An Unusual Exam Question

Shikamaru finished speaking, then asked again, "So, do you have any information on Ryo Senju?"

Everyone was a little surprised to hear Shikamaru asking about Ryo Senju. Did someone who ranked at the bottom really warrant that much attention?

Wu Liang's mouth twitched slightly. "Couldn't you just ask me directly? I would've told you if you asked."

Yakushi Kabuto flipped through the cards for a while. "There actually is some. Hmm, let me see."

Then Yakushi Kabuto unsealed Wu Liang's card. "Oh? Ryo Senju. Proficient in swordsmanship, Water Release, Earth Release, Fire Release, and Medical Ninjutsu. A descendant of the Senju Clan, and a clansman of Lady Tsunade, one of the Three Sannin.

His mission record is rather dreadful: seventeen D-rank missions and one C-rank mission.

As for his strength... hmm, suspected to be an Elite Chunin."

Everyone was left dumbfounded when they heard Wu Liang's information, and they were even more astonished upon hearing that he was supposedly an Elite Chunin.

When Sasuke heard Yakushi Kabuto describe Wu Liang as a suspected Elite Chunin, he could not help but scoff. Wu Liang, an Elite Chunin? You must be making random guesses. Looks like his intelligence isn't entirely reliable either.

Sasuke was not the only one who thought so. Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Shikamaru, and even Ino all dismissed it with disdain. "Tch. I thought his information was supposed to be accurate. He couldn't even find out one percent of that guy's actual strength."

Wu Liang clapped his hands exaggeratedly. "Wow, wow, wow! Is there more? Don't tell me you even know where I live and how many pairs of underwear I have in my wardrobe?"

Everyone immediately broke out in cold sweat upon hearing that. How could that possibly be true?

Just as everyone was preparing to find their seats, another imposing figure appeared beside the proctor's desk—a cold-looking ninja with a scar across his face.

The moment he appeared, he addressed the crowd. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I am Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the first stage of this Chunin selection exam.

"I am greatly pleased by how obedient this year's examinees have been, but the necessary rules still need to be explained."

Morino Ibiki looked at the crowd sternly. "Without an examiner's permission, private fights are prohibited. Even with permission, no one may use lethal force against their opponent. Anyone who violates the rules set by the examiners, regardless of the reason, will be immediately disqualified. Understood?"

The examinees in the room said nothing as they watched Morino Ibiki put on airs. Seeing how obedient they were, a rare smile appeared on Ibiki's cold face. "Good. Now take your seats. The first stage of the Chunin selection exam is about to begin. Place your Chunin Exam applications on your desks. The proctors will collect them and issue you number tags, after which the written examination papers will be handed out."

After Morino Ibiki finished speaking, every examinee took a seat in turn. However, since it was a written exam, members of the same team had to sit apart and were not allowed to sit together.

After seeing Naruto and the others settle in, Wu Liang spoke to a proctor and left the classroom. He had only accompanied Naruto and the others to take a look at the exam venue; he did not need to be tested himself. For the next hour, Wu Liang would cultivate outside while waiting for the exam to end.

As for whether Naruto and the others could pass this test, they definitely could. Wu Liang had already told Naruto, Sasuke, and the others every possible situation that could occur during this exam. Naruto was the most important one. In the original story, he had passed because he turned in a blank paper and got lucky. If he had backed down even once, there would have been no later plot. So during their training, Wu Liang had told them to relax. If the situation from the original story occurred, Naruto absolutely must not give up. If it did not, Sakura had forced Naruto to study over the past few days, and there were quite a few questions Naruto could answer.

In the examination room, everyone received their papers. Morino Ibiki said to the examinees, "There are several extremely important rules for the first exam. I will not answer any questions afterward, so listen carefully."

Morino Ibiki picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard as he spoke. "First, everyone begins the exam with ten points. There are ten questions in the written test, worth one point each. The exam uses a deduction system: one point will be deducted for every wrong answer. Get all ten wrong, and naturally you will have zero points.

"Second, whether you pass will be determined by the combined scores of all three members of your team.

"Third, if you are caught cheating or engaging in conduct similar to cheating during the exam, you will lose two points each time a proctor catches you. In other words, some of you may be removed before the exam even ends. Shameful methods of cheating are nothing but self-destruction. Do you see all those proctors around you? If you are confident you can cheat successfully under their watch, then I admire your courage.

"Furthermore, if even one person on a team gets zero points, the entire team will be judged to have failed.

"Lastly, the final exam question will be revealed forty-five minutes after the test begins. The exam lasts one hour. Begin."

As Morino Ibiki announced the rules from the podium, the examinees below groaned in misery. After all, not every examinee was a genius. Every team had someone like Naruto. As for Team Naruto, Naruto was grinning broadly to himself. "Hahaha, it really is exactly like A Liang said! That means even if I don't answer a single question, as long as I choose the right answer for the final question, I can still pass. Hehehehe~ Awesome~"

Sasuke and Sakura also breathed a sigh of relief. Wu Liang really did predict the questions and rules exactly.

Hinata, who was sitting beside Naruto, smiled as well when she saw how happy he was. Her bright smile made Naruto, who was immersed in his joy, pause for a moment. Looking at Hinata, he said, "Hinata, your smile is really pretty. I've never seen you smile before. You should smile like that more often. Be more confident—people look prettier that way."

