Chapter 9: Chapter 9 - Will of Fire
Konohagakure - 32nd Year of Founding, Early Spring
Shinobi Academy
After the medical examination, Izuna was guided towards the academy building and taken to one of the many vacant classrooms, where the written exam's were being conducted, upon entering the room, a brief glance showed that there were around fifty other participants sitting in isolated rows of singular tables, and there was an absent seat at the front right corner near the window.
Taking a seat he gazed outside the window, and saw the initial courtyard, which had been crowded this morning, had become almost desolate, as the remaining participants had either left or were currently inside for the written examination.
About five minutes had passed when the door to the classroom flung open, followed by the loud footsteps of a muscled middle-aged man with long grey hair and a scarred grizzled face, holding a stack of papers bunched against his chest.
"Listen up brats, the name is Satoshi Musashi, I am the Tokubetsu Jōnin assigned to monitor this examination. If I catch any of you cheating, you fail. If any of you show disrespect, you fail. If any of you displease me, you fail. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Sir." The sound of fifty voices, replying in unison, reverberated around the classroom.
"This is a written assessment, to test your knowledge and judge your abilities. This test will determine your placement in your respective classes, alongside your results from the previous examinations."
"You are not to start the test until I give you leave." Satoshi said as he began walking down the aisles, leaving the test sheets face down upon their desks.
"You have ninety minutes to complete this test to the best of your abilities, you will not be allowed to leave the classroom within this time, and my eyes will be on you, so don't even think about cheating. You may start."
Izuna flipped the test sheet over, and saw that there were sixty questions in total, and only a small portion at the start were multiple choice.
He started on the multiple choice questions, which were a set of ten questions regarding advanced mathematical equations or historical dates pertaining to Konoha and its founding.
Izuna himself had no trouble regarding answering these questions, as maths was something he had an advanced understanding of, paired with his upbringing in the noble Uchiha clan.
He didn't want to imagine his father's reaction if he failed or got the questions about Konoha's founding wrong. He'd imagine it would be immediate grounds for disinheritance, with him being a part of one of the two founding clans.
Izuna read the eleventh question and frowned. 'What does it mean to be a shinobi.'
He pondered on the question for a minute or so, before scribbling down a neutral answer. 'A shinobi is one who would endure through pain and suffering and be willing to take another's life in order to protect that which they hold dear. Regardless of the passing of time, a shinobi's will remains firm, and stands unyielding holding to their ideals and will.'
The preceding questions became increasingly difficult, as it became more subjective questions which tested one's actual knowledge and understanding of each topic, alongside trying to no doubt form a psychological profile, through each person's answers.
'What are the three prohibitions Shinobi must abstain from overindulging in?'
Sighing, Izuna jotted down, 'Sex, Alcohol and Money.' while wondering who the hell expected a normal six-year-old to answer this correctly.
'What is the most important discipline for a shinobi, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu or Genjutsu?'
This particular question caused him to raise an eyebrow, he assumed it did not have a single answer, and was instead a way to gauge his attitude. He had no doubt many people instinctively think Ninjutsu is the most important, and he would be inclined to agree with them if not for a single man, Mighty Guy.
So he began formulating his response, as he wrote. 'The most important disciplines can be discerned from knowing what is tried and tested through conflict, battles and war. There is not a single shinobi in the world who achieved S rank while being unable to dispel genjutsu or being incapable of using taijutsu proficiently. Ninjutsu, although extremely important to a shinobi, lacks the versatility of taijutsu, as it is often limited by circumstances such as environment, location, chakra and other factors.
Taijutsu on the other hand is the foundational and most essential skill for any shinobi, due to the unpredictability of missions, battles and war. One will not always have time to prepare or react. Genjutsu on the other hand is also very important, as the ability to dispel a genjutsu is the deciding factor between life or death upon the battlefield. As a result, I deem taijutsu as the most vital discipline, with genjutsu and ninjutsu as a tied second.'
Izuna finished the test and answered the remaining questions to the best of his ability, with about twenty minutes to spare, and was left gazing outside the window at the hokage rock until he was permitted to leave.
∞
Hiruzen sighed as once again he began perusing the file, only 931 out of 3465 participants passed the entrance exam, and that was after lowering the standards as much as possible, and even then it was only a twenty percent increase from last year.
"Were there any stand out students?" he asked, tearing his gaze from the many papers stacked upon his desk.
"Outside of a single student who received a perfect score for the written exam, there were some students with potential, but no more than usual." Kinjo replied succinctly.
"A perfect score, you say?" Hiruzen asked, his eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"Yes Lord Hokage, as per usual we used a previous test given to last year's sixth grade graduation class, and for the entrance exams out of nine hundred and thirty-one, less than twenty students answered more than fifteen of the sixty questions correctly whereas this student in particular received full marks." he replied succinctly.
"Do you have the exam paper for the student in question?" Hiruzen asked hurriedly.
"Yes, Lord Hokage, I have it right here." he replied, handing the hokage the exam paper.
"Uchiha Izuna, hm ..." Hiruzen muttered to himself thoughtfully, it was a name he was very familiar with after learning under Tobirama sensei as in his later years, he often mentioned his childhood, and his age-old rival was ever present. From what his old friend Kagami had mentioned about Setsuna, he would have expected him to name his son after his uncle rather than father.
