"Students, today's exam is especially important," Ogawa said, his expression unusually serious. "The Third Hokage will personally select three students from this class to become his disciples."
Gasps rippled through the classroom.
"This is a rare opportunity. I expect everyone to do their best and show their full potential."
The room immediately erupted in noise.
There were five classes in this year's Ninja Academy cohort. Each class had between sixty and seventy students—more than 300 students in total.
And yet, only three would be chosen.
"Doesn't that mean we don't stand a chance?" one student groaned. "Hokage-sama's definitely going to pick the top scorers!"
It wasn't an unfair assumption.
"That's not necessarily true," Ogawa clarified. "The selection will be based on overall ability, not just test scores. Daily behavior and classroom performance are also being considered."
"That's even worse!" the same boy cried. "Lord Hokage's going to hate kids who misbehave!"
His face twisted in despair.
"You… might have a point," Ogawa admitted, unable to sugarcoat it.
A chorus of groans followed, mostly from the boys. Their wails echoed through the room.
But the truth was, even good behavior might not matter.
Everyone knew the Third Hokage was coming for Princess Tsunade.
Even Ogawa knew that much.
Tsunade had to be taught in a normal class, so she needed peers her own age. That's why the opportunity even existed at all.
Everyone knew she'd take one of the three spots. Another would surely go to the student with the highest grades in the entire grade level.
Ogawa's gaze drifted toward Maki.
She was unquestionably the top student—unless something unexpected happened, the spot was hers.
Compared to the rumored genius in Class B, Orochimaru—who people said was born once in a generation—Maki was even more terrifying in her consistency and control.
As for the final spot, it might go to someone slightly less outstanding… but definitely not someone from a noble clan like Hyūga, Uchiha, or Kurama.
Ogawa had grown up in Konoha. He'd been in the same class as Sarutobi Hiruzen. He understood how that man thought.
To avoid suspicion or favoritism, the Hokage would never pick a child from the Ino-Shika-Chō families or from his own Sarutobi and Shimura clans.
That left one group: civilian children.
Orochimaru fit that category.
Maki, though undeniably brilliant, was a bit harder to place. Her background wasn't widely known.
There was another possibility, though—a less predictable one.
To appear fair, the Hokage might choose an average civilian student. Someone who wasn't especially powerful, but who left a good impression.
In Ogawa's eyes, that meant every civilian student in the class had a real chance.
A chance to leap straight into greatness.
To get close to the Hokage meant stepping onto the path toward leadership. Everyone in Konoha knew that the title of Hokage often passed through the hands of a teacher to a student.
Without that connection, you weren't even in the running.
Right now, the Fourth Hokage had already become a topic of speculation. Many believed it was already decided.
"Damn it!" one boy yelled suddenly. "Ogawa! Why didn't you tell us earlier?! I didn't prepare at all!"
A piece of chalk flew across the room and hit him square between the eyes.
He howled in pain as the others laughed.
Ogawa gave a satisfied nod—his aim hadn't deteriorated at all.
"You're the one who never pays attention in class! Of course today's test is meant to show who you really are!"
"Aaaah! When does the test start?!"
The boy was practically in tears.
It was bad enough having to show his results to his parents. Now this? It felt like a double punishment.
"I already warned you."
Ogawa's voice turned firm.
"It's time to focus. This is a test that decides your future. Don't waste it."
"You stole my youth, my freedom!" the boy groaned dramatically.
"As for the test…" Ogawa slapped a tall stack of papers onto the desk. "It begins now."
More cries echoed through the room.
"Silence!"
Once the class settled down, Ogawa handed out the exams.
The first test was a comprehensive written exam.
As Maki received her paper, she quickly scanned through the questions.
"Don't even think about answering early," Ogawa warned. "If I catch you, it's an automatic zero!"
The questions weren't difficult—if you'd been paying attention.
They covered a wide range of topics: language, math, science, geography, and history. All standard material. Straightforward, if you'd studied.
But buried among them were questions with deeper implications.
Then one caught Maki's eye.
"What is a Hokage?"
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
Normally, one would expect the Hokage to be the leader who protects the village and its people. That's the kind of answer that reflects a child's simple, honest heart—full of positive energy.
"The exam begins!"
After a moment of thought, Maki began to write her answers.
Q1: What is a Hokage?
A: It's a comic.
Q2: What do you think of the Will of Fire?
A: Don't be timid—just go for it.
Q3: What do you think of your companions?
A: Let's hang out.
Q4: What would you do if you faced an impossible task?
A: As long as the green hills remain, there'll always be firewood.
Q5: What would you do if you were Hokage?
A: Give everyone more money.
She wrote everything down without hesitation. These were her genuine thoughts, after all.
In less than half an hour, Maki completed the exam and turned in her paper, well ahead of the two-hour time limit. Then she walked out of the classroom, still mulling over the questions as she strolled across the playground.
The Third Hokage's questions weren't particularly good, in her opinion.
Seeing Maki leave so quickly, Tsunade wasn't far behind—submitting her paper with a defiant look. She wasn't sure how many mistakes she made, but she didn't care.
Hyuga Hitomi followed after. She was always top of the class in written tests—fast and accurate. However, when it came to the Hokage's philosophical questions, she found them too serious and outside the scope of anything they'd learned. She had to think hard and answer from her own values.
There was only one exam in the morning. Once all papers were collected, the teachers began grading immediately and sent the results to the Hokage's office.
Another exam was scheduled for the afternoon, with a three-hour break in between.
Maki and Naori sat quietly in a corner of the empty playground, waiting for the school lunch. Due to the exams, all classes from second to sixth grade had already started their break. Tomorrow would be the second grade's turn. Sixth graders, who were preparing to graduate, had six days left of intense review.
The school felt unusually quiet.
By lunchtime, the graded papers had already reached the Third Hokage's desk.
Naturally, the first paper he looked at was Tsunade's.
Her answers were perfect—standard, safe, and full of positive ideals.
The Third Hokage took a long drag on his cigarette.
He wasn't blind. He knew exactly what kind of person Tsunade was. Her answers aligned with her personality: kind, though not overly warm, and never a bully. She had the usual pride of a princess, but she was likable.
Still, sometimes in his dreams, he saw Tsunade leading Konoha… into ruin. He'd wake up drenched in cold sweat.
Then he picked up Maki's test.
A big, bold red 90 glared back at him.
That alone was suspicious. Even Tsunade had scored 100, and this paper was supposed to be easy. Based on Maki's behavior, a 90 was… questionable.
He flipped through the answers.
His blood pressure began to rise.
He took another deep drag on his cigarette, trying to calm himself.
She had gotten all the teacher's standard questions correct—but every answer to his own questions was either sarcastic, flippant, or utterly unhelpful.
Out of 20 questions, only 10 had any real merit. And even that was being generous.
This girl...
She was consistently inconsistent. Her answers mirrored her strange, unpredictable personality.
"What does she mean by 'send more money'? Does she think I'm not paying them enough!?"
"And what the hell is 'Hokage is a comic'?!"
His temples throbbed.
With a deep sigh, he angrily scratched out the 90 and wrote 0.
Satisfied with the correction, he picked up the next test paper.
His blood pressure surged again.
The name on the paper?
Hyuga Hitomi.
_______________
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