The Exam Begins

A few days later.

The examination grounds specially cleared by Konoha were now teeming with people.

The flags of the five great ninja villages snapped in the wind at the edge of the arena, signaling the extraordinary nature of this Joint Chunin Exams.

The air was thick with a scent mixed with excitement, tension, and the smell of gunpowder.

The genin from various villages gathered in distinct groups, sizing each other up with eyes full of vigilance and fighting spirit.

Orochimaru stood in a relatively central position within the Konoha ranks, flanked by the boisterous Jiraiya and a visibly annoyed Tsunade.

He calmly surveyed the sea of people, estimating at least two or three hundred young ninjas from all over.

Truly... an unprecedented spectacle.

Orochimaru smiled; aside from war, this was likely the only place one could see so many ninjas at once.

His gaze swept slowly through the crowd, quickly locking onto targets worthy of attention.

On the side of Sunagakure, the leader appeared to be the red-haired boy he had seen on the street.

Unlike a few days ago, he was carrying a bulky, irregularly shaped object on his back today, wrapped in thick cloth and standing as tall as a person.

The weight of it was clearly not that of ordinary ninja tools.

A puppet?

Orochimaru understood.

With this appearance and that puppet, he really looked like the future father of Sasori of the Red Sands.

Interesting.

Shifting his gaze, several figures in the Kirigakure ranks were particularly eye-catching.

Most of them wore cold expressions, exuding a chilling aura that warned others to keep their distance; most importantly, they all carried massive blades of various designs slung across their backs.

Some were as wide as a door panel, some as thin and long as a needle, and others were covered in hideous barbs.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen... although the people were different, those distinctively shaped great blades were unmistakable.

Each one looked like a difficult opponent to handle.

Over at Kumogakure, the leader was a tall guy; most peculiar was his hair, half snow-white and half grass-green, as if it had been forcibly split down the middle.

His skin was dark, his gaze sharp, carrying the ruggedness and dominance unique to ninjas from the Land of Lightning.

For now, there was nothing particularly special to discern about him.

In the Iwagakure team, a boy with dazzling yellow hair stood out the most, looking arrogant with his arms crossed, acting as if he were the second-in-command of the world.

However, Orochimaru knew very well that since this was jointly held by the five great ninja villages, those sent by each village were undoubtedly their respective elites, serving as the "facade" to display the village's strength and intimidate other nations.

His gaze returned to the Konoha side, where there were quite a few familiar faces.

The most conspicuous among them was a boy wearing a bright green bodysuit with thick, heavy eyebrows, looking a few years older than him.

At this moment, he was gesturing strangely toward the sky, muttering about "youth" and "hot blood," insisting he must become a chunin.

This iconic look... Might Duy?

Orochimaru's gaze lingered on him for a moment.

Not far from Might Duy, a boy with striking white spiky hair was quietly wiping a short blade in his hand, his expression focused.

Hatake Sakumo.

A genius of Konoha, the future "White Fang of the Leaf."

So he had come as well.

Beyond that, the unique, arrogant expressions of the Uchiha Clan, the pure white eyes of the Hyuga Clan, and the young disciples of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans were all present in the crowd.

By comparison, Konoha was indeed brimming with talent.

Just as Orochimaru was observing on his own, a figure appeared on the high platform in the center of the arena via a Body Flicker technique.

The newcomer was an elite jonin wearing a Konoha headband and a green tactical vest, his expression stern.

"Quiet!"

The jonin's voice, amplified by chakra, clearly reached every corner of the examination grounds.

The noisy crowd quickly quieted down, and everyone's eyes focused on the high platform.

"Now, I announce the rules for the first exam!"

"The exam duration is ninety minutes; within this time, you must complete the questions on this test paper."

"Different questions have different point values based on their difficulty."

"After the exam ends, the top one hundred candidates with the highest total scores will qualify for the next round!"

The jonin's gaze swept over the sea of heads below, speaking without a hint of emotion.

"Whoa--!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire training ground erupted into chaos.

"What? One hundred people?!"

"Are you kidding me! There are at least two or three hundred people here!"

"That means more than half of us are going to be eliminated?!"

Exclamations, protests, and sharp intakes of breath rose and fell in waves.

The faces of many examinees turned deathly pale, and cold sweat began to bead on their foreheads.

Tsunade frowned deeply, clearly surprised by such a high elimination rate.

What concerned her even more was that if they intended to reach this quota, the questions would certainly not be simple.

If that were the case, she and Orochimaru might be fine, but wouldn't Jiraiya be completely screwed?

"Quiet!"

The jonin on the high platform shouted again, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.

He waited for the noise to subside slightly before adding coldly:

"I must remind you all of one thing."

"Do not attempt to embarrass yourselves with clumsy cheating methods."

"Once caught, regardless of which village you are from, you will be immediately disqualified and reported to your respective team leaders!"

The jonin's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, as if he could see through everyone's thoughts.

These words made many examinees who had been harboring crooked ideas shudder, instantly extinguishing the little schemes they had just concocted.

However, some ninjas who were confident in their strength, or perhaps their own sophisticated methods, wore thoughtful expressions.

"Clumsy cheating methods..."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru shook his head slightly.

In other words, this so-called written exam was the same as the one Naruto Uzumaki had participated in.

What was being tested was a ninja's ability to gather intelligence, analyze information, and even exploit the rules within the framework provided.

The subtext of "no clumsy cheating" was that sophisticated "methods" might be tacitly permitted, or even encouraged.

After all, combat in the ninja world was inherently a comprehensive contest of intelligence and strength.

If that was the case...

Thinking of this, Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya beside him.

The boy's face was pale and his forehead was sweating; he clearly hadn't grasped the true essence of this exam.

"Heh~ if you can't answer them, just put these on when the time comes..."

Seeing this, Orochimaru chuckled, then pulled two items that looked like accessories from his pocket and handed them to Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Uh..."

Jiraiya was stunned, not even having the chance to ask what they were.

On the platform, the jonin gave the order, and the Konoha chunin who had been prepared for a long time began to guide the examinees from each village to their designated testing areas according to their numbers, instructing them to sit in their assigned seats.

Soon, thick test papers were distributed to every examinee.

Looking at the questions on the paper, the air seemed to freeze in that moment.

Nothing remained but the rustling sound of turning pages and the light or heavy breathing of the examinees.

The proctoring jonin on the high platform saw this and a smile touched his lips; he glanced at the timer in his hand, then looked up sharply.

"The first exam—"

"Begin!"