The room was large, resembling a lecture hall. It was filled with terrifying-looking people. There were scars, eyepatches, and enough killing intent to suffocate a civilian.
As we walked in, all eyes turned to us.
"System," I thought nervously. ("Assessment.")
"Multiple Hostile Targets detected," the System replied. "Danger Level: High. However, due to the high density of targets, the 'Rito Effect' is now in 'Overdrive Mode'. Any accident that occurs in this room has a fifty percent chance of triggering a chain reaction."
("Chain reaction? Great.")
"Naruto! Sakura! Sasuke!"
A loud voice cut through the tension. It was Ino Yamanaka. She ran over, dragging Shikamaru and Choji.
"You guys made it!" Ino said, jumping onto Sasuke’s back for a hug. "I missed you, Sasuke-kun!"
"Get off, Ino," Sasuke grunted.
"Hey, don't ignore me!" Kiba Inuzuka walked over with Shino and Akamaru. "Team Eight is here to win."
"This is getting crowded," Shikamaru complained. "Why are we all grouping up? We are just making ourselves targets."
"You guys might want to keep it down," a calm, silvery voice said.
A young man with grey hair and round glasses walked up to us. He wore a Leaf headband and had a confident, friendly smile.
"Look around," the guy said. "Everyone is staring at you. You are the Rookies, right? Fresh out of the Academy. You are making a lot of noise."
"Who are you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. I knew who he was. Kabuto Yakushi. The spy. Orochimaru's right hand.
"I am Kabuto," he said politely. "I have taken this exam seven times. I can give you some advice."
He pulled out a deck of cards. "These are my Ninja Info Cards. I have data on almost everyone here."
"Do you have data on us?" Sasuke asked.
"Of course," Kabuto smiled. "Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto Uzumaki. And... Hinata Hyuga."
He looked at Hinata. "Interesting stats on you, Hinata-san. Not much combat data, but your 'incident report' frequency has spiked by four hundred percent in the last week."
Hinata blushed. "Incident report?"
"Kabuto-san," I stepped in, positioning myself between him and Hinata. ("This guy is dangerous. If Hinata trips on him, he might poison her reflexively.")
"Show us the data on the other villages," Sasuke demanded. "Specifically, the Sand Village."
Kabuto flipped through his cards. "Ah, the Sand Siblings. Gaara of the Desert. Completed B-rank missions as a Genin. Returned without a scratch."
While Kabuto was talking, showing off his cards, the System decided it was time to cash in on the 'Overdrive Mode'.
Kabuto dropped a card. It was purely accidental on his part—or perhaps he did it to look casual.
"Oops," Kabuto said, bending down to pick it up.
At that moment, Choji, who was eating a bag of chips behind us, turned around to offer a chip to Shikamaru. His massive backpack swung around.
The backpack hit Hinata in the shoulder.
"Ah!"
Hinata stumbled forward.
Kabuto was bent over at the waist, picking up his card. His rear end was facing Hinata.
Hinata fell. She didn't have time to put her hands out.
Her head—specifically, her forehead protector—slammed into Kabuto’s backside with a loud clank.
The force of the headbutt propelled Kabuto forward. He lost his balance, tumbling face-first into the floor.
But the chain reaction wasn't done.
Kabuto, as he fell, flailed his arms. His hand slapped the pouch on Kiba’s leg—the pouch containing Akamaru’s food pellets.
The pouch exploded open. Dozens of round pellets rolled across the floor.
A ninja from the Hidden Sound Village—a guy with bandages covering his face (Dosu)—was walking by, intending to intimidate us.
He stepped on a food pellet.
"What the-?"
Dosu slipped. He fell backward, his arms windmilling.
He crashed into his teammate, Zaku. Zaku crashed into Kin.
It was like bowling.
Hinata was on the floor rubbing her head. Kabuto was face-down on the floor holding his rear. Three Sound Ninjas were in a pile of limbs and bandages.
And Akamaru was happily eating the pellets off the floor.
"Netorare Situation Detected!" The System roared. "The 'Domino Effect' Event. Multiple Targets! Spy Humiliation Bonus! Shy Points Gained: Two Thousand."
I looked at Kabuto. He slowly stood up, adjusting his glasses. His smile was still there, but it was twitching violently.
"That was..." Kabuto hissed through his teeth, clearly in pain. "...quite an impact."
"Sorry!" Hinata wailed, burying her face in her hands. "I tripped on the backpack!"
"You guys represent the Leaf Village?" Dosu, the Sound Ninja, stood up, looking murderous. "You act like clowns. I should kill you right now."
He raised his arm, his sound gauntlet humming.
"Hey!"
A cloud of smoke exploded at the front of the room. A large, scarred man in a trench coat appeared, flanked by dozens of proctors.
Ibiki Morino. The Torture and Interrogation specialist.
"Quiet down, you maggots!" Ibiki roared, his voice echoing through the hall. "I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor for the first exam! Stop playing grab-ass and sit down! Turn in your applications and take a number!"
He glared directly at our group.
"And if I see anyone tripping, falling, or accidentally headbutting another candidate... I will fail your entire team immediately."
I gulped.
"System," I thought. ("Can I buy a 'Glue' skill to keep Hinata stuck to her chair for the next hour?")
"You can purchase 'Chakra Adhesion: Seat Anchor' for 200 points," the System replied.
("Sold. Keep her glued to that chair.")
As we shuffled to our seats, I checked my balance.
Previous Balance: 350. Gatekeeper Event: +1,500. Kabuto/Sound Event: +2,000. Seat Anchor: -200. Total Shy Points: 3,650.
I sat down next to Hinata. I felt the invisible chakra glue activate, sticking her firmly to the wooden bench. She wiggled slightly, looked confused, and then relieved.
"I feel... stable," she whispered.
"Good," I whispered back. "Now, let's just hope the exam isn't about dancing."
Ibiki slammed a stack of papers on the desk.
.....
...