**(After 4 days in the orphanage...)**
Hiroshi called both Kaida and Yomi into his office. When they arrived, he started speaking, "The dates of the entrance exam are out. It will be held in 2 days, so be mentally prepared.
And one more thing: I have reported your progress to Lord Hokage, and he said that if your performance is up to the mark in the test, he will reward you guys personally.
The reason I am telling you this is that there is no need for you guys to hold back—show your full capabilities in the entrance exam."
"Okay, old man, but what should we do in the remaining 2 days?" Kaida asked.
"Well, consider them your holiday. You guys can play, eat, dance, or do anything you want. Just don't start practicing for the remaining 2 days."
"Okay, old man," both of them replied and went back.
Kaida was very frustrated at the start since he had to stop his training. Given the apparent results of the training, he wanted to continue without wasting time.
In just 5 months, his physique had grown by leaps and bounds. Now he could even be compared with Suri, who was 3 years older than him, and his chakra reserve had also grown. With increased chakra control, multiple ways of utilizing chakra had opened for him.
In the first month, he stuck with the leaf concentration exercise, but when he was able to maintain the leaf for more than 20 minutes—which was 5 times his initial limit—he began experimenting with chakra, like covering his whole body with it or trying to focus it in his hand.
Though he was not successful in doing so, his chakra control increased with each attempt. Daily, he would exhaust his chakra at night trying different experiments and practice leaf concentration in the morning.
And now, when he was stopped from practicing his exercises, he was frustrated. But as the days passed, he began to realize what the old man was saying.
He was overexerting himself by training daily. Since his chakra reserve expanded a little and his body felt much better after the rest, he realized his body was sore from all the constant practice. This little break had helped him.
When he heard that Hiroshi had reported their progress to the Hokage, his feelings were mixed.
*I can't say whether the Hokage is a good person or not, as Naruto had to suffer his whole childhood because of him, and his reason was to hide his identity, which even a low-level spy knows.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
If he cared that much about Naruto, he should have adopted him and trained him to become strong from the start. Well, he even sacrificed his life for the safety of Konoha, so I can give him the benefit of the doubt.
But I am sure of one thing: if he ever tries to use me or Yomi as a sacrifice, I would not think twice about betraying Konoha and joining another village. Heck, even becoming a rogue ninja would be better than sacrificing our lives.*
**(Yomi's POV)**
When I first unlocked my chakra, I was really happy that I could also become a ninja with Kaida. But there was a gap in our strength. At first, I thought it was due to his early chakra activation, but as we continued our training,
I came to know that he was taking the training very seriously, and our gap kept increasing. So, I also decided to focus completely on the training, and now I think it was a great decision, as Lord Hokage himself is going to see our performance and may even reward us.
Well, it's all thanks to Kaida. Even though there is still some gap in our strength, if I had not trained like I did, it would have been insurmountable.
In the blink of an eye, 2 days passed, and the day of the entrance exam arrived. Four other students, along with Kaida and Yomi from the orphanage, also decided to take the exam, and to no surprise, Suri was among them.
They were on their own in the test, so Kaida paid no attention to them. They all left together along with Hiroshi (the caretaker of the orphanage).
Once they reached the academy, all the kids were surprised at the vast number of children gathered there to take the exam.
A girl named Hana from Kaida's group exclaimed, "Why are there hundreds of participants here?"
Hiroshi explained, "Due to a recent event—or we should say tragedy—in our village, the number of children who want to become ninjas and take revenge for their parents has increased many times, and they have all gathered here to do so.
According to me, there are more than 1500 students present here this time, but there is no need for you guys to be tense, as this is your first try. I am sure you guys will be able to clear it, and even if somehow you are unable to do so, you will get another chance next year."
Looking around, Kaida found a group of people wearing similar uniforms and Konoha headbands on their heads.
When Hiroshi noticed where Kaida was looking, he said, "They are trained ninjas, and I am sure they will be taking your entrance exam today, so best of luck, guys."
All students thanked the old man. At that time, someone wearing a chunin vest came forward and announced that the entrance exam would begin shortly and that all kids taking the exam should gather at the training ground behind the academy.
After coming to the back of the academy, Kaida's whole group took a look at the Hokage Rock. Even though they could see it from their orphanage, they had never been able to get a clear view of it. Everyone was awestruck by its magnificence.
Inside the academy, in a conference room, a few chunin were discussing the final preparations for the entrance exam, as they were the teachers at the academy. A chunin then got up and gave a report to the one leading the meeting.
Kishio looked at that report and sighed. After the 3rd Great Ninja War, the 3rd Hokage had assigned him to supervise the entrance exams, and he was told to pass as many students as possible, as Konoha had recently lost thousands of ninjas.
--