The Scroll Bandits

"Hahahahaha!" Ibiki suddenly burst out laughing, and the proctors in the classroom joined in.

"What an interesting answer!"

Ibiki regained his composure.

"Now, I hereby announce that all the examinees who stayed have passed this written exam!"

Ibiki revealed the purpose of the exam and the true meaning behind the tenth question.

"Suppose you had already become Chunin and were sent to steal important information from an enemy nation. If you didn't know how many enemies there were or where they were stationed, would you abandon the mission for fear of losing your own life or the lives of your comrades?" Ibiki asked.

When no one answered, he went on to explain.

"A person who doesn't value their comrades' lives isn't fit to be a ninja. But some missions have to be carried out by someone. Those who can withstand immense pressure in a crisis and give their comrades confidence and courage are worthy of becoming Chunin..."

"Those who back down in a crisis, withdraw on their own, or pin their hopes on taking the exam again next year are, in my eyes, weak-willed losers. Would you dare trust them with your back?"

"Therefore, you have all passed this exam!"

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered.

In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage and the team leaders watched the images in the Crystal Ball.

"Kakashi, you really struck gold..." Gai had to admit that Jimo was quite impressive.

Asuma and Kurenai were also impressed by Jimo's courage.

"How long has it been since we've seen such a hot-blooded idiot..." Kakashi gazed at Jimo and fell into reminiscence.

"Don't celebrate too soon!"

A figure appeared before them as the window shattered.

A flag suddenly unfurled in the classroom.

"This woman..." Ibiki turned his face away, resisting the urge to look at the oddball before him.

"I'm the proctor for your second exam! Mitaraishi Anko!"

The voluptuous woman raised an arm high.

"Come with me! Your next exam is waiting..."

The classroom fell silent. At last, Ibiki broke the awkward silence.

"Nobody's paying attention to you..."

"By the way, your exam was way too easy. How come more than seventy people passed?" Anko looked at Ibiki with disdain.

"Just watch me. In the next exam, I'll eliminate at least half of them."

Everyone followed Anko to the edge of Konoha's so-called Forest of Death.

"Hey, pervert, hasn't anyone told you not to stare at girls?" Anko suddenly turned around and smiled at Jimo.

Along the way, Jimo had confirmed more than once that this woman had really shown up without wearing anything underneath...

Jimo gave an awkward laugh.

Sakura and Ino quietly moved farther away.

"What's with those looks?" Jimo grumbled at them. "I'm not interested in flat-chested girls who haven't even finished growing."

"Hahaha!" Naruto burst out laughing.

And so, the two of them earned themselves a generous helping of bumps on the head.

"Gomen nasai..."

Jimo and Naruto apologized to the girls, each sporting three smoking bumps.

"Can this kid really fight Zabuza to a draw...?" Anko wondered, watching Jimo meekly apologize to them.

Once they reached the gathering point, just as Jimo had expected, Anko shut down Naruto's loud announcement. There was also a man with an incredibly long tongue who kept watching their team.

"What a pain... Orochimaru..."

Jimo figured that, as he was now, he was still no match for Orochimaru.

"This exam will last one hundred and twenty hours—that's five days! Half of your teams will carry a Heaven Scroll, and the other half will carry an Earth Scroll. Only teams that have both scrolls and successfully reach the Central Tower will advance," Anko explained, holding up a black scroll and a white one.

"In other words... half of you will be eliminated."

The proctors then began handing out scrolls to each team.

"Hey! You don't start until I say so!"

Anko shouted at Jimo, who was raring to go. Jimo was already holding two examinees from other villages by the scruff of the neck and "friendly" chatting with them.

Stopped by Anko, Jimo scratched his head and reluctantly set the two down.

The teams were led to different parts of the forest to enter. As soon as they were inside, Jimo told the others what he had in mind.

It would be best if the three of them could protect their scroll, but he needed a backup plan.

The three of them should focus on avoiding the enemy and try not to get into any direct confrontations. He would act alone—not only would he get an Earth Scroll, he would also go after a Heaven Scroll.

A while later, Jimo sat on Flying Nimbus, watching the situation below. Beside him were four Heaven Scrolls and six Earth Scrolls.

"Oh, this is so boring..."

On the ground, Sasuke successfully used his knowledge of Naruto to tell the real Naruto from the fake.

But they ran into Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass Shinobi. With just a glance, Orochimaru trapped Sasuke and Sakura in a Genjutsu. If he hadn't voluntarily dispelled it, the two of them might have suffered a mental breakdown.

"This is going to be tough... Orochimaru, one of the Three Ninja..."

A ball of Ki gathered between Jimo's fingers. He compressed it again and again until it formed a Chakra Sphere.

Naruto burst out of the giant snake that had swallowed him with a Clone Technique and reunited with Sasuke.

When he saw Sasuke injured and trying to trade the scroll for his life, he flew into a rage.

"Do you really think he'll let us go just because you give him the scroll? Don't be stupid... Did you forget what Jimo said before we split up? The weak have no right to bargain with the strong!"

Naruto charged at Orochimaru like a madman, only to be knocked away by a Giant Python he had summoned. Blood splattered everywhere. Then an immense amount of Chakra surged from Naruto's body.

The whisker-like marks on Naruto's face suddenly grew denser, and his eyes turned fierce. With a single punch, he flipped the Giant Python over.

But one of the Three Ninja was still one of the Three Ninja. A sudden power-up wouldn't be enough to defeat him. Orochimaru used a crude Sealing Technique to seal Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra and placed a Cursed Seal on Sasuke.

Perhaps sensing the Anbu Ninja rushing toward them, Orochimaru chose to retreat.

In the sky, Jimo had been tracking Orochimaru the whole time. The sphere in his hand grew even more condensed.

"Oh, there you are!"

As Orochimaru toyed with Anko, a beam of light pierced straight through his chest.

That gave Anko, immobilized by the Cursed Seal, a chance to catch her breath.

A figure immediately swept her up and fled the scene.

"What are you doing?! You can't let him get away!"

Anko cried anxiously.

"Teacher, I think you know better than I do how strong he is, right? Did you really think I could kill him just by shooting through his chest? You're giving a mere Genin like me way too much credit."

Only then did Anko realize that the troublesome boy from earlier was carrying her.

At the same time, she realized...

"Why can you fly?!"