5-Entrance Exam

"Huhh... yes... You too?" Minato asked, which was somewhat stupid since I had just asked him whether he was an orphan too... but okay, understandable...

"Yes. By the way, I'm Mahoraga Enju," I introduced myself, continuing the conversation.

"Oh, I'm Minato Namikaze. Are you prepared for the entrance exam?" Minato continued, as if he sensed my intention to make friends.

"Yes, I trained a lot for the exam. My parents were jonin, so they left behind quite a few training methods for me, and I, of course, did my very best... Though, I can assure you there's nothing to worry about in this exam. If anything, it'll be quite simple," I said, as Minato listened intently.

"If you say so. My parents were civilians, so I don't know much, but I dream of becoming Hokage. So, I train as much as I can," he said, now flashing his signature sunny smile—which had earned him the nickname of the Little Sun in the original work.

"Well, this is just an entrance exam, so they'll probably just ask us to do some physical exercises and not any jutsu. When I say it'll be easy, I mean it. I think both you and I are going to pass it," I assured him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"You know how to do a jutsu?" Minato asked, surprised.

"Yes, I learned some basic ones from scrolls left behind by my parents," I said with a smile, not delving into it further despite his noticeable curiosity.

Soon, the ground was filled with hundreds of kids appearing for the exam, and a chunin instructor approached the field with a loudspeaker in his hand.

"Everyone, gather up, forming 10 lines," he instructed. And since there were around 300 participants, each line had 30 students. Of course, Minato and I joined the same line, considering we both could be considered friends now.

"The first round of the exam will be a marathon race. You will all participate line-wise. The people from the first line, gather here. The rest can go and wait in the ground until their turn comes up."

And sadly, as you may have imagined, Minato and I were in the first line.

"Umm... I think choosing the middle lines would've been better," Minato said, sighing, as we had to be the first to take part.

"Nope. Look around you. Almost everyone from the first line is from a civilian background. None of the popular clan kids joined this line—which is actually good news for us, considering there would be lower competition. It would've been a tough bout right from the start otherwise," I explained. Although, I didn't care much about any of the clan kids joining, since my Senju blood itself ensured that my physique was above others. And this was a marathon—a test of endurance—so it was easy for me, right? But the same couldn't be said for Minato, who seemed to relax a bit hearing this.

"ON YOUR MARKS! START!"

And with a shout, the marathon started. Instead of starting at full speed like some idiots, I ran at a slow and consistent pace.

Soon, some of the participants started to fall behind. We were to do a run around Konoha, which, to be honest, was not something kids our age could normally do. But this was the Naruto world, so of course, this was the bare minimum selection criteria.

In the end, I was the first to complete the marathon, with Minato coming right behind me. Only 12 students from my group passed this round, which was quite low—and, as I would later find out, the lowest passing ratio in any group.

"Those who have passed can go to the ground and wait for the next round. As for those who didn't—sorry, the life of a shinobi is not for you," the invigilator chunin said, without any kindness.

"Well... that was exhausting," Minato said tiredly. Apparently, his training up until now was only up to the level of civilians and not shinobi...

"On the plus side, since we're the first to finish, we get the most resting time before the next round," I explained.

"Yes, you're right... Let's find a good spot where we can wait until the second round starts," Minato said, and we both started looking for a place to sit—which didn't exist. In the end, we had to wait in the sun, sitting on the ground.

"For the second round, you have to extract some chakra. Our instructors will check you one-on-one to see if you are fit for the academy," the invigilator said.

Maybe it was because of this round that Might Guy couldn't get into the academy on his first try—because no matter what, I just can't see Guy being unable to run a marathon. This chakra extraction and control had to be it.

Soon, it was my turn, and an instructor came to me.

"I'll inject some chakra into you—try to awaken your chakra," the instructor said with a smile, which could be because I was the first in my round.

"Sorry, I've already awakened my chakra," I replied. He nodded, accepting it without any shock, since this must be quite common.

"I see. Then you're already selected into the academy. But even within the academy, there are different classes. So if you want to be in the top class, you'll need to give another test. Here, take this leaf—you have to stick it to any part of your body using chakra," the unusually talkative instructor guided.

I see... so this is how classes are divided. All the elite students are placed in one class; the rest in others...

This was just a basic leaf-sticking exercise—a very common way of practicing chakra control for children. Much lower level than tree climbing or water walking...

As for me, who had Six Eyes and micro chakra control—I could do it even in my sleep.

So, as you might have imagined, I was placed in the top class.

Oh, and Minato was in the same class.