Uchiha Chōnan

Ueyama Tomo and Kazawa passed the assessment just as easily. Fugaku looked at his three disciples. He had not paid them much attention lately, and each of them had improved.

Ueyama Tomo and Kazawa had only average talent. Reaching their current level, with strength comparable to an ordinary Chunin's, took more than Fugaku's guidance. They had worked hard on their own.

In a ninja's early years, diligent training really could make up for some lack of talent. The gap only became obvious later on.

His three disciples had now overtaken some of the ninja who had graduated with better marks than they had.

As the morning went on, fewer ninja remained to be assessed, and their strength gradually declined. Many could barely fend off the examiners' attacks and only just lasted three moves.

The twenty instructors regained the confidence they had shown when they first received their orders. They looked at the ninja before them as though everything was under their control.

At last, the first ninja failed. On the third move, the examiner kicked him to the ground, ending his assessment.

By the end of the morning, two hundred ninja had been assessed. Only twenty had failed, losing within the three-move exchange.

The overall pass rate was still high.

The afternoon went just as smoothly. These young ninja had not yet developed too many distracting thoughts. Fired up with enthusiasm, they wanted only to defeat their examiners and pass.

The assessment ended at dusk. All four hundred ninja scheduled for the day had finished, with twenty eliminated in the morning and ten in the afternoon.

"The ones assessed today were all young. Their goals are simple: defeating an opponent is motivation enough for them, and they still dream of leading exciting lives.

"Starting tomorrow, I'm afraid it won't be