From then, all of the young participants were divided into several groups by the proctoring Chuunins and teachers in charge of overseeing the exam.
In one such group were placed the few children from Hinode Orphanage, along with others.
All of them were gathered in a spacious training field—Claire assumed this was also the case with the other groups.
"Okay, listen up!" One of the Chuunins announced. "You're all here to see whether you're student material or not, and if you've got what it takes to be a ninja in the future. The exam will be simple and straightforward, and we'll test just how far your bodies can go."
He then proceeded to explain what the exam consisted of: the first part obviously involved running. Claire reasoned that this was done because a ninja must have plentiful reserves of stamina if they're going to travel long distances, of course.
It was also kind of insane just how much participants there were, being just a little over 100 within her group and likely over a thousand more spread across the other fields.
"So, what you're going to do, is run a minimum of three laps around the field. If you can't even do that, then just give up and try again next year! This is a basic requirement that one must meet if they want to become a ninja."
This mere statement had already caused a few hands to rise in defeat after a moment of looking at the distance they would have to run. Each lap was 500 meters!
Claire was impressed with how blunt the examineer was. Guess you really had to be a little rough if you wanted to guarantee the quality of your soldiers, huh?
"If any of you still can keep going after the first laps, do it. The more you can do, the better—remember that each lap starts from here," he pointed at the line carved into the dirt right in front of the entire group. "And you'll have to run in an oval, until you reach this same line once again. I assume everyone here knows what an oval is?"
"""Yes, sir!"""
"Okay, good." He casually said, before lazily gesturing at the three guys beside him, each with a clipboard in hand. "My partners will be keeping count of each lap you cross, and mark down your progress.
If you, for some reason, decide to think you can just walk without even trying—we'll know. You're instantly going to be failed, and we will pull you out of this little stroll, got it?"
There was a small moment of silence and nervous murmurs between the kids, before most of them answered in unison, """Yes, sir!"""
"Good."
He raised a hand to the sky.
"The moment I lower my hand, you will all start running like your lives depend on it." He announced loudly, his expression indifferent.
'Though, it kind of does... since your future careers are at risk here!'
Despite how he appeared to be, his thoughts were the complete opposite!
The children readied themselves. Claire noted that Ren was unusually fired up for the exam, likely a result of Hiruzen's speech.
"Go!" he exclaimed, lowering his hand sharply. "Run, run, run!"
Not a second later, everyone set off! Dirt kicked up in little clouds as the mass ran forward, some recklessly sprinting and others maintaining a small pace.
Claire wasn't very worried. In spite of just jogging, she was already faster than a majority of the children, even the ones that started sprinting early without giving it a second thought. Yokka followed behind her, attempting to match her pace and almost sprinting in doing so.
Ren was following the matron's advice to the very core, maintaining a controlled tempo in his steps and not looking at anyone else.
"Third lap, don't give up on us now! You, you're disqualified! You can't walk to rest, you have to run! RUN!"
Claire easily counted around thirty-six kids who had already dropped out of the mini-track, a result of them recklessly spending stamina at the beginning of the run. Some even went out sobbing!
'That is cruel, honestly. Telling them to go home, just like that...' she thought with a mental grimace. 'If I wasn't some reincarnated freak, I would've definitely been crushed by it.'
By the fifth lap, most were satisfied just to have passed, so they conceded. Only twenty-two remained—including Claire, Yokka, and Ren.
'I still have plenty left in the tank, while those two...'
She took a glance at the scenery behind her as she jogged. They were already gasping for air, their chests heaving and their face glistening from the sweat that clung onto their skin. They were barely keeping up with her pace at this point.
Claire smiled to herself, and looked forward.
'I have already passed, so I might as well kick it up a notch, huh?'
Stomp.
Yokka's eyes widened at the sudden sound.
"You're not going to...!"
"Buh-bye~!" Claire waved at the fiery girl behind her, and soon, the distance between them began to increase rapidly!
Even Ren couldn't help but be shocked at such a rash, illogical decision!! The proctors were similarly bewildered by this.
Unbeknownst to them, this wasn't even the full extent of her speed. She had merely shifted from jogging, to a brisk stride, still far away from running or sprinting with every ounce of strength.
"F-Fourteen are left! Keep going!"
Seven laps, and Claire was starting to feel the fatigue. Both Yokka and Ren looked just about ready to collapse, and on the eighth lap, they both finally dropped!
This kept going on until the tenth lap, where Claire decided to willingly step down, leaving only five other children on the track. Something gave her the feeling that if she showed too much, she'd draw unwanted attention. From who? She had no idea, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
The remaining ones were clan children. Claire recognized various symbols; Akimichi, Hyuuga, and... Senju?
She was a little astounded by the fact, though she didn't know why. Were they supposed to be here? Only a minimal part of her 'memories' had returned over the course of the months, so she wasn't entirely sure.
Soon enough, they all peaked at the 12th lap, leaving the proctors to wonder incredulously what the fuck they've been feeding these children. It was something special, that was for sure!
Then, after resting for a good five minutes, they were gathered into a group once again.
