Exam Passed

Naruto turned his head to look over, and Shikamaru and the others couldn't help but glance over as well.

"This Humble One is Kabuto Yakushi, a senior of yours, so to speak." Seeing everyone looking his way, Kabuto Yakushi couldn't help but push up his glasses to introduce himself.

"Oh, so it's Senior Kabuto Yakushi. You've participated in the Chunin Exams before?" Sakura, who had leaned in, couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, I've already participated several times."

The group couldn't help but frown.

"Are the Chunin Exams really that hard?" Kiba couldn't help but ask.

He had voiced what everyone else was thinking.

"It depends on the situation. Actually, the exam isn't that difficult; I have my own reasons." Kabuto Yakushi knew they were first-timers and didn't want to crush their confidence.

"Oh, what reasons?" Naruto was curious. Kabuto Yakushi—the greatest undercover agent of the early stages and the most successful villain of the later ones. This guy's life was the ultimate underdog comeback story: born an orphan, used as a double agent by various big shots until, in the end, he didn't even know who he was. Influenced by Orochimaru, he came to believe he was Orochimaru, crazily experimenting on himself, mastering Sage Mode, and refining the Impure World Reincarnation. If not for Itachi Uchiha later on, there was no telling how far he would have gone, but even as it stood, his achievements surpassed the Sannin.

"I'm afraid of death, so I don't want to become a Chunin." Seeing Naruto's curious gaze, Kabuto Yakushi stated his reason with a calm expression.

"Afraid of death? Then why become a ninja?" Kiba immediately said bluntly, even feeling a bit of contempt for this Genin.

Born in an era of peace, they didn't understand the cruelty of being a ninja and had no real concept of death.

Naruto didn't say anything more, but the others, having heard the reason, began to look down on him.

Kabuto Yakushi wasn't angry; he returned to his seat. His approach to Naruto and the others this time was merely to see what kind of person the vessel that Orochimaru-sama cared about really was.

But to be honest, he was inwardly disappointed. Having seen Itachi Uchiha, he felt the gap immediately when looking at this young Uchiha: rash, weak in strength, and lacking any merits worth noting.

The most critical point was that Sasuke Uchiha still only had a Two-Tomoe Sharingan. Even Naruto felt a bit disdainful about that; Naruto himself already possessed the Three-Tomoe.

Bang.

Just as he sat down, a puff of smoke flashed, and a man in a trench coat with a fierce, scarred face appeared on the podium.

"Greetings, everyone. I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor for your first exam." After introducing himself, he scanned everyone with a menacing gaze.

Those he locked eyes with felt as if they were being stared at by a wild beast, and everyone silently lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Very well. I will now explain the rules for the upcoming exam. The first exam is a written test consisting of ten questions. You will complete the first nine, and then I will announce the final one..."

Naruto had expected all of this, but he still felt a bit bored. He wondered where Orochimaru was.

The test papers were handed out, and Naruto took a look, confirming he didn't know how to do them.

The others were in the same boat as Naruto. Fortunately, there were undercover agents planted by Konoha among the examinees, specifically there to provide answers.

Sure enough, after a short while, the cheating began.

The various ninja showed off their unique skills; this exam was a test of everyone's ability to gather intelligence.

As long as it wasn't too obvious, they could pass. As for low-level cheating methods like passing notes, they would be caught instantly.

Soon, several people from small ninja villages were dragged out. Without sensory abilities, trying to cheat was very difficult.

Sasuke reacted quickly, activating his Sharingan to observe the movements of others and copy them. Sasuke was quite skilled at this "copy and paste" routine. Hinata activated her Byakugan, allowing her to see 360 degrees without blind spots without even having to look up.

Kiba used his dog to peek at the answers. Only Sakura had no particular method, but fortunately, she was a top student; although there were questions she didn't know, she could answer most of them.

Naruto himself was still hesitating over whether to hand in a blank paper.

He couldn't be bothered to write, but he didn't want to attract too much attention.

There were nine questions in total, and the two of them finished quickly. Hinata couldn't help but observe Naruto beside her and noticed he hadn't even picked up his pen, which made her feel a bit anxious.

She wanted to remind Naruto, but she didn't dare speak.

Sasuke, sitting to Naruto's right, frowned.

What is this idiot doing again? Sasuke frowned. Although he didn't know about Naruto's sensory abilities, he didn't believe Naruto lacked a way to cheat.

Watching Naruto still in a daze, Sasuke desperately wanted to use his Sharingan to control Naruto into writing for him, but unfortunately, he couldn't.

Naruto thought for a moment. Forget it, I'll just write down two questions. If I hand in a blank paper, it'll attract too much attention.

His sensory perception was very strong; he didn't need to specifically focus on everyone's movements, as they were all within his awareness. He scribbled down two answers and put his pen down.

Seeing Naruto finally start writing, the two of them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing that everyone had stopped writing, the proctor, Ibiki Morino, standing on the podium, began to announce the tenth question.

Naruto couldn't be bothered to listen and slumped over to start sleeping.

Ibiki Morino naturally noticed and frowned, recognizing Naruto. If Naruto weren't from Konoha, he would have thrown him out immediately.

Ignoring him, he continued his performance.

Without Naruto leading the way, many ninja who couldn't handle the pressure began to raise their hands and leave, giving up on the exam.

Sasuke and Hinata couldn't help but clench their fists.

But seeing Naruto still sleeping leisurely, for some reason, the two of them relaxed.

Feeling that the time was about right, Ibiki Morino looked at the remaining examinees in the classroom, his fierce face breaking into a smile. The examinees present couldn't help but shiver.

Thinking he was about to announce the tenth question, everyone began to listen intently.

Hinata and Sasuke couldn't help but feel worried as they looked at Naruto, who was still sleeping.

"Congratulations on passing the exam." Following this, he began to explain the significance of the tenth question, causing the examinees to heave a collective sigh of relief as they finally understood.

Bang!

At that very moment, the window shattered, and a figure in black flew in from outside, landing on the podium to reveal an additional person.

Naruto was jolted awake by the tremendous noise and scratched his head.

Anko made a chuunibyou-esque entrance and announced the start of the second stage of the Chunin Exams, after which Naruto and the others followed her to the Forest of Death.

Anko began to explain the rules for the second stage of the exam.

Naruto paid no attention to Anko, instead scanning the area for Orochimaru, and soon spotted a Grass Ninja not far ahead.

It's him.

His intuition told Naruto that this person was Orochimaru.

Orochimaru sensed something and turned his head, his gaze instantly locking with Naruto's. However, he showed no interest in Naruto and shifted his focus to Sasuke; after merely a glance, he turned his head away.

After receiving their scroll, Naruto and the others signed the death waiver. Naruto thought to himself that being a ninja was truly a high-risk profession, and he wondered if he would still hesitate if he didn't know for a fact that he wouldn't die.