Chapter 8: Academy Test

Inside the academy, a council of Chunin teachers had assembled to finalize the Academy exam for the day. 

"Everybody remembers, our goal is not to eliminate weaklings, but to accept those that will flourish in this Academy. We will accept those that pass our standard, and those that show they will be able to catch up to our standard. The rest of the people will be sent home along with some basic training plan for them to succeed the next year. We really need people to fill in our ranks. Kazekage-sama will be here today, so do not, I repeat, do not mess this up for us!" A scary-looking head teacher concluded the meeting. 

"Yes, sir!" 

"Let's get out there."

…

"Attention!" A group of Chunin is seen to stand by the podium. 

"I hope everybody has received your room number information. The first part of the test will be a written exam. This exam will determine the level of your knowledge on our core and elective topics. This will determine the class you will be assigned to and your potential future specialization. Don't worry your specialization may be changed during the course of the Academy. Now, disperse to your assigned exam room! We will start the exam in 15 minutes."

The ground exploded into a short mess where parents were saying encouraging words to their children and slowly leading them to their assigned room. Raito looked at his parents and said, "thanks for sending me, and I will do my best in the exam. Wish me luck mother, father." And before they gave him any response, he turned away and jogged into his exam room. 

"That boy is shy. He is just like you, " Chibi looked at Shamon and they laughed. . 

…

The written exam was separated into three main sections. The first part was a sort of psychological test. It seemed like they wanted to see where the kids were emotionally. Raito was sure that they didn't want to train a psycho to be a killing machine, so they tried to identify them early. The second part tested the foundation in math, language, history, and critical thinking. Raito was confident that he aced them. The content of the last section seemed random, as it asked a little bit of everything, including basic biology and physics. It seemed like they were trying to see if we already had some affinity or foundation in the existing ninja specializations. 

Raito submitted the exam in the hour, and he waited outside for the physical examination to start. When the bell rang, the head teacher began his instructions, "Your strength, endurance, and will power will be tested on the next exam. You will be running around this field until you can't run anymore. The distance of each lap is approximately one kilometer. Your lap won't count if you run at a pace slower than 7 minutes for one lap. One chunin teacher will run in the front to be your pacer. Keep up with him as long as you can. Lastly, do wear your exam number so we can record your time properly. We will start in five minutes."

Raito looked around as he glued his exam number on his chest, 'kids that have gone through physical training would pass this test easily. If the written exam separated the clan kids and those with resources against the rest, the civilian kids would have a fighting chance here, especially since this is just an endurance test.'

The chunin pacer moved to the track with the children following him, and he started running immediately. Raito was confident that he could keep up with the instructor for at least 25 laps, which was already his everyday routine now. 

Everybody followed the first lap with a few people dropping out after the second lap. After the third lap, only half of the kids remained and after the fifth lap, there were about one hundred kids keeping up with the instructor. After the seventh lap, around fifty children were still running, and after the ninth lap only ten people were left and the instructor ended the race. 

'Father said that my body is already reaching the Genin level, and even the top kids at the Academy Exam only had one third of my endurance. My goal is to develop my endurance for the 100 kilometer run in two years, which would be the physical mark of a chunin.'

"The exam is over, and the result of your exam will be announced soon. For those who pass the exam, you have one hour break before we start our first day in the Academy." 

Around 20% of the examinees failed the entrance exam. Out of those, around 100 people were recommended to try again next year and the rest were encouraged to pursue civilian school instead. 

The academy separated the kids into twelve classes based on their exam rank. Raito was assigned into class A along with the top performers, which were predominantly the clan kids. He could tell that they were clan kids based on the clan attributes in their clothing. 

'Oh how typical,' Raito sneered. It's not that he didn't like the idea of nobility or clan children, but with the modern mind, he knew that the clan system would limit Suna's growth in the future. Raito imagined a future where everyone will be rewarded each according to their merit, and this would push everyone to strive for a better Suna. Clans shouldn't hog the majority of Suna's resources if they are not contributing to the village or if someone else could do it better. But this is a story for the future, Raito sighed. 

"Attention! Kazekage-sama would like to say his Academy opening speech!" The mood on the schoolground became so solemn. Everyone was at their best posture, eager to hear what his father had to say. 

"Welcome to Suna's very own Ninja Academy. You have worked so hard to get here, and your preparation has bore its fruit. However, the training is not yet over, for it has just begun. The Academy was built with our children in mind so they can be prepared for the future. Do not take your education for granted and do your best in everything that you do. Sunagakure is located in the middle of the desert, with extreme heat and lack of resources surrounding us. But this circumstance is what allows us to have strong ninjas across generations. Temper your heart as it would move our mind as it would influence our body to be the best ninja that you could be for this village. Congratulations on your acceptance; get ready, because tomorrow is when training starts!"

With that everybody stood and clapped for Shamon. 'It wasn't even that good to be honest. I am quite surprised that he was pretty open with the fact that Suna is poor,' Raito chuckled. 

…