Naruto: Reaching the Stars

Nearly three months had passed since the festival, and the day of the academy entrance exams had finally arrived. Kisuke woke up early, freshened up, and had breakfast with his mother, Kirikou, before preparing to leave for the academy. Kirikou asked if he wanted her to accompany him, but Kisuke declined, saying it was just a test and that he would go with his friends.

He then waited for Yoruichi, who had settled in Konoha with her mother instead of continuing to travel around the Land of Fire. When Yoruichi arrived, her excitement was palpable. Together, they headed out and made their way to the orphanage to meet Minato.

At the orphanage, a few other kids were also preparing to take the academy exams, accompanied by a woman in a white coat, likely one of the caretakers. Not wanting to travel with people they didn’t know, Kisuke and Yoruichi politely sneaked Minato away, and the three of them set off together.

Upon reaching the academy, they were taken aback by the sheer number of children gathered to take the exam. Yoruichi exclaimed, "They look like a sea of ants! There must be hundreds of participants here!"

"Don’t forget, you’re one of those ants too," Kisuke said, earning an elbow to his side from Yoruichi.

Minato chuckled as he looked around, equally surprised by the large crowd. Even he hadn't realized Konoha housed so many children. 

Kisuke thought to himself, 'I didn’t expect this many participants. There must be at least a thousand kids here. But then again, it’s not entirely surprising. This is one of the most peaceful eras in the Shinobi world, with nearly fifteen years since the Great Ninja War. Konoha has prospered, and the population has grown. If anything, I thought the number would be higher.'

He then recalled the information he had gathered about the entrance exam and the requirements to enter the academy, which had surprised him. There were no physical tests or anything like that; the only deciding factor for acceptance was the amount of chakra a child had. Kisuke had learned that after years of testing, the village used sensor ninjas to judge a student's potential based on their initial chakra reserves.

‘It seems they have some kind of statistics to determine whether someone only has a regular civilian-level chakra with low potential to increase it. Those with low potential will be eliminated, while those with more chakra will be accepted.’

After a moment of reflection, Kisuke realized that the exam's focus on chakra reserves made sense. If the test had included physical assessments, there was no way someone like Guy, who eventually became one of Konoha's strongest shinobi, would have struggled to enter the academy, even alongside Kakashi.

Kisuke thought, 'This doesn't really concern the three of us. My chakra should still be comparable to a high-level Genin, so I’m pretty much guaranteed to be accepted. Yoruichi has more chakra than I do, and as for Minato, his chakra should be at Genin level too, though a bit lower than mine.'

As he scanned the crowd, Kisuke spotted a few familiar figures. Despite their youthful appearances, they looked remarkably similar to their older selves from the series he remembered. 

'Those three must be Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza, and those two Hyuga twins should be Hinata and Neji’s fathers,' he mused, recognizing them instantly.

'So, they're participating this year too, huh.'

Kisuke hadn’t expected to be in the same generation as these prominent figures, but considering that their future children would be around the same age as Naruto, it wasn’t all that surprising.

Just then, a Chunin wearing a vest approached the crowd and announced that the exams were about to begin. He instructed all the children to gather at the training ground behind the academy.

As they made their way to the back of the academy, the kids were awestruck by the sight of the Hokage Rock, with the faces of all three Hokage carved into it. The sight left most of them in awe, but Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Minato were less impressed, having already sat atop the First Hokage’s head during the festival.

Kisuke mused, 'I wonder if each Hokage carved their own face or let someone else do it.' He glanced at Minato beside him, who was smiling, causing Kisuke to look forward again. 'Yeah… probably not.'

“Alright, listen up, everyone!” A middle-aged Chunin standing on a podium yelled, silencing the crowd. “We’re about to start the examination… You see these three gentlemen right here?” He pointed to three Chunins standing below the podium. “I need you to step forward toward them so they can examine you…” Seeing the kids rush forward, pushing to be first, he quickly added, “Just five people at a time for each examiner… Please be disciplined, or else you’ll be eliminated due to your behavior.”

This immediately calmed the crowd, making them line up more orderly. The three sensor Chunins began calling five kids at a time, forming hand signs and closing their eyes to sense the children's chakra. After a minute or so, they opened their eyes and announced the results. Those who didn’t make it were directed to the left to be escorted out, while those who passed were directed to the right, where they gave their names and information to a few Genins seated at desks, writing down each accepted student's details.

'Fortunately, we’re near the front, or we would’ve had to wait a while for our turn,' Kisuke thought.

After a few more kids were tested, it was finally Kisuke's trio's turn. The three of them approached the sensor Chunin in the middle at the same time. As the Chunin closed his eyes, Kisuke heightened his senses, curious to see if he could detect anything. After a while, the Chunin opened his eyes and announced their results, though Kisuke noticed the Chunin lingering on them a bit longer than the others.

The three of them calmly made their way to the right side, though Kisuke noticed that, unlike him and Yoruichi, Minato was barely able to contain his excitement. His smile widened, and his walk changed slightly, as if he were a different person.

'Would you look at this happy little rascal,' Kisuke thought with amusement.

He could understand Minato’s excitement; getting accepted into the academy was a big deal, especially for a civilian orphan like him. 

'You shouldn’t be satisfied with just this level,' Kisuke thought, but he didn’t want to dampen Minato’s spirits. Besides, he knew better than anyone about Minato’s future achievements.

