Chapter 3: Soul Test

Chapter 3: Soul Test

After the second round ended, everyone's results were roughly the same as the first round. There were only a few family children who competed more intensely, but there were no major surprises. The third round followed shortly after.

The third round tested the soul. In the ninja world, this was known as the spiritual power test. Chakra is a combination of both physical and mental energy, and if either of these aspects is particularly strong, it can greatly enhance a ninja's training. The most typical examples are the Sage Body of the Senju Clan and the Sage Eyes of the Uchiha Clan.

Thus, the mental power test was as important in the entrance exam as the physical fitness test. In the ninja world, physical strength is common, but strong mental power is rare, making the importance of mental power slightly greater. However, mental power talent is not as immediately obvious as physical talent, making it harder to detect.

The ninja school's test was relatively simple, divided into two parts: one for genjutsu resistance and one for perception ability.

The genjutsu test began silently. While Ishiro and the others were still focused on the second round, the genjutsu was already cast. Ishiro didn't know the name of the genjutsu, but he felt a strange sense of discomfort fill his mind, as if something was off. He looked around, but couldn't find anything unusual. Just as he was puzzled, his gaze shifted to the distance, and the discomfort grew stronger. When he focused on the distant view, he saw slight distortions in the scenery.

Ishiro was startled and quickly turned to shout towards the teachers for help. But after calling several times, no one responded. Panicking, he looked back towards the distance. There was still something wrong. This time, he focused even more, and the sense of distortion became stronger. But Ishiro, being a more mature individual due to his previous life's experience, quickly realized what was happening.

The fact that his shouting had no effect, and no one, including the other students, reacted, meant there was definitely something off. Recalling that the strength test had already ended and the soul test was next, Ishiro began to suspect that the discomfort he was feeling was part of the test. Could it be... a genjutsu?

Ishiro thought back to various methods of dispelling genjutsu from his past life's memories, but was left confused. No method seemed applicable—either they required chakra, or self-injury. The former was impossible, and the latter was out of the question for an entrance exam. Surely, the teachers wouldn't ask students to harm themselves. Therefore, there must be another way to break the genjutsu.

Ishiro thought for a while but didn't have any concrete ideas, so he began observing his surroundings. He soon realized that the more focused he became, the more flaws he could see in the genjutsu. After trying a few more times, he started to get a sense of it. Was it about concentrating his mind? He closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and then opened them again...

While Ishiro and the others were trapped in the genjutsu, the ninja school teachers were discussing the students' performances. However, unlike usual, someone quickly noticed something was wrong.

"Hey, hey, look at that kid Ishiro. Could it be that he... discovered the genjutsu already?" The first teacher stammered.

"Impossible! The genjutsu just started," the second teacher replied, also looking at Ishiro. "Wait... Could it be he really did figure it out?"

The other teachers turned to look at Ishiro, all surprised.

Unlike what Ishiro had assumed, this test wasn't about breaking the genjutsu. How could a group of three-year-old children without chakra break a genjutsu cast by a Chuunin? Even if it was a simplified version, it was impossible! The real goal of the test was to see when the students would realize they had been caught in a genjutsu. In other words, Ishiro had passed.

The teachers' surprise hadn't worn off when they suddenly realized that Ishiro had already calmed down.

"Another genius, huh? Too bad his physical strength is too weak. If only that was better, he'd have more than an 80% chance of becoming a Jonin," one teacher remarked. The 80% chance was no small matter. Even for a true genius, without experiencing life and death or gaining enlightenment, they couldn't become a Jonin. Becoming a Jonin was the first step toward ascension.

"Yeah, not only is his mental strength impressive, but his temperament is strong as well. He realized so quickly that this was part of the entrance exam."

The teachers were still marveling at Ishiro's performance when someone noticed something else.

"He's trying to break the genjutsu." This time, it was the caster of the genjutsu speaking.

"Oh? He reacted that quickly?"

"He probably won't be able to break it. We didn't hear about this kid before, and there aren't many who have trained chakra for the test. The only ones who might have chakra are the family children. Ishiro isn't like those others."

"Even with chakra, it's useless. These kids haven't even tried controlling chakra yet; they can't disrupt a genjutsu's casting."

"This Ishiro, his father's a Chuunin, and his mother's just a Genin. He didn't have any special training resources or medicinal food, and his physical test wasn't exceptional. There's no way he's reached the level needed to refine chakra."

Upon hearing this, many of the teachers nodded in agreement. Many of them came from commoner families or like Ishiro, ordinary ninja families that had suffered due to a lack of resources. This was also one of the reasons why the Four Great Shinobi Countries outside of the Land of Fire often provoked Konoha—they were fighting for resources.

