During this era of war, the education at the Ninja Academy was heavily influenced by the external environment. They were essentially forcing growth, drastically accelerating the speed at which a shinobi matured.
It was pure survival of the fittest; those who weren't good enough were simply filtered out by the battlefield.
It was nothing like twenty years later, where even a twelve-year-old Naruto, who couldn't even master the three basic jutsu, could still graduate.
In this age, even a "dead-last" like Obito Uchiha had already mastered chakra control techniques like tree climbing and water walking. He could use Fire Style jutsu, graduate at nine, and become a Chunin by eleven. This era was incredibly competitive.
Soon, the first round of the exam concluded. Saiki, Rin Nohara, Kurenai Yuhi, and Shizune all advanced to the second round. If it weren't for Saiki defeating him, Obito Uchiha would have had a chance too.
Although he was viewed as a loser due to his poor grades and basic jutsu, Obito's Taijutsu was decent. His Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu alone was something few in this class could handle.
"The second round begins now. First match: Asuma Sarutobi vs. Kagami Hyuga."
Saiki then witnessed an interesting match. Even though Asuma was the son of Hiruzen Sarutobi, his talent could only be described as average.
In the original story, despite having all of Hiruzen's resources, Asuma only ever became a Jonin.
Among Jonin, he was on the weaker side, incomparable to the likes of Kakashi or Guy. Surpassing his father, the Third Hokage, was an impossible dream for him.
As for Kagami Hyuga, Saiki wasn't sure if he would ever awaken the Tenseigan, but the boy was a minor prodigy. Despite being from the branch house, he had awakened his Byakugan at the age of nine.
Interestingly, at the start of the fight, Kagami's Byakugan combined with the Gentle Fist style completely suppressed Asuma.
However, in the end, the boy "accidentally" left a glaring opening and lost to Asuma Sarutobi.
The Byakugan offers a 360-degree field of vision. Even with the blind spot caused by the Caged Bird Seal in the branch house, it wasn't something a scrub like Asuma should have been able to find.
Yet, the result was a farce: Kagami Hyuga lost to Asuma due to an "error."
Because Kurenai Yuhi was clearly infatuated with Saiki, and Asuma had a crush on Kurenai, Asuma smugly tilted his head at Saiki after winning his match.
Saiki maintained his calm smile, but internally, he rolled his eyes. He cursed silently, "You idiot. If you didn't have a powerful father, someone would have beaten you so hard your own mother wouldn't recognize you."
Watching this battle, Saiki couldn't help but sigh. Coming from a prestigious clan really meant understanding how the world worked; sometimes, hard work was no match for having the right father.
While Saiki was unfazed by the provocation, Kurenai Yuhi, standing in front of him, couldn't take it.
"Asuma Sarutobi, what is your problem?" the little girl snapped, glaring at him.
At this age, Kurenai was still very straightforward. She liked what she liked and hated what she hated; she wasn't old enough to care about political interests or social status.
Struck by Kurenai's glare, Asuma instantly lost his bravado. He cast one last resentful look at Saiki before returning to the group.
The Chunin teacher saw everything, including the opening Kagami Hyuga had intentionally provided.
He belonged to the Hokage faction, so he was quite satisfied with Kagami's "respectful" gesture.
Seeing that his boss's son was trying to woo a girl and Saiki was standing in the middle of it, the teacher—who already disliked Saiki—felt his annoyance grow.
"Next match: Saiki Shiroya vs. Kurenai Yuhi!"
Saiki glanced at the teacher, but he only saw a cold, expressionless face.
If Saiki remembered correctly, the tournament was supposed to follow a bracket system. By order, his opponent should have been his desk-mate Shizune or Genhai. How did he end up facing Kurenai?
Saiki shot a thoughtful look at Asuma, then back at the teacher. He had a good idea of what was happening.
Most children weren't as detached as Saiki; they were competitive and eager to prove themselves.
Against Kurenai, whether he won or lost, it could leave a bad impression on her.
Saiki was speechless at the teacher's petty scheme. With a mindset that narrow, the man deserved to spend his entire career stuck in the Academy.
Saiki thought about forfeiting. He usually found excuses to avoid fighting girls.
It wasn't just girls, either. Many times when he felt his grades were "safe," he would decisively concede to boys as well.
Being powerful yet humble and knowing how to yield was one of the reasons Saiki was so popular.
The teacher simply hated Saiki's "retired senior citizen" attitude. In his view, children should be aggressive and striving for the top.
However, this time, Kurenai—knowing Saiki's personality—turned around. She looked at him with those adorable, large red eyes and said expectantly, "Saiki-kun, please don't refuse. I want to fight you, too. I want to see exactly how big the gap is between us."
Seeing the look in her eyes, Saiki smiled and nodded. "Alright. Then please, give me your best, Kurenai."
"Begin!"
As the teacher's voice fell, both Saiki and Kurenai formed the Seal of Confrontation, signaling the start of the battle.
"Saiki-kun, I hope you'll show me your true power."
Looking into those ruby-like eyes and her cute, round face, Saiki really didn't want to crush her. But out of respect for his opponent, he nodded.
"I will."
Knowing that projectile weapons were useless against him after his bout with Obito, Kurenai drew a kunai from her leg holster and charged straight at Saiki.
