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“Sound ninjas, don’t start anything before the exam begins!” Morino Ibiki’s eyes cut to the Sound Three’s position, cold and flat.
“Or do you want to be eliminated right now?
Bastards.”
The mysterious bandaged man turned his head and forced a smile.
“Sorry — first time taking the exam.
We got a little excited and just…”
“Shut your mouth and listen.” Ibiki cut him off, gaze sweeping the room like a blade.
“No private fights without the examiner’s permission.
Even with permission, you do not kill your opponent.
This is an examination hall, not a place to work out your feelings.
Any idiot pig who defies me gets eliminated on the spot.”
The words landed.
Then the pressure hit, special jonin-level killing intent bleeding out of him like heat off a furnace.
Genin from every village found something very interesting to stare at on their desks.
“Is that understood?!”
“Understood.”
“Yes, Examiner.”
The Sound Three grumbled their reluctant acknowledgments and dragged themselves back to their seats.
“Good.
Number plates and exam papers will be distributed now.” Ibiki glanced at the Konoha ninjas beside him and gave a small nod.
(Feeling a little nostalgic, everyone?
Remind you of anyone?
Like maybe every exam proctor you’ve ever had the misfortune of sitting under?)
Papers hit the desks fast.
Naruto’s eyes darted around the room, and his stomach dropped.
[I’m done for…
everyone got separated…]
He slumped forward, chin in his hands.
Then someone nudged him gently from the side.
He turned.
The white-eyed girl beside him had a faint flush on her cheeks, quietly making a “you’ve got this” gesture in his direction.
“Oh, thanks, Hinata.” Naruto flashed her his biggest grin.
[Wait, when did she sit down there?
I didn’t notice at all.
Her presence is basically zero…]
Ibiki rapped the blackboard with his chalk, TAP TAP TAP, and every head in the room swung toward him.
“I’m saying the rules once.
Don’t come asking me to repeat them.”
“Rule one: everyone starts with ten points.
There are ten questions, each worth one point.
This exam uses a deduction system: one wrong answer, one point gone.”
“Rule two: whether your team passes is determined by the combined total score of all three members.”
“Eh?” Sakura’s eyes went wide, face full of shock.
“Combined score means…”
“Shut up and keep listening!” Ibiki’s voice cracked like a whip. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
“Rule three: if any of you are caught cheating by a proctor, two points are deducted per instance.
Don’t do pointless things.
It only brings misfortune on yourselves.”
Kotetsu, perched on the windowsill, pointed two fingers at his own eyes, the corner of his mouth curling up.
“I’ll be watching every single one of you.”
Izumo beside him added, “You’re supposed to be people aiming to become chunin.
Since you’re ninja, take this exam like excellent ninja.”
Sakura took a slow breath and ran through the math in her head.
[Okay.
Calm down.
Setting Naruto aside for now, Sasuke and I will definitely be fine.
Even if Naruto scores zero, as long as we pull the combined score back up…]
“Oh, right.” Ibiki’s voice drifted from the podium, perfectly casual.
“If any member of a team scores zero, the entire squad is judged as — disqualified.”
“NANI?!” “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
The color drained from Sasuke and Sakura’s faces simultaneously.
Naruto’s spine turned to ice.
He couldn’t suppress the shiver.
[I can feel two very intense killing intents aimed directly at the back of my head…]
“Additionally, the final question will be given forty-five minutes from now.
Total exam duration is one hour.
Begin.”
“Ninja B is standing atop a 7-meter tree.
Using the provided diagram, mark the maximum throw range of Ninja A’s shuriken.
Describe the characteristics of an enemy ninja who would appear within the elliptical zone depicted, state the maximum combat range on flat terrain, and provide your reasoning.”
“As shown in the diagram: if Ninja A wants to seize the enemy’s ‘Hill 1100’ controlled high ground to deny their nation a terrain advantage, formulate an action plan under limited conditions.
Minimum five points required.”
“When aromatic compounds are fully dissolved in water and the disassembled components of an explosive tag are introduced, will a chemical reaction occur…”
Outside the classroom, A stared at the exam paper with an expression like he’d been force-fed something deeply unpleasant.
Kakashi Hatake stood beside him, absently ruffling the white hair on his head, gaze wandering somewhere distant.
“Well…
the chunin exam really is quite demanding this year.
Whoever wrote the questions certainly put in the effort…”
“Don’t give me that.
‘Effort’ my ass, no normal human being wrote these questions.”
“Heh.” Kakashi smiled over at him.
“It’s by design, honestly.
If the questions weren’t this hard, the candidates wouldn’t feel the need to ‘cheat.’ They’d just sit there and try to actually answer them.”
“Alright, fair point.” A tossed the paper aside and looked Kakashi in the eye.
“Still doesn’t mean I can’t curse out whoever wrote it.
But anyway, you’re worried about those kids.”
“A little,” Kakashi admitted, exhaling.
But Naruto…”
Hearing that, A’s mouth curled into a grin.
He clapped a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder.
“That kid won’t stumble here.”
“Hm?” Kakashi turned, meeting his eyes, not understanding why he’d say that with such certainty.
“You should believe in him.” A’s voice was quiet, but settled.
“He is the son of an old friend.
He ought to have what that friend had.”
[So that’s what this is about.] Sasuke’s Sharingan eyes rotated slowly as he traced back through every word Ibiki had said.
The tension in his brow began to ease.
[This isn’t a straightforward academic test.
It’s an exercise in disguise and concealment, an intelligence-gathering battle dressed up as an exam.] Shikamaru chewed the end of his finger, the whole thing already laid bare in his mind.
[Byakugan, activate!]
[Crow, I’m counting on you…]
“Woof~!” [That’s it, Akamaru.
Good boy!]
[The rhythm, the stroke order, the stroke count…
Got it.]
“Buzz~” [Eight.]
[Sand Eye…
connected to the optic nerve.]
[Ninja Art: Mind Body Switch Technique!]
One by one, ninjas from every village cracked it, some on their own, some with a quiet nudge from a teammate.
They stopped pretending to answer and started doing what they were actually trained for.
“Number 12, you’re eliminated.
That takes down 25 and 36 with you.
All three of you, get out of this classroom, now.”
“What?!
What proof do you have that I was cheating?!”
“I didn’t say you were cheating.
I said you’re eliminated.” The bandaged proctor, head wrapped in white and bearing an uncanny resemblance to a 2.5 Gojo, dropped his elbow into the stubborn, unlucky genin and put him on the floor without so much as blinking.
Ibiki watched the wailing examinees get hauled out and deepened his frown.
“Final warning.
Do not insult us with clumsy, inefficient cheating methods.
Don’t insult our intelligence.”
Watching candidate after candidate get exposed and dragged from the room, Naruto, who had been cautiously inching toward Hinata’s paper, tucked his neck in like a startled turtle and went completely still.
[What do I do.
What do I do.
40 minutes gone already.
If this keeps up, I’m going to drag Sakura and that smug bastard Sasuke straight down with me!]
[My only shot left is the final question.
5 more minutes…]
➤ Next: The Agonizing Tenth Question, Kurenai Yūhi
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