Match 32: The Exam Begins

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On March 15th, at noon, outside a training building in Kirigakure, staff members stood on the high walls to unfurl a large banner.

"The 81st Kirigakure Chunin Exams," it read, followed by three large exclamation marks. Inside and outside the building, signs reading "Examinee Access Only," "Bystanders Keep Out," and "Silence" were hung everywhere.

At this moment, the streets were buzzing with noise. Teenagers of all shapes and sizes stood in long lines, their eyes darting toward the clock atop the building, waiting for the exam to officially begin. Their parents stood on either side of the lines, cheering them on.

With one hour left until the exam, Kanna stood in line, waiting silently.

"The number of examinees is almost double that of previous years, isn't it?"

Because of the reforms to the Chunin Exams, many genin who previously lacked confidence or feared injury and death due to insufficient strength now saw a glimmer of hope and signed up. No one knew how long this system would last; it might even change by the second half of the year.

In Kanna's eyes, these people were a motley crew. Some had sharp, predatory gazes, full of spirit and arrogance, while others were hunched and wretched, looking timid and cowardly.

As he watched, Kanna's eyes narrowed. He tapped Ringo Ameyuri behind him and whispered, "Hey, look over there!"

Ameyuri looked in the direction he indicated, and her brow furrowed.

"Zabuza? Are members of the Anbu taking the Chunin Exams too?"

In another line, a black-haired, sparse-browed youth who stood a head taller than those around him and carried a long sword was standing with his arms crossed and eyes closed, calmly resting.

"Hmph, since this reform was proposed by the Third, as his direct subordinates, they naturally need to cooperate," Kanna sneered.

The Anbu, the Intelligence Division, and the Medical Division had their own internal promotion systems. In most cases, Anbu members needed to hide their faces and abilities to avoid having their true identities revealed during missions, so participating in the village's Chunin Exams was clearly inappropriate. However, Zabuza was already famous; everyone knew he had joined the Anbu, so there was no point in hiding. Furthermore, to support the Mizukage's policy, the Anbu had sent Zabuza to compete. On one hand, it made his promotion appear more formal; on the other, it was Zabuza's own request. Like Kanna, this guy wanted to pull off a feat of sweeping the entire field.

People like Zabuza actually belonged to a more "public" level of the Anbu, much like Kakashi of Konohagakure. Once he used his Sharingan or Chidori, enemies could immediately identify him. But there was no helping it; he had made such a huge splash during his graduation exam two years ago.

Neither Kanna nor Ringo Ameyuri were comparable to ordinary genin, and their gazes were far sharper than most. As they looked over, Zabuza immediately sensed it and spotted the two of them.

"Hm?" Zabuza first showed a look of surprise, then smiled slightly, remaining unmoved.

"Is this the Momochi Zabuza who almost finished you off back then?" Ameyuri withdrew her gaze and said indifferently, "He doesn't seem like much."

"Perhaps," Kanna said, squinting. "Whether we are stronger now, we'll only know after we fight."

Soon, it was Kanna's turn in line. After the staff checked his exam qualification certificate, he was allowed to pass.

Kanna and Ameyuri walked together, entered the building, found the exam hall, and sat down according to their assigned numbers.

People in Kirigakure tended to be unruly, but everyone knew that this Chunin Exam was a mix of the good and the bad, with hidden talents everywhere, so no one dared to provoke others intentionally. Everyone sat quietly in their seats, the discipline of the ninja on full display.

When the time turned to 11:45 AM, a group of ninjas entered the exam hall. A young ninja, appearing to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, walked straight to the podium, set down a stack of papers, and began scanning the examinees. Others closed doors, drew curtains, and inspected the hall inside and out. Once satisfied, they nodded to the young ninja.

Kanna observed this chief proctor. He had blue hair, a square face, and a tall, upright build. He wore the standard Kirigakure jonin uniform, and his right eye was a hollow, empty socket.

The proctor checked his watch and tapped the table lightly.

"Ahem. A total of 135 people, all present. The exam is about to begin. Next, I will explain the rules. First, proctors, please check the examinees' qualification certificates."

A dozen chunin proctors scattered to compare the photos on the certificates with the faces of the examinees. The chief proctor continued, "Let me introduce myself first. I am Ao, an intelligence officer from the Intelligence Division, responsible for proctoring the written portion of this Chunin Exam. If you have any questions while I explain the rules, do not interrupt. You may raise your hand to ask after I finish."

