After seeing Little Spark off, Qinglong was walking home when a ninja dressed like one from Amegakure, wearing a rain hat and a straw raincoat, appeared.
"Kid, give up on the Chunin Ninja Exams! Otherwise, I'll kill you!"
Qinglong stared blankly at the Rain Ninja who had suddenly appeared.
"Do the ninjas of Amegakure still not know my fearsome reputation?"
"And Konoha's defenses are way too lax!"
A sudden flash of inspiration struck him. It had been more than ten years, and his memory was a little hazy, but this seemed to be before the Chunin Ninja Exams, when Iruka-sensei had come to test his students because he was worried about their safety!
Ah! What a wonderful teacher!
The times he'd smacked my palm, the homework he'd made me copy as punishment—I'd get him back for all of it this time! Hia hia hia~
Qinglong laughed wildly to himself. Iruka-sensei, you're about to fall right into my hands!
"Ah! Which ninja village did you come from, you spy? I'm a Genin of Konoha, so hurry up and surrender! I'll take you to the Hokage!"
Qinglong suppressed his excitement and put on an exaggerated performance.
"Then I have no choice but to kill you! That'll mean one less competitor for my Amegakure."
With that, Iruka flicked his umbrella, and countless Kunai flew at Qinglong like raindrops flung from its canopy.
Qinglong quickly retreated and dodged. Iruka was about to attack again when Qinglong pointed behind him and shouted,
"Ah! Iruka-sensei, come save me!"
"Nani!?"
The Iruka disguised as a Rain Ninja whipped around. Which idiot had transformed into someone else and dared impersonate me, Iruka!?
When he turned to look, there was nothing there.
"Damn it! I've been tricked!"
A sudden "What the hell!" flashed through Iruka's mind. He turned back, but Qinglong was nowhere to be seen.
"Ninja uncle, who are you looking for?"
A voice sounded right beside Iruka.
"Nani?"
Iruka's eyes widened. When had that kid gotten so close? The next moment, Qinglong locked him in a figure-four leglock.
"Little crook, you got scared as soon as you heard the name Iruka-sensei, didn't you? I'm telling you, I'm Iruka-sensei's student. Scared now?"
Hearing that, Iruka didn't know whether to feel happy or sad. He was happy that his student had turned out so well, but his student was beating up his teacher!
Only then did Qinglong notice that the Rain Ninja was just a Shadow Clone.
But he'd already committed to the move. With a "poof," he squeezed the Rain Ninja until he burst!
"Damn it!"
Qinglong shouted angrily.
"Iruka-sensei, is this really all you put into testing us?"
Another new day dawned bright and sunny. Konoha's Chunin Ninja Exams were beginning today.
Ibiki stood at the front of the classroom with a fierce expression, solemnly explaining the rules of the exam.
Honestly, Qinglong had already forgotten how the written test had been passed in the story. But after nine years of compulsory education and twelve years of high school exams, how could Qinglong possibly leave his paper blank?
Before half an hour had passed, he was writing furiously, and had already filled his entire exam paper.
This guy was sitting alone, and he looked so confident. He had to be an examiner's plant, there to provide the answers!
All the Genin taking the exam, whether they'd figured out the rules or not, saw Qinglong confidently filling an entire paper and immediately used their ninja techniques to copy from him.
Gaara made an eye float up, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, and even the well-behaved Hinata switched on her Byakugan.
Only Naruto sat calmly by himself, terribly conflicted, but obediently leaving his paper untouched!
"Time's up! Hand in your papers. You've all passed!"
Seeing that time was up, Ibiki waved his hand and passed every test-taker.
Instantly, the room erupted in cheers!
Even Naruto was completely baffled. He'd handed in a blank paper—how had he passed too?
His blank paper stood out especially. Even Ibiki couldn't help laughing in exasperation when he saw it.
Then he looked at the other papers.
"What the hell?!"
Ibiki felt as if something had lodged in his chest. Every paper had exactly the same answers, and the main issue was: what the hell were those answers supposed to be!?
What was this nonsense? Ibiki felt a little heartbroken. The exam wasn't really about the answers, but the answers they'd written...
Ibiki felt as if the top students had copied from the worst student, who had led the whole class astray. The entire paper was complete gibberish!
Utterly unreadable!
Ibiki felt like he was falling apart. Which weirdo had led all the test-takers astray? What a damn genius!
As they left the classroom, Rock Lee ran over to Qinglong.
"Kiyotaki-kun, it's been so long since we last fought! Let's prove our youth and have a match!"
"Hey, thick brows! You picked on Sasuke, and now you want to pick on Qinglong too? You'll have to get past me first!"
Naruto ran over and scolded Lee, sticking up for Qinglong!
"You're a defeated opponent. There's no need to fight again!"
Rock Lee rejected him outright and stared straight at Qinglong.
"Only Kiyotaki-kun is worthy of being my opponent!"
"Ah!"
Naruto cried out again, then crouched in the corner, emo once more.
"Just as I thought, nobody takes me seriously!"
"Kiyotaki-kun, let's have another match!"
Rock Lee, dressed in green, put one hand forward and struck his signature opening pose.
"Hey, hey! My dear friend, there'll be a tournament during the Chunin Ninja Exams. We'll have plenty of chances to fight when we meet then,"
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