Chapter 4: Admission

Chapter 4: Admission

The students who misunderstood Ishiro's performance no longer considered him a rival. The few who had noticed the flaws in the genjutsu gathered together to discuss who had detected it first. Ishiro listened, feeling speechless. It turned out he had overthought things.

But that was fine. This should be a good thing—it might help offset his lack of physical strength. With this in mind, Ishiro focused on the final round. There was a row of helmets with threads attached, and while Ishiro had already deduced that this test was related to mental power, he still wasn't sure how it would be conducted.

At that moment, a few teachers approached and selected a group of students for the final round. Those not chosen were told they didn't need to participate. Ishiro was the first to be called by name and selected for the next round.

Soon, Ishiro realized that those chosen along with him were all students who had performed well in the previous rounds. Additionally, all the students who had noticed the genjutsu during the third round were also included.

The others were shocked that Ishiro had been selected, and some thought to themselves, "Could he be hiding his true strength? And did the teachers discover it?"

Unlike the others, Ishiro was confident in his performance after the previous round's assessment. He had underestimated the advantage brought by the fusion of two souls.

Soon, as other students looked on with envy, Ishiro and the other students selected each chose a helmet to wear. Following the teachers' instructions, they focused on sensing and determining what was at the other end of the thread.

Ishiro closed his eyes and focused on the helmet. Unlike the vague sensations before, this time he could clearly feel a change. A warm current linked him with the helmet, creating a subtle connection. Was this chakra? Was someone using chakra to perform a sensory ninjutsu?

Ishiro realized that these chakra flows seemed to be guiding him, extending his consciousness along the thread. He carefully followed the flow, and it was smooth and strange. It felt as though he had entered another space—a closed room, with four ninjas attending to a group of animals. There were large birds and small mice.

When Ishiro focused on the ninjas, they looked around in surprise, and their mouths moved as though they were communicating. "Could they have noticed?" Ishiro wondered.

But since this was an exam, Ishiro wasn't concerned about his safety. He shifted his focus, counted the animals in the room, observed the placement of the items, and then withdrew his consciousness. After only a brief moment, Ishiro started to feel mental fatigue.

When he retracted his focus, Ishiro felt a strong discomfort. His body swayed, and he almost fell. It took a while for him to regain his senses and then wait for the teachers' questions.

After a while, everyone finished their tests.

The teachers specifically asked Ishiro to answer last, first inquiring about the experiences of the other students.

The answers from the students varied: some said they saw people, some saw animals, some said they saw a blank white space, and others claimed they felt nothing at all.

Finally, it was Ishiro's turn. To the teachers' astonishment, Ishiro clearly listed everything he had sensed in the room and even described their positions.

At first, the other students thought he was just showing off, but attentive students quickly noticed the teachers' surprise. A strange thought formed in their minds: could he really have sensed everything so clearly? Did he already know the answers?

In truth, the confidentiality of this test wasn't very high. If someone had connections, it wasn't impossible for them to obtain detailed information. But there was no need for that. No one would think Ishiro was cheating, especially since he came from a humble background with no apparent connections. Adding to that, his excellent performance in the third round left the teachers with only one thought: a genjutsu genius, a sensory genius!

Of course, the inevitable remark followed: "It's a pity his physical talent is so average."

Afterward, the teachers announced the admission results, and Ishiro and the others dispersed.

---

Later that night, Ishiro lay alone on his empty bed, analyzing everything that had happened during the day.

First, he had successfully entered the ninja school and had done so by demonstrating his mental power, landing him in the elite class.

Second, Ishiro adjusted his self-perception. He had initially thought of himself as a person with an adult mindset but average talents. But now, he realized that the fusion of two souls might have enhanced his mental power. The fusion wasn't just a simple combination of two souls; it was an adult's soul merging with a child's. This gave him a significant advantage when competing with other children.

Finally, now that he understood his strengths, it was time to adjust his expectations for the future. Previously, he aimed to become as powerful as possible, using his past memories to avoid danger and survive to the end. Now, he wondered if he could use his newfound fame to bargain for a path to greater strength, perhaps even to reach the level of a Kage or Sage.

The path to becoming a Sage was still too distant and unclear, but the path to a Kage seemed more achievable.

Iwagakure was most famous for its Dust Release.

What Iwagakure lacked most was geniuses. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Kage of most nations were in their fourth or fifth generations, but Iwagakure still had a third-generation Tsuchikage. This was because there was a lack of successors. If Ishiro performed well, there was still hope for a position under the Fourth Tsuchikage, especially if he didn't block Deidara's defection.

