"Start handing out the papers."
As soon as Hyuga Seigo spoke, the examiners flitted between the seats like ghosts, slapping test papers onto the desks.
The soft sounds came in perfect unison,
like pebbles dropped into the silent examination room.
The examinees weren't allowed to pass the papers backward, leaving no opportunity to turn around and whisper. Some people's plans had fallen through.
"Aw, fuck. I was planning to pull something while passing the papers back... They won't even give us that chance?"
The poor students fumbled as they tightened their grips on their pens. Cold sweat seeped from their fingertips, nearly soaking the barrels. Their pen tips hovered over the paper for ages, but they couldn't bring themselves to write—
The very first question made their heads spin. "Suppose an enemy ninja performs hand seals for Fire Release at a rate of 1.2 per second, and our side must complete a Water Release counterattack within three seconds. What is the optimal chakra circulation pathway?"
It might as well have been gibberish.
The top students quickly flipped through their papers, but their brows furrowed deeper with every question they scanned.
The questions were bizarre and tricky, neither basic ninjutsu theory nor tactical analysis.
Instead, they seemed to take all sorts of obscure knowledge apart and piece it back together.
Traps lurked everywhere.
None of this could be learned from an ordinary textbook.
"Just as I thought. I can't answer a single one."
"Damn, they really aren't treating us like human beings."
"They're testing our ability to gather intelligence. Haven't the written exams always been about cheating?"
"All right. Our teacher covered this."
"Just find someone to copy from."
"Tick, tock, tick, tock..."
The pendulum clock struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer, pulling their already taut nerves even tighter.
Suddenly.