Until 1:50 PM, the examination room remained quiet. But when the door suddenly opened, all the Genin inside fell silent at once.
Hundreds of Chunin and a dozen Jonin sat in a circle around the room, their presence radiating pressure.
Finally, Kurenai Yuhi entered the hall, dressed in her old red-and-white battle attire. She walked calmly to the podium, her gaze sweeping across the room full of candidates.
"Welcome to Konoha, and to the Chunin Exams. I am Kurenai Yuhi, the proctor of the first round."
Her voice was steady, crisp—and carried undeniable authority.
"But rather than my name, you might be more familiar with another title I go by... the Red Queen."
A murmur rippled through the room.
Genin from other villages felt their hearts tighten. This was the proctor for the very first round?
Wasn't this overkill?
But... it was only the first round, after all. How hard could it really be?
Some still held onto naïve optimism—until Kurenai calmly laid out the rules of the written exam.
"The written test has a maximum score of 100. Sixty is a passing grade."
"If even one member of your team fails, all three of you will be eliminated and lose your qualification for this Chunin Exam."
"Furthermore, every time you are caught cheating by an invigilator, your name will be recorded, and five points will be deducted from your score."
"Accumulate 25 points in deductions, and you will be immediately disqualified."
As soon as Kurenai finished her explanation, several troublemakers from Sunagakure stood up, visibly angry.
"This isn't fair!" one of them shouted. "Why should my teammates suffer because of me?"
His protests struck a chord with a few others, and murmurs of discontent began to spread.
One of the proctors, a Jonin named Baiyun, didn't bother arguing.
He simply pulled out a kunai and threw it across the room.
Thwap—
The blade sliced cleanly across the cheek of the Sand ninja who had spoken, leaving a thin red line.
Baiyun's voice was cold.
"You either take the exam, or go back to being a Genin. Don't waste our time pretending you're a real ninja."
"This isn't playtime. This is the Chunin Exam."
Kurenai nodded at Baiyun, then stepped forward, her gaze sharp.
"That's right. Promotion to Chunin isn't about strength alone. If you don't have the basic knowledge required, then you're better off going back to the Ninja Academy and starting over."
"Becoming a Chunin means leading your own team. If you can't assess your subordinates' strengths or protect them in battle, you're not qualified to lead."
With that, she pulled a scroll from her pouch and unsealed a thick stack of test papers.
The surrounding Jonin immediately began distributing them.
At exactly 2:00 PM, Kurenai gave the signal to begin.
All across the room, pens were lifted. Papers flipped. Heads bowed.
Meanwhile, in a control room above the exam hall, the five Kage and envoys from various villages sat around a circular table, watching the giant screen in front of them. The feed showed live footage of the exam hall below.
Rasa of the Sand glared at the screen, his gaze landing on the Sand ninja who'd been cut across the cheek.
His right hand clenched into a fist, expression twisting.
"Hmph. That one was demoted to Genin after he abandoned his team during a mission. I see he's learned nothing."
Of course, Rasa left out one important detail: that he had demoted this ninja intentionally. He was supposed to be a pawn, a suicide agent sent to disrupt and potentially assassinate promising Genin from rival villages during the exams.
But after that public outburst?
Discarded.
Raikage A, standing to the side, nodded in agreement.
"A ninja who doesn't value his comrades has no business becoming a Chunin—or even staying a ninja, for that matter."
"Kazekage, your approach is still too soft."
Unlike Ōnoki, A wasn't one for scolding or passive aggression. He was a man of action—direct and brutally honest. This mentality defined the entire Hidden Cloud Village, which was why almost no traitors ever arose from their ranks.
Ōnoki had opened his mouth, clearly ready to take a jab at Rasa, but paused when he saw Uchiha Hikaru glance at him with a casual smile.
The old Tsuchikage shut his mouth with a quiet grunt.
Uchiha Hikaru simply leaned back in his chair, watching the screen with a slight smirk.
Beside him, Tsunade sipped her sake and began explaining the deeper meaning behind the exam rules to the other village leaders.
Back in the exam room, minutes ticked by.
Many candidates had already read through the test... and were visibly shaken.
It wasn't because they were slow.
It was because they didn't understand a single question.
Sasuke stared at his paper, hand on his forehead.
Did I waste all those years solving problems Itachi gave me?
No. No way. I've studied the entire "Three Years as Chunin, Five Years as Jonin" curriculum!
There has to be something wrong with these questions!
His test read:
A Jonin throws a shuriken at an enemy 3 miles southwest. The wind speed is 21 m/s from the northwest. The enemy is moving northeast at 100 m/s. Assuming the shuriken must travel at minimum killing speed X m/s, calculate the force in Newtons needed to throw it and the shuriken's initial velocity.
...
What kind of Genin-level question is this?!
I know every word, but together they make no sense!
Another one:
Using your knowledge of ninja world history, briefly explain the rationale behind the "One Village, One Nation" policy initiated by the First Hokage. List at least five advantages and five disadvantages. (500 words minimum).
How the hell would I know what the First Hokage was thinking? I'm not the God of Shinobi! (;￣Д￣)
There were ten questions like this.
Ten.
Sasuke quickly realized—this test wasn't meant to be solved through brute force.
He scanned the room with his Sharingan.
A small number of candidates were writing—fast, confident.
He narrowed his eyes.
Wait… even Sakura's doing it?
Sakura's hand was moving nonstop, her pen flying across the paper.
That's it? This is supposed to be hard?
For a Chunin, maybe. But for me—Konoha's Queen of Exams, Haruno Sakura—this is just another Tuesday. (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
I scored 100 on every written test at the Academy!
Because 100 was the full score, not because it was the most I could do!
For love! For Sasuke! For the Uchiha name! I will conquer this test!
Sasuke glanced over again and activated his Sharingan, copying the motion of Sakura's hand to replicate the answers onto a blank draft.
Then, just to be sure, he copied the answers from two more candidates.
And he found it.
Wait… these two gave different answers to the same question?
This examiner has a seriously twisted mind…
But that didn't stop Sakura.
Her combat skills might've been lagging—but her theoretical knowledge?
Even Uchiha Sasuke had to respect it.
(*≧▽≦)