If Ishiro made a name for himself as a genius and showed talent for Dust Release, he believed Onoki wouldn't overlook him. But first, he had to confirm which three chakra natures formed the basis of Dust Release—Fire, Wind, and Earth, if he remembered correctly. This was important to verify.

Preparing for the fusion of these three chakra types would require careful planning.

Ishiro reflected on the challenge of chakra fusion, realizing he needed to train his chakra control early on.

That night, Ishiro fell asleep in anticipation, dreaming of a bright future.

---

The next morning, Ishiro woke up feeling refreshed, quickly finished his breakfast, and hurried to the ninja school. The world of Naruto, here I come!

---

"Hello, everyone. I'm your instructor, Ishikawa. You can call me Teacher Ishikawa." Ishiro sat in the middle of the classroom, listening to the newly arrived Chuunin teacher's self-introduction.

"I like hot springs, hate war, and my dream is to protect peace. Now, please introduce yourselves."

After hearing Teacher Ishikawa's introduction, Ishiro thought to himself, "As expected, ninja school teachers may not have strong combat abilities, but they certainly have high ideals."

Ishiro's class was ranked as the best among the three elite classes. There were many students from prominent families. Although they hadn't experienced sensory abilities, Ishiro could tell by the speed displayed by a few students when they entered the classroom that at least half of them had already refined their chakra.

"There are so many geniuses here," Ishiro thought. "But that's fine. As long as I perform impressively, I won't be treated like a specimen."

The introductions began, and Ishiro's classmates started to speak up.

The first student stepped up: "My name is Moku Kaze, I like eating barbecue and discussing the process of waiting for the barbecue. My dream is to become the Tsuchikage."

"I'm Tatsuya, and my dream is also to become the Tsuchikage." After Moku Kaze finished, Tatsuya quickly ran up to the stage, glaring at Moku Kaze, as if his position as Tsuchikage was being stolen. However, Ishiro thought to himself, "He's overthinking it. In a class like this, it's no surprise that at least half the students would dream of becoming the Tsuchikage."

As expected, the next student was even more direct. Before Tatsuya could leave the stage, he shouted, "Hurry up and get off, the Tsuchikage seat is mine!" and declared, "You two trash dare to steal my position as Tsuchikage?"

The scene quickly became chaotic, but fortunately, Teacher Ishikawa seemed to have anticipated this. With a Body Flicker Technique, he appeared between the two, preventing a fight from breaking out.

Of course, there were exceptions. For example, the student sitting in front of Ishiro: "I'm Tanaka, I like planting flowers, and my dream is to plant countless flowers and plants in the Land of Earth, so that everyone can smell the fragrance of flowers as soon as they step outside." This was a little girl, and it was rare to see such a hobby in the barren land of Iwagakure. But one thing was certain—she must come from a big family, otherwise, such an unrealistic dream wouldn't make sense.

"I'm Shouhara, I like explosions, and my dream is to become the leader of the demolition team, to lead the team to defeat Konoha." A little brat with an arrogant expression jumped onto the stage, loudly declaring his dream. It startled everyone, and Ishiro almost thought he had encountered Deidara.

Considering the age, Deidara wasn't even born yet at this time. However, both of them had a similar way of thinking and a love for explosions, so it wouldn't be too surprising if there was some kind of connection.

Ishiro didn't quite understand people like this. If he wanted to be a leader, shouldn't his goal be the Tsuchikage? Leading everyone to defeat Konoha—wasn't that something the Tsuchikage should do?

Soon, it was Ishiro's turn. He had long prepared his self-introduction. Ishiro walked up to the stage, glanced around the entire class, and then said, "My name is Ishiro, and my goal is to become an outstanding ninja who can protect my comrades and safeguard the village on the battlefield."

These were his true feelings, especially for a child. Since Ishiro had no background, it was essential to maintain political correctness. Protecting comrades and safeguarding the village were the politically correct ideals. These were also the values that Ishiro could reasonably adopt, given his background. Only when his values aligned with the village's could the village feel secure in nurturing him and consider giving him more resources.

Moreover, the dream of protection aligned with Teacher Ishikawa's peaceful ideals. Teacher Ishikawa would be one of the ninjas Ishiro would interact with the most in the future, so it was important to lay a good foundation to gain favor.