"The first round is a written test consisting of 15 questions, with a two-hour time limit. The first ten questions are worth 5 points each; wrong answers do not result in a deduction. The last five questions are worth 10 points each; wrong answers result in a 10-point deduction, and unanswered questions result in a 5-point deduction. After two hours, everyone must stop writing. The proctors will collect the papers and grade them on the spot within 15 minutes. A total score of 60 or higher is a passing grade."

"Additionally, since this is a written test, the old rules apply: no cheating. Anyone caught cheating will be immediately disqualified!"

"That sounds strict..."

"Wrong or unanswered questions result in deductions? That means you have to get at least one of the big questions right to pass."

"This is so hard!"

The examinees began to whisper. Ao did not stop them, but raised his voice, "Now, after the proctors finish checking, you will have five minutes to prepare, and then the exam will officially begin."

"Ao?" Kanna muttered to himself, looking closely at the proctor's face. "So it's him."

By tradition, the first exam not only tested a candidate's basic skills but also involved knowledge required of a chunin, primarily focused on intelligence. Therefore, the person who wrote the questions—the chief proctor—was often a high-ranking officer from the Intelligence Division.

The chief proctor for this written test was none other than the future bodyguard of the Fifth Mizukage and the captain of the Sensor Division during the Fourth Shinobi World War: Ao, currently a high-ranking member of the Intelligence Division.

The rules for this written test were quite disadvantageous for the vast majority of examinees, and Kanna was no exception. Therefore...

Do I have to cheat? Kanna thought to himself.

No one here was a fool; everyone understood what Ao meant. Those caught cheating would be disqualified, which meant that if your skill in "stealing intelligence" was good enough to evade the proctors, it was perfectly acceptable.

Of course, some cheating methods wouldn't fool Ao, even if they fooled the chunin proctors—he was a jonin specializing in intelligence. But intelligence gathering was an inherent, hidden test in every written exam. The proctor wouldn't be too harsh; as long as it wasn't too blatant, they would turn a blind eye. In the original story, when Gaara used his Sand Eye to cheat, the proctor Morino Ibiki saw it clearly but didn't do anything. Even the chunin proctors would let examinees slide if they saw a particularly ingenious method.

Using ninja dogs, goggles, or secret codes were all methods the Intelligence Division had seen a thousand times. How could those experienced proctors not notice? Even when Kankuro used his puppet technique to cheat and was spotted by the proctor, he wasn't exposed. Why? Because the method was creative and skillful enough to catch the proctor's eye.

However, one thing to note was that this Kirigakure exam was clearly different from the one in Konoha. The focus wasn't solely on intelligence gathering. Kanna deduced from the rules that since the scoring and deductions were tied to the questions themselves, and being caught meant immediate expulsion, the risk of cheating was high. The core of the exam was still the questions themselves.

"Since there are five minutes to prepare, then..." Kanna handed his qualification certificate to the inspecting proctor while secretly biting his finger and reaching into his collar to smear blood onto his chest.

Among the ninjutsu he possessed, two could be used for cheating: the White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets and the Shadow Possession Jutsu. However, since he hadn't crafted any puppets, the former could only be used to manipulate human bodies. This could be used to signal Ringo Ameyuri, but the chakra threads were a bit obvious and too easy to spot. The latter, however, could be used in reverse: after using the Shadow Possession Jutsu on someone, he could relinquish control and let the other person pull his own body, allowing him to copy their work.

With a few quick strokes, he carved the formula for the Shadow Possession Jutsu onto his chest. Kanna was fully prepared.

"Five minutes are up!"

Ao spread out the papers and began distributing them.

Kanna focused his gaze and turned to stare at Ringo Ameyuri, three rows behind him.

Ameyuri's lips curled into a smile, and she nodded slightly. The two had reached a consensus.

Cheating! They would coordinate their cheating using their own methods!

Gently plucking a few strands of hair, Ameyuri twisted them into a long, thin thread and held it in her hand.

One was prepared to use the Shadow Possession Jutsu to have the target pull his body for copying; the other was prepared to channel lightning-natured chakra through a hair thread to stimulate the target's muscles with lightning release, creating secret signals and hints. For this exam, the two of them were tacitly prepared to go all out!