Claire wiped the sweat from her brow and looked around. Some of the remaining children were still panting heavily, clutching their stomachs or leaning over with hands on knees. They had ran for their lives, after all.
"Now, it doesn't matter if you're still tired. A ninja must press on no matter the circumstance, and get the mission done. Every single one of you will drop down, and will prove exactly why you belong in this Academy! Those who can't do even 20 push-ups, you may give up."
Surprisingly, not a single hand was raised despite his warning, and they easily complied. The Chuunin was impressed by this.
'Right, they're in too deep to just go now,' he smirked faintly. "Okay then, let's see it!"
His expression quickly turned into one of disappointment once five of them gave up at barely even thirteen!
"...You're out," he repeated, each time pointing at the ones that failed.
The children looked down in shame, shoulders trembling as they were escorted away.
'I know we're in dire need of shinobi,' the Chuunin thought, narrowing his eyes, 'but we need to keep some actual quality. This guy earlier told me it was 'harsh' to just fail them, but Konoha shouldn't recklessly spend its resources on people who aren't even willing to put in the work. Hell no!'
The exam kept going on, and eventually, sixty-eight of the children remained. The three who managed the most, were Senju Renji with 89 push-ups, followed by Hyuuga Ichiro at just 86, and surprisingly...
Satou Claire, with 82 push-ups. She actually struggled a fair bit on this one, despite her consistency. Ren ended up doing 56, and Yokka 49.
Not bad, she thought.
Then, they moved on to the other three basic exercises. Claire held back slightly this time, and ended up doing less than she was able to. 136 squats, 64 sit-ups, and just about 38 pull-ups. She was careful to always land in either 3rd or 4th place.
If she didn't do enough, she wouldn't gain much backing. As an orphan, you didn't get to have that luxury—then again, if she did too much and ended up in first place, she risked a certain someone going way too far just to recruit her. So, the answer to this was a balance. Not enough that she'd become this exam's ringer, but not so little that she faded into the background like another faceless orphan.
Ren's results were more modest—92 squats, 47 sit-ups, and 19 pull-ups before his arms gave out entirely. Yokka, still gritting her teeth from the earlier strain, pushed through with 78 squats, 42 sit-ups, and 15 pull-ups. They looked relieved that the exam was over already.
The same couldn't be said for the Senju and the Hyuuga, though.
Senju Renji managed 154 squats, 71 sit-ups, and 41 pull-ups without faltering, while Hyuuga Ichiro was just a breath beneath Renji! Renji made his pride obvious over Ichiro, and a rivalry was clearly beginning to sprout between the two.
'How beautiful,' Claire thought quietly. 'I remember when I met my first rival at Kendo—unfortunate that they had to abandon the art after a year, due to their own reasons. They were talented. Shame, honestly.'
The number had dropped to just 63 of them.
"Congratulations. All of you have passed," the Chuunin said with a smile. "You may rest for a few minutes longer, then we'll distribute the pass slips. Each of you will receive a document verifying that you have successfully passed the admission exams, and are now officially students of Konoha's Academy."
A collective sigh of relief echoed among the group. Finally, it was over! Some were crying from joy, some slumped to the ground in exhaustion, and some stood straight with pride in their eyes. So much effort and pain, and it all led to this very moment!
Too bad the same couldn't be said for those who failed. Poor them, I guess.
"I... I did it. I did it! Yatta, yatta!!" Yokka hopped in place while flailing her arms around, her face glistening from the sweat dripping down her face. "I'm a student, I'm a student!! Claire, Ren, we are finally taking our first step towards becoming ninja!"
"I'm finally a student...?" Ren muttered, his voice half-lost as he gazed at his dirt-streaked palms.
Claire could only nod with a small, amused smile. "Of course we did. We all earned our spots here during these two months."
Then, the Chuunin cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention.
"Okay, listen up. This may be a bit pointless, but it's part of the procedure."
Claire blinked in surprise. What could he mean?
"I assume everyone here has unlocked their chakra by now, correct? Either by having a specialist do it for you, have your parents assist you in it, or even by doing it yourself. I'll ask again, who here doesn't have their chakra unlocked?"
A few hands were raised. Mostly the ones that barely passed by doing the minimum amount of reps needed to clear the physical tests—that was expected.
What was not expected, though, was the hand that was raised after.
'Huh? The fuck? This... this child doesn't have access to their chakra?'
Satou Claire had raised her hand.
The most of the children didn't know what that implied, but the ones who did had their mouths wide open.
'How can you do all of that while not having access to your chakra?! Chakra enhances your every aspect down to the cellular level if you use it actively, which is why we ninja are so strong! So how the fuck can this kid do all of that?! She's a monster!'
He could only stay there in shock, while Claire tilted her head knowingly, faking confusion. This was her chance to finally use chakra, and plus, it was amusing to see their reactions.
"You... you truly cannot use your chakra?"
"I can't."
She bluntly stated.
"And you're not lying to me and the others."
Given that Yokka and Ren were also shocked by the fact, it was becoming clear that no one really knew about her inability to use chakra just yet.
"I'm not."
The Chuunin had never heard such bullshit before!
This was going to be a pain, that was for sure.
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