And so, time ticked by.
After a long while, the Chief Examiner Jonin on the raised platform glanced at the timer in his hand. His voice rang across the venue once more.
"Time's up!"
"Everyone, put down your pens!"
At his command, several Konoha Chunin quickly entered the examination hall and began collecting the papers.
Many candidates slumped in their seats with relief, while others pounded their desks in frustration.
"All right, everyone."
Once every paper had been collected, a knowing smile appeared on the Chief Examiner Jonin's face.
"I'm sure you have plenty of questions about that exam."
"Now I can tell you: what this written test truly measured was your ability to gather intelligence within the rules."
At that, the candidates who had "completed" their papers through their own skill—or rather, their powers of observation—wore expressions that said they had known it all along.
Those who had scratched their heads without managing to write a single word looked as though the answer had finally dawned on them.
"I knew it. There was no way it could be that simple."
Tsunade curled her lip. She had never expected her teacher to come up with something so devious.
Jiraiya chuckled and shot Orochimaru a smug look. The meaning was obvious: Good thing I had you!
Orochimaru gave no reaction.
The results were tallied soon after.
Just as Orochimaru had predicted, most of Konoha's Genin passed the first round thanks to the easy points offered by the first Tobirama Code question.
The Second Hokage had invented it, after all. They taught at least a little about it at the Ninja Academy.
As for the other four Great Ninja Villages, those who remained were largely the elites of their respective villages.
They might not have understood those tricky physics and chemistry questions, but when it came to cheating—or "gathering intelligence"—every last one of them was capable.
The candidates from smaller ninja villages such as Takigakure and Amegakure were less fortunate. Almost all of them were eliminated.
After all, they had neither Konoha's home-ground advantage nor the deep reserves and countless secret techniques of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"Candidates who passed the first exam, follow me."
After announcing the results, the Chief Examiner Jonin led the hundred-odd successful candidates to another, more spacious training ground.
A huge arena had already been erected there.
Temporary spectator stands surrounded it, and the Jonin leading the teams from the Five Great Ninja Villages were already waiting.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in the center of the arena.
He cleared his throat and looked over the young ninja below, who brimmed with energy despite their nerves.
"First, congratulations to everyone who passed the first exam."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was steady and strong.
"The rules for the second exam are simple."
"Winners advance. Losers are eliminated. This will continue until we have a final victor."
"And now, the second exam officially begins!"
As soon as the Third Hokage finished speaking, the candidates' names began racing across an electronic screen beside the arena.
A moment later, two names stopped on the display.
Konohagakure: Jiraiya.
Versus.
Kirigakure: Yuki An.
"Oh! I'm up first?"
Jiraiya perked up at once. Rubbing his hands together, he leaped into the arena, his face alight with excitement.
Across from him, a slender Kirigakure Ninja with long black hair and delicate features stepped into the arena as well.
At the sight of his pretty face, Jiraiya's eyes lit up. He struck what he thought was a dashing pose and tossed his hair.
"My lovely lady, you're so cute I can hardly bring myself to fight you."
"Why not just surrender? I don't always know my own strength, and I'd hate to hurt you."
"I'm a man."
Yuki An's delicate face remained expressionless as he spoke.
His voice was cool, without the slightest ripple of emotion...
"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!"
Jiraiya's smile froze. Like a duck caught by the neck, he choked on his own breath.
His eyes widened as he looked Yuki An up and down, his face all but screaming, You're kidding me.
How could someone that cute be a boy?!
At Jiraiya's discomfiture, the spectator stands erupted in laughter.
Even plenty of the Konoha ninja struggled to keep straight faces.
"Hahahaha! Jiraiya, so you can be left speechless!"
Tsunade laughed without a shred of restraint.
"Hm?"
Orochimaru fell into thought. Was everyone in the Yuki Clan like this? What kind of bizarre hereditary trait was that?
Up on the platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face reddened slightly. He turned his head away in embarrassment, feigned a couple of coughs, and sighed inwardly.
"The... match begins!"
The Jonin serving as referee forced back a laugh as he made the announcement.
"Damn it! How dare you toy with the feelings of an innocent young man like me!"
Jiraiya flushed with anger, feeling utterly humiliated.
"Secret Technique: Ice Style: Ice Senbon!"
Yuki An remained expressionless as he rapidly formed Hand Seals.
Moisture in the air condensed into countless fine ice needles that shot toward Jiraiya in a dense barrage.
"Child's play!"
Jiraiya snorted and formed Hand Seals of his own.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A huge fire dragon roared forth. Its scorching flames instantly melted and vaporized the incoming ice Senbon before surging on toward Yuki An.
Everyone watching went pale at the sight.
What a powerful Fire Style technique!
That was beyond what a Genin should be capable of, wasn't it?
Yuki An's pupils contracted. He sprang backward, narrowly avoiding the fire dragon's charge.
But Jiraiya pressed his advantage. Using the Fire Style attack as cover, he had already closed in.
Chakra spun rapidly in his right palm, forming a blue sphere in an instant.
"Try this!!"
Bam!
Yuki An had no time to react. The sudden technique struck him in the abdomen and sent him flying like a kite with its string cut. He slammed down outside the arena and lost consciousness on the spot.
Defeated in a single move!
The entire examination ground fell silent.
Every eye fixed on the slowly fading blue Chakra sphere in Jiraiya's right hand.
What technique was that?
A technique without Hand Seals?
How could it be so powerful?
"Wh-what was that?"
"I've never seen it before. He didn't need Hand Seals?"
