Unstoppable

The group arrived at the registration classroom, which was packed with examinees from all the different villages.

Everyone looked at the four little rookies with hostility in their eyes.

"These people... they're all examinees..." Sakura saw several fierce-looking ninja and couldn't help losing her nerve.

"Don't be afraid!"

Jimo and Sasuke stepped in front of Sakura, while Naruto eagerly cracked his knuckles.

"Well, look who's here!" Kiba Inuzuka came over with Hinata and Shino.

Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino also arrived at the classroom.

"Stop your chattering. You're making a racket." A bespectacled man stepped forward.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"The ninja behind you, with the Forehead Protectors bearing four vertical stripes, are from Amegakure. They're not very patient, so you'd better not provoke them before the exam..."

"You're Senior Kabuto, aren't you?" Sakura realized.

"Would you like me to share some information with you?" Kabuto said, taking a Ninja Info Card from his pouch.

"No need! I know more about everyone's abilities here than you do." Jimo cut Kabuto Yakushi off.

From Jimo's smile, Kabuto sensed a powerful killing intent and wisely stepped back.

"Jimo, why are you treating Senior Kabuto like that?" Sakura and Ino found themselves on the same side for once.

"This person has taken the exam for four years and is still a Genin..." Jimo explained. "See that stack of Ninja Info Cards? There must be over a hundred..."

"In other words, he's been constantly collecting intelligence on the abilities of Konoha's new ninja..." After Jimo pointed it out, Sasuke suddenly felt something was wrong too.

"What? What are you talking about?" Naruto looked at everyone, completely confused.

"He's a Genin. If he only knew their abilities, that would be one thing, but those cards even list every ninja's moves, their Chakra reserves, and how well they've mastered their techniques... What is he after? Maybe I'm judging him unfairly." Jimo's voice was cold. "Stop thinking of yourselves as students at the Academy, Sakura..."

"This is what Jimo always says: you should never let your guard down around others..."

"So what? I'm not going to lose to them!"

Naruto's words made the already-tense classroom feel even colder.

"That unbelievably stupid idiot..." Sasuke covered his face, unwilling to look at Naruto.

"Well, this is great... Looks like we've become everyone's target..." Shikamaru rubbed his temples too.

Most of the ninja from other villages in the classroom had killing intent in their eyes.

"Those brats from Konoha sure are cocky... I think I'll have some fun with them..."

A hunched man charged out and punched at Naruto.

With a crash, a huge crack split the classroom wall, and a figure flew through it.

"Well, well. You're taking an exam in someone else's village, so at least act like a guest... Otherwise, you'll give me a headache." Jimo lowered his foot from where it had been suspended in the air and smiled.

The ninja who had tried to teach Naruto a lesson had been kicked away so hard that he flew from the school's third floor straight out onto the street.

"Tch... I still haven't quite got the force under control."

Jimo muttered to himself.

"Lee... could you keep up with his speed...?" Tenten, her hair in twin buns, stared at Jimo in shock.

"Unless..."

"Huh?"

"Unless I used the Eight Gates..." Lee stammered.

"I couldn't see his movements just now either..." Neji's face showed his disbelief.

"Is that handsome guy really that strong?" Temari whispered to Kankuro.

"I couldn't see his movements either." Kankuro looked toward Gaara.

A hint of excitement suddenly appeared on Gaara's face.

While everyone was still marveling at Jimo's strength, a figure slipped in through the hole in the wall.

"Hey, I told you not to wreck the classroom..." Ibiki Morino tossed Dosu, who had been kicked by Jimo and was now limp as a dead dog, toward the Sound Ninja.

"If any of you start trouble, you'll be disqualified from the exam!" Ibiki shot another glance at Jimo.

"Of course, students aren't allowed to fight during the exam, so you'd better keep yourselves in check and not cause any trouble!"

After the exam papers were handed out, quite a few examinees were caught cheating and disqualified.

Sakura and Sasuke stared at Naruto and Jimo, who were seated in front of them, their hearts pounding with anxiety.

Naruto was infamous at the Academy for disliking academic subjects, while Jimo had never studied them at all... If even one person was eliminated from the exam, the entire team would be kicked out.

As time passed, everyone realized this exam was about demonstrating their ability to gather intelligence.

But Naruto and Jimo were both sprawled across their desks, sound asleep.

Before the exam, Jimo had already told Naruto to ignore the first nine questions completely. There was no need to answer them until the final question, the one the examiner would set.

The minutes ticked by, and more ninja were caught cheating and removed from the exam room.

"Now, we'll begin the final question... Before that, I want to emphasize the key point of this exam..."

Ibiki looked coldly at the examinees below.

"Whether you answer the final question is up to you. But pay attention: if one of the three of you chooses not to take it, all three of you will lose your chance to take the exam. If you choose to take it, however... if even one of you fails, the person who gets the answer wrong will never be eligible to become a Chunin for the rest of their life."

The air fell deathly silent.

Some of the examinees protested Ibiki's authoritarian decision.

"Blame your bad luck... for running into me!" Ibiki had several of the dissenting examinees removed from the exam room.

Naruto felt a little uneasy and looked at Jimo, who remained completely calm.

"Naruto, the four of us are one team, right?" Jimo said quietly without turning to look at him.

"Of... of course! We've been through life and death together!"

"Since we're going to trust each other with our backs, shouldn't we trust each other completely?"

At Jimo's words, Sakura and Sasuke wanted to raise their hands and withdraw, but their hands, raised to preserve Naruto's chance of advancing, froze halfway.

"What's so bad about being a Genin for the rest of your life? Who says a Genin can't become Hokage?"

"Kid, I'm asking you: do you really choose to keep answering?" Ibiki glanced at Naruto's paper. He hadn't written a single answer to the nine questions.

"Don't underestimate me!"

Naruto gave his final answer. "Even if I'm a Genin for the rest of my life, nothing can stop me from pursuing my goal of becoming Hokage!"

"This guy... He's not just an unbelievably stupid idiot, he's an unbelievably hot-blooded idiot too..." For the first time, Sasuke and Sakura truly admired Naruto.

Ibiki stared coldly at the yellow-haired, spiky-haired boy. The temperature in the air seemed to drop to freezing.