The First Round: Open Selection

"The Ninja Academy looked much the same as it had six years ago."

Mito Uzumaki surveyed the area around the training grounds and, based on the information she had overheard from the crowd, recognized several individuals.

"That silver-haired kid wearing a half-mask has to be Hatake Sakumo's son."

"The one with the Sarutobi Clan mark who looks like a little orangutan must be Hiruzen Sarutobi's second son."

"The one with the Flame Uchiha Fan... is an Uchiha."

They were also the sworn enemies of the Senju Clan.

Naturally, Mito Uzumaki did not say that last part aloud.

"Mm." Jueming committed every piece of information Mito Uzumaki had mentioned to memory.

"And this chubby examiner, he is..."

Her clanswoman Kushina Uzumaki, Jiraiya's disciple Minato Namikaze... Their homeroom teacher back then had been quite perceptive.

The chubby Funano Daikoku walked over and clapped his hands.

The examinees immediately turned their attention toward him.

"My name is Funano Daikoku. I am a Konoha Chunin and one of the examiners for today's Entrance Exam. Among you... there are quite a few promising seedlings."

Strength was not necessarily the standard by which all of a ninja's qualities were judged.

Sometimes, teachers with a discerning eye and exceptional teaching ability were even more valuable.

Clearly.

Funano Daikoku possessed such qualities. At a glance, he could see that this year's students included many talented individuals.

"The first round is open selection. You will run around the Ninja Academy, and the bottom-ranked examinees will be eliminated at irregular intervals..."

Elimination of the lowest-ranked.

There was only one reason for using this method.

"This year's applicants are plentiful, so there's no need for additional admissions." Mito Uzumaki nodded.

What if there were too many outstanding examinees?

Naturally, they only had to weed out the weakest ones.

A few minutes later, the Dark mass of examinees set off from the training ground entrance and began running around the academy.

At first, the examinees all ran at the slowest possible pace, conserving their strength.

But when one examinee was eliminated.

The other students immediately sped up, afraid of becoming the next person to be eliminated.

It was a disguised form of competition, driving every examinee to speed up and exhaust their stamina more quickly.

No one wanted to fall behind.

So they desperately competed.

In the end, the competition grew fiercer and fiercer. Everyone ran faster and faster, and more and more people were eliminated.

"Senju Jueming, what are you planning to do?"

Mito Uzumaki spoke up.

Originally, she had wanted to see Jueming make a fool of himself and fail today's exam.

That way, he could turn over a new leaf and become a better person.

But...

In her eyes, Jueming had caught up after merely "slightly" training for the past week.

With his current aptitude, passing the Entrance Examination would not be a problem.

"I'll watch for now. Once enough people have been eliminated, I'll speed up."

Jueming stared at Kakashi Hatake, who was running in first place.

The examiners' gazes followed the movement of the crowd.

Soon, several more examinees were eliminated.

"This year's Children of the Senju Clan are still like this, huh."

"They seem... even worse than in previous years."

Of the eight Children of the Senju Clan, five had already been eliminated by the halfway point.

It had not been this bad last year.

That only showed that each generation was worse than the last.

The examiners had reason to believe that these were the eight children the Senju Clan had carefully selected. Otherwise, today's results would have been even more dismal.

Perhaps extremes really did reverse themselves.

Maybe the brothers Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju had drained all the Senju Clan's fortune.

"..."

Funano Daikoku shook his head, but he held a different opinion.

His gaze landed on Jueming, whose face was not flushed and whose breathing was steady.

Jueming, mixed in among the crowd, glanced around and realized that most people were already beginning to lose endurance.

The first sign was falling behind.

The second was when their stamina gave out and they suddenly collapsed.

"I spent a week lying around, on top of one month and one week of Chakra Refinement and physical training. The stamina drained by this little run is nothing."

Jueming thought to himself.

"Might Guy, eliminated!"

The instant the thick-browed child in green was eliminated, Jueming began accelerating.

At first, the other examinees merely stared blankly.

But as Jueming ran faster and faster, steadily overtaking them, their expressions turned incredulous.

"He's from the Senju Clan?"

Recognizing the crest embroidered on his clothes, the children identified Jueming.

"What's going on? Didn't they say the Senju Clan had declined? How did someone this powerful suddenly appear?"

It was not only the examinees whose eyes widened.

Even the examiners supervising the test looked astonished.

"Could the Senju Clan really be making a comeback this year?"

They watched Jueming pass Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara, then pass Genma Shiranui and Ibiki Morino.

Then... he passed Kurenai Yuhi, Kurenai's Mother's daughter.

He directly reached the position behind the three Second Generation Shinobi: Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, and Tekka Uchiha.

"This should be his limit, right?"

"That is Asuma Sarutobi, after all. He's Hokage-sama's son."

"The fact that the Senju Clan has declined will not change."

Just as everyone was thinking that.

Jueming accelerated again and, amid some astonished looks, passed Asuma.

