda Shuichi, qualified."

"..." Shuichi was a little speechless. It felt as though the examiner had deliberately left him hanging.

Though it was a shame he could not continue, he obediently went to wait with the group of successful applicants. The passing rate at this stage was much lower. Seven out of the dozen or so children had failed the assessment.

Thinking back on everyone's examination process, he realized that the examiner had touched him for the shortest amount of time. The examiner had spent much longer with the failed applicants, and the duration had been roughly the same for all of them.

"Was this using the characteristics of Chakra to first check whether each person's chakra pathways were intact, then test their sensitivity to Chakra? The higher the talent, the faster it could be drawn out?" He felt his guess was almost certainly correct.

When the group left together, the successful applicants held certificates proving they had passed the entrance test, while those who had failed had empty hands. The expressions of those children looked as though they were about to cry.

Following the directions out of the Ninja Academy, they found quite a few parents crowding around the entrance to see whether their children had passed. Those whose children had succeeded beamed with joy, their faces full of pride.

The atmosphere on the other side, where the children had failed, was far less pleasant. Still, no one scolded their child aloud. After all, these children had inherited their talent from their parents. Scolding them would be no different from calling themselves useless too.

Shuichi paid no attention to these emotional dramas and returned home after the test. The teachers had informed them that class assignment information would be posted at the entrance when they came to school tomorrow.

His test result had been within expectations. After spending a long time recalling the original story, he had also analyzed a great deal of information before the entrance test.

What had left a deep impression on him was this: from the Warring States Period until Naruto and Sasuke sealed Kaguya, there had been very few records of intense internal conflict within Ninja Clans.

The clan leader's children always inherited the position of clan leader, and the achievements of other members of the same clan were also very close to those of their fathers.

In a place like the ninja world, where the strong preyed on the weak, insufficient strength would never be enough to convince others.

This showed that human Chakra talent had an extremely strong hereditary effect. At times, its influence even surpassed that of human Genes themselves. His performance today fit that conclusion perfectly.

"Tomorrow marks the first step of my ninja career. I need to work hard every day, but there's no need to be overly nervous." Shuichi encouraged himself inwardly.

He had already memorized the plot of Naruto by heart, but he could imagine that because of his arrival, the future course of this ninja world would definitely change.

There were many unreasonable parts in the original story. After all, it had only been a manga.

But the real Ninja World was certainly complex and ever-changing. Not only were those seemingly minor characters more than they appeared, but even Konoha High Command were powerful figures and true elites who had emerged from bloodshed and chaos.

Since his rebirth, he had constantly reminded himself that ninja had completely replaced the status of samurai over the past many years and become an existence on par with the Daimyo. Considering how many people's interests this had affected, one could estimate just how great the resistance had been.

With the resistance from different groups, the development of social productivity, changes in mainstream worldviews, and so on, merely thinking about it was enough to imagine the upheavals of the past century.

He had set the tone for himself: he would become a native-born successor to Konoha's Will of Fire. No matter how he might act when faced with mortal danger in the future, for now, he would follow this persona.

As for the major events that might happen in Konoha's future, he was only a child now and had no ability to interfere with their course. If he truly got involved, he would probably be sold off and still help count the money.

After setting his course of action, Shuichi had nothing else to worry about.

The Ninja Academy began at nine in the morning. After several classes, there would be an hour-long lunch break, followed by another three hours of afternoon classes before school ended.

Shuichi took two days off from the Hot Spring Inn for today and tomorrow. If school becomes too demanding after classes begin, I can only quit this job and find another way. Shuichi decided to prioritize his future. With these thoughts on his mind, he went to bed early that day.

The next day, the Ninja Academy held an entrance ceremony before classes officially began.

As a transmigrator like Shuichi, he had gone through countless boring opening ceremonies from elementary school to university in his previous life, but this one felt a little different.

Although he normally did not care much about his clothing, he had prepared a new outfit in advance for today.

He wore a black, long-sleeved, half-turtleneck coat, white knee-length shorts, and had specifically traded his usual wooden clogs for dark blue Ninja Shoes.

He usually spent most of his money on food, and this outfit had practically emptied his savings.

After preparing a boxed lunch, Shuichi left home and headed for the intersection where he had arranged to meet Ishikawa Tatsuki. It was worth mentioning that Takashima Shota had failed the entrance test. He had been eliminated during the third-stage Chakra test.

