"Woof! Woof, woof!"
Akamaru suddenly barked at Inuzuka Kiba several times, his little tail wagging rapidly as he nudged his nose toward the exam paper—this time, he had seen it clearly. Hidden within those seemingly complicated questions were answers that required no calculations at all.
Inuzuka Kiba raised an eyebrow and patted Akamaru's head. "Oh? You figured it out?"
He scanned the paper in the direction Akamaru indicated, then snorted in realization. "Tch. So that's how it works. You should've said so earlier. Isn't this easy?"
The tension in his chest vanished instantly. He exhaled in relief, picked up his pen, and neatly wrote his name at the top of the paper, without adding a single extra word.
"Examiner, I'm handing in my paper."
"Inuzuka Kiba, passed. Remaining spots: 14."
As the announcement fell, Sasuke's pen hand jerked, leaving a small blot of ink on his blank exam paper.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru leave together, looking as relaxed as if they were strolling through a market rather than clearing a difficult hurdle.
Before he could suppress the irritation rising in his chest, a soft rustle of paper came from beside him.
Rock Lee suddenly raised his head. Sweat still trickled down his forehead, but his eyes shone brilliantly.
He had finally figured it out—the look Neji had given him before handing in his paper had clearly meant, "You don't need to answer"!
Blank. Yes, leave it blank.
Not answering might be the most correct answer!
Yes, that must be it. Tenten really is smart, figuring out this secret so early.
"So that's it! That's what Neji meant!"
Realization dawned on Rock Lee. Without even bothering to wipe his sweat, he hurriedly wrote his name on the paper, stood, and called out,