"Best to Eliminate Them All"

At first, I thought experiencing public humiliation once had been torturous enough, but I never expected to have to go through it again right away...

Besides, things were now completely different from the original story.

What exactly was I trying to accomplish?!

Naruto looked around, rubbed his temples, and angrily said to Sasuke, "Bro, you were the one who picked the fight, and you were the one showing off. How did I end up becoming the one giving orders?!"

Naruto felt he had suffered a tremendous injustice.

Unexpectedly, Sasuke snorted coldly and said, "You were 'fishing' just now, deliberately drawing out powerful opponents to fight you. Did you really think I couldn't tell?"

Shikamaru and the others were startled. They immediately turned to look at Naruto, their expressions varied.

They had never expected that this former dead-last would one day show both courage and strategy.

Seriously?!

Naruto suddenly felt a chill run down his back. He abruptly turned around and hurriedly explained to the murderous-looking Sakura, "It really wasn't me! How could I possibly order Sasuke around?"

"Then why did Sasuke attack? Wasn't it because you provoked him?" Sakura's brows rose sharply.

"What the hell did I provoke him with?!"

Naruto was genuinely at a loss. He felt he could never clear his name, even if he jumped into the Yellow River... Oh, there was no Yellow River in the ninja world, so never mind.

Naruto said, "You saw it yourself. I didn't say a single word to Sasuke the entire time!"

"Then what's wrong with him?"

"Something's wrong up here!" Naruto lowered his voice and pointed at his own head. Sasuke, beside him, frowned repeatedly.

What are they muttering about?

The black-haired female Sound Ninja, Zabusa's subordinate, saw that they were ignoring her and wanted to cause trouble for the trio. But Dosu pulled her back to her feet and turned his head toward the front of the classroom.

"Wait."

"Bam!!!"

"Bam!!!"

A series of deafening explosions came from the front of the classroom. Thick black smoke billowed out as the proctors filed through the doorway. At the front was a tall, burly man wearing a black headband, with a long scar running from his forehead protector down to his neck.

"Tired of waiting..."

"My name is Morino Ibiki. I'm the proctor for the [First Stage of the Chunin Selection Exam]."

Ibiki's imposing presence made the candidates in front of him break into a nervous sweat. He raised one hand and pointed toward the people in the corner.

"You few Genin from Otogakure, and the rookies from Konoha, better keep yourselves in check, or I'll cancel your eligibility to take the exam!"

Naruto looked straight at Ibiki and slowly said, "Sorry, this is our first time taking the Chunin Exams. We got a little too excited."

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the first stage is still the same. But the transmigrator had surely noticed that something was wrong. From here on, he could only take things one step at a time...

"Hmph!" Ibiki's face darkened as he turned and began explaining the examination rules to everyone.

"What do we do now?" Sakura leaned closer to Naruto and asked.

Naruto thought for a moment, then said quietly, "The transmigrator drew graffiti of me, which means they know the plot. If we let them pass the exam directly, it'll create too many variables for the future."

"We need to eliminate as many people as possible and try to force their teammates out of the examination hall."

The Chunin Exams required three-person teams, and all three members had to remain.

After hearing this, Sakura sighed softly. "I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

"It's fine."

The two of them listened as Ibiki finished explaining the rules.

"...Now, collect your number tags and take your seats according to your assigned places. I'll now introduce several examination rules..."

Everyone took their seats. As expected, Naruto ended up sitting next to Hinata.

"What should I do now?" Naruto pondered while sizing up the layout of the classroom.

The first stage of the exam was divided into two parts. The first tested a ninja's ability to gather intelligence—in other words, cheating. The second tested a ninja's mental fortitude.

Anyone who knew the plot couldn't possibly be scared off by Ibiki. The key was the first part.

"Every time cheating is discovered, two points will be deducted. If all ten points are deducted, you'll be expelled from the examination hall."

Naruto chewed over Ibiki's words, and a preliminary idea formed in his mind.

"Low-level cheating won't work. The proctors only recognize sophisticated cheating methods. So either I interfere with their cheating, or I deal with the Chunin mixed in among them." Naruto thought.

The test papers were handed out. Once the exam officially began, several preliminary ideas had already taken shape in his mind.

"I'll start with something simple."

Naruto began coughing loudly from time to time, then flipped his test paper back and forth with a loud rustling sound.

Although the test paper only had one page, Naruto somehow made it sound like he was flipping through an entire book.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The people around him immediately grew irritated and restless. Some occasionally shot Naruto hostile looks, only for the proctors beside them to notice and start writing things down.

People like this had been called "the Exam Hall Coughing Guy" and "the Show-Off Page-Flipping Guy" in Naruto's previous life.

They were often top students. The sound of their page-flipping would echo throughout the examination hall, making anyone who was slower at solving the questions panic and lose focus.

After all, realizing that one needed to cheat also required time to think. Naruto deliberately disrupted their rhythm, making them realize this later and accelerating the elimination of the incompetent candidates.

The transmigrator could certainly hand in a blank paper, but his teammates were another matter...

Naruto quietly chuckled to himself as he flipped through the pages. Too bad for you. I really did go to high school.

Before long, several people around Naruto fell into the trap one after another.

"Number 102, your eligibility to take the exam has been canceled!"

"Numbers 23 and 34, you've cheated five times. Your eligibility to take the exam has been canceled!"

In an instant, the pressure on the surrounding candidates doubled.

Well, most of the incompetent candidates around me should be eliminated by now. Naruto calmly placed the paper on the desk and began observing the classroom environment above him again.

As expected, many skilled candidates have set up their cheating tools above the classroom.

Naruto noticed that some candidates had connected thin wires to the mirrors above the classroom, checking the answers by adjusting the mirrors' angles.

"Fortunately, I came prepared." Naruto pulled a tiny steel ball from his pocket, then raised his left hand and formed a "V" sign. The Nine-Tails' Chakra formed a thin red Chakra thread between the tips of two fingers.

It looked just like a slingshot made from Chakra and fingers.

Naruto couldn't turn his head freely. To adjust the angle, he removed his forehead protector and placed it in front of him on the desk, using it as a mirror. He shifted the position of his hand, then finally loaded the steel ball and fired it straight out.

"Smack!" The steel ball precisely snapped the wire above one of the candidates. The cheating tool above him immediately began swaying dangerously and made a tremendous noise.

The proctors around him took a close look and immediately began recording the incident on their papers. The candidate panicked, failing to notice that Naruto had fired another steel ball at the mirror. In an instant, shards of glass scattered across the floor!

"I—I'll leave on my own!" The candidate's face turned ashen as he hurried out of the classroom.

The several candidates nearby who had been cheating with mirrors instantly pulled back their wires.

Naruto saw Tenten hurriedly retracting her wire as well. After thinking for a moment, he decided to change tactics.

After all, the Taijutsu Squad probably hadn't been possessed. Letting them pass should be fine.