Naruto then compared Sakura and Hinata in his heart. Mm-hm, mm-hm. A Liang really wouldn't lie to me. I'm only realizing now that Hinata can be this cute and beautiful. Heh heh.

Hearing Naruto praise her like that, Hinata smiled even more happily. After all, she was no longer the insecure little girl she had once been.

At Morino Ibiki's call to begin the exam, everyone focused intently on answering the questions. Those who could not solve them began thinking of ways to cheat. In an instant, every imaginable cheating method appeared throughout the examination room. Yet before twenty minutes had even passed, Wu Liang, waiting outside, saw a large number of people who had been caught cheating and lost all their points being thrown out.

Inside the classroom, Naruto watched everyone begin answering questions and saw examinees being removed one after another. Though he was certain he could pass, Naruto was not someone who had never studied. He picked up his paper and looked at the first question, a coded-text translation. What the hell is this? If I translate this coded text, won't I be flying straight to heaven?

After deciphering the coded text, Naruto picked up his pen and wrote in the blank space: "First sentence: What is pain you can touch? It is when I feel so hungry that my stomach is flat, but there is still a lump of flesh when I touch it.

"Second sentence: What are your last words before death? Can we try another doctor? I always feel like I can still live.

"Third sentence: Many people say marriage is the grave of love, but love that can rest in peace underground is still better than love left to rot on the streets.

"Fourth sentence: If you like someone, you should confess. Don't worry about so much. Although there is a high chance of failure, what if you end up becoming their backup?"

By the time he finished deciphering it, Naruto was nearly dying of laughter. What kind of question did this teacher come up with? Hahaha~

Then Naruto saw the second question. "Hmm, a math problem? I'll skip it. I'm just writing for fun anyway~"

Naruto could not answer any of the third through ninth questions either. Other than the first question, which he could solve because of his special training, he knew none of the others.

Sakura and Sasuke were also thoroughly stunned by the first question. As for the other questions, aside from Sakura, Sasuke could not solve them either~

Naruto occasionally glanced at Hinata's paper from the corner of his eye and discovered that she had actually solved everything. He whispered, "Hinata, how did you manage not to laugh while solving the first question? Honestly, I nearly laughed myself to death. And you solved all the remaining questions too. You're amazing."

Hinata was greatly surprised to hear Naruto say that. She knew that Naruto had never liked studying much at the academy. Now that he could solve one question, as long as Sasuke and Sakura scored highly, Naruto would not be eliminated. She happily replied, "It's nothing. Whenever I was unhappy at home, I would read things like this, and then I'd feel better. So I'm basically immune to it now~ Hehe~"

"Naruto, I can let you copy my answers. Do you want to?" Hinata asked softly.

Naruto was a little moved by Hinata's concern for him. "No need, Hinata. I'm confident I'll pass. Also, when we get to the final question, promise me that no matter what happens, you won't give up."

Hinata looked at Naruto, who was brimming with confidence, and her heart filled with joy. "Okay. I'll listen to you, Naruto."

As time passed little by little, those still seated in the examination room were all people with real ability. Forty-five minutes was drawing near, and unique secret techniques were being used more frequently throughout the room. Everyone exerted every ounce of strength they had to cheat during the remaining time.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who were unlike the other tense examinees, also caught the proctors' attention. However, since none of them had cheated, the proctors simply let them be.

Finally, forty-five minutes had passed. Morino Ibiki addressed the examinees who remained in the room. "Good. Most of the poor students have been cleared out, and forty-five minutes are up. Put down your pens and listen as I announce the final question."

Morino Ibiki swept his gaze around the room. "Question ten is next, and there is an additional condition regarding the final question."

At that moment, Kankuro, who had gone to the restroom, happened to return.

Morino Ibiki looked at Kankuro. "How lucky. You made it back in time. Looks like playing with puppets wasn't a wasted effort. Sit down. I'm about to announce the additional condition for question ten."

Having been seen through, Kankuro returned to his seat with an odd expression.

Morino Ibiki looked at them and said, "Let me explain the additional condition. This is a rule of despair. First, you must choose whether or not you want to answer question ten."

Among the examinees remaining in the room, Temari was completely unfazed by Morino Ibiki. Looking at him, she asked, "We have to choose whether to answer question ten? What happens if we choose not to answer?"

Morino Ibiki gave a sinister smile. "If you choose not to answer, you will immediately be given zero points and fail. Naturally, your two teammates will also be eliminated."

When the examinees heard Ibiki say that, they immediately protested. "What kind of rule is that? Under rules like this, of course we have to choose to answer! Getting eliminated for not answering is ridiculous! This rule is completely unreasonable!"

Ibiki ignored their reactions. "There is one more rule. If you choose to answer but get it wrong, you will be permanently stripped of the right to participate in the Chunin Exams. You will remain a Genin for the rest of your life~"

After hearing this additional rule, Inuzuka Kiba immediately objected. "How can there be a rule like this? There are people sitting here who have taken the Chunin Exams many times. Why were there never any additional conditions like these before?"

Morino Ibiki sneered. "Your luck is terrible. This year, I am the rule. Besides, didn't I give you a way out? If you choose not to answer, you can take the exam again next time. After all, I won't be here every time. Those without confidence should obediently choose not to answer and try again next time. Now, begin."

"For question ten, those who choose not to answer, raise your hands. Then hand over your number tags and get out."