Sorry, I Haven't Learned Shuriken~

Children who had signed up for the Ninja Academy flooded through the school gates, led by a teacher toward an open clearing. Outside the school entrance, many parents sat scattered about, waiting for the results to be posted.

Tsunade had left the moment Kuming entered the school, leaving Kushina Uzumaki, Minato, and Kotaro Sarutobi behind to wait for him. Kushina stayed out of concern for her younger brother, wanting to see his results and bring him home, while Minato was simply keeping her company.

Kotaro Sarutobi was clearly more familiar with Shikaku Nara, standing by the gate and chatting with him. Shikaku's father had already left, leaving the two to discuss the concerns of their young boys.

Inside the school, the children brought to the clearing were chattering away with one another. Kuming, however, radiated an aura that warned others to keep their distance, causing several children to steer clear of him.

There was no helping it; Kuming simply couldn't bring himself to befriend these immature brats. In his eyes, everyone present was a bit of a simpleton.

"H-hello... My name is Shikaichi Nara. You're Kuming Uzumaki, right? From the Uzumaki Clan?"

Suddenly, a timid voice sounded beside Kuming. He turned his head to see the very same boy from the Nara clan he had spotted at the gate.

"Hello. Is something the matter?"

Though Kuming didn't want to bother with these underdeveloped children, this member of the Nara clan was an exception. He was curious about the boy's identity and wanted to know if he was truly Shikamaru's uncle.

Kuming flashed what he considered a friendly smile, which caused the slightly nervous Shikaichi Nara to relax a little.

Looks like he's easy to talk to after all, Shikaichi thought, feeling relieved as he said, "I saw you standing here all by yourself and wondered if you needed any help."

"I know a bit about this exam, and I thought you might want to know, too."

Shikaichi didn't actually know why he had approached Kuming; perhaps it was just that striking red hair that had piqued his curiosity.

"Hm? You know the content of the assessment?" Kuming hadn't been paying much attention to what Shikaichi was saying, but he was stunned to hear that the boy had inside information.

Damn! Has Konoha really become this corrupt? Or should I say, as expected of the Nara clan, to know the academy's exam content beforehand?

It seems many other ninja clans must know as well. Clan children already have a massive head start over commoners, and now that the test questions are leaked, isn't this just blatant cheating?

Kuming thought to himself, casting a scrutinizing gaze at the pineapple-haired boy, which made Shikaichi feel a bit uneasy.

"You didn't know? The content was released a month ago. There are three parts in total."

"Shuriken throwing, taijutsu, and wilderness survival. You really didn't know?"

Shikaichi was surprised by Kuming's response. He knew Kuming's name, which meant he was aware of his status. In his mind, any child planning to enter the academy should have known the requirements, especially someone like Kuming who had been under the care of Mito Uzumaki.

"..."

"No one told me about this!"

"And what the hell is 'wilderness survival'?"

Hearing the assessment criteria, Kuming's mood plummeted. He wasn't ashamed to admit that in all his years, he had never once experienced wilderness survival. This requirement was genuinely difficult for him. Kuming lowered his head slightly, silently calculating how he might pass today's test.

For these three, taijutsu shouldn't be a problem. My training over the years should be more than enough to handle an entrance exam.

Survival shouldn't be an issue either. If I just do what Bear Grylls does and go hungry for three days, I should pass. Surely they don't expect a child this young to survive for weeks, right?

The biggest problem is the shuriken jutsu. I've never practiced that!

Kuming felt a massive headache coming on. He hadn't spent a single day training with shuriken or kunai. In his mind, ninja combat was supposed to be about piloting giant mechs; who in their right mind used shuriken?

Besides, real shuriken were useless against strong opponents, and they were barely effective against fodder.

With that mindset, Kuming hadn't practiced shuriken throwing for even a single day.

Seeing Kuming lost in thought, Shikaichi felt awkward interrupting him. Furthermore, Kuming's distracted attitude made him feel ignored, so he decided not to continue the conversation and quietly walked off to find other friends.

When Kuming finally snapped back to reality, he noticed Shikaichi had left, but he didn't mind. He stood where he was, waiting for the exam to begin. He had already adjusted his mindset; since it was already upon him, there was no point in worrying. He would just do his best.

Not long after, three ninjas wearing headbands appeared on a raised platform in front of the clearing, followed by a middle-aged man draped in a white haori.

"Children, quiet down."

