Starting with the troublemakers of Konoha, the pressure extends throughout the entire ninja world.

After a short rest at noon, the practical test began in the afternoon.

Before the test, Minato came over specifically.

"Qingyu, how did the theory test go this morning?"

Qingyu shook her head helplessly: "Only heaven knows, but it's still full of writing."

He said that, but in his heart he kept despising Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The person who sets this question is truly despicable.

Whether I can curry favor with the third generation... is hard to say.

What if you end up flattering someone who ends up hurting them?

Everyone gathered at the practice area, and Junji Ito clapped his hands.

"The practical test has officially begun."

"First, we will conduct a ninja tool throwing test, which will be divided into fixed targets and moving targets, and ranked according to the number of times the bullseye is hit."

There's not much to say about fixed targets.

With ten targets lined up in a row, you can see results after a month of serious practice.

When the moving target was pushed out, there was a collective gasp and sigh from the audience.

The ten active targets move back and forth at different speeds and in different directions, some of them even undulating up and down.

Without saying a word.

With a raised hand, a volley of kunai was fired, and all twenty targets were hit in the bullseye.

He glanced back and said, "Don't make excuses for your incompetence. Ninja academies don't teach trash."

Qingyu silently memorized the new Konoha Jiahao Rules:

If you're too stupid, the villagers will accept you, but the teachers will start putting pressure on you.

"I'll go first!"

Akiyama Yuta couldn't wait.

He desperately wanted to improve, especially the chance to trample that blond guy underfoot.

"First place is mine!"

Eight out of ten shots hit the stationary target, while three out of ten shots hit the moving target.

To be fair, this achievement is quite remarkable for an ordinary Konoha villager who has only been enrolled for a month.

That's already pretty good.

After all, not everyone has the bloodline of a thousand hands or a system cheat.

The fact that Yuta Akiyama has reached this level shows that he has indeed put in a lot of effort.

But in Konoha, what's not lacking is mid-level geniuses.

With family inheritance, parental succession, and the blessing of secret techniques, Konoha boasts the most abundant reserve of mid-level ninjas in the entire ninja world.

Yuta Akiyama is a "top-tier horse among the lower-class horses".

You can find your own screw in Konoha.

Catching cats and dogs, escorting caravans, and cleaning waterways—they'll be adept at all of these in the future.

Yuta Akiyama, however, did not think so.

He turned and gave Minato a provocative look.

Because he always believed that his grades were excellent.

Perhaps this is a case of how the environment shapes the people.

Only in a place with such a huge gap between geniuses and ordinary people could such cunning villagers be raised.

Junji Ito saw it all but said nothing.

For him, appropriate competition is necessary.

The path of a ninja lies in the word "struggle".

As ordinary villagers, they were already behind the clan ninjas at the starting line, so they had to fight for it.

"Next up, Minato Namikaze."

Minato smiled and nodded to his teacher, while Junji Ito nodded in satisfaction in response.

After all, in the Land of Fire, where masters and apprentices play battle royale games together, such normal interactions are rare.

Minato picked up his shuriken and swiftly brought it down.

Twenty shuriken were thrown at various angles, bouncing back in straight lines and arcs, clean and crisp.

All targets were hit.

All moving targets hit.

Moreover, all of them hit the bullseye; not a single shot grazed the edge.

The practice area was quiet for a second, then erupted into chaos.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Could he really be a genius?"

"I come from the mountains..."

Outside the stadium, Minato Namikaze's fan club was already cheering wildly.

This is the environment of Konoha.

You may not have a job, but you can't not go out and make connections.

When a genius suddenly appears out of nowhere, pressure is inevitable.

This is the basic quality of the villagers of Konoha.

Junji Ito also showed a surprised expression.

He had thought Minato Namikaze would be excellent, but he didn't expect him to be this excellent.

Yuta Akiyama's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

He looked at the shuriken on the bullseye.

It seems that this year, he is destined to be overshadowed by that blond guy.

Damn.

Is losing to Huang Mao his destiny?

The ordinary villagers who came next had unremarkable results.

Most people would consider it good if they could hit the target four or five times.

The moving targets were even more appalling.

Some missed the target so badly they didn't even glide past the edge.

Some simply threw their shuriken onto the target position next door.

So far, the best score is surprisingly achieved by a blonde girl.

That is, Yakushi Nono.

Eight out of ten shots hit the target when stationary, and five out of ten shots hit the target when moving.

This was the result of her deliberately concealing her talents.

Qingyu could see it clearly from the queue.

Nonou pauses very slightly before each throw.

That was a deliberate adjustment of the angle, to prevent myself from hitting too many targets.

Even so, this result already surpasses 90% of the students present.

Yuta Akiyama looked at Nono's grades, then at his own.

Suddenly I realized I wasn't so bad after all.

win!

"Next, Qingyu."

Minato Namikaze tensed up.

Aoba walked to the throwing line, picked up his shuriken, and glanced back at Minato.

The meaning in his eyes was very clear.

You can hit ten because you can only hit ten.

I was able to hit ten times because there are only ten kunai.

[Detected that the host is causing mental stress to Minato Namikaze. Stress level +35. Gained: Spatial Perception Fragment ×2]

All targets were hit.

All moving targets hit.

All hit the bullseye.

The movements were fluid and natural, like throwing pebbles in one's own yard.

The practice field fell silent again, then the cheers grew even louder.

"Another perfect score!" "Tie for first place!"

Minato watched Aoba's retreating figure with a complex expression.

It wasn't hostility, but confirmation that "as expected."

Qingyu's throws were more casual and his rhythm more stable than his.

Anyone with eyes can see that Qingyu held back her strength.

Minato clenched his fist.

Next time, he'll unleash his remaining energy.

He wanted to know just how big the gap was between himself and Qingyu.

Junji Ito closed the report card: "In the throwing test, Minato Namikaze and Aoba tied for first place."

Yuta Akiyama stood in the crowd, his expression changing from gloomy to bewildered.

Both the blond and black-haired boys were correct.

Akiyama felt a little flustered. He considered himself a genius among ordinary people, but he hadn't even gotten second place.

At that moment, he felt as if the gazes around him were judging him.

"Hey, you three over there, why aren't you getting tested?!"

Yuta Akiyama began to question him as if he had found an enemy.

Qingyu followed the other person's finger and saw three people.

After a brief assessment, he learned the other person's identity.

Yamazaka Kaiichi, Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Choza.

That is, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio from the same era as Minato.

"What are you looking at? Come out and fight me one-on-one."

"One's as fat as a pig, one looks like he just woke up, and you, what are you looking at!"

Yuta Akiyama thought these three people were probably poor students who lacked self-confidence.

I forgot to turn off the automatic attack.

Furthermore, at that moment he desperately needed someone to vent to, so he forgot what this classic three-person pairing meant.

Nara Shikaku: "Huh~?"

The three people who were slacking off on the sidelines, who were completely unlike the participants in the test, were suddenly scolded harshly.

They all seemed a little confused.

Nara Shikaku even thought that the teacher had come to arrest them.

I never expected him to be just an ordinary villager from Konoha.

Then Shikaku seemed to realize something and immediately felt relieved.