Although many people gathered for the entrance exam, in reality only 27 students were admitted.
And every year the graduation quota was limited to no more than 10 people.
After all, the ninja world was currently in a time of peace. During the years after the last Great Ninja War, a huge number of Genin had already been produced.
Now there were far more Genin in Konoha than the village actually needed.
Simply put: fewer missions, but more Genin.
That was why many ninja were reduced to doing things like pulling weeds or collecting manure for villagers.
In peacetime, a low-rank ninja sometimes had even lower status than ordinary villagers.
Today Naruto had endured Might Guy's intense training, but his weekly healing bath was still necessary.
His body was still growing, and it was important to prevent muscle stiffness that could affect his growth.
When Naruto arrived in the classroom, the group of "strong boys" had already been waiting for a long time. They looked exhausted, as if they had been trained hard at home.
The moment they saw Naruto, their eyes lit up and they quickly gathered around him.
"Hey! Tell us what happened after Konoha was founded!" Inuzuka asked impatiently.
Curiosity scratched at his heart like a restless cat. Even though his family told him not to discuss yesterday's events with Naruto, he couldn't stop himself.
"Relax. Can't you see class is about to start? I'm a good student. I need to study hard."
Naruto yawned and prepared to sleep with his head on the desk.
The boys looked at him with contempt.
Study? You don't look like someone who studies at all.
On the other side of the classroom, a group of civilian students gathered together and whispered among themselves.
They were especially uncomfortable that Naruto and his group were admitted without taking the exam, especially when many of their own friends were rejected due to limited spots.
Gradually, the class seemed to split into two small groups.
One group was the second generation ninja, led by Naruto.
The other group was the civilian students, led by little Sakura.
Originally the conflict between the two groups wasn't that serious.
After all, everyone was supposed to pass the entrance exam normally.
But it was obvious that Naruto was the center of attention.
Naruto ignored the hostile looks from the civilian children.
In his eyes, many of the failed candidates were simply background characters in the story.
Among them, only Sakura was lucky. By following Naruto and Sasuke, she would eventually graduate from the Ninja Academy.
Most of the other students would fail the Jonin team selection exam later.
Even though Kakashi was assigned by Sarutobi Hiruzen to protect and monitor Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, his record of zero passing teams wasn't fake.
Most civilian ninja simply couldn't escape the fate of being eliminated.
In the story of becoming Hokage, everything seemed full of dreams and hard work.
Naruto bravely moves forward, and the ninja path seems to say that if you have a dream and work hard enough, you can change everything.
But in reality, the strongest ninja in the Hokage world usually came from powerful clans with bloodline limits or from families that possessed secret techniques.
In the ninja world, birth itself was already a kind of advantage.
Take Rock Lee for example.
After years of desperate training, his results still couldn't compare with just one month of special training given to Sasuke by Kakashi.
Even after opening the Eight Inner Gates, Lee could only reach the Sixth Gate.
Meanwhile, Might Dai and Might Guy trained day and night their entire lives, only to release their ultimate power at the cost of their own lives.
Because of this, Naruto felt extremely fortunate that he had reincarnated as Naruto.
After all, Naruto himself was one of the biggest "cheat characters" in the ninja world.
If he had reincarnated as a civilian, becoming a ninja would already be difficult.
And who knew if he could even survive Pain's Shinra Tensei.
At best, Rinne Tensei could only revive people whose bodies were still intact.
Those whose bodies were completely destroyed wouldn't be so lucky.
The future was filled with cannon fodder, and Naruto didn't care about the looks of these "ants".
At that moment, a Chunin walked into the classroom.
"My name is Akagi Takeshi. I'm your homeroom teacher, and I'll be teaching you about being a ninja."
"I hope you listen carefully. Entering the Ninja Academy does not mean you've already become a ninja."
The middle-aged ninja looked at the students expressionlessly.
"Even if all of you pass the academy graduation exam, there will still be a practical test."
"Only 9 students will officially become Genin."
"The other 18 students will be sent back to the academy."
The moment these words were spoken, the civilian students were shocked.
They looked at Naruto's group in disbelief.
1… 2… 3…
Damn!
That meant only one civilian student might graduate.
Instantly the civilian group began looking at each other like enemies.
Even Sakura, who had originally been their leader, was suddenly isolated.
As for competing with Sasuke's group of clan heirs for the graduation spots?
Are you joking?
Those people entered the academy without exams.
You really think they would fail graduation?
They could probably pass even with their eyes closed.
Seeing this scene, Naruto's lips curled into a mocking smile.
This was exactly how many selfish civilians in Konoha behaved.
When they didn't understand something, they followed rumors blindly.
When rumors spread that Naruto was the Nine-Tails demon, they cursed him with all kinds of hateful words.
But when he later saved the village, they called him a hero.
For the sake of protecting people like this, Uchiha Itachi destroyed his own clan.
The more Naruto thought about it, the more he felt Itachi must have been mentally unstable.
Even looking at Sasuke, it felt like he was walking down the same foolish path.
After all, his loyal older brother destroyed the clan, said he would destroy Konoha…
…and in the end he was defeated by Hashirama Senju.
As expected, the reincarnation of Asura truly carried the same strange fate in his blood.