Entrance Exam

After devoting all his energy to improving his strength, life became quiet and ordinary. Although every day was exhausting, Ito Makoto felt that his life was more fulfilling now than before.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed.

Ito Makoto and Sakura had reached the day of the Ninja Academy entrance exam.

"Xiao Cheng, are you ready?" Mika called to Ito Makoto from the living room.

Today was the day of the Ninja Academy entrance exam. She had specifically taken leave from the hospital to accompany her child and complete the enrollment procedures.

"I'm ready."

Ito Makoto came out of his room wearing a black tracksuit and sunglasses.

Mika looked at his outfit and said with displeasure,

"Honestly, you're still a child. Why do you always like wearing sunglasses?"

Ito Makoto was at a loss too. He didn't like wearing sunglasses either; they obstructed his vision too much.

But he couldn't reveal his Sharingan yet. At the Ninja Academy entrance exam, there might be ninjas using techniques he hadn't learned. If he wanted to copy their techniques with his Sharingan, he would need the sunglasses to conceal it.

Seeing that Ito Makoto was ready, and that it was time to leave, Mika led him out of the house. They met up with Haruno Mebuki and Sakura, then headed to the Ninja Academy together.

Along the way, Sakura seemed extremely nervous. Even the way she walked looked stiff.

Ito Makoto couldn't help reassuring her,

"Sakura, it's okay. The Ninja Academy entrance exam is really simple. As long as you can extract chakra, you're guaranteed to pass. You managed to extract chakra half a year ago, so passing the exam will be a piece of cake."

"A-Cheng, I know." After hearing his explanation, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She was still on edge, but the stiffness had disappeared.

"Relax, relax. It'll be fine." Ito Makoto smiled. "But, Sakura, you used to call me Brother Xiao Cheng. Why did you suddenly start calling me A-Cheng a while ago?"

Sakura's face flushed red.

"Because you're always running around in that green jumpsuit with a perverted old man."

"Hey, hey, Sakura, I'm not running around. I'm training!" Ito Makoto hurried to explain. The thing he'd feared had happened after all. He didn't want people thinking he was a pervert.

"The green jumpsuit is a necessary part of training Taijutsu with that perverted old man. I mean—he's not a pervert. You have to know, he's Might Guy, a legendary figure in the world of Taijutsu."

"A legendary figure? I've never heard of him."

Sakura clearly didn't believe him. As she got older, she was becoming harder and harder to fool.

"The current Ninja Academy entrance exam has something to do with his father," Ito Makoto began explaining the history, trying to prove himself.

"Back then, the Ninja Academy wouldn't admit anyone who couldn't perform a ninjutsu during the entrance exam. Might Guy, the green-jumpsuit guy, and his father, Might Duy, were both unable to use ninjutsu."

"But they both showed exceptional skill in Taijutsu, so the Ninja Academy made an exception and let them enroll. After that, Might Duy went on to take on seven opponents by himself and kill four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Land of Water. You have to understand, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were the elite fighting force of Kirigakure, one of the great nations."

"After that, the Ninja Academy realized that even if someone only knew Taijutsu, they could still be a powerful ninja. So the academy scrapped the rule that students had to know ninjutsu to enroll. Now, as long as they meet the physical requirements and can extract chakra, they can enroll."

"So that's how it is." Sakura nodded. "But what does that have to do with you wearing a green jumpsuit?"

Honestly, nothing. Might Guy had never explicitly said he wouldn't teach him Taijutsu unless he wore the jumpsuit. But the mood had been right, and Ito Makoto had wanted to show his sincerity and get closer to Might Guy, so he'd felt he had to wear it.

Ito Makoto suddenly found himself at a loss for words. For some reason, Sakura had been getting harder and harder to fool lately. She used to be so adorable.

"That was a great explanation. Even I hadn't heard any of that before. I wonder where you learned it, Xiao Cheng," Mika suddenly interjected.

Come on, Mom, don't make things worse right now. Ito Makoto glared resentfully at the smiling Mika. His mother was getting cheekier too, always looking for a chance to tease him.

He'd deduced it from the original story. How could a ninja village casually make this kind of specific political history public? He couldn't guarantee that every detail was right, but he was pretty sure he was close. He hadn't expected his mother to undermine him so directly.

"Even Aunt Mika doesn't know about it. How do you know? You really were lying to me, you little liar, A-Cheng!" Sakura said indignantly. Compared with Ito Makoto, of course she trusted Mika, an adult, more.

This was bad. If things went on like this, Sakura really would start thinking he was a pervert.

Ito Makoto kept explaining, trying to change Sakura's negative opinion of him, but only made things worse.

Mika and Mebuki watched the two of them interact with amused smiles. They both enjoyed the show.

After bickering all the way there, the group arrived at the Ninja Academy before they knew it.

Although Ito Makoto had become a pervert in Sakura's eyes during that short walk, Sakura had indeed stopped feeling nervous. She was completely relaxed.

At that moment, thousands of people had gathered outside the Ninja Academy, crowding the entrance.

The Ninja Academy held its entrance exams once a year, admitting several hundred children of the appropriate age each time.

Now, there were over a thousand children alone outside the Ninja Academy. Including the parents who had accompanied them, several thousand people crowded in front of the school gates.

"There are just as many people taking the exam this year!" Mika said with a sigh as she looked at the sea of people.

"There's nothing we can do. This is the only chance people in Konoha Hidden Village have to change their fate. Ordinary people like us would never pass it up." Haruno Mebuki had seen scenes like this many times.

She had taken the same exam when she was young, but unfortunately, she hadn't passed.

In Konoha Hidden Village, ninja missions were the village's main source of income, and every industry revolved around the ninja. That was why ninja held the highest status and earned the most. In the eyes of ordinary people, ninja were already great figures far above them.

The group waited outside for a while, until the scheduled time for the entrance exam arrived.

The Ninja Academy gates opened, and more than twenty ninja walked out.

"Quiet!" the leading ninja shouted into a megaphone, his voice carrying across the entire grounds.

The grounds fell silent at once.

The leading ninja took out a notebook and announced into the megaphone,

"I'm going to read out the candidates' names. Children who hear their names, come stand in front of me."

"Doma Taiga—"

As the names were called one by one, the candidates left the crowd and stood in front of the leading ninja. He called out seventy or eighty names before stopping.

He handed the megaphone to another ninja, then led a group of candidates into the school.

In this way, groups of candidates entered the exam rooms to take the test.

It was only after half the candidates had entered the exam rooms that Ito Makoto finally heard his and Sakura's names. Since they had registered together, their names were listed one after the other.