Asuma stared at Jueming, who had suddenly overtaken him, and froze. "Who are you?"

Before the exam, why had he not heard from his Hokage Father about such a formidable guy?

"I'm just an ordinary Senju ninja."

Jueming replied calmly.

The four words "ordinary."

Were the assessment Mito Uzumaki had made after entering Jueming's body and examining him.

At that moment, Mito Uzumaki, who had originally intended to praise Jueming, found her expression hard to maintain...

She gained an even deeper understanding of Jueming's petty, grudge-holding nature.

Next.

Jueming passed Tekka Uchiha.

Tekka Uchiha: "..."

This Uchiha with a mole between his brows did not seem to like talking, but the intense glare he shot Jueming proved that he was far from calm inside.

"Hm?"

A few seconds later...

Kakashi, who was maintaining first place ahead of them, suddenly sensed a presence behind him.

"This guy..."

He glanced back just as Jueming caught up, running alongside him.

Curiosity flickered in silver-haired Kakashi's eyes as he silently guessed Jueming's identity.

When he saw the Senju Clan Crest, he was first stunned, then nodded as though it were only natural.

"The Senju Clan really is impressive."

Even a dying camel was larger than a horse.

The Senju Clan's accumulated foundation was simply different.

"Of course."

Jueming looked over and replied.

"I'm a member of the Senju Clan myself. No one knows better than I do how impressive the Senju Clan is."

Jueming indicated that no one understood Senju better than him.

Kakashi: "..."

"He actually passed Asuma."

"He took second place."

Watching this scene, every examiner except Funano Daikoku looked astonished.

Unfortunately, none of the examiners this time were teachers from the Senju Clan.

Otherwise, they would certainly have been delighted by the Senju Clan's results this year.

"There's still a second round. Save some energy."

After being passed, Kakashi did not become impatient. Instead, he kindly reminded Jueming that there was another round ahead.

"Though it may not necessarily be another test of endurance, there's nothing wrong with being cautious."

"It's fine."

Jueming smiled at him, revealing pearly white teeth like an innocent country boy.

"I have plenty of stamina."

"Then there's nothing I can do..."

Kakashi thought for a moment, then accelerated and quickly passed Jueming.

"Phew... phew..."

But when Kakashi began to tire slightly, Jueming relied on his greater stamina to catch up again.

Kakashi accelerated once more, using his speed and explosiveness to pass Jueming again.

A moment later...

Jueming maintained a steady pace and caught up again.

Kakashi: "..."

After several exchanges, Kakashi looked puzzled.

"This guy... does his stamina have no limit?"

Before long.

The first round of open selection ended.

Jueming took first place.

Kakashi Hatake was second, Tekka Uchiha third, Asuma Sarutobi fourth, and Kurenai Yuhi fifth...

The caliber of this year's students had already begun to show itself.

"Some people became impatient and overexerted themselves, ultimately falling behind or even being eliminated..."

Funano Daikoku stood with his hands behind his back, facing the examinees as he began his summary.

"Others paid too much attention to everyone else, causing their own mentality to become unbalanced..."

Many examinees lowered their heads in shame after hearing that.

The next moment, however, Funano Daikoku's eyes showed appreciation.

"But there are two examinees here who performed exceptionally well."

One was Might Guy.

Although he had been eliminated, he had still persisted and finished the entire course.

The Ninja Academy teachers had already quietly approved him to register and retake the exam.

"And the other... is the first-place finisher, Senju Jueming."

Funano Daikoku announced.

"From beginning to end, he showed no anxiety or impatience. A ninja is someone capable of enduring, someone with a resolute will. Senju Jueming, you had the best score in the first round. Keep it up in the next round!"

Everyone followed Funano Daikoku's gaze.

At that moment, Jueming was lying on the ground, continuing to seize every second for training to grow stronger.

"Phew... phew..."

Kakashi stood nearby, bracing himself on his knees and gasping for breath.

Though his explosive power was impressive, his endurance could not compare to Jueming's. In the end, he only took second place.

"Senju Jueming, you're amazing. You actually surpassed Kakashi."

Rin Nohara walked over to Jueming's side and smiled.

She had met Kakashi when she was four.

She, Kakashi, and Obito Uchiha had grown up together as childhood friends.

Rin Nohara knew Kakashi's talent better than anyone. Now that she had seen someone surpass him, she was naturally very surprised.

"..."

Jueming looked over her face. She was a very cute girl with chestnut-colored hair.

If her looks did not go astray as she grew up, she would definitely become very beautiful.

"I merely relied on the Senju Clan's reputation to get a few steps ahead. It's nothing."

Jueming answered blandly.

"Oh."

Rin Nohara nodded.

"Um... Jueming, why are you lying on the ground?"

Rin Nohara asked again.

Jueming gazed at the sky. "I'm seizing every moment to cultivate and grow stronger. I had nothing better to do anyway..."

"Jueming, you really love studying."

Mito Uzumaki: "..."

[Stamina +1]

[Stamina +1]...

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