While giving his information to the Genin, Kisuke’s mind wandered. ‘I couldn’t sense anything. How exactly do sensor ninja sense chakra? Do they use chakra or spiritual energy? Do they spread it out as waves and sense when foreign chakra touches their own? If so, how come I couldn’t sense anything?’

As Kisuke stood among the accepted kids, he continued to observe the ongoing testing process, scanning for any more familiar faces.

He thought, ‘It looks like all the kids from known clans have been accepted, but that isn’t surprising. It likely has nothing to do with favoritism but rather that each clan already tested their children beforehand and informed them about those with ninja aptitude.’

Kisuke also noted that the familiar figures he had seen earlier did not receive any special treatment and were tested just like everyone else. This made him wonder, ‘Are their parents the clan heads, or are they just regular members?’

Aside from the Hyuga clan, which follows a royal bloodline, Kisuke was unsure about the situation in other clans—whether their leaders were inherited or elected.

After a few hours, the sensor Chunins finally finished testing everyone. The middle-aged Chunin in charge of this year's entrance exam approached the Genins who had recorded the accepted students' information and asked, “Have you recorded everyone’s information? How many students do we have?”

“Yes, Takeshi-Chunin. There are 329 students who have sufficient chakra to be ninjas this year,” one of the Genins replied, handing him the report.

Takeshi nodded and picked up several papers containing the names, information, and chakra levels of the students. He didn’t go through all of them, as it was the Hokage’s job to review them and divide the students into different classes.

Standing in front of the excited children, Takeshi smiled and began, “First of all, congratulations to all of you who have passed the test!” He paused to let the kids cheer and show their enthusiasm before continuing, “But now, we’re going to test you in several ways to see how you do. Please make sure to try your best, as the results will directly affect which class you are assigned to.”

Kisuke was initially surprised by this, but the explanation made sense. Officially, there wasn’t an elite class; students were evenly divided, with each class having 30 students. However, it was clear that children from clan heads might be placed together to encourage closer relations and more cohesive training.

Takeshi then led them to a large track where they had to run laps until they couldn’t continue. Each lap was about 300 meters. Kisuke managed 25 laps before his speed started to slow down and his muscles ached. Many students quit by this point, leaving around 60 students still running.

Kisuke pushed himself to the limit, but after 32 laps, he had to stop. He reluctantly resigned, leaving Yourichi and Minato, who were still full of energy.

He didn’t feel disheartened, knowing his physical endurance was weaker compared to theirs.

As he exited the track, Kisuke stood next to the Genins who recorded the students' information. After giving his name, a Genin searched through the papers and pulled out one with Kisuke’s details. The Genin wrote something on it—likely his physical test mark—before dismissing him.

Kisuke managed to sneak a peek at his result, finding a C+ in chakra capacity. Not knowing the exact implications, he found a shaded area to rest and recover his stamina while watching the remaining students.

Minato ran 47 laps before stopping, and Yourichi impressively completed 51 laps, earning her first place. She approached Kisuke with a smug look, but he stared at her with a deadpan expression, too tired to engage in her antics.

After some rest, Takeshi conducted a few more physical tests, pushing the students to their limits and recording their results.

Once the physical tests were completed, Takeshi moved on to assessing ninja skills. Here, the advantages of coming from ninja families or clans became clear. Most civilian students struggled with throwing techniques, while those from ninja backgrounds performed significantly better.

The students were then asked if they had mastered any Jutsu and to demonstrate them. Only a few, mostly from clan backgrounds, were able to complete this part of the test.

Kisuke chose to perform only the Substitution Jutsu, not intending to show off. In contrast, Yourichi ‘gently’ persuaded Minato to showcase his skills. Both demonstrated Substitution Jutsu, Body Flicker Technique, and Transformation Jutsu, earning surprised and admiring looks from the Genins and Chunin overseeing the exam.

“Show-off,” Kisuke muttered, but he didn’t interfere. He understood that the more their talents were displayed, the more likely they were to catch Hokage Hiruzen’s interest and potentially gain valuable opportunities.

Kisuke himself wasn’t concerned about which class he’d be assigned to since all classes received similar training. His primary goal was to become a ninja under Konoha, and attending the academy was a necessary step. He wasn’t particularly interested in the school’s curriculum, knowing it would only cover basic ninja skills and wouldn’t offer any advanced Jutsu.

He thought, ‘I can’t graduate early either, as I don’t know when the Second Ninja War will start, and I might be sent on a dangerous mission unexpectedly. It’s better to develop at the academy until I reach at least Chunin level strength.’

It was noon by the time the tests were finally over.

Takeshi stood at the center of the podium and announced, “This concludes the entrance exams. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication today. We will now review the results and make the final decisions regarding class placements.”

He paused, letting the students' murmurs of anticipation fill the air.

“Please be patient while we compile the results. We will post the class assignments on the academy’s notice board in two days. Make sure to check it and find out your assigned class and schedule.”

Before the students could fully disperse, Takeshi spoke again. “Before you go, there is someone important who wants to say a few words.”

The crowd quieted as the Hokage suddenly appeared on the podium, seemingly out of nowhere. The appearance of the Hokage sparked cheers and excitement among the students, who looked at him with admiration.

Kisuke thought, ‘Now that's unexpected. Is he going to start his brainwashing session this early? He really isn’t wasting a second, huh.’