"Taijutsu? When there's such a power disparity, clashing physically with the enemy isn't a great move. You're a Genjutsu-type ninja, Kurenai," Saiki mused, having the luxury to critique her mid-fight since he could technically end it in a second.
Showing no hesitation, Kurenai swung her kunai toward Saiki's chest, intent on feeling the difference in their strength.
Clang!
Saiki drew his own kunai and parried the blow. The resulting vibration was so strong that Kurenai nearly lost her grip.
"Your strength is okay, but your speed is a bit lacking," Saiki offered a blunt, honest evaluation.
The girl was clearly dissatisfied with the critique. She continued her assault, but after several exchanges, the recoil left her small hands numb. She could barely hold her weapon anymore and was forced to break off the physical engagement.
Despite being a Genjutsu specialist, her Taijutsu wasn't bad.
Her father, Shinko Yuhi, was a Genjutsu master who knew the weaknesses of his specialty. Survival on the battlefield depended on the height of your lowest skill, so he had been very strict about her Taijutsu training.
Numb in her hands and knowing Saiki was holding back—she would have lost already if he were serious—Kurenai said solemnly, "Thank you for holding back. But be careful now; I'm going to use my strongest Genjutsu."
"Understood," Saiki replied with a nod.
Kurenai was a Genjutsu specialist. Since Saiki had already crushed Obito's shuriken and Fire Style, and her Taijutsu was no match for him, her only path to victory was through illusions!
Kurenai's hands blurred through signs: "Ninja Art: Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
This was a B-rank Genjutsu. In the original story, Itachi Uchiha easily reflected it with his Sharingan, but for anyone else in this class—or even the Chunin teacher—getting caught in this would be devastating.
In Saiki's vision, Kurenai's body began to warp and disappear from the ground up, like a drawing being erased from paper. Then, a massive tree grew silently behind Saiki, its branches snaking out to bind his arms and legs, pinning him in place.
This was Kurenai's current limit. In the original series, she could materialize from the tree to deliver a killing blow, but here, she had simply secured the restraint.
Mastering a B-rank Genjutsu at nine years old, even an imperfect one, was an incredible feat for a non-kekkei genkai shinobi.
"Wait! Why isn't Saiki-kun moving?"
As Kurenai finished her signs and Saiki stood there dazed, the girls in the class began to worry.
"Looks like he's caught in a Genjutsu! Hahaha! Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'm going to make that bastard Saiki pay!" Obito shouted.
Even though Genjutsu had nothing to do with him yet, seeing Saiki restrained made Obito imagine himself defeating Saiki with his own ocular illusions. He couldn't help but laugh arrogantly.
Before he could finish, he was met with glares and mockery from the girls.
"No way! As if Saiki-kun would lose to a guy like you!"
"You, awaken your eyes? Please! Saiki-kun won't lose to a dead-last like you! He just wasn't paying attention and got caught for a second!"
Faced with their insults and even a look of annoyance from his goddess, Rin, the crushed Obito roared, "Dammit! Don't look down on me! I will awaken the Sharingan!"
On the field, the match was nearing its conclusion. The crowd below was arguing incessantly, while Shizune—who knew Saiki best—remained calm.
Seeing that Saiki was indeed frozen by her illusion, Kurenai walked toward him.
A smile touched her lips. She drew her kunai, intending to press it against his throat to declare her victory. But just as she reached out, Saiki's hand shot up and grabbed her wrist.
Startled, Kurenai looked into Saiki's eyes. There was no trace of the vacant, glazed look of someone under an illusion.
Saiki smiled and said, "I'll give you this: your Genjutsu is excellent. But your actions were too reckless. Once you cast a Genjutsu, regardless of whether it works, the correct choice is to use explosive tags or shuriken from a distance. Safely incapacitating the enemy is the only way to go."
"Even if it's me, you should never let your guard down." He raised a hand and poked Kurenai firmly on the forehead.
Start them young, Saiki thought. Not only was he holding her wrist, but that intimate forehead poke made Kurenai's face flush bright red instantly.
The Chunin teacher looked at Saiki, then at the jealous girls, and finally at Asuma, who was grinding his teeth in rage. He shook his head helplessly and announced, "Match over. Winner: Saiki Shiroya. Perform the Seal of Reconcilliation."
Watching Kurenai shyly run back into the crowd after the seal was performed, the teacher felt a bit frustrated.
When Kurenai used that B-rank illusion, he thought Saiki would lose. Even he would have trouble breaking out of that. He was genuinely curious how Saiki had remained unaffected.
In reality, it was simple. Genjutsu works by manipulating the chakra in the enemy's brain to disrupt their five senses.
If someone had the Byakugan, they would have seen that the moment Saiki was hit, the "Breath" he cultivated daily made a single circuit through his body, smoothing out all chakra fluctuations and breaking the spell instantly.
Besides, given the massive gap between Saiki's spiritual energy and Kurenai's, he wouldn't have been caught in the first place unless he wanted to be.
The next match began shortly after.
Aside from the clan ninjas, very few commoner students made it to the second round. At their age, they hadn't learned many jutsu, making the matches rather repetitive.
The true purpose of these exams wasn't the win-loss record, but to assess the students' overall level. As Saiki expected, even Obito Uchiha—who lost in the first round—graduated successfully.
To deal with the looming Third Great Ninja War, Konoha was forcibly ripening these students, pushing them to graduate early so they could adapt to the life of a shinobi and prepare for the front lines. Reality was truly that cold.