The Third Assessment!

When Uzumaki Kuming finished his two Ninja Academy assessments and walked out the main gate, Kushina and Minato, who were sitting by the entrance chatting, did not notice him coming out right away.

Instead, it was Nara Shikaku, who had been chatting with Sarutobi Kotaro on the other side, who saw his younger brother, Shikaichi, following behind Uzumaki Kuming as he exited the school.

"Shikaichi! Over here!"

Most of the parents waiting at the school gate were those of children under eight; the older students taking the assessments generally returned home on their own. Consequently, there were not many parents waiting at the gate.

Nara Shikaku's shout drew the attention of all the parents present. Those who had been waiting for a long time stood up one after another, craning their necks to search for their children among the crowd. His shout also alerted Kushina and Minato, who were deep in conversation, that school had let out.

"Did Kuming come out? I wonder how he did. He shouldn't have any problems, right?"

Uzumaki Kushina sprang up from the ground and scanned the children emerging from the school. Kuming's bright red hair was far too easy to spot, and she found him in the crowd instantly.

"Kuming! Over here!" Kushina was not very old, but her voice was quite loud, easily drowning out many of the other parents.

"Oh, Nee-chan!"

Kuming had only just stepped out of the school when he heard Kushina's call. He trotted over to her side and greeted her affectionately.

"How was it? The exam?" As expected, Kushina was like most parents; the first thing she asked her younger brother was about his performance.

"Easy."

"An exam of that level is nothing to me."

While Kuming was busy boasting to his sister, the other children were reporting their own results to their parents. Soon, many parents turned their gazes toward Kuming as he talked with Kushina. Many of the students' parents were ninjas, and once they learned what had happened inside the academy, they were filled with curiosity about Kuming.

"As expected of someone personally trained by Lady Mito. To think he could actually take down Jiudai."

"That strength, comparable to an adult's, must be the Strength of a Hundred."

"I never imagined such a young child would have already mastered such advanced chakra application techniques."

"What a terrifying little brat!"

By this time, Nara Shikaichi, who had come out of the school, had already met up with his older brother, Nara Shikaku. Upon seeing Shikaku, Shikaichi immediately told his brother about Kuming, his words filled with admiration.

Among this group of children, many who had witnessed Kuming's strength were afraid of him, but there were also many who idolized him; the tendency to admire the strong exists at every age.

From Nara Shikaichi's description, Nara Shikaku gathered a great deal of information about Uzumaki Kuming, and he immediately formed a judgment regarding the taijutsu Kuming had used.

In Konoha, the only people who possessed the Strength of a Hundred were the wife of the First Hokage and her granddaughter, Tsunade. Tsunade, who was currently active in the village, was famous precisely for her terrifying strength and her outstanding medical ninjutsu. Even among jonin, Tsunade was a formidable female ninja.

As a teenager, Nara Shikaku was clearly acquainted with Tsunade and familiar with the characteristics of her ninjutsu. It was precisely because he understood the Strength of a Hundred that he knew that simply having someone teach it was not enough to master the technique.

Do not be fooled by the vast collection of secret techniques and ninjutsu in Konoha; the number of techniques ninjas of various levels can actually learn is extremely limited. A typical genin who can master a single B-rank technique is considered excellent, and those who are a bit weaker struggle even with C-rank techniques.

An average chunin can usually master only one or two B-rank techniques, and it is rare for them to master more than five; they wouldn't even dare to dream of A-rank techniques.

Those who can proficiently master and use B-rank techniques, and perhaps even possess an A-rank technique as a trump card, are generally jonin, or perhaps even elite jonin.

As for ninjas who possess S-rank techniques, relying on the power of such a technique, they can often touch the threshold of the Kage level.

As mentioned before, Konoha's repository of ninjutsu is vast, and the variety of elemental techniques is rich, but the techniques a ninja can master are limited by their level. The reason for this is not that the Hokage hides various techniques to prevent people from learning them, but rather that, given average talent, there are only so many techniques one can actually learn.

Not everyone is a Minato or a Kakashi capable of developing their own ninjutsu, and not everyone is a Naruto or a Sasuke capable of learning the Rasengan or Chidori in a few days; these things require talent.

Look at Shizune; as the younger sister of Dan Katō, having followed Tsunade for so many years, has she learned the Yin Seal or the Strength of a Hundred? It is not that Tsunade refuses to teach her, but that Shizune lacks the aptitude to learn them.

