"Alright, forty-five minutes are up. Now, I will announce the tenth question."
Mori Ibi-ki suddenly spoke, and many examinees looked up at him with heavy expressions.
Only fifteen minutes left until the end of the exam?
"First, you must choose whether or not to answer this tenth question."
To answer or not to answer? What does that mean?
Temari didn't have the same cheating methods as her two younger brothers. She only managed to finish because Kankuro had passed her a copy of the answers after he finished cheating.
In the oppressive atmosphere deliberately created by Mori Ibi-ki, she couldn't keep her composure and asked.
"We get to choose? What if we choose not to answer the tenth question?"
Mori Ibi-ki's calm voice responded to her.
"If an examinee chooses not to answer the tenth question, they will receive a score of zero, meaning they fail. Correspondingly, their two teammates will also be eliminated."
A murmur of discussion arose in the examination room.
"Furthermore..."
Ibiki's voice rang out again, not loud, but like a heavy hammer striking everyone's taut nerves, "There's one more rule."
More?
The examinees' hearts leaped again, holding their breath.
Ibiki's gaze swept over every pale face, then announced the final rule:
"If you choose to answer the question..."
He deliberately drew out his words.
"...but fail to answer correctly..."
A brief pause, allowing the fear to escalate to its peak.
"...then, that examinee will be permanently disqualified from participating in the Chunin Exams in the future!"
Permanently disqualified!
Like the final tolling of a death knell.
With a "buzz," many examinees' minds went blank.
Choose not to answer, zero points for oneself, teammates eliminated.
Choose to answer, answer incorrectly, and one can forget about ever becoming a Chunin again!
How was this a multiple-choice question?
This was clearly a fork in the road leading to despair!
No matter which path they chose, there seemed to be no hope!
Immense fear, pressure, and confusion about the future, like a tide, engulfed the entire examination room.
Many examinees with weaker psychological fortitude had faces as pale as paper, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.
The slight luck and confidence they had from "completing" the first nine questions through various means were shattered in the face of this brutal rule, which was nakedly about their future Ninja career.
Mori Ibi-ki stood silently on the podium, like a steadfast rock, or a deity judging fate.
He intended to use this tenth question, this unprecedented "choice" and "punishment," to interrogate the will, determination, and resolve of these young Ninja regarding the "Chunin" qualification!
Pressure!
In this almost suffocating, heavy silence, Naruto remained unusually calm.
His gaze did not linger on the imposing chief examiner on the podium; instead, he slightly tilted his head and looked at Hinata, who was sitting beside him.
He could clearly feel Hinata's body tensing up.
She had her head down, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, knuckles white from the effort, and her slender shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly.
Her pure white eyes were downcast, her long eyelashes fluttering like startled butterfly wings, clearly under immense psychological pressure.
Naruto's heart twinged slightly.
He knew that, according to the original trajectory, Hinata would eventually choose to continue answering the question.
But "knowing" was one thing, and "watching her struggle in fear" was another.
He couldn't just sit by and do nothing.
Hidden by the table, Naruto quietly slid his right hand down from the tabletop, then grasped Hinata's left hand, which was tightly clutching her clothes.
Hinata's hand was cold and still trembling slightly.
Naruto's palm was warm and dry, carrying a reassuring strength.
His movement was gentle, yet undeniable.
Hinata trembled all over, suddenly looking up like a startled fawn, her pure white eyes staring at Naruto in astonishment.
Two red clouds instantly bloomed on her face, even her earlobes tinged with crimson.
She instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but Naruto held it steadily, with just the right amount of force, giving her support without making her feel uncomfortable or forced.
"Nar... Naruto-kun..."
She whispered, flustered, trying to say something.
Naruto, however, didn't look at her, his gaze still fixed straight ahead, as if he had just done the most ordinary thing.
He spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Don't worry."
His voice was calm, without the slightest tension or anxiety that one might expect when facing a "desperate situation," instead carrying a strange, reassuring warmth.
"I'm here."
These simple four words, however, seemed to possess immense power, instantly dispelling large patches of gloom and coldness in Hinata's heart.
That warm touch spread from the back of her hand, smoothing its way to the depths of her flustered heart.
Ibiki stood like a rock on the podium, his sharp eyes, which seemed to penetrate people's hearts, slowly scanning every pale, struggling, or resolute young face below.
The despair and pressure permeating the examination room were precisely the "trial grounds" he deliberately created and enjoyed seeing come to fruition.
Enjoying the struggles of the "interrogated" was a small pleasure for him as the Anbu Interrogation Department Head.
However, as his cold gaze swept across the examination room, he caught a "small interlude" that was incongruous with the solemn atmosphere around them.
Uzumaki Naruto, that blond-haired kid who was also "famous" in Konoha, was slightly tilting his head, whispering something into the ear of the Hyuga Clan's Young Miss sitting to his right.
Although the girl's cheeks were flushed and her head was down, her body was no longer as tense and trembling as before; she even subtly squeezed Naruto's hand, which he had held at some point.
That secret interaction between the two, filled with comfort and reliance, could not be hidden from an interrogation expert like Ibiki, with his astonishing insight.
Naruto hadn't intended to hide it anyway; the examiners were all from Konoha, so they would naturally turn a blind eye.
On Ibiki's scarred face, the corner of his mouth curved upwards in a barely perceptible, subtle arc.
'This kid... he's not stupid, huh.'
Ever since he asked the Sandaime for marriage application forms for Kakashi and Karin last time, Ibiki had noticed.
This kid definitely had a knack for this sort of thing.
Inoichi's daughter must like him too.
The Interrogation Department and the Analysis Squad had a lot of dealings, so he and Inoichi Yamanaka were practically colleagues.
'I never thought... I'd be gossiping about Inoichi's circle one day.'
So, who would this kid choose in the end?
It couldn't be that he wanted both, could it?
Thinking of this, the smile on Ibiki's face almost uncontrollably widened.
However, his expression at this moment, seen by the examinees below who were in extreme tension and fear, was a completely different sight.
His scarred face, with the corners of his mouth struggling to suppress a grin yet unable to resist turning upwards, twisted into an almost sinister appearance.
Coupled with the oppressive feeling from his black trench coat and the cruel rules he had just announced, this smile looked like nothing less than a sinister grin of someone who had succeeded in a conspiracy and was enjoying everyone's defeat and pain!
As if he was very happy to see these young Ninja struggle in despair, collapse in fear, and give up under pressure.
This "sinister grin" was like the last straw, breaking some examinees with fragile psychological defenses.
Some covered their heads, struggling internally, while others slumped onto their chairs with Ash faces.