The lavish lineup of judges for the Ninja Academy entrance exam took all the parents by surprise. The heads of several of the village's great clans had all come to serve as judges, and even the Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was personally taking part as an examiner.
The arrangements had everyone buzzing with excitement.
The exam sent a clear message: Konoha's leadership placed great importance on the Ninja Academy entrance exams. For the children's parents, that was certainly good news.
Once word got out, some ninja clans that had planned to educate their children themselves might even change their plans and send them to the academy instead.
But none of that had anything to do with the children taking the exam. All they knew was that their examiner was the Hokage!
"Whoa! The Hokage himself is examining us!"
"Yoshi! I'm going to do my very best in front of the Hokage!"
The children were still young, but the word "Hokage" had long been etched into every one of their minds. At that age, their admiration for heroes was completely pure!
"Hello, everyone. I'm Minato Namikaze, your examiner for today."
"I hope you all work hard and show us what you're capable of."
"I'm looking forward to fighting you."
Even with children, Minato carried himself with humility. His gentle encouragement captivated them all, and his warm, refined presence left a deep impression on their young hearts.
"The exam will be scored by three judges."
"You'll be graded in three areas: Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and tactical thinking!"
"Each category is worth one hundred points, for a total of three hundred."
"Do your best!"
After Minato finished speaking, Iruka promptly explained the exam format. Then he took the list from earlier out of his hands, waved it lightly, and continued:
"The order of the exams