The Written Exam Begins

In Sunagakure, whether by day or by night, wind and sand were constant visitors.

Sand grains scraped against dirt and stone with a rustling hiss, while the morning sunlight shone over Sunagakure amid the slightly noisy atmosphere.

Although the Chunin Exams were jointly held, Sunagakure's display of prestige was clearly inferior to Konoha's. Most of those who had come this time were ninjas from Sunagakure itself and Konoha. Unlike Konoha, which could rally a hundred responses with a single call, Sunagakure's Chunin Exams could only be described as somewhat quiet.

But even though Sunagakure's strength had been greatly reduced, they still took the necessary precautions, such as keeping watch on ninjas from other villages.

Moriyue had opened the inn's doors and windows early. Dry air drifted through the windows into the inn's rather cramped room.

Ando leaned against the doorframe. He had not slept deeply, and he was already awake when Moriyue opened the window. Sleeping too soundly on someone else's turf was dangerous.

As for Kazeki, she had already gone to wash up. As a sensory-type ninja, she had also set up a sensory barrier around the entire room early on. If someone truly wanted to infiltrate, they would certainly use ninjutsu against the barrier, but it was better than nothing—at least it gave her some peace of mind.

Kazeki and Ando's vigilance pleased Moriyue. These two teammates of his were far more outstanding than most people their age. They had both temperament and ability; all they lacked was real combat experience. In time, they would surely amount to something.

"Let's go. Most people have arrived today, so the Written Exam should begin soon. Ando, go find a few sacks. We might need them for the practical exam later."

Moriyue let out a breath. From the attic, he overlooked half of Sunagakure. Quite a few gazes were secretly observing them. He had wanted to stroll around under cover of night yesterday, but unfortunately, he had been stopped.

Kazeki nodded, tied her hair into a ponytail with one hand, and wiped the droplets still clinging to her temples. She was fairly confident about this exam.

"Good luck, Captain. At the very least, passing the Written Exam won't be a problem." Kazeki held out her fist and bumped it against Moriyue's, a faint smile appearing on her cool profile.

Ando, however, felt a headache coming on as he watched these two mysteriously confident people. Their opponents this time were strong. He had seen plenty of people from Konoha—the Byakugan clan, Secret Jutsu clans—every one of them had skills of their own. If they ran into them, they would probably be finished nine times out of ten.

And those local Sunagakure ninjas would definitely join forces to target them. Wasn't this just going there to throw away their lives?

"Captain, you guys are way too confident. Seriously..."

Moriyue ignored Ando's complaints. This guy's personality was a little like Darui's: someone who said he did not want to do it, yet would still give it one hundred percent when it mattered.

"Let's go. Bring out more of that momentum you have when you argue with people. I'm not good with words, so our team will have to rely on your verbal firepower from now on."

"Hey, hey, I'm a civilized person! Captain, don't talk nonsense!"

"Civilized in another sense. Maybe you and the Zuan Horse Hunter would have something in common to talk about?"

Kazeki usually looked like she did not talk much, but whenever she opened her mouth, she stabbed straight at the heart. She was quite devious.

"Fine, fine, as long as you're happy..."

Ando spread his hands helplessly. He could not outtalk either his captain or Kazeki, so they could do whatever made them happy.

The three left the inn under Moriyue's lead. Sunagakure, which had originally been desolate and filled with little but sand, was now packed with people. Its already narrow paths were jammed airtight by the bustling crowds.

Moriyue pulled the other two away from the tide of people, black as floodwater. Unlike the original story, the real Chunin Exams drew crowds on the scale of the Lunar New Year travel rush. Even with only two villages answering the call, there were still plenty of people participating.

After all, the Chunin Exams were like the college entrance exams in his previous life. Every person who officially became a Chunin was a pillar of their village and could rise to its upper ranks. Naturally, countless people crowded onto this bright road, like an army trying to cross a single-log bridge.

"So many people..." Kazeki covered her small mouth. She had not expected there to be this many.

"A stampede could happen easily. Sunagakure's layout is terribly designed. It's hard for it to accommodate such a massive crowd, and the slopes are designed so strangely too. Is this place an execution ground?"

Ando began criticizing the local architectural layout.

"Don't worry. It's fine if a few people die—it'll reduce the competition. Stop obsessing over helping others. People have to take responsibility for the choices they make."

Moriyue knew that with Gaara here, he would not allow something as melodramatic as a stampede to happen. They only needed to prepare for the exam.

Sure enough, sand swept into the dark mass of people like an invisible giant hand. The grains divided and moved the sea of people, sending them into different areas.

"Everyone, the Chunin Exams Written Exam is about to begin. Candidates from each team will be assigned to different rooms. Please come forward to register."

Gaara stood with his arms folded atop a cloud of sand, looking down on everyone. The Kazekage's bearing made his words all the more convincing. The chattering crowd fell silent, and people consciously lined up to register. In an instant, the square that had resembled a marketplace became perfectly orderly.

"Let's go draw lots. Do you still remember the questions we predicted?" Moriyue obediently joined the line. It moved quickly, and it would probably be their turn soon.

"I remember. One of them had three people each write down a number, and the total just had to add up to one hundred..." Kazeki raised her hand. Under Moriyue's influence, that was the question the two of them remembered most clearly.

"Good, as long as you remember. What if we get it?" Only after confirming once more did Moriyue step forward to fill in their information. As expected, the three were assigned to different rooms. The rooms were adjacent, but the soundproofing was good.

Moriyue followed the crowded stream of people to his assigned room. After casually finding a seat, he began looking around.

Just like in the original story, Shikamaru, the chief examiner, had not entered the room at all. An old-looking small television sat in the middle of the room. Not all the candidates had arrived yet, and the machine had not been activated.

"Judging by the model... it should be something the Cloud Shinobi phased out years ago. Did Sunagakure pick it up?" Moriyue found it rather amusing as he stared at the small television.

He then turned to look at the candidates who had already taken their seats. Sure enough, he spotted quite a few familiar faces.

At a seat near the door sat a young man in white clothes with black hair, carrying himself with exceptional poise. He sat upright in the foremost seat, his eyes slightly closed as though resting them, exuding the air of an expert.

"Neji, huh..." Moriyue narrowed his eyes slightly as well. Neji truly was a genius. He had even been exceptionally promoted directly to Jonin during this exam. If memory served, he had been the first to see through the trick behind the first question.

"Tell others so they can pass? That won't do. What fun is it if I don't cause trouble? Better deliberately mislead those guys and make more people get the answer wrong."

A wicked smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Moriyue immediately came up with a bad idea. If it could reduce the number of competitors, then of course he had to do it.