At that moment, the teachers noticed Ishiro had stopped adjusting his breathing and had a calm, focused gaze, as if everything was under his control. He looked around, and then the genjutsu caster exclaimed, "He broke the genjutsu!"

Ishiro's gaze met the teachers' at the same time, and everyone jumped in surprise at his calmness.

"Is this the gaze of a three-year-old child?"

Even in the ninja world, even with geniuses everywhere, everyone was still taken aback by Ishiro.

"Wow... we really have a true genius in Iwagakure," one teacher sighed, impressed.

"Yeah, too bad his physical strength is still so average," another added.

The teachers sighed in unison, all disappointed. While average physical strength could be an asset for most, for a true genius, it was a hindrance—an irreplaceable flaw.

Even though Konoha's Might Guy and Rock Lee could continuously break the limits of the human body through taijutsu, this was because they had exceptional physical talent. Rock Lee, despite claiming to surpass geniuses, was himself an undisputed genius. His persistence wasn't only due to effort and willpower, but because his body could withstand such training. If the same methods were applied to others, the result wouldn't be progress, but injury.

To the teachers, Ishiro was like Rock Lee to the higher-ups in Konoha. They wouldn't mock Rock Lee for not using ninjutsu because they understood that someone with his talent in taijutsu could become a Jonin with almost no difficulty. The likelihood of him becoming a Kage-level ninja was virtually impossible, but even without the Eight Gates, Rock Lee was still an exceptional Jonin. The Eight Gates could grant him Kage-level power, but it came at a severe physical cost and couldn't be maintained for long. Against true Kage-level opponents, it was a disadvantage.

Just like Rock Lee, Ishiro had the potential to reach their level if he followed the right training path and put in the effort.

At this point, someone spoke up, "I recommend he be placed in Class One."

Everyone was momentarily stunned, and after a brief pause, several teachers chimed in.

"I agree."

"Me too."

"Count me in."

---

Just like that, without Ishiro realizing it, he had earned a spot in the elite class, the best one among the elite classes.

Meanwhile, Ishiro, now aware that he had broken the genjutsu, sighed in relief. Thankfully, the genjutsu wasn't very strong. He had concentrated his mind on the distant view, and the cracks in the illusion had become more pronounced under his gaze. As his focus shifted, the cracks followed, and the damage to the illusion quickly became irreversible. Eventually, the illusion shattered like a broken mirror, and reality returned.

Ishiro immediately looked toward the teachers, realizing they were all watching him. He knew he had succeeded.

It wasn't because Ishiro was extraordinarily powerful, but because the caster hadn't used much chakra. Moreover, facing over a hundred people, the genjutsu's strength wasn't high. This gave Ishiro an opportunity. Of course, even so, for a child without chakra, it was still quite remarkable.

Not wasting any time, Ishiro sat down to rest. The brief moment of the genjutsu had seemed simple, but the mental strain had been intense. He was already feeling fatigued and needed to recover while the other students were still struggling with the test. Chakra was a fusion of both body and spirit, while Ishiro's mental power wasn't combined with physical energy, making it fundamentally inferior to chakra. This meant that breaking the genjutsu had consumed a lot of his spiritual strength.

This moment didn't go unnoticed by the teachers, who nodded in approval. It was a survival tactic to rest and recover strength. After all, ninjas are a profession that requires constant thinking outside the box, and no one knew when danger might strike. The best way to face the unknown was to be in the best possible state.

While Ishiro rested, most of the other students hadn't realized they were trapped in a genjutsu and thought the break was just a normal interlude between test sections. Only a few students sensed something was off, but they were quick to catch on thanks to Ishiro's reaction causing ripples in the genjutsu.

But none of this mattered to Ishiro. He focused on resting, knowing that the next part of the test would take time, allowing him to recover his mental strength.

However, Ishiro was wrong. If the teachers were waiting for everyone to realize they had been trapped in a genjutsu, it would take a while. But that wasn't how it played out. Most ninjas were focused on conventional techniques, and very few specialized in Yin Release. Among the Yin Release practitioners, most were focused on sealing or sensory techniques, so the number of genjutsu practitioners who could use it in real combat was incredibly small.

Therefore, the purpose of this round of testing was to identify students with talent in Yin Release or resistance to it. Ishiro was about to be surprised when the teachers soon declared the third round over.

At this moment, aside from a few students who were cautiously observing their surroundings, the majority of them were completely bewildered. Of course, Ishiro also appeared confused in the eyes of others, and naturally, he was categorized by the family children as an average talent.