The Ninja Academy in this period was different from the one later in the original story.
In the original story, students were divided into grades by age.
But in this period, the system was not yet fully developed.
The Ninja Academy did not yet have grades, which was why things like Kakashi Hatake graduating at five and becoming a Chunin at six could happen.
In a practical combat ranking assessment like this, anyone who placed high enough could apply to graduate early.
However, children who had joined the Ninja Academy less than a year ago generally chose not to participate in this assessment.
Monstrous geniuses like Kakashi Hatake were rare, after all. Most people still had to study and train step by step for several years.
Even so, the total number of participants in the practical combat ranking assessment was enormous.
In the later Fourth Shinobi World War, the Allied Shinobi Forces had numbered eighty thousand. Without enough students in the Ninja Academy, where could such numbers have come from?
Because there were so many participants.
The practical combat ranking assessment used five venues simultaneously.
First, all the students drew lots to be paired off. Once every match had a winner and a loser, the winners fought winners, and the losers fought losers.
By repeatedly pairing them off through draws like this, an overall ranking could eventually be established.
They started by using four secondary venues. After several rounds, the outstanding winners could enter the fifth, main venue for their subsequent matches.
And at the main venue, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi would even preside in person!
That showed just how much importance Hiruzen Sarutobi placed on training ninjas during this period.
Naturally, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally hosted and opened the practical combat ranking assessment.
Under the respectful gazes of a crowd of ninjas, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked unhurriedly onto the platform in his Hokage robes.
The instant they saw Hiruzen Sarutobi step onto the platform, all the students cheered together.
For a moment, the atmosphere was incredibly lively.
In Konoha, the Hokage was unquestionably the highest-ranking and most respected figure.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was not tall, not a single gaze held contempt. Almost all were filled with respect!
Simply because he was the Third Hokage, the strongest ninja in Konoha at present!
As he looked at the Ninja Academy children before him and their expressions of admiration, awe, and excitement, Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a warm smile as well.
He waved a hand, and the entire gathering instantly fell silent.
"What Konoha inherits is the Will of Fire."
"The village's future rests in your hands!"
"You fresh green leaves will inherit the Will of Fire, so work hard, children! For the village's prosperity, for the passing down of the Will of Fire!"
With just a few simple sentences, Hiruzen Sarutobi brought the atmosphere to an entirely new peak.
Among the crowd, almost all the students, including Minato Namikaze, felt their blood boil at his words.
Uya also stood among them, watching the impassioned Hiruzen Sarutobi with a trace of reflection in his eyes.
The Hokage!
The children of this world, including Minato Namikaze, must all have taken Hiruzen Sarutobi as their goal.
If Uya had not been a transmigrator familiar with the plot, perhaps he, too, would simply have been swept up by Hiruzen Sarutobi's words and set his sights on becoming Hokage.
But in Uya's heart, although the Hokage was a distant goal, there were even more distant beings above him.
Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha... Princess Kaguya Otsutsuki!
Those were the goals hidden deepest in Uya's heart.
Of course, they were far too distant.
Uya clenched his fists, a trace of firmness and resolve in his eyes.
No matter how distant, no matter how difficult, he would never give up.
And to grasp his dreams, he needed to hold firmly onto the present!
After Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's impassioned speech, the practical combat ranking assessment began.
The students were led to the four secondary venues.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others headed to the main venue early to await the winners from the secondary venues.
The battles at the secondary venues were, of course, not worth Hiruzen Sarutobi's personal attention.
Only the winners who could reach the main venue were the elites Hiruzen Sarutobi valued, the pillars of Konoha's next generation.
Uya was assigned to the third secondary venue.
Kushina happened to be in the same venue as Uya, but she did not care about her own assessment. All she cared about was whether Uya could achieve a good result.
She was far more nervous than Uya.
As she silently watched Uya, she cheered him on in her heart.
You have to make it into the main venue.
The third secondary venue.
Despite being called a secondary venue, it was actually a relatively open training ground, with two examiners and four Anbu maintaining order.
The first opponent assigned to Uya was a student from his own class.
When that student saw that he had drawn Uya, his face immediately fell.
If anyone asked which opponents they least wanted to face, one was undoubtedly Minato Namikaze, and the other was Uya.
Minato Namikaze had taken first place time after time, leaving everyone in despair.
Uya, meanwhile, had displayed terrifying strength in his battle with Uchiha Izumiya, making countless students fear him.
"I... I surrender!"
The student facing Uya had originally wanted to give it a try, but when he saw Uya clench his fist immediately upon entering, revealing a somewhat dim yet frightening layer of white light, he shrank back and surrendered on the spot.
The thought of Uya shattering Uchiha Izumiya's bones and tearing his tendons throughout his body with a single punch sent chills down his spine.
The presiding examiner looked slightly surprised as well, then shook his head helplessly and announced Uya's victory in the first match.
Uya himself had not expected his opponent to surrender without even daring to fight, but on reflection, it was only natural. This was the Ninja Academy, after all, and everyone here was just a child.
Those like him and Minato Namikaze, whose minds were as mature as adults', were few and far between.
In the first few matches, almost every opponent either surrendered outright or was defeated by Uya in a single move.
He did not need to unleash much strength at all. He practically steamrolled through them.
This also sparked a wave of amazement.
"He's so strong."
"Yeah, after awakening his Kekkei Genkai, Uya's strength has completely turned around."
Many students who had once looked down on Uya now wore expressions of immense envy.
They, too, hoped to awaken a Kekkei Genkai and possess strength like Uya's.
But how could a Kekkei Genkai be so easy to obtain?
They could only watch longingly.
Even the examiner and the Anbu here looked at the strength Uya displayed with changed expressions, showing a trace of praise.
Kushina's beautiful eyes sparkled as she watched, utterly excited and happy.
With his opponents either surrendering or being defeated instantly, Uya soon reached his fourth match.
Once again, there were no surprises.
Although his fourth opponent was slightly stronger, he still fell short of Uchiha Izumiya and could not withstand even a single exchange with Uya.
A moment later, the examiner's admiring voice carried across the venue.
"Uya wins his fourth match!"
The instant those words spread.
The entire venue fell silent.
Then a thunderous uproar erupted throughout the third secondary venue.
"That's great!"
Kushina could not even stop herself from jumping up and cheering, joy written across her face.
Because four consecutive wins at a secondary venue made him its winner!
And that qualified him to enter the main venue!
Uya had secured it with such ease.
Almost every child throughout the third secondary venue looked at Uya in the arena with immense envy.