After the exam, Naruto, Neji, and Sasuke met up outside.
Naruto asked smugly, "How did you two do on the test?"
Neji and Sasuke exchanged glances, their eyes clashing with sparks flying.
"You go first!" they both said in unison.
"Then let's say it at the same time."
"Fine."
"64!"
"65!"
Neji groaned in frustration, "Damn it, I was just one point short!"
Sasuke smirked arrogantly, "That one point is an unbridgeable gap!"
Naruto suddenly scoffed, "Is that all?"
Sasuke frowned and asked, "Then what about you?"
Although they were in the same examination hall and had heard Naruto's loud outbursts, they didn't know his exact score.
Naruto beamed with excitement, "The Pass King, 60!"
Neji couldn't help but comment, "What's there to be proud of?"
"I'm not being proud at all! I'm just worried. This time we're in danger, with a total of 189. It feels low!"
Sasuke smirked, "Even I only scored 65 — which means this exam must've been tough overall. 189 is already a high score!"
"Is that true?" Naruto blinked in confusion. Suddenly, he waved toward the distance, "Hinata, Sakura, Tenten, how did you guys do on the exam?"
The female trio approached. Sakura frowned with worry, "Not very well, we didn't do great!"
Tenten sighed, "Yeah! The exam was way too hard!"
Hinata looked even more nervous, close to tears, "I'm sorry, I dragged everyone down!"
Sakura comforted her, "It's fine, we'll just give it another shot next year!"
"If even Sakura didn't do well, this exam really was tough!" Naruto exhaled in relief, then proudly added, "Well then, we'll just have to try harder next time..."
Just then, a voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Please prepare for the second exam, the following teams that were just called. First place, the team of Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga, and Tenten, with a total score of 260..."
Naruto's fists stiffened — he was fuming!
Naruto glared, "Is that considered doing poorly?"
Sakura sighed, "Isn't 93 considered bad?"
Tenten also sighed, "I only got 87, not even hitting 90!"
Hinata, close to tears, asked, "Naruto-kun, how many points did you get? I'm sure you did better than me, Naruto-kun!"
Words that pierce the heart — truly, a killing blow.
Naruto inwardly roared in anger. Why hadn't he noticed before how devious Hinata could be?
Sakura also asked curiously, "Sasuke, how many points did you get?"
Sasuke forced a smile, "Listen, listen to the announcement, don't miss it!"
Sakura nodded repeatedly, "Okay okay, I'll listen together with you!"
Sasuke looked annoyed. Was this woman trying to mock him face-to-face? So evil!
As the results were announced one by one, the examination hall occasionally erupted in cheers. Naruto and his teammates grew increasingly tense, sweat soaking their palms.
Finally, the loudspeaker announced, "In 91st place, the team of Deidara, Kurotsuchi, and Akatsuchi, with a total score of 190..."
Naruto, Neji, and Sasuke's expressions relaxed. Their turn was next!
They're safe!
However, until Team 96 was announced—"Tied for 91st place, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro's team, total score 190..."
The three were so frustrated they could've spit blood—where had all these ties come from?
Fortunately, the next result finally concerned them.
"97th place, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Neji Hyuga's team, total score 189..."
"Yow!" The three boys shouted excitedly, "We passed!"
Sakura and Hinata clapped half-heartedly, saying, "Wow, that's amazing! How rare indeed!"
The three boys immediately stopped laughing.
Damn it, those girls were actually mocking them!
Luckily, the examiner's voice came through the broadcast, "The second exam will begin in ten minutes. Please enter the Dream World in advance!"
Naruto looked at Hinata and said, "I didn't perform well in the first exam, but watch me in the second one—you'll see me come into my own!"
Far away, Boruto's grandfather watched worriedly, "Could it be that the Mom and Dad of this world won't end up together? Then how could I possibly exist?"
Middle-aged Sasuke wasn't particularly worried. His attitude toward Sakura as a kid had been far worse than that of the young Sasuke from this timeline!
Boruto sighed and asked, "Uncle, what exactly is this 'Dream World' they mentioned?"
Middle-aged Sasuke replied, "It seems to be a Genjutsu space."
Boruto smacked his lips, "So we won't be able to see the following exams?"
Middle-aged Sasuke was about to speak when he suddenly saw an image projected on the plaza in front of Central Tower.
It was clearly a scene of the examinees preparing themselves within the Genjutsu space!
"They've actually projected the image!" Middle-aged Sasuke was somewhat surprised. Seeing that the surrounding crowd was moving toward the plaza, he took Boruto and followed along.
Standing in the plaza, looking up at the massive projection gave an even more immersive feeling!
In the projected scene, everyone was rolling up their sleeves and eager to fight.
Watching this, Middle-aged Sasuke couldn't help but feel emotional. Even if only half of these hundred teams met the requirements, that would still be 150 jonin!
Not to mention, in the teams already eliminated for cultural and ethical reasons, many individuals had already reached the jonin level!
How many jonin did their world have in total?
Compared to this timeline, the gap was simply too great!
The examiner's voice was broadcasted simultaneously in both the Dream World and the outside world, "[Instance Points] aren't obtained solely by attacking enemies; healing, defense, buffs, and control also grant points. The final authority on point acquisition belongs to the exam leader!"
"Lastly, this is the enemy you must confront in the dungeon—Madara Uchiha!"
The image changed, displaying Madara himself, arms crossed, gazing down with supreme confidence!
Middle-aged Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, "This...this is the real Madara Uchiha!"
As someone who had personally fought Madara before, he was confident about recognizing him.
The Madara in this image was definitely not merely an illusionary construct—he had the unmistakable, piercing gaze of the real Madara!
Boruto gasped, "That's Madara Uchiha!"
"At this time, an old man sitting nearby cast a disdainful glance, 'It's only been five years, and already they've forgotten the painful lessons of war?'
He sighed and shook his head, 'These kids these days always forget history, not realizing that forgetting history is an act of betrayal...'
Middle-aged Sasuke interrupted, 'Excuse me, sir, but five years ago we ran off into the mountains to escape the war, and only just now come down. May I ask, what's going on with this Madara Uchiha inside? He seems not to be under Genjutsu!'
'Oh, I see!' The old man's face lightened up a bit before turning serious again, 'He's definitely not under Genjutsu. That's Madara Uchiha's soul. After the Great Leader defeated him, to make him atone and prevent any would-be conquerors from summoning his soul, his soul was Sealed in the Dream World!'
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