Entrance

Over the past year, Ito Makoto had made almost no progress in Senjutsu.

Under the Sage of Six Paths' guidance, he had learned to sense Natural Energy and reached the threshold of Sage Mode. But he absorbed Natural Energy extremely slowly, managing only about as much as Naruto Uzumaki had when training in Mount Myoboku's Sage Mode. Entering Sage Mode required a long period of preparation and complete stillness, and he could maintain it for only five minutes.

He couldn't enter Sage Mode instantly like Senju Hashirama.

The only training method Ito Makoto could think of was the one used at Mount Myoboku: remain still and keep working on sensing and absorbing Natural Energy.

But Senju Kotoha before him had gone beyond anything he'd imagined. She had absorbed Natural Energy while moving, then used it to strengthen her body. That was nearly impossible with ordinary Sage Mode.

Sage Mode was a special state in which a ninja absorbed Natural Energy from the surrounding world while still, mixed it with chakra, and formed Senjutsu Chakra.

In the ninja world, the toads of Mount Myoboku had stated clearly that stillness was required to activate Sage Mode. As for the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave, Kabuto had hidden inside a snake's body before activating it, which showed that it, too, required stillness.

Senju Hashirama's Sage Mode was fast to activate, but even he had to remain still for a brief moment beforehand.

In other words, ordinary Sage Mode couldn't be activated without stillness. The Six Paths mode gained by absorbing the Ten-Tails was an exception, but it belonged to an entirely different level of power.

Yet Senju Kotoha's method went beyond the common knowledge of this world.

How had she done it? Could it be the system again? Ito Makoto was full of questions. If Senju Kotoha hadn't been a Transmigrator, he would have wanted to ask her about it. Unfortunately, revealing his identity now would be far too risky.

I'll have to keep a closer eye on Senju Kotoha from now on. He made up his mind.

When it was Yamanaka Masami's turn, nothing unusual happened. She completed the running test without a hitch. Ito Makoto couldn't see any special power in her, either; neither the Sharingan nor the Rinnegan detected anything out of the ordinary.

He didn't let his guard down around Yamanaka Masami. Maybe she was like him, a Transmigrator who had hidden her abilities extremely well.

After several rounds of tests, the ninja entrance exam ended smoothly. Just as expected, all the main and supporting characters from the original story passed. The three suspected Transmigrators passed as well.

Iruka had led a total of eighty students. In the end, only twenty-seven were admitted.

Iruka explained the next day's start time and the class schedule, and the exam came to a smooth end.

I left the Ninja Academy with Sakura. Our mothers were waiting at the school gate.

"How did it go?" Haruno Mebuki asked urgently. Mika had kept reassuring her that everything would be fine, but this was about her daughter's future, so she was still extremely nervous.

"No problem. We both passed!" Sakura said with a grin, flashing a V sign.

"That's wonderful." Haruno Mebuki let out a sigh of relief. "We really have Xiao Cheng to thank for helping this time."

"It was nothing, Aunt Mebuki. You don't have to thank me." Ito Makoto looked a little embarrassed.

"So whose score was better, Xiao Cheng's or Sakura's?" Mika asked, wearing a slightly mischievous smile.

"Hehe, A-Cheng's test score was worse than mine!" Sakura suddenly blurted out. "I ranked ahead of him."

"So Xiao Cheng scored lower than Sakura. Looks like Sakura has surpassed him. Xiao Cheng, you'll have to ask Sakura for help from now on." Mika smiled.

"Mom, how can you say that? I was just holding back."

"It was only a test. Who would be silly enough to hold back?" Mika pretended not to understand. She knew her son well and had guessed he'd get a middling score. No matter what, she was going to seize the chance to tease him. With such talent, he might otherwise get too full of himself.

We started home. Along the way, Ito Makoto kept going on about things no one understood, like the Way of the Dog and saving his strength for a trump card. Mika laughed the whole way, and the air was filled with cheer.

To celebrate Ito Makoto and Sakura passing the exam, Haruno Mebuki and Mika teamed up to make a feast.

Ito Makoto finally let himself relax for once and didn't continue training in ninjutsu. Over the past year, he had immersed himself in training. Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, and Senjutsu had filled every moment of his time, leaving him mentally exhausted. He took this chance to unwind properly.

Early the next morning, Sakura and Ito Makoto shouldered their schoolbags and set off for their first day at the Ninja Academy. Since Mika had to work at the hospital, Haruno Mebuki took them to school.

The two tried to refuse, but both mothers shut them down at once.

Before leaving home, Ito Makoto deliberately created a Shadow Clone and left it behind to practice Genjutsu.

He could have sent the Shadow Clone to school in his place, but once its chakra ran out, it would disappear.

Besides, the school was full of rowdy kids, and there was no telling whether it might get hurt. If the Shadow Clone's secret got out, he would go from an unremarkable nobody to a so-called genius ninja in an instant, drawing the attention of the Third Hokage and other high-ranking figures, as well as the Transmigrators.

Rather than take that extra risk, he decided to go to school himself and leave the Shadow Clone at home to practice Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu.

Like a repeat of the entrance ceremony, students and parents crowded the gate of the Ninja Academy once more. There were only about half as many as the day before; the missing ones were the examinees who hadn't passed.

While they waited, Ito Makoto began watching the students around him.

Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, Yamanaka Ino, and Yamanaka Masami had arrived together. Their parents were the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio. The families had been close for generations, so they stood together chatting while their children were with them.

Ueda Shin had no one accompanying him. He arrived all alone.

Could he be an orphan? Ito Makoto wondered. That wouldn't be unusual; many Transmigrators had grown up in orphanages. Someone like him, who had a mother, was practically one in a million.

Uchiha Sasuke was accompanied by a woman he hadn't seen before and Uchiha Itachi. The woman was probably Sasuke and Itachi's mother.

Hinata Hyuga was with Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan whom Ito Makoto had seen before. He hadn't expected Hiashi to bring Hinata to school himself. It seemed that, at this point, he still had high hopes for her.

Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino were accompanied by their parents, too.