Family Power, Bloodline!

Seeing the gazes of the Third Hokage and the academy teacher turn toward him simultaneously, a slightly awkward expression appeared on Kuming's face.

"This person hasn't even learned shurikenjutsu? He came to participate in early enrollment without even learning how to throw a shuriken?"

"It's truly embarrassing, having to take the test alongside someone like this."

The Third Hokage and the teacher remained silent for a moment, but the students had already begun to whisper among themselves, with the most vocal being the children from the same area as Kuming.

They all hailed from various ninja clans, some even possessing long-standing Kekkei Genkai. In their families, they had begun practicing with shuriken as far back as they could remember. Furthermore, this area was designated for those under six years old, meaning everyone present was a candidate for early enrollment—each one a talented scion of their respective clan.

"Ahem!" Seeing the academy teacher delay in responding to Kuming, the Third Hokage gave a light cough to prompt him.

The academy teacher, realizing his lapse, immediately cleared his throat and said:

"If your shurikenjutsu is not up to standard, then this entrance exam will be considered a failure."

"The foundation for passing the assessment is that all three subjects must be qualified; the academy selects for well-rounded individuals."

Although Kuming had been prepared, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment upon hearing the teacher's words. It was true that the academy sought well-rounded ninjas, but such a criteria often overlooked geniuses with unique, specialized talents. Guy and Lee, who would appear later, were the best examples of this.

"It seems that to pass this shuriken test, I'll have to use some tricks."

Kuming said nothing more, silently bowing his head to contemplate a way to pass the assessment. Seeing that Kuming had ceased speaking, the teacher nodded and began calling names from the list.

"Then let us start with the oldest. Hizashi Hyuga, you go first."

As the academy teacher's voice fell, a boy stepped out from the area reserved for those over eight years old; his height was noticeably taller than the others.

"Hizashi Hyuga, 11 years old. Let's start the shuriken assessment with you!"

The teacher looked at the information regarding Hizashi Hyuga in his hand, feeling a sense of surprise.

A child of this age shouldn't typically appear in the queue for the academy entrance exam. His presence on this list suggested that Hizashi Hyuga had been receiving education within his clan until now.

Children from ordinary families were usually sent to the academy by the age of seven or eight, and talented students from the previous generation, like Minato Namikaze, had already graduated and become genin by this age.

It was easy to imagine that if the Great War were not on the verge of breaking out, the Hyuga clan would never have sent this child to the academy.

"Yes!" Hizashi Hyuga's appearance bore a slight resemblance to a young Neji, though the similarity was difficult to discern without close inspection. It was evident that Neji's future appearance would likely inherit more from his mother.

Hearing the name, Kuming couldn't help but crane his neck, curious to catch a glimpse of this young Hizashi. Kuming was quite keen to meet this man known for his deep sense of loyalty.

"Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip!"

Stepping out of the queue and into the center of the field, Hizashi drew five shuriken from the ninja tool pouch at his lower back. Without any discernible hesitation, he casually launched the shuriken in his hand toward the target.

The sound of metal piercing wood rang out in rapid succession; all five shuriken had struck the bullseye with steady precision.

"Amazing! He threw all five shuriken at once, and they all hit the bullseye."

"Hiss—so impressive! As expected of someone from the Hyuga clan!"

Exclamations from the students rose one after another, and the Third Hokage nodded with a smile, clearly satisfied with Hizashi Hyuga's level of skill.

"Well done, five hits, excellent!"

"Hizashi Hyuga, provisionally assigned to the fifth-grade class, Class A."

As previously mentioned, academy classes were divided by grade and tier. The fifth grade was where most 11-year-olds studied, and Class A was the most elite class for that age group, typically composed of children from ninja clans.

"Truly impressive. To have this level of shuriken ability at this age."

Seeing Hizashi's performance, Uzumaki Kuming was also somewhat surprised. The Hyuga clan was a traditional ninja clan that combined taijutsu with the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, and the family's educational focus for their children should have been biased toward taijutsu. Hizashi's level of shurikenjutsu at this age was inseparable from his own diligent training.

Following Hizashi Hyuga, the children from the oldest group began their tests one after another. Overall, quite a few 10-year-olds were able to hit the bullseye with all five shots, but most of them threw them one by one. Although their scores were also "excellent" like Hizashi's, there was still a gap between their excellence and his.

"Some people score 100 because their ability is only 100, while others score 100 because the test is only worth 100."

Undoubtedly, Hizashi Hyuga scored 100 because the test was only worth 100.

Not long after, the students from the over-eight group had all completed their tests. Among so many children, not a single one failed. Clearly, as a fundamental skill for a ninja, everyone took shurikenjutsu very seriously; there were no stragglers.

"Very good. Next, we will proceed with the assessment for the six-to-eight-year-old group."

As the teacher announced the start of the second group, Uzumaki Kuming withdrew his gaze and began to adjust his state of mind. Truth be told, even though it was just an ordinary entrance exam, Kuming still felt himself growing a bit nervous.

Before long, the second group's testing concluded. Compared to the results of the first group, the performance of the 6-8 age group was somewhat lackluster; many failed to meet the academy's assessment standards and were eliminated early. Among these eliminated children, those from commoner families without clan crests made up the vast majority.

There were also many eliminated children who scored zero, clearly having never undergone any shurikenjutsu training. These "zero-ring" contestants drew mockery from some of the children of the ninja clans.

Watching those children retreat with flushed little faces, Kuming felt a sense of melancholy.

In this world of ninjas, the advantages of birth, family background, and bloodline were pushed to the extreme. No matter how hard children from ordinary families worked, they could never catch up to the children of bloodline clans. The rare, super-talented commoners were simply too few and far between.

Looking across the seven generations of Hokage in Konoha, Minato was arguably the only one from a truly commoner background. But even with talent as formidable as Minato's, it was debatable whether he could have become Hokage without Jiraiya.

Not to mention that after Minato began his relationship with Kushina, he learned the sealing techniques passed down through generations of the Uzumaki Clan. Without these, Minato alone, relying solely on the Flying Thunder God, could not have resolved the Nine-Tails Incident.

"It's hard for a commoner to get ahead~"

Kuming was still lost in his reflections when the assessment reached their group—the under-sixes. This group was the center of attention, as these children were the ones selected for early enrollment. Their talents would be revealed before the Hokage himself. If they could gain the Hokage's favor, their ninja career would become exceptionally smooth.

"Uzumaki Kuming, you're first!"

The academy teacher called Kuming's name with an expressionless face, then pointed to the target on the side, signaling for Kuming to step out for the assessment. He had no expectations for Kuming; after all, Kuming himself had admitted he hadn't undergone shuriken training—it would be a miracle if he could pass.

However, the Third Hokage watched Kuming with great interest, waiting for him to begin the assessment.

"This child, has he grown this much already..."

"Since Mito-sama personally arranged for him to come, he can't possibly be just a hollow shell."

Kuming had a striking appearance, and even standing in a crowd, he was very eye-catching. The Third Hokage was not immune to human nature; judging by appearances, he felt that Kuming shouldn't be too bad.

"This old man's gaze is so intense~ I hope he doesn't have any strange hobbies."