Hidden Question Appears

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With a little over twenty minutes left before the exam ended, Kanna had nothing to do. He straightened his posture and began to scan the surrounding examinees with an unbridled gaze.

This action caught the attention of the proctors, but seeing that Kanna had already put down his pen, they didn't react.

To his front-left, a girl with delicate features was tapping her fingers against the desk. She made no sound, but every few taps, she would tilt her head to listen, then proceed to answer a question.

This girl was definitely cheating. Kanna was certain the proctors had seen her movements, yet no one stopped her. Her method was quite sophisticated; she seemed to be using the resonance of sound waves to gather information. She was likely an expert in intelligence gathering.

Three seats to Kanna's right, a boy with bright, piercing eyes and a restrained aura was staring intently at the writing motions of those around him. He mimicked every stroke the others made, managing to copy their answers simply by observing with his naked eye.

Kanna asked himself if he could barely manage such observation, but translating those movements into specific text with such precision was difficult. It meant the boy could read others' penmanship, lip movements, and body language. Another talent in the field of intelligence.

There was also an exaggerated fellow sitting to Kanna's left—a chubby boy with red markings on his face and dark goggles. At that moment, he was bowing his head slightly, staring at a puddle of clear water on the floor.

"Hm?" Kanna paused, seemingly realizing something.

That puddle of water—it went without saying—must have been spat out by the examinees who had personally tested the first question. Now it appeared that the first question wasn't just a trap; it was an aid provided by the examiner!

As ninjas from Kirigakure, most of the examinees here were skilled in Water Style. Whether it was offensive or auxiliary ninjutsu, none could do without water. But if you were to conjure water openly in the exam hall, it would be obvious you were cheating, and the proctors wouldn't be able to let you slide even if they wanted to.

Therefore, the examiner had deliberately set up that question to provide the examinees with a water environment in a roundabout way.

Kanna's pupils constricted as he saw the reflection of the examinees in the front row shimmering on the surface of the puddle at the chubby boy's feet.

"How is he cheating like that?" Kanna pondered for a moment, then a jolt went through his heart.

"No way? Is he copying the paper by observing the eyes of the examinee in front of him through the reflection in the water? That's too extreme!"

If one were to magnify a plane capable of reflecting light—like a mirror or a water surface—by several dozen times, Kanna could also see the reflection within the retina of the person being reflected. Now, this chubby boy was using the water surface to observe the eyes of the person in the reflection, and absurdly, he was seeing the reflection of the test paper within the other person's pupils.

"With the naked eye, unless it's a Kekkei Genkai, it's impossible to see clearly," Kanna thought, frowning. "Either it's a bloodline trait, or there's some mystery hidden within his goggles."

Kanna focused his chakra into his eyes and tried it out, only to find he could see the reflected person's pupils and a tiny, blurry test paper projected on their retina. Any deeper or finer text was completely invisible.

"Impressive!" Kanna sighed inwardly.

Up ahead, a boy who hadn't written anything for a long time stretched his body, then suddenly kicked his leg out casually, landing right in a puddle of water. With a splat, countless droplets splashed into the air.

"Another one!" Kanna found it quite interesting and focused his gaze.

When it came to physical prowess, he was only strong in combat; his eyesight and hearing were average. But when it came to the understanding of ninjutsu, he was in the top three of this exam hall. Thus, he immediately saw what this guy was up to!

He was controlling the water droplets to divide further until they were the size of sesame seeds, suspending them in the air, and then peeking at other people's papers from different angles and directions. This was also a type of intelligence-gathering ninjutsu from Kirigakure.

The Barrier Team of Kirigakure constantly maintained a large sphere of water, and key locations in the village were surrounded by water droplets day and night. Feeding the images captured by the droplets back into the large water sphere was a sophisticated surveillance method, and this boy's technique originated from the same source.

However, what surprised Kanna was that he felt a damp sensation washing over him. It was easy to imagine that Kanna's surroundings were currently shrouded in dense, invisible water droplets.

That guy seemed to have targeted him?

"Interesting, interesting." Kanna smiled slightly, picked up his pen, and wrote a few words on his paper.

"Ganbatte" (Do your best).

Up ahead, the boy's body stiffened, feeling awkward. After all, copying someone's paper without greeting them and then being caught on the spot wasn't a good thing. But seeing that Kanna wasn't pursuing the matter, he revealed a faint smile. He hid his right hand in his sleeve, shifted his hand seals, and closed his eyes.

In his field of vision, the curved surfaces of the water droplets reflected different characters, even radicals and components. By piecing them together and making deductions, he could form entire sets of answers!

After quickly finishing the copy, the boy controlled the water droplets to land on Kanna's desk, arranging them into text.

The droplets evaporated quickly, leaving a row of water stains on the desk.

"Arigatou gozaimasu" (Thank you—a very formal expression).

By this time, the examinees with inferior methods had already been cleared from the hall. Those who remained were no slouches. To Kanna's surprise, everyone seemed to have no objection to cheating, nor were they resistant to others copying their work. They helped if they could; if you had the ability to copy mine, then go ahead.

