"So, Aniki Shiki has a friend like this too. Why have I never heard Aniki mention him before?" Yuuma blinked her eyes.
Shiki wanted to say something but hesitated and held back his words.
At least for now, Kabuto's appearance hadn't caused harm to anyone here. In fact, he genuinely helped every squad.
Following that, Yakushi Kabuto, after some brief conversation, squatted on the ground, continuously introducing various opponents worth noting using ninja information cards.
His expression was serious but not stiff, and his kind demeanor quickly won over many of those present.
Even more so when they learned he had participated in the Chunin Exams seven times already, prompting murmurs of sympathy from everyone.
"I didn't expect Senior Kabuto to have kept trying this hard all along. I believe you'll definitely pass this year's Chunin Exam!" Naruto encouraged him.
"Thank you, but this year still depends on luck."
However, when Kabuto introduced Otogakure (Sound Ninja Village), he deliberately downplayed its strength, immediately causing dissatisfaction among several Otogakure ninjas.
In his heart, Shiki bitterly smiled and thought, "What would you think if you knew that this person standing before you—who failed the Chunin Exams seven times—is actually your village's number two man?"
But naturally, these low-ranking Otogakure genin couldn't hear Shiki's inner thoughts.
Therefore, they decided to attack Yakushi Kabuto. However, Kabuto acted extremely convincingly by pretending to fall to the ground vomiting.
Immediately afterward, the examiner arrived, scolded the Otogakure ninjas briefly, then announced the first round of the Chunin Exams—the written test—would begin.
Examiner Ibiki Morino, who served as the head of Konoha's Anbu Torture and Interrogation Department, radiated tremendous presence—at least from Shiki's perspective. His strong body was wrapped in a black coat, and the scars visible on his face exuded a rugged masculinity.
Of course, this impression came about simply because his face had fewer scars compared to the rest of his body.
As for the scars covering the rest of his body, they were nothing short of horrifying to look upon.
After Ibiki announced the rules, everyone quickly sat down at their respective seats.
Actually, quite a few participants already understood the examiners' implication—that underhanded cheating methods wouldn't be tolerated.
Moreover, due to the extremely difficult questions, only someone like Sakura—who possessed extraordinary academic prowess—or two mid-level ninjas who had been secretly stationed in the examination area with prior knowledge of the answers could possibly complete them.
Therefore, a wave of cheating began sweeping through the exam hall.
Naturally, many others got caught and expelled due to their clumsy cheating techniques.
However, advanced cheating techniques such as Sharingan, Byakugan, Sand Eye, ninja tools, and puppets were constantly being employed across the examination hall.
Yet Shiki felt somewhat helpless—he seemed to have forgotten to prepare any such method himself.
Although eventually many would pass the exam thanks to Naruto's performance later,
the Chunin Exam doesn't determine promotion solely based on lasting until the end—it evaluates each individual's performance across each stage of the exams.
Shikamaru's wise and rational decision to withdraw early actually made him the only person to become a chunin during this particular exam season in the canon timeline.
But Shiki was just like Lee, almost completely lacking in espionage abilities. Lee had Tenten's help with ninja tools to cheat.
What should he do then?
Tenten probably believed he could finish this exam on his own.
Could it be that he really would end up turning in a completely empty answer sheet like Naruto?
Chapter 121: Ready to Explode!
Time dragged as Ibiki continued scanning the room with his piercing interrogation gaze.
Eventually, his gaze came to rest on the striking red-haired examinee.
"That kid must be Shiki Uzumaki," Morino Ibiki thought, his eyes sharp as if trying to see through the person before him. As head of Konoha's Anbu Torture and Interrogation Force, he knew quite a bit about what happened when Shiki's talent had been destroyed years ago.
Seeing this person stand before him now, Ibiki felt additional curiosity. Looking at Shiki, he appeared to be a rather handsome child—certainly the type many girls would fancy.
And yet, Shiki's performance frustrated him. "He hasn't written a single word yet. Is it because he truly can't?"
"Doesn't he clearly understand the exam rules? Or does he understand them but still have absolutely no solution?"
Makes sense. After all, someone who can only use Taijutsu probably...
Just then, Ibiki suddenly noticed movement from Shiki Uzumaki. His hands secretly started forming hand seals.
"What trick is he planning?" Ibiki suddenly felt a spark of interest rising within him.
After completing the hand seals, Shiki appeared unchanged. Everything seemed just as ordinary as before.
However, Ibiki lifted his head. A chandelier had silently appeared in the middle of the room.
[Shadow Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu]? Ibiki's expression showed slight surprise.
Originally, he thought that once Shiki realized he could never use ninjutsu normally again like an average person, he would give up studying ninjutsu altogether.
Unexpectedly, Shiki could still cleverly apply ninjutsu techniques. Trying to secretly create a shadow clone and using Transformation Jutsu to hang upside down on the ceiling—that was truly impressive.
This technique would be incredibly challenging for many Chunin-level ninja.
Meanwhile, the Shiki seated at his desk relaxed somewhat. The Shadow Clone Jutsu had always been an exceptional technique for espionage.
In fact, Shiki had used particularly discreet methods. According to his estimation, there probably weren't many people in this examination hall who noticed his little tricks.
A short while later, Shiki thought his shadow clone had seen enough information. He dispelled the Shadow Clone and began writing answers based on what he had copied down.
What happened afterward didn't differ much from the original story. Ibiki announced the final question while one after another examinee left their seats. Eventually, Naruto slammed his hands down on the table. After delivering a few inspiring words, the exam ended early without eliminating more participants.
Once the exam concluded, examinees gradually exited the room one by one while Ibiki collected the papers.
Shiki also stood up, stepped outside, and exchanged greetings with his friends one by one.
Then he shifted his gaze to Gaara. He remained like a sharp blade—no matter the setting, he radiated a chilling power that sent icy shivers through people.
This murderous aura, nearly tangible in its intensity, had long kept countless ninja at a safe distance.
Everyone could feel the piercing malice coming from Gaara.
Even without doing anything at all, everyone instinctively marked Gaara as absolutely untouchable.
Shiki slightly curled his lips into an amused smile, stepped forward, and patted Gaara on the shoulder. "Gaara, why don't you greet me?"
It should've been a normal gesture—but with Gaara, even something simple could have wildly different outcomes depending on who did it.
Just look at what Shiki did—Kankuro flipped into full panic mode in an instant.
You actually expect Gaara to greet you?! The fact that he didn't kill you the moment you approached was already more mercy than anyone could hope for!
"Quickly take your hands off, you Konoha's Genin! Be careful—I might just kill you!" Kankuro shouted, activating the puppet strapped to his back. It seemed like he really would attack if Shiki didn't remove his hand immediately.
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