To the side, the ninja who had led the children to the clearing cleared his throat and shouted toward the center of the field. The noisy playground fell silent instantly. Kuming's attention shifted to the ninjas who had suddenly appeared on the platform.

The middle-aged man in the white haori was someone Kuming recognized.

"Lord Hokage!"

Children in the center of the field recognized the man and exclaimed. The cry of "Lord Hokage" echoed across the field; it was clear that Hiruzen Sarutobi was not only well-known among the children but also deeply beloved.

"Haha, good! Very good!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved to acknowledge everyone, his gaze sweeping over the children in the field with a bright smile. His eyes didn't linger on Kuming for even a second, yet Kuming could feel that from the moment Hiruzen appeared, he was being watched.

Who is it? The feeling of being watched made Kuming uncomfortable. He felt a jolt of surprise and immediately activated his Mind's Eye of the Kagura, but he couldn't detect anything unusual.

After scanning the children, Hiruzen Sarutobi began his speech on the platform. It was just like the speeches from the principals at the schools in Kuming's past life: long, tedious, and devoid of substance. Aside from promoting his Will of Fire, he was busy instilling his own values into everyone.

To the other children, Hiruzen's speech was stirring and passionate, and they couldn't wait to become ninjas to inherit the Third Hokage's Will of Fire.

But for Kuming, who had already formed his own values, the Third's speech was quite boring. After all, when it came to grand principles, he probably understood more than the Third did.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's speech lasted nearly 30 minutes. Once he finished, he stepped to the side, leaving the center stage to the academy teachers.

"Students. We will now begin the entrance assessment. Everyone under the age of six, please walk to my left and stand in line. Everyone over the age of eight, please go to my right. Those between six and eight, stand in the center area."

A middle-aged man in a green tactical vest stood in the center of the platform, gesturing to the areas as he ordered the students to form lines according to his instructions.

Soon, the children began to move, and before long, they were standing in their respective zones.

Kuming stood in the under-six zone. There weren't many children in this group—only a dozen or so in total—and they all shared one common trait: their clothes were adorned with the crests of their respective ninja clans.

The area for the 6-8 age group was the most crowded, containing a significant proportion of commoner-born children in addition to the scions of ninja clans.

On the other side, the area for those over eight years old was sparsely populated, consisting mostly of ninja clan children with only a small fraction from commoner backgrounds. Through this simple positioning, Uzumaki Kuming could roughly discern the Hokage's intentions; it was no surprise that the difficulty of the assessment would likely differ between the three groups.

"Next, we will begin the first assessment: Shurikenjutsu."

"To your left are the five-ring targets we have prepared. Hitting the center ring earns five points, with the score decreasing as you move outward, and missing the target entirely results in zero."

"The shooting distance for every student is ten meters, with a total of five throws. A perfect score is 25 points. For the over-eight group, 20 points or more is passing; for the 6-8 age group, 15 points or more is passing; and for the under-six group, 22 points or more is passing."

Kuming listened to the instructor explain the rules with great focus, but he couldn't help but freeze when he heard that the passing requirement for the under-six group was significantly higher than that of the 6-8 age group.

The standard enrollment age for the Ninja Academy is actually around six years old, and this special early enrollment was largely aimed at identifying exceptional ninja talent.

The Academy's intent was quite clear: if you want to enter the Academy early, you must at least be a talented individual with potential; otherwise, you should obediently wait until you are six. This served as both a screening process for students and a form of unconventional protection.

"Uh..."

"Excuse me."

"I would like to ask, if I fail one subject, can I still enter the Academy?"

"Sorry, I have never learned how to use shuriken."

Just as the instructor was about to signal the start of the assessment, a voice interrupted him. The instructor focused his gaze and saw a boy with long red hair in the under-six group raising his right hand, looking at him with an embarrassed expression.

The boy's eyes were as dark and bright as ebony, and his high-bridged nose gave him a touch of heroism even at such a young age. His facial features were well-defined, and though he was still small, his appearance could already be described as handsome. His long red hair was simply tied back, with a few strands of bangs covering his forehead.

Is this child Uzumaki Kuming? The child from Mito-sama's household. The instructor looked toward Kuming, his mind racing as he considered how to answer the question, fully aware of Kuming's identity.

The Hokage's gaze shifted toward the sound of Kuming's voice. This time, he scrutinized Kuming carefully, a faint smile on his face as he felt a flicker of curiosity toward the boy.