The gathering point for the candidates was becoming more and more lively. As Kabuto Yakushi's info cards caused a stir, a growing number of people paid attention to him. In the crowded room, a genin from the Sound Village suddenly attacked, injuring another candidate.
Kabuto knelt on the ground, clutching his broken glasses. The Konoha ninjas surrounding him were indignant.
Sasuke Uchiha's mouth twitched. He looked at his teammate, who was leaning against the wall. "Naruto, are you sure he's actually strong?"
"He should be... maybe," Naruto replied, his own expression sour.
Fortunately, the commotion didn't last long. As the genin grew more impatient, the first part of the Chunin Exam—the written test—was finally about to begin.
A man with a scar on his face, wearing a leather coat, walked in and coldly scanned the genin present. "I am the proctor for your first exam, Ibiki Morino."
...He looks really scary.
The written test itself wasn't very long, but the questions on it were enough to make anyone want to scratch their head.
Naruto Uzumaki flipped through the test paper again and again, finally unable to stop himself from sighing. "Can... a human even do these questions?"
Candidates throughout the examination hall had already begun to use all sorts of cheating methods. Naruto himself had already observed seven or eight different kinds. Whenever someone was caught, Ibiki Morino immediately kicked them out, and their entire team was eliminated.
Naruto pressed his fingers to his brow, trying to search his memories for the answers, when the Nine-Tails inside him interrupted.
"Naruto, there's no need to answer the questions. Just sit quietly."
The Nine-Tails lay in its cage, narrowing its eyes as it pretended to sleep. "If you really want to answer, I can tell you the answers."
Having obtained Naruto's memories, the Nine-Tails understood the true meaning of this exam. It was designed to test the psychological fortitude of the genin. Through his words, Ibiki was constantly pressuring them to give up before the final question. If any candidate wanted a chance to be promoted, they had to choose to stay.
If the candidates weren't scared off by Ibiki's warnings, they were guaranteed to pass. Therefore, all one had to do was sit quietly and wait for Ibiki to announce the last question. They could pass without doing anything. The Naruto from its memories, for instance, had once passed with a blank paper, the only one to slip through the net that way.
Inside the seal, Naruto's figure appeared in the watery space. He crossed his arms, his fingers lightly tapping his arm. "Kurama, what's your scheme this time?"
"Hmph!" The Nine-Tails snorted, turning its head away. "I'm just worried you'll try to search your memories. If you die in here, I can't survive either."
"You'll tell me the answers?"
"If you want them, it's not impossible..." The Nine-Tails opened its eyes and bared its teeth at him. "But you have to promise me one thing. From now on, you have to start practicing the taijutsu I teach you."
Naruto Uzumaki was speechless. That was hardly a condition. The real problem was that the Nine-Tails' attitude was far too friendly.
"How can I be sure the answers are real?"
"It's just a mere Chunin Exam..." The Nine-Tails suppressed its anger. Why did this Naruto always have to suspect it? The tailed beast couldn't help but open its mouth and roar, "I can kill a hundred chunin in an instant! Would I lie to you?"
"...You say them first, I'll listen." Naruto sat down cross-legged outside the cage.
The Nine-Tails thought it had obtained Naruto's pre-Hokage study session memories, but converting that knowledge into answers for a test... was proving to be a bit difficult.
The confidence the Nine-Tails originally had gradually faded, and its expression became somewhat embarrassed. "The answer to the code question is simple..."
"The second question, find the maximum range of a shuriken... What kind of question is this? My Tailed Beast Bomb can fly from the Land of Fire to the Land of Water..."
"Why is there a question like this..." Naruto was also gritting his teeth, looking at the math problem that was giving them trouble. "My Spiral Shockwave has an effective range of a kilometer. What's the use of a normal shuriken? They're expensive and hard to hit anyone with..."
"Hey, Naruto, what is mechanical energy?" The Nine-Tails was also scratching its head with its claws. It couldn't find any related knowledge at all.
Naruto shook his head. "I can destroy this exam hall with one punch... Who knows what this question is about? I can't make heads or tails of it!"
"What does this topographic map even mean? One Tailed Beast Bomb and this mountain would be flattened!"
"As long as my new ninjutsu research is successful, I could do that too..."
"This question... I can't understand it at all..."
"Who knows what they become when they're put together... I only know that fusing Wind Release and Yang Release chakra can create a Spiral Dance Umbrella!"
The two powerful beings racked their brains but couldn't solve most of the questions. The Nine-Tails' arrogant expression gradually faded. "The answer to that weird language question," it said in a low voice, "number nine, is nine pounds and fifteen pence."
"..."
Naruto fell into a state of gloom. "The two of us... can only answer two questions? In that case, we're 100% going to be eliminated, aren't we?"
"And I was the one who answered those two..." The Nine-Tails, feeling a bit embarrassed, proposed a new idea. "Wait here for a moment. I'll go ask someone else."
If it really came down to it, it would go ask Shukaku. If that little brat Gaara's jinchuriki was willing to share an answer, it wouldn't mind being lenient in this Chunin Exam. Otherwise...
Naruto quickly stated his bottom line. "I can't help you undo the seal... How are you going to ask someone else?"
"Shut up, that's not necessary at all," the Nine-Tails shook its head frantically, then it suddenly realized. "Wait, why are we even answering questions? As long as we wait for that guy on the stage to announce the tenth question, you'll pass this written test..."
"He'll only announce it forty-five minutes after the exam starts..." Naruto said in a low voice. "Are we really going to pin our hopes on the last fifteen minutes? I'm a little uneasy."
"Would I lie to you?"
"When have you not lied to me?"
After arguing for a while, they were right back where they started. Naruto glanced at the somewhat dejected Tailed Beast, sighed, and left the seal space. "Alright, I'll trust you this one time. Let's take a gamble!"
This led to a strange scene in the exam hall.
While others were either writing furiously or using various tricks to cheat, Naruto, after writing down the two answers that were the result of their combined efforts, sat calmly in his seat, waiting for Ibiki Morino to announce the tenth question.
Hinata Hyuga, who was next to him, saw this and whispered, "Naruto-kun, you can look at my paper..."
"No need!" Naruto shook his head, rejecting the girl's offer. He explained softly, "Hinata, I've already made a bet with someone else. I'm betting my future on the tenth question!"
Hinata Hyuga: "..."
Nine-Tails: "..."
How could I forget about this!
Ibiki Morino seemed to notice them whispering. He suddenly threw a kunai that flew between Naruto and Hinata, startling Hinata.
Naruto caught the kunai and threw it back. The weapon tore through Ibiki Morino's leather coat and stuck firmly in the blackboard behind him.
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Bonus:
Ibiki Morino: Kakashi, your subordinate is amazing!
Anko Mitarashi: Kakashi, your subordinate is really amazing!
Kakashi Hatake: I know, their skills are pretty strong.
Hayate Gekko: So, I'm applying to have Kakashi-senpai be the proctor for the third exam.
Kakashi Hatake: What happened?
Hayate Gekko: The proctors for the first two exams were both injured by your subordinates...
Kakashi Hatake: I thought it was something serious! I'm their supervising jonin, and even I've been injured by them. You guys are just a chunin and a special jonin. Isn't getting injured by them normal?