An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
"The exam time is over. Everyone may leave," Aoshi announced calmly. "The results will be posted before school ends today. You can check them on the display board."
As soon as his words fell, everyone stopped writing, stood up, and began filing out of the classroom.
"Rin, Shizune, how do you feel?" Kurenai asked as she walked between the two of them. "Are you confident you passed?"
"No problem," Rin replied with a gentle smile. "These questions were all very simple."
"Yes," Shizune nodded in agreement. "As long as you paid attention in class, they were quite easy to answer."
Hearing their responses, Kurenai smiled as well.
"That's great. It looks like all three of us can pass the exam and move on to the second stage."
She was clearly confident in herself.
Uchiha Obito, however, who was walking on Rin's other side, was in a completely different state of mind.
The joys and sorrows of people were never interconnected. Theoretical knowledge had always been his weak point, and even with Rin's help, he still lacked confidence.
That said, he had filled in answers for every question, at least.
"Obito, how did you do on the test?" Rin Nohara suddenly turned her head and asked him with concern.
Kurenai and Shizune also looked over at the same time.
Faced with the gazes of the three girls, Obito immediately suppressed his anxious thoughts.
He straightened his back and replied with forced confidence, "I am Uchiha Obito! A test this difficult can't possibly stump me!"
"Really? I don't believe it!" Kurenai immediately questioned him when she saw his attitude.
Obito hurriedly explained that with Rin's help, he had learned all the material.
Moreover, he had answered every single question. So he would definitely pass!
Yet, watching his exaggerated confidence paired with his obvious nervousness, the atmosphere was filled with lighthearted amusement.
After collecting all the test papers, Aoshi immediately began grading them.
The paper was worth a total of one hundred points. Under normal circumstances, the passing requirement would have been at least ninety-five points.
However, considering that these were still Ninja Academy students who could not devote all their time and energy to his course alone, Aoshi had deliberately relaxed the standard.
Anyone who scored above seventy-five points would pass.
"As expected of those who became excellent Medical Ninja in the original work," Aoshi thought. "Rin and Shizune both scored perfect marks."
They were the only two to achieve a full score. Such results were completely within Aoshi's expectations.
Nohara Rin had quickly become a Medical Ninja after graduation.
If she had not been caught up in Uchiha Madara's scheme, she would undoubtedly have grown into an outstanding Medical Jonin in the future.
As for Shizune, there was even less to say. She was capable of following Tsunade and treating patients in her stead when Tsunade's hemophobia acted up.
If the two of them hadn't scored perfectly on an exam covering such basic knowledge, Aoshi would have found that strange.
"Kurenai is impressive as well," Aoshi noted quietly. "Ninety-five points—the second-highest score. She would have passed even without the relaxed requirement."
After grading Kurenai's paper, Aoshi felt a trace of surprise. He had originally thought she was only attending his class on a whim.
After all, Kurenai's father was a Genjutsu Jonin, and she herself possessed remarkable talent in Genjutsu.
Now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
Still, recalling how Jonin Kurenai had once attempted to use Genjutsu on Uchiha Itachi in the future—only to be instantly countered—Aoshi felt that learning Medical Ninjutsu might not be a bad path for her at all.
Before long, Aoshi finished grading all the test papers.
Out of more than fifty students, only twenty-three met the passing requirement. Everyone else was eliminated.
After school, the students immediately crowded around the display board to check their results.
Kurenai, Rin, and Shizune, who were all confident, remained completely calm.
Obito, however, was visibly nervous. When he saw his score—seventy-three points, just two points short of passing—his spirit seemed to leave his body at once.
His face went pale, and his entire posture wilted.
Damn it… I won't be able to keep taking classes with Rin this time! Why was it only two points short?!
"It's okay, Obito. You really tried your best." Seeing his expression, Rin immediately comforted him with the gentleness of an older sister.
"Besides, I believe you can still become an excellent ninja even without studying Medical Ninjutsu."
"And once I learn Medical Ninjutsu," she added softly, "I can treat Obito whenever he gets injured."
Under Rin's reassurance, Obito quickly perked up again. "Then I'll become an excellent Jonin in the future and protect Rin!"
"Mhm," Rin smiled. "I believe Obito can definitely do it."
---
Senju Clan Compound.
"This is so boring…" Kushina, alone at home, couldn't help but complain aloud.
Tsunade was at the research base, and Mai had gone to find Minato. Even Aoshi had his own work to attend to.
Even though Aoshi had specially prepared a device for her to watch movies, watching them alone felt meaningless.
"I want to go out and play!" Kushina shouted toward the empty space around her.
Moments later, several masked Anbu silently appeared. They were shinobi personally assigned by Sarutobi Hiruzen to secretly monitor and protect Kushina.
"No. According to Hokage-sama's orders, you are not permitted to leave the Senju Clan Compound for the time being."
It was not surprising that Sarutobi Hiruzen would issue such an order.