For so many years, aside from Tsunade and Mito, Konoha has not had a second ninja capable of using the Strength of a Hundred. It is not because Tsunade or Uzumaki Mito were hoarding their knowledge, but because most people simply lack the talent.

The conversation between Nara Shikaichi and his brother reached the ears of Sarutobi Kotaro nearby. As the eldest son of the Third Hokage, he also took an interest in Uzumaki Kuming. He understood the Strength of a Hundred even better than Nara Shikaku and was clearer on just how difficult it was to learn.

Sarutobi Kotaro was currently in the same squad as Kushina and Minato. Before joining the squad, he already knew who his teammates would be; his father, the Hokage, had privately told him about the genin groupings. Being arranged into a squad with Minato and Kushina meant that Sarutobi Kotaro was actually carrying out a mission.

"Let's go, let's head home!" In the distance, after asking Kuming a few questions, Kushina intended to take him home. Watching the backs of Kushina and Minato as they led Kuming away, a thoughtful expression appeared on Sarutobi Kotaro's face.

Not long after Kuming and the others left, the other parents also left the school one after another. They needed to make preparations for their children; after all, tomorrow was the final assessment, and many parents were planning to put their children through some intensive training.

The sun set.

At dusk, Kushina held Kuming's hand and reluctantly said goodbye to Minato in front of the Uzumaki Clan compound. Ever since that incident, the precocious Kushina had harbored special feelings for Minato, and with their assignment to the same genin squad, their relationship seemed to be warming up.

"Minato, see you tomorrow!" At the gate of the compound, Kushina's face was slightly flushed as she said goodbye to Minato.

"Kushina, see you tomorrow then." Minato smiled, watching Kushina as he spoke. Although he said goodbye, Kuming could not see any intention on Minato's part to leave. Kushina was the same; even though they had reached the gate, stepping inside seemed like a monumental task.

"I can't take it..." Kuming looked at Kushina and Minato. He hadn't even had dinner yet, but he felt full. After pulling his hand away from Kushina's, he walked into the compound on his own.

He was not a genin comrade with nothing to do; he still had many things to attend to.

At night, in the Uzumaki family study, Kuming sat on his knees before the desk. Three specially made small, blank scrolls were laid out, and beside them were several bamboo tubes and a number of Military Ration Pills. The bamboo tubes were newly made and filled with fresh water.

Kuming was preparing for the final wilderness survival assessment. He intended to use the three small, blank, specially made scrolls to draw storage seals. The scrolls were very small and could easily fit into a ninja tool pouch.

"A Ninja Academy entrance exam that actually includes wilderness survival, and a week-long one at that? I don't believe those kids will be able to pass."

Kuming muttered to himself while picking up a brush from the desk to begin drawing the seals on the scrolls. He had originally thought the so-called wilderness survival would only last a day or two; if that were the case, he would just need to channel his inner Bear Grylls and starve from start to finish. But today, he learned from the teacher that the survival test would last a full week.

This forced Kuming to make some preparations. After all, he had no experience with wilderness survival, and he couldn't survive a week on hunger alone. Therefore, he needed to store some supplies in advance to prevent himself from falling into an embarrassing situation.

Most of the ninjutsu Kuming currently mastered came from the Uzumaki Clan's sealing arts, and he was already very proficient in drawing basic storage scrolls and some explosive tag seals. Aside from that, the only formal ninjutsu Kuming had mastered were the basic Three Body Technique and the Shadow Clone.

Kuming had put a great deal of effort into learning the Shadow Clone, specifically to use its properties to accelerate his study of sealing arts. As for his other skills, apart from the taijutsu he had been practicing all along, he only had some high-level chakra application techniques. The Strength of a Hundred and the Yin Seal were the fruits of his years of training.

It is just that the Yin Seal currently has no way to truly exert its effect.

As for his innate Mind's Eye, its range is currently only about 50 meters; compared to other children of the same age, this can already be called terrifying, but when compared to the Bloodline Limit of the Hyuga clan, there is still something of a gap.

"Relying on my current abilities, provided that my food reserves are plentiful! There shouldn't be any problems."

Very quickly, the three scrolls on the desk were all finished being drawn. Kuming placed the Military Ration Pills and fresh water evenly across the three scrolls, and after forming hand seals, these items vanished from the desk.

"This should be sufficient." Having finished all of this, Uzumaki Kuming placed the three scrolls into his Ninja Tool Pouch and walked out of the dark room.

The night passed without incident.