Hiruzen couldn't help but frown, nobody is expected to pass the written exam for the entrance exams, the purpose of using the mock graduation test isn't for them to pass, but instead to help them develop a psychological profile for each potential student, alongside a way of identifying any potential prodigies.
Hiruzen, took a long, deep draw from his pipe, while deep in thought.
It was not unheard of for some children to pass the written test for the entrance exam, but that was far and in between, but this? It was unprecedented, there had never been a situation where a first year had received full marks at a test aimed for the graduation class.
As Hokage he would often receive reports every year for the emerging talents or potential prodigies within the village, and he had received a report last year about the young Uchiha, but he had written him off as yet another precocious child at the time.
Hiruzen did not know what to make it of this, the last time a student this promising graced the academy was when Orochimaru was still a child, normally he would be thrilled at such a find… but he had a headache at the political implications, it was such a pity the boy was an Uchiha… He already knew what his friend Danzo's reaction would be. It was such a pity he had inherited too much of their sensei's hatred for the Uchiha.
∞
Due to the large increase in the student population, it had taken three days for the Shinobi Academy to organise their applicants into various classes and hire extra personnel.
There were around nine hundred and thirty students who would begin at the academy, and the teaching staff were forced to assign teachers and students based on merit and other political considerations.
The top one hundred and fifty students would be divided into five separate classes, with Class A: 1 & Class A: 2, being the top sixty most promising students, the two classes which were composed almost in their entirety of clan children, with a few rare civilian students.
Whereas Class B: 1 & Class B: 2, were a mix of the students who were the most promising consisting of mostly civilian ninja with a few clan shinobi.
While Class C: 1, Class C: 2 & Class C: 3, were made up almost entirely of those from clan backgrounds, who, while not showing spectacular talent, would most likely be able to achieve at least Chunin due to their clan's resources and teachings.
Whereas the remaining seven hundred or so were mainly from those of civilian backgrounds recruited from within Konohagakure itself, alongside numerous places within the Land of Fire, they would be divided into sixteen separate classes of roughly forty to fifty students, and would receive more standardised teachings, and would only very rarely boast of any early graduates.
∞
It would take three days after the entrance exam for the academy to start, so Izuna had spent these remaining days with his mother, as he knew she would resume her duties as a shinobi, alongside spending some time with Naori, and thanks to their training over the past few months he believed she would be able to take part in next year's coming of age rite, which was rather impressive for a six-year-old girl, given that it was the age that his father and the current clan head underwent the rite themselves.
Izuna awoke early for his first day at the academy, and donned his traditional Uchiha garb before giving his mother a couple hugs and made his way to his uncle's house to pick up Naori, as she spent the long walk into the village happily chatting along, excited about her first day, especially as they had both been assigned to the same class.
Konohgakure's Shinobi academy was located beside the hokage's office, and beneath the Hokage Rock which loomed over the village. The courtyard was filled with nine hundred or so students arriving for their first day, although the faces of some older children could be spotted from the windows of a few classrooms.
The grounds of the academy itself were simply enormous, although given the importance of the academy it was only natural. The courtyard, although bustling, was more bearable than a few days ago, as there were only a few parents and teachers watching off from the side. Before long, the crowd of children gathered before an empty wooden platform in the middle of the courtyard.
Izuna would pass the next few minutes chatting with Naori until the Sandaime Hokage, also known as Lord Third, The Professor, and the God of Shinobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself appeared on the speakers platform
The Hokage himself was below average stature, measuring in at one hundred and sixty-three centimetres tall, but this was no reason to underestimate the man. He wore the Hokage's garb, consisting of a white and red robe, with a wide-brimmed hat, with the kanji for fire visible on the front.
Izuna observed that unlike the decrepit and aged Hiruzen he was familiar with, this one had yet to face the ravages of time, his skin was still tanned and his small goatee and hair were dark brown not grey, and his face was not yet wrinkled, only possessing two small black vertical lines running down the outer corners of each eye.
The change was immediate, only moments ago the hundreds of children had filled the courtyard with raucous laughter, and loud discussion and various other noises, but as soon as the Third Hokage made his appearance, everyone went silent immediately.
"Congratulations to each one of you for making it past the entrance exams, and taking the first step towards becoming a shinobi. As the Hokage it gladdens my heart, to know there are still so many of you willing to stand up, and become shinobi to protect your village.
Each of you will have to endure hard training and work over the next few years in order to become a shinobi, and although a shinobi's life may be difficult at times, it is not a thankless one.
As it is because of the Will of Fire passed down from the First Hokage that we are able to live in peace and harmony, because of the many sacrifices from of the past and present generations of Leaf Shinobi, who loved and cherished their village, believing in the future generations to carry on the Will of Fire.
I hope by the end of your time at the Shinobi academy, each one of you will have an unyielding mind, able to endure suffering, training and hardships, for the sake of your village, in order to preserve its peace and prosperity."
After the speech ended, the Hokage disappeared in a flash of leaves, and many of the parents said their final goodbyes as the crowd of children made their way excitedly towards their new classrooms while still talking about the Hokage and his speech.
Izuna held Naori's hand as he jostled towards the front of the crowd, until they managed to get free and began making their way through the crowded corridors towards the stairs leading towards the third floor. Once there, he then looked around for room 204, until he spotted the sign at the east end of the hallway.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone