The dewdrops on the green grass slid to the ground and quickly evaporated under the sunlight, leaving no trace behind.
The dry ground was soon trampled as several figures rushed toward the academy.
Seeing that there were still people lining up, Uchiha Gin and his group breathed a sigh of relief.
"We made it just in time."
Ahead, there was a small building where many students from the ninja academy were lining up to enter.
However, after observing the situation for a bit, Namikaze Minato's expression turned grim.
"There are so many kids younger than us."
The children waiting in line were all filled with excitement, and he recognized quite a few familiar underclassmen among them.
Some of them were as young as seven years old.
No matter how early they arranged the exam, wasn't it absurd to let children this young participate?
What was the village thinking?!
"And the pass rate seems very high too," Gin sneered from the side.
He glanced over and saw many kids joyfully rushing out, holding up their newly awarded ninja headbands.
There were also some leaving empty-handed and dejected.
Still, compared to those who succeeded, the failures were far fewer.
Even standing here, they could hear the victorious shouts:
"I'm a ninja now!"
"Hahaha, starting today, I'm an official ninja too!"
"Mom! Dad! I'm finally a grown-up ninja! Haha!"
The children beamed with joy, filling the place with lively energy.
Truly ironic.
Hashirama Senju founded the village to keep children off the battlefield, and now Hiruzen Sarutobi was sending them to war for the village.
A cruel twist of fate.
Namikaze Minato's expression grew even heavier.
"What are you two whispering about? It's almost our turn for the exam!" Kushina, still oblivious, was bouncing with excitement.
She could already see the path to becoming a ninja calling out to her.
"This is the first step on my journey to becoming Hokage!"
"I will definitely become a female Hokage!" she declared with fiery determination.
Well, if she really achieves that dream someday… Gin couldn't help but glance at Minato.
For once, Minato remained silent.
As the line moved forward, Minato was the first among them to enter. Unlike the others who quickly came out, Minato stayed inside for quite a while.
"Did something happen to him?" Kushina said, worried.
"Relax. It's probably just a special privilege for the top student at the academy," Gin shrugged, then looked at Kushina with a strange, pitying expression.
In his past life, he had looked up some information about Kushina—after all, you can't just marry someone's waifu without knowing about her... cough cough, not that he had any villainous intentions.
Anyway, the point was, unlike Minato whose graduation age was unclear, Kushina was known to have graduated at twelve.
Meaning she had to repeat two years — just like him.
Today's exam was likely just a formality.
After all, being a Jinchūriki wasn't something one could change.
"You bastard, Uchiha! What's with that pitying look?!" Kushina growled, fists raised, ready to punch him.
Gin clicked his tongue and shook his head dramatically at her.
That made her even angrier!
Her red hair seemed to stand up with her rage.
"Fight me right now, you jerk!!" she roared.
Just as she was about to launch herself at him, a brown-haired ninja wearing a flak jacket stepped out and shouted:
"Next!"
Gin gave Kushina a thumbs-down with a smirk.
"Next time for sure."
"YOU BASTARD!!!" Kushina screamed.
Without waiting for her to catch him, Gin quickly jogged into the examination room.
The room looked small from outside, but inside it was surprisingly spacious. The ground was scorched and damp in places, with broken wooden planks scattered about.
Two ninjas wearing flak jackets stood in the center — one was a purple-haired female ninja, and the other was Inoue Satoru.
The purple-haired ninja was jotting something down in a notebook.
"Uchiha Gin?"
"That's me," Gin replied.
She scribbled a few notes.
Meanwhile, Inoue Satoru walked forward.
"Your exam is simple: survive one minute against me," he said, a twisted smile spreading across his face — absolutely not because he resented how Gin had ignored him for three months. Definitely not.
Gin tilted his head, looking up at the towering Inoue Satoru.
He debated how much strength to show. Most of what needed to be exposed had already been exposed.
Should he show a little respect for his teacher, maybe?
Before he finished thinking, Inoue Satoru already rushed him, pulling out a kunai from his tool pouch.
Gin casually threw three shurikens.
The shurikens collided mid-air with metallic "clang clang clang" sounds, changing directions and flying at Inoue Satoru from three different angles.
Inoue's eyes narrowed.
Uchiha Throwing Technique.
In the next moment—
Pop! Inoue turned into a block of wood, while the shurikens embedded themselves into it with a thud.
Then Inoue's figure suddenly reappeared behind Gin, aiming a kick at him.
Gin merely glanced back and, with faster speed, spun and delivered a flying kick.
Boom!
Inoue crashed into the wall and slid down.
"This... this is the so-called 'useless' Uchiha?!" he muttered in shock, unable to comprehend Gin's speed and reflexes.
He realized he had never really understood this student's true abilities.
Gin just clicked his tongue — honestly, his reaction speed was only average.
Namikaze Minato could already catch thrown kunai and shuriken with his bare hands — that was ridiculous.
Some people's talent was just unfair.
Still, strength-wise, Minato couldn't put pressure on him yet.
"Teacher Inoue, is there a chance that—"
"No chance!" Inoue cut him off immediately, recognizing the mischievous glint in Gin's eyes.
"There's no way I'll lose to a student!" he shouted, desperate.
Just then, a loud bang drew their attention.
The purple-haired female ninja glared daggers at Inoue.
Inoue fell silent; he remembered how she had just been beaten by Minato a few minutes ago.
"Hahaha," the ninja who had led Gin here couldn't help laughing.
"Two teachers getting beaten by students, what a sight!"
"I haven't lost yet!!" Inoue roared, forming hand seals at lightning speed — but he was forced to stop halfway.
A sharp kunai was already pressed against his neck.
The other two examiners stared, stunned.
"When did he move?!"
Gin stood in front of Inoue, calm and composed, holding the kunai steadily.
Inoue gulped and immediately raised both hands in surrender.
If he didn't, he might really die here.
"Teacher Inoue, I pass, right?" Gin smiled.
His raw strength was that of a Special Jōnin, far beyond what these academy instructors could handle.
"P-passed," confirmed the examiner at the door, pressing a stopwatch — exactly one minute had passed.
Defeating a teacher in under a minute.
This Uchiha Gin was even stronger than Namikaze Minato.
And he was supposed to be a "failure"?
If Gin was a failure, then what were they?
The purple-haired female ninja tossed a forehead protector at Gin.
Gin caught it effortlessly and finally withdrew his kunai.
Inoue stood up, massaging his neck, his face filled with despair.
He had lost to a student.
Where was the justice in that?
But, well... it was an Uchiha. Maybe it was forgivable.
Still, he had completely lost his confidence as a teacher!
Uchiha Gin was definitely his kryptonite!
"Your student ID will be converted to a ninja ID. Remember to come take your photo tomorrow."
Even though he was depressed, Inoue made sure to explain the next steps clearly.
"Got it," Gin replied casually.
He tied the forehead protector to his head, gave a lazy wave, and walked out through the opposite exit.
As soon as he stepped outside, he spotted Namikaze Minato waiting for him.
"I knew you'd pass," Minato said with a bright smile.
After all, among their peers, hardly anyone could claim to be stronger than Gin.
Even Nawaki, who had died young, might not have been his match.
"With an exam like this, there was no way to fail," Gin said with a sigh.
He watched as groups of newly graduated students proudly carried their forehead protectors outside.
Their waiting parents, however, showed a much different reaction — their faces twisted in complex sorrow.
Adults understood all too well what this truly meant.
Gin couldn't understand it yet.
Even so, the villagers didn't harbor hatred.
The Will of Fire was terrifying.
No cult could brainwash as thoroughly as the Will of Fire.
"Uchiha Gin!!" a furious roar rang out from behind.
A red blur rushed toward him.
"DIE!!!"
Kushina hurled a punch at him, aiming to avenge his earlier taunts.
Gin sidestepped easily and countered with a knee strike to her stomach.
"Ow..." Kushina groaned, clutching her belly on the ground.
"You never learn, do you?" Gin shook his head.
How many times had he knocked her down by now?
Still, Kushina never gave up, always charging back at him like a true future mother of the world's goofiest savior.
Come to think of it...
Was he really that annoying?
If Kushina and Minato were here, they would definitely shout:
"ABSOLUTELY!!"
Gin's gaze suddenly focused on the forehead protector tied to Kushina's forehead.
"You... passed?"
"Of course!" Kushina beamed, proudly tapping her forehead protector.
"Starting today, I'm a ninja too!"
"Heh,"
Gin could only stare speechlessly at the sky.
Under the sunset's burning clouds, he thought—
The village actually let her pass?
"Destiny has changed."
Meanwhile...
Might Duy was squatting around the mountain, doing his usual training.
"If I don't finish before sunset, I'll do a thousand push-ups!"
Sweat dripping, he sprinted around the mountain trail.
Over a decade of relentless hard work had finally allowed him to unlock the Fifth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
"Uncle Duy is still training so hard, huh?" Gin hung upside-down from a tree branch.
"Yo, Gin! Long time no see!" Duy gave a thumbs-up.
"Yeah, it's been a while."
Gin dropped down from the branch.
"Uncle Duy, go all out and spar with me."
He was seriously in a bad mood right now.
"With pleasure!"
(End of Chapter)