"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"
A sudden, sharp whistling cut through the air as objects flew toward the hundred-odd "surviving" candidates.
Hidden weapons?!
Oh no.
An attack.
Most of the candidates in the examination hall instinctively tensed, some instantly assuming defensive stances.
Others bent their knees, ready to dodge, their wary gazes tracking the source of the sound.
Plenty merely curled their lips, not even bothering to move.
Deidara, Suigetsu, and others, for instance...
That's it?!
But a moment later, everyone froze—the incoming objects weren't moving particularly fast. In fact, they drifted along quite gently, completely lacking the deadly menace of hidden weapons.
On closer inspection,
they were clearly cards.
The candidates exchanged glances and tentatively reached out, easily catching the cards floating before them. Looking down, they found numbered seating cards.
Only then
did Kakashi's signature lazy voice drift through the hall, tinged with nonchalance. "Find your seats according to the numbers on your cards,
and wait for the written exam to begin."
The order had been given.
Under the direct scrutiny of twenty-six examiners,
no one objected.
They behaved themselves.
"Yes~"
The candidates immediately spread out according to their numbers, guided by the proctoring ninja.
The seating arrangement was exceptionally clever, with enormous gaps between seats in every direction. Forget getting close to someone in an adjacent seat.
Even diagonally,
catching a glimpse of a teammate was all but impossible—
clearly,
this completely eliminated
any chance of teammates helping one another.
"Ugh~ Written exams are my worst nightmare," one candidate couldn't help grumbling under their breath, their voice full of misery.
"Exactly! Ninjas just need to know how to cut people down and use ninjutsu. Why do we have to take these stupid bookish tests? Aaaaargh~" another poor student chimed in, sounding utterly hopeless.
The poor students wore pained expressions.