School
Today, the ninja academy was unusually lively.
It was the first day of school, marking the start for new students.
Parents accompanied their children, some wearing headbands and uniforms, while others were dressed in casual civilian clothes. A sea of faces filled the area.
The sounds of parents greeting each other, children chatting, and families communicating surrounded Tsunayoshi, making him feel even more isolated.
Tsunayoshi wanted to find someone to talk to, hoping to blend in, but his shy nature and clumsiness left him unsure how to approach anyone.
Just as he felt lost, someone initiated a conversation with him.
"Hello, I'm Minato Namikaze, a new student this year."
Before Tsunayoshi stood a boy with golden hair and blue eyes. Though his features were youthful, it was clear he would grow into a handsome young man.
"Can we be friends?"
Minato's warm smile eased Tsunayoshi's rising panic.
"Of course!" Tsunayoshi replied excitedly, his cheeks flushing. "I'm Tsunayoshi Sawada; you can call me Tsuna!"
"Just call me Minato, too."
In just a few short exchanges, the distance between them closed.
Minato Namikaze was also a new student this year, and like Tsunayoshi, he had no adults accompanying him. This subtle similarity quickly endeared Tsunayoshi to Minato.
"So, do you know what we're supposed to do next?" Tsunayoshi asked. He lacked experience in conversing with peers and had mostly spent his time with his mother. His kindergarten experiences taught him that having common topics was key to building relationships. Thus, he brought up his apprehensions in a calm manner.
Both being new students without any guardians nearby made Tsunayoshi feel a flicker of relief in knowing he wasn't alone.
This was Tsunayoshi's first time at school and his first experience with the enrollment process. Previously, he would simply stay by his mother's side, following her to class and waiting for the teacher to arrive. He was completely unaware of the enrollment procedures.
"Didn't you see?" Minato raised an eyebrow in surprise. "The school handed out a pamphlet, right?"
There was a significant gap between the children of ninjas and those of civilians. To bridge this gap, the ninja academy discreetly provided information about the entrance exam through pamphlets a week prior to enrollment, allowing civilian children to prepare and train accordingly.
Of course, this information wasn't straightforward; it required careful observation to decipher. This also served as a small test of the new students' observational skills.
New students who could deduce the information hidden within the pamphlet might be at a disadvantage compared to ninja children but could still possess talent that would shine through in training.
"Um... I didn't see it..." Tsunayoshi instinctively felt he had done something wrong; guilt mixed with anxiety surged within him as he lowered his head, making it difficult to hear.
He recalled that pamphlet Minato mentioned—it had been delivered to his apartment earlier. Tsunayoshi had tried to look through it but couldn't understand the strange symbols on its colorful pages; ultimately, it ended up propping up a table leg.
"It's okay; the entrance exam is really simple. As long as you've been training regularly, you'll be fine," Minato reassured him with a smile.
"Yeah," Tsunayoshi nodded absentmindedly, though his unease grew. He wasn't particularly athletic; even small dogs intimidated him. If the entrance exam involved physical fitness, he had no confidence in passing.
Soon after, the new students were called to the running track on the playground. The track was long, and from Tsunayoshi's small stature, he couldn't see its entirety.
The long track wasn't made of rubber but rather packed dirt; however, due to heavy foot traffic, it was quite even.
A Chūnin served as the judge—a stern-looking man wearing a vest and headband gazed at the group of children before him and stated flatly, "You need to navigate all obstacles in front of you within one hour, run a lap around the track, and return here!"
"Now—go!"
At the Chūnin's command, the children who had been gathered at the starting line surged forward.
Tsunayoshi was slow to react and quickly fell from the middle of the pack to the back. In contrast, Minato darted ahead almost immediately after the command was given. Although he started strong, he was soon overtaken by descendants of prominent clans who had trained extensively beforehand. Nonetheless, Minato kept close behind them at the front of the pack.
Based on today's assessment alone, Minato's performance as a civilian rivaled that of those ninja descendants who had begun their chakra training early. In fact, he might even have surpassed them since he hadn't yet started refining chakra; despite this disadvantage, Minato stood out among his peers.
While Minato drew attention for being a civilian excelling in this test, Tsunayoshi also caught everyone's eye—but for entirely different reasons.
Compared to Minato's impressive performance, Tsunayoshi's was dismal.
So much so that even a three-year-old child from Konoha could easily outperform him.
Today's test primarily assessed physical fitness, endurance, reaction time, and overall physical capabilities of incoming students.
Setting aside differences in unique clan techniques or potential chakra reserves for later on, physical fitness played an immensely important role in ninja combat.
Each year's class placement at the ninja academy relied on these entrance exam results; no matter how poor their scores were, no one would be denied admission based on them.
The time limit was merely intended to encourage children to tap into their potential further.
However, no student had ever performed as poorly as Tsunayoshi did today.
He lagged nearly half a track behind those ahead! If it were just a slight gap, one might say he had some talent; but falling behind by such a margin was unprecedented.
From Tsunayoshi's performance alone, one could argue that rather than aspiring to be a ninja, he seemed more like an aristocrat playing at running around. With dozens of guards attending to him daily, how could he ever understand this level of exertion?