A frail-looking little girl was running at the very back of the pack. Even if she hadn't fallen, it was unlikely she could have finished the hundred laps.
By now, many children who knew they couldn't persist had already given up. The only ones left at the tail end were her and another boy with thick eyebrows and large eyes.
When this happened, a Chūnin responsible for counting laps moved to help her up and escort her away. But just as the Chūnin touched the girl's hand, she found strength from somewhere and shoved him away.
Trembling, the little girl stood up again and continued running, looking as if she might collapse again at any moment.
This girl caught Ruri's attention. He directly used the system to look at her.
[Name: Nogami Yuna]
[Comprehensive Strength: None]
[Talent: None]
[Attribute: Water]
[Special Ability: None]
[Evaluation: Utterly ordinary. Cannon fodder on the battlefield.]
So this is the legendary 'three-none' girl, Ruri thought. This was the worst stat panel he had ever seen. The little girl truly had no talent for being a shinobi. Even if she had only Chūnin-level aptitude, her performance of constantly falling, getting up, and pressing on might have made Ruri consider letting her pass this round. But with not even Genin-level talent, there was no point in her continuing to strive. The shinobi world was just that cruel.
On Yuna's tenth fall, Ruri could no longer just sit by. He signaled for Takenaka Masakata, beside him, to remove her from the course. Someone without talent couldn't succeed even with ten thousand times the effort. Their ceiling was fixed. Even if she struggled desperately to barely become a Genin, she would only be going to her death on the battlefield.
People always said Might Guy and Rock Lee were geniuses of hard work, but they themselves were geniuses. Without innate talent, one simply couldn't master the Eight Gates.
Yuna collapsed. She didn't have a shred of strength left, drenched in sweat under the blazing sun.
However, Masashige reached her before Masakata. He was currently in eighth place, a good score. He only needed to finish four more laps to easily pass the first round and even get the top-ten reward of sushi and ice water.
But Masashige didn't choose to chase the ranking. After helping the limp Yuna to her feet, he asked softly, "How many laps left?"
"..." Yuna didn't reply. She didn't even have the strength to speak, and she knew she was probably finished.
"I've been counting. You've run seventy-two laps. Twenty-eight remain. We'll run them together."
Masashige said seriously. He draped Yuna's arm over his shoulder, half-supporting, half-carrying her, and began to walk.
Even though Masashige had Genin-level overall strength, he was still just a child. His power and stamina hadn't peaked yet. Carrying another person, how could he run? So they walked very slowly, step by step, until even the last-place boy with the thick eyebrows overtook them.
"Is that the Takikage's disciple?" Mu asked, glancing at the hesitant Masakata, then pointing at Masashige.
"Correct. He's a very talented child," Ruri replied flatly.
"If you help others without having the capability, you'll only end up dragging yourself down. That's not something a shinobi should do," Mu said, curious how Ruri would handle this. At this rate, even if Masashige helped the girl finish the hundred laps, he would be over the time limit.
"Perhaps." Ruri knew of Masashige's inner kindness, but he also knew the boy had his own judgment. Someone who couldn't even run a hundred laps truly had no shinobi talent. Out of kindness, he should be advising her to act within her means. Therefore, there must be some hidden reason Ruri wasn't aware of.
Soon, the time limit was reached. The top ten children had already received their sushi and ice water and were eating and drinking to one side, receiving praise from their parents. Their names were written on a wooden board, displaying their glory.
Two of the top ten were civilian children, one in fifth and one in tenth place—a decent start.
The running didn't end there. Even after time was called, some were still running. It wasn't that they couldn't finish, but that they were slightly slower or hadn't paced themselves well. Most of these children were civilians. To acknowledge their effort, Ruri gave each of them a kunai engraved with the Takigakure symbol.
Finally, after the thick-browed boy crawled his hundredth lap and carefully put away his gifted kunai, Masashige, carrying Yuna, completed their hundredth lap.
"The first round of the exam is over! All those who did not complete one hundred laps within the time limit are eliminated!" Ruri stood and announced loudly. Takenaka Masakata beside him looked at Masashige, seeming to want to say something, but hesitated and remained silent.
"You are very strict, Lord Takikage. Your disciple clearly had the skill to be in the top ten, but he was eliminated for helping someone else," Mu remarked.
"That was his own choice. He must bear the consequences for it," Ruri said, his face expressionless as he looked at the tight-jawed Masashige.
"Lord Takikage, Nobita tried so hard and finally finished the hundred laps! Please give him another chance!"
"Lord Takikage, Kashi lost his way on the path of life and couldn't perform to his full potential! Please give him another chance!"
"Lord Takikage, a murder suddenly happened next door to Conan's house..."
"Lord Takikage, Togashi stayed up all night playing mahjong..."
"Lord Takikage..."
"Lord Taki..."
The moment Ruri announced the results, the entire field erupted in noise. Many were respected ninjas from the various clans, and some Jōnin were among them. They all wanted to plead for their children, believing in a parent's eyes that their child was the best and that their elimination was due to some external reason.
Kōmae Tadashi also spoke up in persuasion; his son and daughter had only just missed passing and could surely make it if they tried again.
Ruri signaled for everyone to quiet down. He had anticipated this situation. This was an entirely new form of examination, and the fact that two civilian children had made the top ten made the parents of the eliminated clan children wonder—were they to admit their children were worse than commoners?
For this scenario, Ruri had already prepared a response. He continued, "If you are dissatisfied with this result, you may participate in a supplementary assessment. Have your child run eight hundred more laps. There is no time limit. If they finish, they pass the first round and may participate in the second round the day after tomorrow."
"Eight hundred laps?"
"Surely the Takikage isn't..."
"Forget it. Doraemon would die running eight hundred laps. We withdraw."
"Never mind, never mind. There's enrollment again next year. Goku is only five. Starting today, he'll do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run every day. Next year, he'll definitely become a shinobi for fun."
"Yeah, if it doesn't work out this year, there's always next. No need to go all out with eight hundred laps..."
Ruri's condition for the supplementary assessment was too harsh. Although there was no time limit, eight hundred laps would require a full-fledged Genin to exert their utmost effort. Those with poorer constitutions might not make it past seven hundred laps, let alone these children who had just run two hundred.
Seeing that Ruri wouldn't relent, people gradually left the field. Who's to say the academy's education would even be better than what we can provide at home! In the end, only six people remained standing in place. Masashige and Yuna, of course, stayed. The last-place boy with the thick eyebrows also remained.