In the days that followed, whenever she was at school, Kushina always rushed over to Minato with excitement to proudly show off her training progress.
Minato was amazed at how much she had improved.
Within just three days, Kushina's number of Shadow Clones had nearly reached fifteen!
When those fifteen clones appeared before him, Minato's expression froze in stunned disbelief.
And worse, someone almost caught them...
After all, it was supposed to be their shared secret. And hiding fifteen Shadow Clones in a school corner was simply impossible.
Compared to Kushina, despite having considerable chakra reserves himself, Minato could only create a maximum of four Shadow Clones—nothing compared to Kushina's incredible feat.
Creating more would significantly weaken his main body's combat effectiveness.
Yet Kushina summoned fifteen clones at once, seemingly without any effort at all.
Seeing she had found a suitable method for improvement, Minato genuinely felt happy, though he carefully checked his surroundings nonetheless.
He found no one else present except The Anbu assigned to protect Kushina.
As for those mysterious figures who had followed him that night, they never reappeared again.
Every day after school, Minato never slackened his own training. He searched through the ninjutsu scrolls provided by The Third to find techniques suited to himself and diligently practiced them.
Surprisingly, most C-rank techniques on the scroll were incredibly easy for him to learn.
Whether it was hand seal sequences or chakra manipulation methods, everything seemed somehow ingrained in some corner of his mind already—requiring only a few reviews to become completely natural!
Not only did he easily master Wind Release, Fire Release, and Lightning Release jutsu, but even Water Release and Earth Release techniques came naturally to him as well.
He didn't possess innate compatibility with Water Chakra Nature or Earth Chakra Nature, but that simply meant such techniques weren't convenient for him to use frequently.
With his current chakra reserves, he didn't really need to master too many types of techniques.
Selecting the most suitable ones for himself was sufficient. He needed to strengthen his abilities quickly.
He wanted to earn The Third's recognition as the Hokage and become Kushina's personal guard. That way, when they were together, she could finally have freedom!
For that smile of hers, he would do anything without hesitation.
...
Early one morning, Minato entered the classroom. At this usual hour, the room should've been empty.
But today, someone was already standing at the front of the class—Teacher Moto Kouda. However, his expression looked unusually serious, as if burdened with worries.
"Good morning, Teacher Kouda!" Minato greeted normally, then started heading toward his seat upon receiving a response.
"Minato, wait a moment," Moto Kouda called out.
Hearing this, Minato turned around and asked, "Teacher Kouda, is something the matter?"
Moto Kouda nodded and said, "Yes, something has come up—but this concerns all of you students currently attending Ninja Academy."
"In the near future, the village will hold a [Chakra Aptitude Test] — a traditional evaluation of a ninja student's natural affinity toward specific chakra natures. Every single student from our school must participate," Moto Kouda explained.
"Chakra Aptitude Trial?" Minato had never heard the term before, and there had never been such an element in previous Ninja Academy exams.
"Mm," Moto Kouda replied. "From its name alone, you can tell it's a trial designed to test ninja abilities. Although none of you officially qualify as real ninjas yet, all of you will eventually become ninjas, so testing your capabilities seems reasonable enough. However... this time's trial... the participants won't be limited to just you students."
"Then who else?" Minato asked immediately, his eyes darkening with suspicion.
"All newly graduated Genin whose graduation dates are within one year," Moto explained.
Minato couldn't help but flinch slightly, narrowing his eyes sharply. There were already quite a few students at the Ninja Academy, not to mention these recent Genin graduates—essentially seniors who entered the ranks shortly after he enrolled.
Just holding this kind of trial seemed like an unnecessarily large-scale operation.
Furthermore, this arrangement was clearly unfair...
How could most academy students possibly match up against trained Genin?
At this moment, Minato recalled his conversation with the Third Hokage a few days prior.
Could that be what he meant? Could it refer to this Chakra Aptitude Trial?
"I really don't understand what the village leadership is thinking," Moto grumbled. "They're handling participant selection completely recklessly. It wouldn't matter much if academy students lost, but given such a significant disparity in skill levels combined with the inexperience of those Genin, what happens if someone gets hurt?"
This was the first time Minato had ever seen his instructor question decisions made by the village authorities.
Because Teacher Kouda's primary concern was always his students.
"Wouldn't this format allow participants to withdraw voluntarily beforehand?" Minato asked. Normally during tests with such obvious power imbalances, the weaker side was generally permitted to opt out early.
"This time they've specifically emphasized that even injuries are acceptable. No student is allowed to withdraw unless under absolutely unavoidable circumstances. Those who drop out of the trial too easily might face disciplinary action from the examiners, potentially affecting whether they pass the graduation exam..."
Moto's frustration grew more evident as he spoke, yet as merely a Chunin, all he could do was vent here.
This regulation puzzled Minato as well. The Third Hokage shouldn't be the type deliberately making things difficult.
Although undoubtedly other high-ranking officials might have been involved, nothing could proceed without approval from the Third.
It was just too strange...
Still, he trusted that since senior village leaders and the Third made this decision together, there must be valid reasons behind it.
The Ninja Academy served as Konoha's cradle for nurturing future generations. From the village's point of view, they wouldn't do something this unreasonable without a good reason.
Seeing his teacher's anxious expression brought warmth to Minato's heart. He added sincerely, "Teacher, thank you for being concerned about us."
When Moto heard this, he looked rather embarrassed, sighing as he admitted, "All I can do is complain pointlessly here. That's about all the help I'm capable of offering."
Minato shook his head and said, "No, it's precisely because teachers like you exist that we're all the more determined to pass the trials... Even though these rules are pretty tough, becoming a ninja is what we've set our sights on, and facing these kinds of challenges is just part of the deal."
Moto Kouda knew all too well. After all, ninjas must follow the will of the village, and students were no exception—they couldn't afford to have any doubts.
"Besides," Minato continued, "getting to fight last year's graduating seniors is also a way to help us grow. And... we won't go down without a fight either!"
A spark lit up Minato's eyes. Whether for personal growth or to earn The Third's recognition, he was dead set on proving himself in this Chakra Aptitude Test.
You bet!
...
...
Favorites and recommendations are much appreciated! Today, I talked through the plot with someone for ages and finally got everything straightened out. Writing still took longer than I hoped, but I'll be sure to make up for the missing chapter later today!
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