Logia

Perhaps unhappy that Sasuke had stolen the spotlight, one boy did something astonishing.

When it was his turn to take the test, he flashed an evil grin, and scorching flames burst into life around him.

A wave of blistering heat surged toward those nearby. Iruka, who was closest, instinctively raised an arm to shield himself from it.

"What is this?" Iruka stared at the sight before him, uncertain.

The examinee was completely engulfed in scorching flames. His figure gradually faded until he slowly turned into fire.

"He turned his whole body into fire?" Iruka's eyes widened. "Is this a ninjutsu or a special Kekkei Genkai? I've never seen an ability like this."

The other examinees taking the test cried out in astonishment. The heat was so intense that they had to back away to escape it.

"That's incredible!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise.

Seeing that he had everyone's attention, the flames that made up the boy grew fiercer and fiercer. They burned more intensely by the moment, seeming ready to spread.

"All right, you've passed the test. Put the flames out!" Iruka shouted. If this continued, the fire might injure the other examinees.

Only then did the boy rein in the flames and return to human form. He wore a smug expression. This time, he'd even outshone Sasuke.

"Your clothes weren't damaged at all? What a remarkable ability," Iruka praised.

"Ueda Shin..." He checked the roster and read out the boy's name. "Born to a civilian family, with no ninja among his ancestors. And no inherited Kekkei Genkai. How did he suddenly master an ability like this?"

As Iruka reviewed the boy's file, questions filled his mind. But he would have to find the answers later. For now, he needed to continue the test. He gave Ueda Shin a perfect score.

The boy was satisfied with the attention he'd drawn. He returned to the group and basked in everyone's praise.

Turning his entire body into fire at such a young age... Ito Makoto realized that this boy was probably a Transmigrator too.

There were abilities like this in the ninja world. The Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique, for instance, allowed them to turn their entire bodies into water. But such techniques were difficult to master. To turn one's whole body into fire at the age of three was nothing short of genius. Besides, techniques like these were usually secret arts, closely guarded by a ninja clan. An ordinary person had no chance of learning one.

Ueda Shin came from a civilian family, so he had even less chance of learning such an advanced technique. Aside from the possibility that he was a Transmigrator, Ito Makoto could think of no other explanation.

And that ability to control fire looked exactly like the Logia Fruit powers from another anime.

It seemed that Transmigrators who had come to this world might not all have gained special abilities through sheer chance, as he had. Some of them might have systems—existences that defied the rules.

Ito Makoto raised his assessment of the threat posed by Transmigrators another notch.

With Ueda Shin as a comparison, the tests that followed seemed rather uneventful. A few older examinees tried to cheat by hiding specially made lights in their sleeves, hoping to pass them off as chakra. Naturally, they were quickly found out and thrown out of the testing grounds.

The second test was a physical fitness test, and its main event was running.

A ninja's abilities all came from the body. If they were physically unfit and often ill, then no matter how powerful their ninjutsu was, they couldn't make use of it.

Once their chakra had been activated, even children could run more than ten kilometers. Ten kilometers was the Ninja Academy's minimum requirement.

Even ordinary adults would find ten kilometers difficult. Without chakra to support them, ordinary young children couldn't manage it at all.

This simple method was enough to weed out the students who weren't up to standard.

The test was run in groups of ten, with the same standard for boys and girls. After all, no one on a battlefield would go easy on you because of your gender. You either had what it took or you didn't. There was no room for carelessness.

Since Ito Makoto and Sakura were scheduled close together, they ended up in the same group.

Ten kilometers was child's play for him. He'd trained with Might Guy every day for more than a year, and now he could meet the goal Might Guy had set for himself at age five: running five hundred laps around the Ninja Academy track without stopping—two hundred kilometers.

It wasn't difficult for Sakura either. With his guidance, she wasn't exactly progressing quickly, but she was certainly learning much faster than she would have by figuring things out on her own. In the original story, Sakura had passed the test with no trouble. She would certainly manage it now.

He could easily have come first, but Ito Makoto had resolved to keep a low profile and refused to draw attention to himself. He simply stayed behind Sakura and reminded her to keep a steady pace.

In the end, Sakura came first in their group. Ito Makoto placed second. Second place didn't stand out in the testing grounds. Each group had ten people, and Iruka alone was in charge of eight groups. Every group had a first- and second-place finisher.

Yet after the test was over, Sakura was very unhappy.

"Honestly, A-Cheng, you're much stronger than me. Why did you stay behind me?"

"Come on, you passed, didn't you?" Ito Makoto said with a grin. "It was just a test. Why take it so seriously?"

Seeing his carefree attitude, Sakura turned away with a huff.

"Honestly, you make it seem as if I cheated to get my score."

Ito Makoto scratched his head. He hadn't thought of that. All he could do was laugh sheepishly.

Their group's test had gone smoothly, but the next few groups were a different story.

As expected, Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke were placed in the same group. Their physical abilities were surprisingly evenly matched. They pushed each other as if they were natural rivals, crossing the finish line almost neck and neck.

Ueda Shin put on another impressive display. He turned his lower body into flames and flew the whole way, leaving every other examinee behind.

The Ninja Academy's running test didn't prohibit the use of ninjutsu. Techniques such as the Body Flicker Technique were allowed, and Ueda Shin's flames were considered a kind of ninjutsu, so he hadn't broken any rules.

When it was Senju Kotoha's turn, the scene was different again. As she ran, she seemed no different from an ordinary person, except that she was far faster than everyone else. But thanks to his keen senses, Ito Makoto noticed that Senju Kotoha was using Natural Energy as she ran.

Ito Makoto had mastered Senjutsu with the help of the Sage of Six Paths, so Natural Energy was no stranger to him. He hadn't made much progress, but he had kept up his Senjutsu training throughout the past year.