After a brief silence, discussion broke out below the arena.
Ninja from every village looked at Jiraiya with suspicion and wariness.
Jiraiya stood in the arena, basking in everyone's attention, delighted beyond words.
The Rasengan Orochimaru had taught him really was incredible!
He suppressed his excitement and put on an inscrutable air, then slowly walked out of the arena under the stunned gazes of the spectators.
Orochimaru's mouth twitched. He had indeed taught Jiraiya the Rasengan over the past year.
And this guy had used a trump card in his very first match.
Still, what was done was done.
Orochimaru looked away and turned his attention to the following matches.
Since the candidates were elites from their respective villages, the fights were naturally impressive.
Before long, Hatake Sakumo took the stage.
His opponent was the member of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen who carried a broad, heavy Iron-Severing Great Blade on his back.
Both were skilled swordsmen. Their fierce, lightning-fast duel left the spectators dazzled.
In the end, Hatake Sakumo proved the better fighter. With superior swordsmanship and ghostlike movement, he seized an opening and won.
Scions of Konoha's other clans, including the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga, the Yamanaka Clan, the Nara Clan, and the Akimichi Clan, also took the stage. Each used their clan's secret techniques against elite Genin from other villages, with mixed results.
One match between a member of the Hyuga Branch Family and a member of a lesser Uchiha Clan line drew particular attention.
The clash of Byakugan and Sharingan, of Taijutsu and ninjutsu, made for an exceptionally fierce fight.
Another match that caught Orochimaru's attention pitted the Red-Haired Puppeteer Boy from Sunagakure against the Kirigakure Ninja wielding the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei.
As Orochimaru had expected, the red-haired boy was indeed a puppeteer.
He controlled three puppets of different shapes, coordinating them seamlessly in attack and defense.
The Kirigakure Ninja facing him was no slouch, either.
In his hands, the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei sometimes joined into one to unleash powerful Chakra slashes and sometimes split apart for quick, unpredictable attacks.
With his superb Taijutsu and the unique properties of his Ninja Blade, the Kirigakure Ninja even gained the upper hand for a time, suppressing the red-haired boy's three puppets.
Just when everyone thought the match was about to be decided, the red-haired boy gave a cold smile, and his hands flew once more.
"I'm not done yet!"
Two more brand-new puppets burst from the huge scroll on his back!
Five Puppets!
What was more, the two newcomers looked even more menacing, and their attacks were stranger and harder to anticipate.
Under the combined assault of all five puppets, the Kirigakure Ninja was thrown into disarray, leaving himself wide open.
In the end, a moment's carelessness let a poisoned needle from one of the puppets strike him, and he lost on the spot.
Five puppets... and he controlled them so precisely. Impressive...
Orochimaru nodded to himself. The boy was not yet on Elder Chiyo's level, but such skill at his age was remarkable.
The next match was less thrilling, but one competitor's name made Orochimaru take a second look.
Mitarashi Shion.
That surname... It was the same as his future disciple, Mitaraishi Anko.
Judging by Shion's age, he was most likely from Anko's parents' generation.
After that came Tsunade's match.
Her opponent was a ninja of Kirigakure's Kaguya Clan.
There was almost no suspense in this fight.
An ordinary Taijutsu specialist might have struggled to land a blow against an opponent from the Kaguya Clan, whose body bristled with bone spikes like a porcupine's.
But Tsunade was no ordinary Taijutsu specialist.
She opened with Body Pathway Derangement, converting her Chakra into electrical signals to disrupt the flow of Chakra and nerve signals within her opponent's body. His movements instantly became sluggish and uncoordinated.
The Kaguya clansman realized he could barely move and tried to raise bones all over his body in defense.
Then Tsunade smashed her fist into him with monstrous force, shattering the man's ribs outright.
The punch sent him flying and buried him deep in the training ground wall. Whether he lived or died was anyone's guess.
Hiss—
At the sight, Jiraiya sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively touched his own ribs.
That violent woman was getting scarier by the day!
Better not provoke her from now on. His body couldn't take a hit like that.
After their initial shock, the ninja watching from the other villages grew grim.
The strength of Konoha's younger generation far exceeded their expectations.
Jiraiya's mysterious Rasengan.
Hatake Sakumo's exquisite swordsmanship.
Tsunade's terrifying strength.
Each had displayed power far beyond others their age.
The referee's voice rang clearly over the noisy grounds as he announced the next match.
"Konohagakure: Might Duy."
"Versus—"
"Sunagakure: Tessen!"
"Ohhh! It's my turn! Burn, youth!"
As fired up as ever, Might Duy shouted his baffling slogan and leaped into the arena with a graceful backflip. After landing steadily, he flashed the spectator stands a thumbs-up and a gleaming, toothy grin.
And his opponent was the black-haired boy from Sunagakure—the one who had noticed Orochimaru's Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Communication Technique in the written exam hall.
Tessen looked down at the energetic Might Duy in the arena, a playful smile curling his lips. He lightly snapped his fingers.
Rustle—
Something astonishing happened.
Beneath his feet, countless fine grains of black sand rushed together as though guided by an invisible force.
The grains surged and gathered behind him, finally forming a pair of enormous black wings!
The black-haired boy beat his wings, stirring a light breeze. He rose slowly from the platform and landed gracefully in the arena.
"Oh?"
A flicker of interest crossed Orochimaru's eyes.
Magnet Style versus the Eight Inner Gates?
Was this going to recreate Gaara and Rock Lee's fight in the original Chunin Ninja Exams?
Interesting...
Before you continue