"Hah! I knew something was fishy here!"
After a moment of silence and waiting, seeing that the examiner on the high platform was still murmuring to himself with a thoughtful expression and had no intention of responding at all, one of the villagers took it as proof that he had caught the examiner feeling guilty. Convinced that such a drastically reversed result must involve foul play, the villager grew more and more agitated and excited.
Without realizing he was toeing the line of the examiner's patience—and actually doing a full tap dance on it—he puffed up self-righteously, pointed toward the examiner's face, and shouted, full of righteous indignation:
"Come on! You power-abusing bastard! There's no way in hell I'll accept that made-up label of 'failure' you slapped on me out of nowhere! If you've got the guts, then throw me out yourself! Otherwise, I'm not taking a single step out of here! Not one!"
The examiner, who had been racking his brain trying to think of a way to let this group of unreasonable villagers exit with at least a shred of dignity, had his thoughts shattered by that increasingly vile shouting. His kindness had been spat on like it was trash, and a surge of nameless fury rose up in his chest. On top of that, he noticed Naruto quietly casting a detached glance from the distance, making him panic just a little more.
'Tch… these ungrateful idiots... Fine. You want to die? Not on my watch. I still want to live a few more years—I don't have time to mess around with you.'
Determined not to lose face in front of the terrifying new master who had slaughtered the previous one without mercy, the examiner took a deep breath to calm his mind. Then, lifting his head with a mockingly helpless smile, he raised his hands in surrender and replied to the loudest protester:
"Whew… Alright, alright. You win."
"Hmph! Finally figured out you can't fool us, huh?"
The villager, who had been all bluster and rage a second ago, instantly brightened up, thinking his protest had succeeded. Folding his arms smugly and curling his lip in disdain, he laughed scornfully—completely oblivious to the glint of cold cruelty flashing in the examiner's eyes.
"See? Wouldn't it have been better to just do that from the start? Geez, some people just have to be yelled at before they understand. Total waste of time! Let's just get this over with—I want to be home for lunch!"
"Hahaha! Damn right, brother! Some folks only understand when you give it to 'em straight!"
"Exactly, well done! That's how you deal with cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong! If you back down and try to play nice, then you've already lost!"
"Hahaha, couldn't have said it better myself… Hey! What's the matter? You mute or deaf? Why're you just standing there? Hurry up and do your damn job!"
"I bet he's still figuring out how to explain this to those big noble clans! Hahaha!"
'Tch, I knew I should've stayed at the base to train today… When I get back, I'm definitely settling the score with those bastards who roped me into this mess.'
Hearing these villagers completely ignore the concept of "knowing when to stop," the examiner's last shred of compassion was finally erased. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he glanced upward, the smile on his face brightening like sunlight—but with a chill hidden beneath.
He clapped his hands together lightly and spoke slowly, eyes half-lidded and voice gentle:
"Well then. Seems like you've all made your decision. In that case, I won't waste any more of your precious exam time… After all, this whole farce was supposed to be wrapped up before lunch."
"Hmph, now that's more like it! Since you're finally being reasonable, I'll let it slide. Just hurry up and get those enrollment procedures sorted."
Seeing the examiner's "helpless concession," the lead protester finally lowered his head and let out a long, relieved sigh. Convinced he had just won a brilliant tactical victory by rallying everyone to pressure the examiner, he even gave a wave of his hand in mock generosity.
"Wait a minute… Decision? What deci—"
But just as he relaxed, the villager suddenly realized something was off about the examiner's wording. 'Made your decision'?
When he looked back up at the platform—there was no sign of the examiner.
"...Where'd he go?!"
The sudden, unexpected shift threw him into a full panic. Alarm bells blared in his head as he looked around wildly, hoping to find the examiner's shadow and calm his spiraling anxiety.
'Damn it… Where did he—'
Unfortunately, even though this villager's reaction speed was above average for a civilian—and he had even instinctively prepared a defensive stance when he sensed danger—it was already far, far too late.
"Looking for something? I'm right here..."
The examiner's voice slithered into his ear like a ghost's whisper. It wasn't filled with rage, but the proximity alone sent icy shivers down the villager's spine and paralyzed his limbs.
"'Death'? If you're not prepared to take a life or risk your own being taken, I suggest you stop throwing that word around so lightly."
The examiner had faced death more than once, had watched pillars of the village get driven to their doom by fools like this—clueless, cowardly civilians whose only talent was gossiping behind the safety bought with shinobi blood. He despised them. Every time they dragged down the real defenders of the village, it made his blood boil.
At this moment, it wasn't about dealing with some weak civilian—it was about holding back the icy, killing intent that surged up inside him.
"...Hold on tight. If you break something or die, that's on you—not me."
With those bone-chilling words, he grabbed the small child beside him—who had been frozen stiff this whole time—and shoved the kid into the villager's arms. In the same instant, he struck.
A massive force hit the villager in the back, launching him into the air like a ragdoll. He tumbled across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop, dazed and battered—right outside the gates of the Ninja Academy.
In his arms was the same wide-eyed, utterly confused child the examiner had shoved at him.
In the blink of an eye, the ringleader of the protest had been publicly thrown out of the school—with his child in tow.
He had been dismissed, plain and simple.