After learning the news, Shuichi and Ishikawa Tatsuki could only comfort him. After all, if one's sensitivity to Chakra was too low, even entering the Ninja Academy would make things extremely difficult.

By the time most of the students around him began practicing ninjutsu, he might still be struggling to extract Chakra.

The Ninja Academy would also determine that such talent was not worth cultivating. The Land of Fire had abundant resources, and Konoha had far more resources for nurturing talent than other ninja villages, but they would not spend vast resources on someone with little future potential.

Ishikawa Tatsuki was going to the Ninja Academy with Shuichi today, accompanied by his mother, Ishikawa Kyoko.

"Good morning, Aunt Kyoko." Shuichi greeted her politely.

"It's Shuichi. You're still so polite. You'll definitely become an outstanding ninja. Please take good care of Tatsuki in the future." Ishikawa Kyoko's kind face wore a smile today. Ishikawa Tatsuki must have performed quite well in his talent test too.

"I'm sure Tatsuki is outstanding as well. We'll support each other." As they chatted, the group headed toward the Ninja Academy.

They arrived at the entrance where parents had gathered yesterday. There were fewer people today, but nearly every child's parents had come.

"Hey, Shuichi, look! That's Lord White Fang! Hahaha, are those two in green father and son? They look so ridiculous." Ishikawa Tatsuki suddenly grew excited when he spotted Konoha's White Fang in the distance, along with a rather comical pair dressed in green.

"Uh, they do look a little lame..." Shuichi was witnessing one of the famous scenes firsthand. The future Blue Beast and his father, Might Duy, stood before the class assignment noticeboard.

Many of the surrounding parents were discussing them. Apparently, Might Guy's Chakra talent during yesterday's test had been mediocre. Only when the examiner was about to give up had there been the slightest sign of Chakra, and they had judged his talent for ninjutsu too low to pass him.

So early this morning, Might Guy's father, Might Duy, had come to the Ninja Academy to ask to see the academy teachers. Since Might Guy had performed very well in the physical fitness test yesterday, they had ultimately made an exception and issued him a certificate of qualification.

This should have been a perfectly normal matter, but the father and son's clothes were far too offensive to Konoha residents' sense of fashion. Their exaggerated movements and expressions also made them look incredibly comical, so many people could not help laughing at them.

After watching for a while, Shuichi shifted his attention to the white-haired, masked child beside White Fang. He was very curious about this future Sixth Hokage, who would influence the course of the Naruto World.

Kakashi's incredible record of graduating at five and becoming a Chunin at six would probably never be broken. They would at least spend more than a year together at the Ninja Academy, so Kakashi was an excellent point of reference.

If Shuichi wanted to enter Konoha High Command's field of vision as quickly as possible and demonstrate his value as someone worth cultivating, then matching or even surpassing the son of Konoha's White Fang during his academy years would undoubtedly be the best shortcut.

Kakashi seemed to sense someone watching him from a distance. When he turned and saw the child his age, that child was already looking elsewhere.

"I don't think I've heard of him before, but he seems a little unusual." Hatake Sakumo had already introduced Kakashi to Konoha's major clans and minor Ninja Clans at home.

The Ishikawa family stood beside Shuichi, while he himself stood slightly apart. It was easy to guess that he was probably one of Konoha's war orphans.

Kakashi had never thought much of children his own age. Ever since he became aware of the world, he had trained hard every day under the shadow of his father's reputation, all so he would not tarnish his father's name.

Though Shuichi looked no different from an ordinary child on the surface, his expression was far calmer than those of his peers, revealing an unusual sense of maturity.

Kakashi quietly memorized Shuichi's general appearance. As more and more people gathered nearby, he stopped paying attention.

By nine o'clock, all the new students had arrived, most accompanied by their parents. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, did not keep them waiting long. He quickly came from the Hokage's Office to the rooftop of the Ninja Academy.

"Today is the day the new students enter the Ninja Academy. First, congratulations on passing the entrance test. You will all become Konoha's pillars in the future,

Where the leaves dance, fire burns on without end. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout." The Third Hokage did not speak for very long, but the central message of his speech conveyed his hopes for the new students' futures.

After the speech, the new students began heading to their assigned classes. Following a round of encouragement, the parents gradually departed.