The reason was simple: Kushina was still young and could not yet suppress the Nine-Tails as completely as Uzumaki Mito once had. Under such circumstances, the risk of her going berserk was extremely high.
For safety reasons, her range of activity had to be strictly restricted.
"Am I going to be stuck here for the rest of my life?" Kushina was clearly unhappy.
"As long as you can control the power of the Nine-Tails, you will be allowed to go outside."
Of course, even then, it would only be limited outings. After hearing the Anbu ninja's reply, Kushina felt helpless, but she could only accept it.
"I understand." Once the Anbu ninja disappeared, Kushina clenched her fists tightly.
She had to master the Nine-Tails' power as soon as possible. Otherwise, being confined within the small Senju Clan Compound like this, she felt she would go crazy sooner or later.
With that thought, Kushina's consciousness immediately sank into the Sealing Space.
It was pitch-dark here, with only faint traces of light illuminating the surroundings.
Fortunately, with a ninja's eyesight, the darkness posed little trouble, and she could still see clearly.
An ominous aura lingered throughout the space, and Kushina knew exactly where it came from.
The Nine-Tails.
After all, that monster was the strongest of the Tailed Beasts. It was the embodiment of hatred itself.
Because of this, Kushina had always resisted coming here to face the Nine-Tails.
This time, she had only entered after preparing herself mentally. She did not want to be endlessly restricted within the Senju Clan Compound in the future.
Taking a deep breath, Kushina began to walk forward. No—more accurately, she was walking across the surface of water.
Stepping calmly atop the water, she soon arrived at a vast open area. There stood a massive red gate, sealed tightly shut by an enormous talisman plastered across it.
Behind that gate, the ominous aura was so dense it was almost tangible.
That was where the Nine-Tails resided. As Kushina looked toward the gate, a gigantic orange fox with nine massive tails slowly came into view.
This was the Nine-Tails—also known as the Nine-Tails Demon Fox.
Suddenly— The Nine-Tails, which had been slumbering, snapped open its blood-red eyes.
Its sheer size was overwhelming; each of its eyes was nearly as large as Kushina herself.
Those scarlet fox eyes, brimming with killing intent, locked onto her, releasing an immense pressure that bore down on her body and soul.
"Brat… you actually have the nerve to come here on your own?"
"Are you here to let me kill you?"
Its enormous jaws parted slightly as it stood up, speaking human language as naturally as a person.
In the ninja world, all Tailed Beasts possessed this ability. Even powerful summoning creatures were capable of speech.
As the Nine-Tails' voice echoed through the space, a terrifying surge of chakra poured out from behind the gate.
Its target was unmistakable—Kushina.
It wanted to corrupt her, seize control of her body, and take revenge on the detestable village called Konoha.
Thinking back to the past… It had lived peacefully for a thousand years, never once provoking humans.
And then that man—Uchiha Madara—had abruptly shattered its existence. He had used the Sharingan to control it, forcing it into a summoning contract.
The strongest of all Tailed Beasts was reduced to a mere tool, driven at another's whim.
As if that humiliation were not enough, the most infuriating one came afterward— Senju Hashirama.
"You're too powerful, Nine-Tails. Your power should be sealed."
Those were his words.
And then, a wooden giant even larger than itself appeared and grabbed it with one hand, like a kitten or a stray dog.
Before it could even process what was happening, the Nine-Tails wanted to roar in disbelief. Are you even speaking human language?!
It was true that it was powerful—so powerful that people regarded it as a natural disaster. But those words should never have come from Senju Hashirama's mouth.
Before it could refute him, however, it lost its freedom completely. Sealed inside Uzumaki Mito.
Decades passed.
And just when it thought freedom was finally within reach, it was sealed once again—
This time, inside Uzumaki Kushina. Because of this, the Nine-Tails' hatred toward Konoha ran impossibly deep.
Revenge filled its thoughts every waking moment. Feeling the Nine-Tails' chakra surging toward her, Kushina's expression changed instantly.
She activated the sealing power at once. Several massive red torii gates descended from above, slamming down and suppressing the Nine-Tails.
The spreading chakra was forcibly driven back.
"Damn brat! I'll kill you!" Having its power restrained yet again, the Nine-Tails roared furiously.
At the same time, Kushina shouted back with determination, "Nine-Tails! This is my body! I need to master your power!"
Those words only enraged it further.
Another human coveting its power. Just as expected—humans were utterly untrustworthy!
"Brat, do you know who I am?!"
"I'm the strongest Tailed Beast!"
"I am not something a brat like you can control!"
Roar! Under Kushina's stunned gaze, even a simple roar carried terrifying force. Red chakra began to spread from the Nine-Tails once more.
"No… I can't be afraid. I have to master the Nine-Tails' power."
With that resolve, Kushina did not dodge this time. Instead, she actively accepted the surging chakra.
"This is bad!" In the very next instant, her expression changed drastically.
She had believed that with the Nine-Tails suppressed to this extent, she could endure its power.
But she had underestimated it. Completely.
When Kushina desperately tried to suppress the rampaging chakra, it was already too late.