Male Incubus

"The first exam is a written test. I'll start handing out the papers now. You'll have one hour, and your scores will determine whether you're eliminated." Ibiki's voice wasn't loud, so everyone had to strain to hear him.

But even those who hadn't heard him clearly didn't dare ask him to repeat himself.

"Your final score will be calculated from the total scores of your teams, so... heh heh, pray your teammates don't drag you down." Ibiki laughed, baring his sharp teeth in a terrifying grin.

"Excuse me, how will it work for a team with only one person?" Keiichi raised his hand and asked, as though the tense atmosphere hadn't affected him at all.

The others couldn't help feeling sorry for him. What a brave soul!

"Then your score will be multiplied by three," Ibiki replied after a moment's thought.

As long as he wasn't deliberately causing trouble, there was no reason to make things difficult for a candidate.

"Good. Any other questions? The countdown starts now. Complete this exam the way a ninja would."

The exam papers were soon handed out, but when everyone picked up their pens and prepared to answer, they froze.

What the hell were these questions? We never studied any of this!

Take the first question, for example: deciphering a code. It was so difficult that you'd probably need years in the Cryptanalysis Division to solve it. Could Genin like us really answer it?

Seeing the candidates' baffled expressions, Ibiki revealed a menacing smile. This was exactly the effect he wanted!

What was the point of a written test with a reasonable level of difficulty? If he, Ibiki, was going to be the chief examiner, he was going to put his specialty to use.

This exam would test far more than your basic skills. You're lucky to have such a great teacher!

The questions are too hard to answer?

No problem. I've already figured out how you can solve them.

I told you to complete this exam the way a ninja would. What I'm testing is your ability to gather intelligence.

I've arranged for some fake candidates in the room who can provide the correct answers. Let's see whether your cheating methods can fool the proctors!

The quick-witted ones should have figured out the real purpose of the exam by now, shouldn't they?

"Remember, the proctors are watching your every move. Cheat more than five times and you'll be removed from the exam immediately, and barred from taking the Chunin Ninja Exams again!" Ibiki added another layer of difficulty on the spot.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the candidate who'd had the nerve to ask him a question stood up.

Ibiki frowned. Was this kid trying to defy him? He hadn't dealt with a troublemaker in a while. Let him say one word out of line, and Ibiki would make an example of him!

"Why are you standing? Sit down!" Ibiki barked, pointing at him.

"Oh, I'm just turning in my paper." Keiichi walked up to the podium and handed in his exam as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Then he put his hands in his pockets and started to leave.

Ibiki glanced at the clock. Only five minutes had passed. There hadn't even been enough time to read the questions, had there? And the kid had already turned in his paper?

Hmph. He must've handed in a blank paper. He'd never seen anyone give up this quickly!

But when his gaze fell on the paper, his pupils widened in disbelief.

The other proctors were curious. What had Ibiki seen to make him look like that? He always had a stone-cold expression. They'd never seen anything move him.

How could Ibiki not be moved? Anyone would've been startled!

The paper in front of him was filled from top to bottom. It certainly didn't look like the work of someone who'd given up.

The real shock came when he checked the answers and found every single one correct, without a single flaw—except for the final question...

"Wait!" Ibiki hurriedly called after Keiichi, who was about to leave.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"You answered all of these?"

"Yes."

The exchange sent a murmur through the candidates. It sounded like the kid hadn't given up after all—he'd answered every question. Why else would Ibiki ask him that?

Good grief, was he even human?

Could a person really answer these questions?

Was Ken-8 really that amazing?

"But you haven't answered the final question!" Ibiki said, his expression darkening.

According to the plan, he was supposed to announce that question when only fifteen minutes remained. It would be the second test.

"I did answer it."

"You did?"

"Yeah. Look, I clearly wrote 'solution.'"

"..."

One point for writing "solution." Whatever the question was, I'm taking that point.

A vein bulged on Ibiki's forehead. He felt his authority had been mocked!

He'd never seen a candidate so determined to defy convention!

"Arrest him!" Ibiki waved his hand. In an instant, a ninja appeared behind Keiichi and clamped both his arms in a tight grip.

"Sir, may I ask what I did wrong?" Keiichi was a little surprised, but quickly regained his composure.

"How did you finish the exam in such a short time? There wasn't even enough time to read the questions. I have reason to suspect you stole the exam materials in advance. You'll have to be interrogated!"

Before Keiichi could defend himself, someone covered his mouth, and he was dragged out of the exam room.

Seeing Keiichi arrested for turning in his paper early, the other candidates got a taste of Ibiki's cruelty. Their fear of him grew, and they hurriedly kept their heads down and answered their questions, not daring to provoke him.

This guy didn't play by the rules!

The one who was most afraid was Naruto.

When he got his exam paper, he had only one thought—

I'm doomed!

He couldn't answer any of these questions!

Just then, Keiichi—the angel who'd turned in his paper early—came to his rescue. As he passed by, he discreetly tossed Naruto a little paper ball. Naruto didn't need to guess what was inside.

My good buddy, you're an angel!

I'll never badmouth you again!

Naruto was so moved he could hardly contain himself.

Just as he was about to open the paper ball, overwhelmed with gratitude, he saw Ibiki order Keiichi's arrest. A cold sweat broke out, and Naruto felt his world collapse.

If I copy his answers, will the chief examiner arrest me too?

Being arrested wouldn't matter, but what if I got Sasuke and Sakura in trouble as well?

"I forgot to mention: if any candidate gets a zero, their entire team will be eliminated, regardless of its total score." Ibiki kept turning up the pressure. It was a favorite interrogation tactic: increase the pressure until the person being questioned couldn't take it anymore.

