The Tallest Tree Catches the Wind!

"Uzumaki Kuming, begin!"

At the teacher's urging, Kuming walked to the designated spot. But just as he took his place and prepared to begin the test, he realized something important.

He hadn't brought any shuriken with him...

"Sorry, teacher, I don't have any shuriken."

Kuming looked at the teacher sheepishly. He genuinely hadn't known that today's test would include shuriken. He still had a few kunai, but shuriken? Sorry, he didn't have any.

"Uh..."

"Student, it seems you're not quite ready to become a ninja yet!"

The Ninja Academy teacher reached behind his waist. Though he said that, he still handed Kuming his weapons pouch.

"Go ahead."

After handing the pouch to Uzumaki Kuming, the teacher pointed toward the targets and urged him on.

"Okay."

Uzumaki Kuming answered and awkwardly fished a shuriken out of the pouch. After counting out five, he returned the pouch to the teacher and looked toward the targets.

Because of the Yin Seal, I should use as little Chakra as possible.

Using too much Chakra might destabilize the seal's structure. Grandma Mito isn't here to reinforce it for me.

A faint, pale-blue diamond mark shimmered on Uzumaki Kuming's forehead. It was hard to make out in the sunlight, but the diamond mark was definitely there. A year ago, with Uzumaki Mito's help, Kuming had completed the construction of the Yin Seal. He had been storing Chakra in it for almost a year now.

For some reason, though, even after pouring a tremendous amount of Chakra into it over the past year, the Yin Seal still only appeared faintly. According to Uzumaki Mito, Kuming's Yin Seal was exceptionally large and sturdy, and it required an enormous amount of Chakra.

It was precisely because Uzumaki Kuming's Yin Seal was so stable that, unlike Sakura while she was learning the technique, he didn't have to refrain from using ninjutsu while storing Chakra in the seal. Kuming could still draw on some of his Chakra without affecting what was stored in it.

However, he had to carefully control how much Chakra he used. If he went over the limit, all his efforts would be wasted.

I wonder how many Ka of Chakra I have now. Using one Ka shouldn't be a problem... (Note: Ka—a unit of Chakra. One Ka equals the full Chakra reserves of Kakashi, an elite Jonin!)

Kuming focused on controlling his Chakra. As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, he had an enormous reserve, and that much Chakra was already difficult to control. Making sure he didn't affect the Yin Seal on top of that was a real challenge.

"Uzumaki Kuming, hurry up." Seeing that Kuming still hadn't moved, the teacher couldn't help urging him on.

The moment the teacher called out, Kuming picked up a shuriken and flicked it toward the target. It flew so fast that the naked eye could no longer follow its path.

"Zzz..."

"BOOM!!!!!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi heard a crackle of electricity, then a tremendous crash came from the direction of the targets. A moment later, an extremely powerful gust of wind roared toward them, making even the Third Hokage squint.

The children around the field had it even worse. They raised their arms to shield their faces and braced themselves, trying not to get swept away by the fierce wind. Several frail-looking children were knocked off their feet and rolled over a few times.

"What happened?" After a while, the powerful gust gradually died down. The Ninja Academy teacher stared at the huge crater in the distance, too stunned to speak. The target had vanished, and the area within four or five meters of it had become a crater about a meter deep.

I missed. I actually missed the target.

Kuming knew that the shuriken he'd just thrown, with some Chakra mixed into it, hadn't hit the target at all. It had flown wide and struck the ground instead. He'd meant to use his Chakra control to manipulate the shuriken's trajectory from a distance.

But, as a first attempt, he clearly hadn't succeeded.

"What was that? That was terrifying!"

"Was that really a shuriken? It was even stronger than some Fire Style techniques!"

The children slowly came to their senses and began chattering excitedly. They now looked at Kuming with fear.

As far as they were concerned, Kuming was nothing less than a dangerous menace.

"This..." Staring at the crater in the distance, the teacher in charge of judging the test didn't know what to say. Kuming had caused that much destruction with his very first shuriken, and the teacher was beginning to think he shouldn't let him continue.

"Uzumaki Kuming, this test is to assess your Shurikenjutsu. You're not allowed to use Chakra. You know you broke the rules, right?"

The teacher spoke sternly, but his expression was that of someone who'd just found a treasure. The Third Hokage didn't say anything, but he looked at Kuming with even greater interest.

No matter what method Uzumaki Kuming had used to cause such terrifying destruction, there was one thing the Third Hokage could now confirm.

Uzumaki Kuming was a genius! And he had no clan backing in the village.

"Uh..."

"Sorry, I didn't know."

Kuming had known from the start that the shuriken he threw would cause such destruction. He'd intended to attract the Third Hokage's attention; whether the shuriken hit the target didn't matter to him. Judging by the Third Hokage's expression, Kuming knew his plan had probably worked.

"Ha ha, Teacher Jiudai, it's all right."

"It's normal for children not to know better. Let Uzumaki Kuming pass."

"After all, he destroyed the target. You could say he deserves full marks."

"Let's tentatively assign him to Class 1-A."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and raised a hand to stop Jiudai from reprimanding Kuming further. In his eyes, with Uzumaki Kuming's terrifying destructive power, getting into the Ninja Academy was no longer a problem.

Hiruzen had noticed that Kuming had missed the target, but to him, that was a minor issue. When the Ninja Academy selected students, potential mattered most.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Jiudai bowed slightly in acknowledgment, then said to Kuming:

"You don't need to throw the remaining shuriken!"

Afterward, Jiudai announced to everyone, "Uzumaki Kuming, outstanding! Provisional class: Class 1-A!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiudai waved for Kuming to return to the lineup.

"Heh heh!" A smile spread across Uzumaki Kuming's face. Now that he'd passed the shuriken test, he had nothing to worry about in the remaining events. After all, in terms of individual strength, there shouldn't be anyone among the children present who could beat him. Kuming was very confident about that.

Not long after Kuming returned to the lineup, a masked ninja quietly slipped away from the shadows. Kuming didn't notice the departure, but the Third Hokage seemed to sense it and glanced in the direction the ninja had gone.

"There sure are a lot of people keeping an eye on the Uzumaki child."

The Third Hokage thought to himself, then smiled and paid it no more mind. Now that Uzumaki Kuming had enrolled in the Ninja Academy, it wouldn't be long before the boy bore the mark of the Third Hokage!