Prep 1.7

[Konoha Shinobi Academy]

[May 29, 2 bNb]

Seven weeks flew by quickly, and it was now time for the genin test. I have honed my skills as much as I could over the past year, and I can only hope it will be enough. As we step into the examination hall, I take stock of all the children present.

They tower over Shisui and I, with us only being 5 and 6 years old respectively. Meanwhile, the students in the room were at a minimum of 10 years old, with some even being as old as 13.

I think back to the speech that Instructor Matsu gave us before this. "I am so proud of you boys. In my first year as a teacher, I was able to nurture not one, but two prodigies such as yourselves. Stand tall and perform well, I do not doubt that you both will ace the trials ahead."

"Are you ready?", I ask Shisui, knowing his answer already.

He gives me a nod, as expected. As if on cue, we hear a Chunin Instructor speak, "Alright listen up, the Genin Assessment Test has four parts, ninjutsu, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and intelligence. You will be separated into 4 groups, and each group will perform a specific test, alternating to the next after everyone is finished."

"Now, Kenji Akane, ninjutsu. Todo Akimichi, taijutsu…", he continues down the list as I wait to hear my name. "Ichiro Shishigami, shurikenjutsu.", he says as I immediately move over to join the group that will be tested on shurikenjutsu first. "…and finally, Shisui Uchiha, intelligence."

Huh, this means that I'll have no way of knowing how Shisui performs until the very end. As we enter our testing field, I can't help but feel excited. This is it, the culmination of all our hard work. We each line up in front of a massive, ringed target that sits 100 meters away with a bucket of assorted kunai and shuriken at our feet.

"You all have 2 minutes to throw a total of 100 kunai and shuriken. You each start with 100 points and, for each missed shot, you will lose 1 point. In the end, for each weapon still within your bucket, you will also lose one point. Getting below 50 points is a failure for this portion of the test. BEGIN!"

So, it's a test of both speed and accuracy, I quickly think. Immediately grabbing a handful of shuriken, flinging like my life depends on it, because it does. I dive into a rhythmic trance of picking up, aiming, and throwing.

"STOP!", shouts the instructor as each student grinds to a halt. They begin to list off the results in alphabetical order but of course, I already know my result. "…Ichiro Shishigami, 100 points!"

The next portion of the test is intelligence. This consists of a standard exam of 100 questions. The questions are on a variety of subjects covered in the academy, including applied math, history, strategy, anatomy, first aid, and survival. Again, I score the full amount of points and move on to the ninjutsu section.

"Step forward and execute the Transformation Jutsu, please." I oblige, executing the signs as fast as I can; dog, boar, ram, "Transformation Jutsu." The result is a shimmer surrounding my body before the instructor stands face-to-face with his doppelganger.

"Pass. Please substitute yourself with the log that is closest to your physical size on the other side of the room." I turn towards the back wall, eyeing the logs of various sizes that caught my attention when I walked in. Tiger, boar, ox, dog, snake, "Substitution Jutsu.", I say as I am displaced, ending up on the other side of the room while a log occupies my original position.

"Pass. Please return the log to its place before executing the Clone Jutsu." I comply and once again perform the required hand signs. "Clone Jutsu.", I say, as two perfect copies of myself shimmer into existence on both flanks. "Pass, once again. Good job, young Ichiro. Exit through the door on my left."

As I exit the room, I and the genin hopefuls in my group are made to wait outside until another instructor collects us, leading us to a room containing a platform. The first name is called up to the platform before the instructor says, "Please execute the 12 kata of the Leaf-Style Taijutsu."

The student confidently completes the tasks before a single sentence is uttered by the instructor, "Pass, next!"

By the end of the exams, we are once again in the room where we began, awaiting the announcement of the rankings. I eye Shisui on the other side of the room but make no effort to head over there. There is a mess of speech occurring in the background, with various students discussing the tests with each other.

The noise tapers off as three chunin walk to the center of the room with one holding a clipboard. "Okay, the rankings are as follows: in first place, breaking the academy record Shisui Uchiha!" While I am happy for my friend, I can't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy, I guess no matter how hard you work, natural talent will always win out. A shinobi moved to give Shisui a forehead protector as this happens.

"…and Ichiro Shishigami!" 'Wait, what?', I think to myself as I receive my own forehead protector. We tied; I doubt that has ever happened before. Now though, my happiness is much more genuine as I look at Shisui with a grin that splits my face in half. There are a few cheers that eventually go silent as the instructor continues.

"In second place, Hatsu Uchiha…. Third place….", he continues, listing the rankings of all the participants. "The top thirty will stay behind and form 10 teams of 3 to be admitted into the Genin Acceleration Program, while the rest will report to the Shinobi Standby Station at 07:00 tomorrow morning. For those of you who did not receive a forehead protector, report to school for the new semester on Monday. You are dismissed."

There are many groans of disappointment but ultimately, they have no choice but to obey. I head over to Shisui as the crowd filters out, leaving just the top thirty and the three instructors within the room. "Congratulations Shisui, we made history.", I say while slinging my arm around my friend's shoulder.

"Same to you Ichiro, I couldn't have done it without you pushing me," I say nothing to that as I already know it isn't true, Shisui would still have graduated at the top of his year. If anything, he's the reason why I'm here alongside him.

"For those of you who remain, congratulations again. Your team assignments are as follows: Team 87, Hatsu Uchiha, Todo Akimichi, and Setsuna Tomada. Your jonin sensei is Yashiro Kurama…" Immediately after he says so, the named jonin appears in the room, instructing them to follow him.

My team is the last to be called, but when it is, I am caught by surprise, "…Team 96, Kenji Akane, Ichiro Shishigami, and Shisui Uchiha. Your jonin sensei is Mukai Kohinata."

"Whoa Ichiro, we're on the same team! I knew we would be. I can't wait to go on missions.", says Shisui. Our other teammate, a 12-year-old boy with brown, spiky hair and black eyes walks over and just says, "Yo, nice to meet you guys."

To that, I say, "Likewise" with a smile and Shisui responds, "Nice to meet you, Kenji, please take care of us."