"Teacher, someone's sleeping here! He's disrespecting you!" Naruto pointed at the chicken—no, not a chicken, it was Zaku Abumi—who was under genjutsu and wouldn't wake up even after falling hard onto the ground. He didn't know the guy's name. No big deal; just a background character.
Ibiki Morino instantly grimaced, eyeing the arrogant blonde brat. His gaze was fierce, and the scars on his face looked even more menacing, as if he was about to murder someone's entire family at any moment. Sasuke probably knew that feeling well. Hmm. Naruto felt the same way.
This blonde brat reminded Ibiki Morino of what Kakashi had called his "adorable" student. Aside from his looks, nothing else about him was adorable. And he certainly wasn't like the Fourth Hokage, who made people feel as if they were bathing in a spring breeze.
"Where's his teammate? Quickly dispel the genjutsu."
Hearing this, the only remaining female member of the trio stepped forward and dispelled the genjutsu.
"Listen up, everyone remaining! No more messing around until the exam is over! Anyone who violates this rule will be immediately disqualified, understood?" Ibiki Morino glared fiercely at the troublemaker before announcing this ironclad rule.
Next, everyone followed instructions to submit their application forms and receive their numbered tags. As they lined up, many glanced at Naruto, intentionally or unintentionally. After all, this guy was just too striking. He left a deep impression on everyone, and quite a few were curious about and wary of Naruto's genjutsu.
After receiving their numbered tags, everyone took their assigned seats. Sitting down, Naruto subtly sensed his surroundings. His team's numbers had been completely scrambled; he was quite far from Sakura and Sasuke. Looking up at Ibiki Morino standing at the podium, Naruto sat up straight, ready to see what this so-called first stage of the Chunin Exams was all about. He'd been through middle school exams, college entrance exams, and even postgraduate entrance exams, but never a Chunin Exam.
Let's see what this is all about.jpg
"Naruto-kun."
A faint voice suddenly came from his right. He turned his head and saw a familiar little girl with beautiful Byakugan eyes.
"Hinata?"
"Le-let's do our best together." Hinata's face was flushed as she smiled sweetly, looking quite adorable.
"Yeah, you too!" This little girl seemed a bit different today.
Then came the distribution of... test papers?
Naruto was utterly dumbfounded when he received his test paper. Seriously, written exams again? Even the Chunin Exams aren't escaping the written portion?
Chief Examiner Ibiki Morino announced the rules:
Everyone starts with 10 points. There are 10 questions in total. One point is deducted for each incorrect answer.Scores are calculated based on the total points of the team.Two points are deducted for each instance of cheating discovered.Interdependence rule: If any member of a team scores zero, the entire team fails.The last question will be given 45 minutes after the start of the exam.The exam duration is one hour.
"Begin!"
At the examiner's command, the exam began.
As the exam officially started, Naruto remained unhurried, first taking the opportunity to survey the exam room. At the podium sat Chief Examiner Ibiki Morino, with two Chunin examiners assigned to monitor each row. This ensured that every candidate was simultaneously monitored by five pairs of eyes. Under such strict supervision, cheating seemed quite difficult.
However, it had nothing to do with Naruto. Since that was the case, he'd first check the difficulty of the questions.
Question 1: Cipher.
Tsk tsk, looks quite challenging.
But have you ever heard my story? Do you know what an SSSSSS talent is? Do you understand what a stat monster is?
Instant kill.
Question 2: Projectile motion.
Simple, instant kill.
Question 3: Map question.
Instant kill.
Question 4... Question 9...
In no time, Naruto had finished all the questions. It was just too easy. He checked the time.
No way, dude, only 5 minutes have passed? So I have to sit here bored for another 55 minutes? Counting, he had already completed 9 questions, conservatively scoring 9 points. Even if he didn't do the last optional question, he'd only lose 1 point. He could totally leave early! And put on a show in the process. Do you understand the swagger of a top student? Can you even call yourself a top student if you don't turn in your paper half an hour early?
"Examiner!" Naruto raised his hand, attracting many glances. "I'm done."
Huh?
Those familiar with Naruto—Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kiba, and even Sakura and Sasuke—all stared at Naruto in surprise. He finished all those difficult questions? Is this... still the Naruto they knew?
"Can I turn in my paper early?" Naruto tentatively asked.
Ibiki Morino, seeing this presumptuous kid, was at a loss for words for a moment. "If you want to give up, you can turn it in."
"Then never mind," Naruto casually lowered his hand, beginning to look around boredly. He won't let me turn it in? So there's something tricky about that last optional question?
He looked left and right. This test seemed really difficult for others, but he hadn't felt that way. Why were so many people leaving blanks? Not only that, but to cheat, the various ninjas' talents were incredibly diverse.
After watching for a while, Naruto grew bored. Peaceful exams were so dull; he just wanted to see rivers of blood. The reality was: he could only appreciate others' clumsy cheating techniques.
One minute, two minutes... five minutes... ten minutes... During this time, many were forced to leave after their points were completely deducted. Just as Naruto was bored to the point of mentally calculating everyone's apparent scores, the time finally arrived!
"Time's up! Now I will explain the rule of despair!"
The rule of despair?
"First, you must consider whether or not to answer this question. If you don't choose, you'll get zero points, and you'll fail! And the other two members of your team will also be disqualified." Hearing this, the examinees instantly broke into an uproar.
"Furthermore, if you choose to answer the question but get it wrong, then the person who answered will be permanently stripped of their eligibility to participate in the Chunin Exams in the future."
Whoosh!
The classroom erupted. Naruto, however, felt that this rhetoric sounded awfully familiar. Is this guy roasting them in KFC?
Someone raised an objection but was met with a harsh retort from the chief examiner. Then, some timidly raised their hands to give up. At this moment, Naruto also raised his hand.
"Naruto!" Sakura and Sasuke stared at Naruto in shock. Is he giving up?
"Are you giving up too?"
Naruto held his right hand high, just to get attention. "Teacher, hurry up and announce the last question. I've been waiting forever." If he didn't hurry, Kakashi outside would probably burst in. He hadn't finished this "dungeon" yet! Just one more question!
"Heh." This brat was such a headache. Ibiki Morino merely glanced past the blonde kid, his fierce gaze sweeping the room, maximizing the pressure. Seeing that the chief examiner was ignoring him.
Bang!
Naruto slammed his hand on the table, drawing everyone's attention. He looked up, meeting the chief examiner's warning gaze, and Naruto directly upped the ante. Ibiki Morino was momentarily dazed, then snapped back to attention. He suddenly felt that perhaps it was time to end this exam.
"Your resolve is commendable, very good! In that case, I declare that everyone who has remained here has passed the first stage of the exam!"
Huh?
This wasn't just Naruto's expression at that moment, but everyone's. Was that the last question?
Since that was the case.
「Genjutsu: Release」
"This exam was entirely for your—"
Crack!
Countless glass shards shattered, then reassembled... Time rewound.
"I am the examiner for the first stage of the Chun—"
Mid-sentence, Ibiki Morino suddenly stopped. Then, sensing something, his face instantly darkened. He glanced at the blonde kid, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
You're definitely here to cause trouble!