For Naruto, it was a devastating blow. He could almost feel the murderous glares at his back.

But I really can't answer any of these! Naruto was practically on the verge of tears.

As the exam went on, more and more candidates were thrown out for cheating. The sight made Naruto even more afraid to open the paper ball.

At last, only fifteen minutes remained.

Chapter 35: Male Incubus

The final question wasn't exactly difficult, but it wasn't exactly easy either.

All you had to do was make a choice: would you continue the exam or not?

If you gave up, you could take it again next year. If you didn't, you'd spend the rest of your life as a Genin.

All right, go ahead and answer, sweetheart.

Ibiki was a real sadist. To him, physical torture was the crudest method of all. Mental torture was what he loved most.

Sure enough, some candidates couldn't handle the pressure and chose to give up.

The more people withdrew, the higher the corner of Ibiki's mouth curled. He hated incompetents like these most of all.

You want to become a Chunin?

Maybe in your next life!

Naruto finally understood what it meant to suffer through an agonizing wait. Either choice was as good as death.

But he didn't care if he himself suffered. He couldn't accept dragging his teammates down.

After a while, when only five minutes remained, Naruto could no longer bear the pressure. He decided to risk it and secretly opened the paper ball Keiichi had given him, keeping his head down.

His eyes immediately went wide.

"Naruto, you're cheating!" Ibiki's voice came from beside him like a demon's.

There was no way Ibiki could have missed Keiichi tossing the paper ball. He'd been watching Naruto ever since, just waiting for him to incriminate himself so he could arrest him without a hitch.

That way, whether or not Keiichi had stolen the exam, he'd still be guilty of cheating, and Ibiki would be entirely justified in taking him away.

Naruto was just an unfortunate bystander caught up in it.

"That idiot!" Sasuke and Sakura had never agreed so completely on anything. They were filled with despair.

"I... I didn't! I really didn't!"

Naruto hurriedly hid the paper ball behind his back, looking as though he'd been falsely accused.

But anyone could see through his pitiful act and tell that he'd definitely been cheating. The chief examiner had been sharp as a tack.

In no time, Naruto was firmly restrained. The paper ball was taken from his hand and handed to Ibiki.

Ibiki opened the paper ball with satisfaction. His pupils shrank, and his expression immediately fell. Then, reluctantly, he said, "Um... there's been a mistake. Naruto wasn't cheating."

Though he hated Keiichi's clever tricks, Ibiki was still a man of professional integrity. If Naruto hadn't cheated, then he hadn't cheated.

To avoid accusations that he'd helped a Konoha Ninja cheat, he unfolded the paper ball and showed it to everyone. It turned out not to have a single word on it. It was just a blank sheet of paper.

That was right: all Naruto had seen was a blank sheet. There wasn't a single answer on it.

With Ibiki's keen eye, he would've spotted any hidden information on the paper right away. He'd checked it over and over, and it really was just a blank sheet.

He suddenly felt as though Keiichi had played him for a fool again.

Why on earth had you slipped Naruto a blank sheet? Teasing him would've been one thing, but you had to trick me too!

Ibiki felt a surge of humiliation. He hadn't felt this way in a long time, and he hated it.

The worst part was that even after he'd had Keiichi locked up, the kid had still managed to make a fool of him in front of everyone. He'd been completely outsmarted.

With the suspicion of cheating cleared, Naruto nervously returned to his seat. This time, he finally behaved himself and didn't dare do anything.

When the exam ended and Ibiki announced that everyone still in the room had passed, Naruto suddenly felt as if he'd survived a disaster. He could breathe freely again.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to face Sakura and Sasuke.

Damn you, Keiichi! Just you wait. I'll make you pay!

What he didn't know was that a heated debate was taking place in the Hokage's office at that very moment.

"Lord Hiruzen, I don't think Keiichi did anything wrong. Even if he really did steal the questions, that only proves he has excellent intelligence-gathering skills. Isn't that exactly what the first exam is meant to test?" Kakashi stepped forward without hesitation to speak up for Keiichi.

It wasn't that he particularly liked the kid. He simply owed him two favors, and this was a chance to repay him.

"Stealing the village's confidential intelligence is a serious crime. What does that have to do with the exam?" Ibiki was there too, though this was only one of his Shadow Clones.

"Ahem... Lord Ibiki, you've been keeping the exam papers yourself the entire time. If Keiichi really did steal them, wouldn't that mean..." Gekko Hayate stepped forward as well, making his position clear.

Hiruzen looked at the two men, his gaze a little strange. He'd noticed an interesting pattern: whoever became Keiichi's squad leader seemed to quickly grow fond of him, even to the point of doing unreasonable things for him.

First there'd been Tatsuya, the Chunin who taught him the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Technique. Now that he was dead, Hiruzen couldn't figure out what he'd been thinking.

Then there was Kakashi. After just one mission together, he'd inexplicably wanted to teach Keiichi the Water Clone Technique. If Hiruzen hadn't stopped him, who knew what might have happened?

And then there was Gekko Hayate. Why had he taught Keiichi Transparent Style? Didn't he know outsiders couldn't learn that ninjutsu? And yet he'd taught him, and Keiichi had actually learned it. Where could you even go to complain about that?

Now both of the men who were still alive had come forward to speak on his behalf. Could the kid be some kind of male incubus?

How strange. This was all so strange!

Though Hiruzen thought this, he couldn't exactly ask them about it. Looking at things rationally, no matter what the truth was, Keiichi couldn't really be said to have done anything wrong. If anything, the abilities he'd displayed were exactly what an excellent ninja should have.

Whether he'd answered the questions himself because of his extensive knowledge or stolen the exam materials in advance, didn't either possibility prove that he was an excellent ninja?