One had to admit, the caliber of talent cultivated by Kirigakure was quite impressive. By now, several pairs of examinees were helping each other and cheating in tacit understanding. As for those who were proud and arrogant, while they didn't take the initiative, they didn't resist either—much like Zabuza, who spread his paper out and let anyone copy it.

Ring-a-ling! The alarm set by the chief examiner began to sound. All the examinees immediately put down their pens, folded their papers along the center crease, and placed them at the corner of their desks.

"Ahem, collect the papers," Ao said calmly.

The proctors left their seats, began collecting the papers, and then returned to their desks to grade them immediately.

"Everyone, please wait a moment, it will be ready soon," Ao explained. "The ban is now lifted. You may converse freely, but do not make any large movements."

The examinees relaxed and began to chat with those around them. The scene was lively but not noisy.

Soon, each proctor finished grading the papers, left their signatures on the sheets, and handed them to Ao.

Ao began to flip through them, performing a final check, but as he read, his expression turned strange.

The exam hall suddenly went quiet. Everyone felt a bit uneasy, not knowing what Ao meant.

"Ahem. Not bad." Ao nodded, tapped the papers in his hand, and suddenly shouted, "Tachibana Rei!"

"Present!"

The delicate girl who had been gathering information by tapping the desk stood up, responding neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"75 points, pass," Ao said. Just as Tachibana Rei's face lit up with a smile, his tone shifted, and he said coldly, "However, I discovered that many people's answers are the same as yours—largely identical. According to my judgment, someone must have cheated. Now, tell me who the cheater is! Is it you, or someone else!"

"If the cheater is you, then name the person you copied from. If it is someone else, please step forward voluntarily! Do not let a girl take the blame. Furthermore, if no one takes responsibility, then all examinees with identical answers... heh."

Ao didn't state the punishment, but everyone's hearts tightened.

Tachibana Rei's mouth moved, and just as she was about to speak, a boy with a stubborn look in his eyes suddenly raised his hand.

"Hmm? It seems someone has stepped forward." Ao gave a faint smile, glanced at the roster, and nodded for him to speak. "Kyu Shichito, is it? What do you want?"

"Proctor! I object! Since this is an exam, there must be a correct answer! I believe that if everyone's answers are the same, it only proves that everyone answered correctly. Perhaps some people's methods of answering are similar, but that is only because we all attended the same school and received the same education, so one cannot conclude that anyone cheated!"

"Heh," Ao chuckled and began flipping through the test papers. Soon, he pulled out several sheets and said to Kyu Shichito, "I am sorry, but as the proctor and the author of this written exam, I had already considered this situation. Therefore, I intentionally set many open-ended questions. Unfortunately, those candidates I suspected of cheating all wrote down the exact same answer. That is the evidence!"

"Furthermore, let me see, student Shichito, I am sorry to announce that you are now also suspected of being a cheater. Four other candidates have answers identical to yours. Now, please name the person you cheated from, or the candidate who cheated from you."

"Damn it."

"What is going on!"

The candidates began to whisper, all feeling quite dissatisfied.

"If you do not agree with my judgment, you are perfectly free to file a complaint with the Mizukage. But for now, since you are still in the middle of an exam, you must obey my orders!" Ao said in a stern tone. "Finally, I ask those cheaters to stand up quickly! Whether you did it actively or passively, stand up! If you sincerely repent and report others, I will let you off the hook! But if not, all involved parties will be disqualified! Now, those whose names I call, stand up!"

"Jia Ma! Stand up!"

"Mujin Kurumi! Stand up!"

"You! Yuji! You are also suspected of cheating, stand up!"

Ao called out a few more candidates, and the scene descended into further chaos.

It's here! The hidden question! Kanna felt a surge of alertness and turned to exchange a look with Ringo Ameyuri.

No one present was a fool; many had guessed that this would be the final question—a question not mentioned in the exam instructions, nor written on the paper.

But what exactly was this question testing? Kanna couldn't be sure.

It could be a test of whether you can guard a secret when captured by the enemy, refusing to leak information regardless of torture or temptation.

It could be a test of whether you dare to step forward and take responsibility for everything when the majority are in a predicament, carrying the burden on your own shoulders!

It could also be a test of your eloquence, your ability to argue, and your capacity to adapt to a crisis; if you could directly persuade the proctor, everything would be fine.

It might even be a test of your values regarding sacrifice—whether you should abandon teammates to survive alone. After all, the mission is what matters most, and sometimes abandoning teammates is permissible to ensure success.

Calm down! Kanna took a few deep breaths, his thoughts racing.

Looking at these fifteen questions as a whole and making inferences, one can deduce a scenario: First, a team on a mission obtains false intelligence (Reverse Water Release: Water Clone), which causes the team to suffer losses and a member to be captured. However, through a series of efforts (the following nine five-point theoretical questions), they finally obtain the correct intelligence. But this intelligence is incomplete and requires a professional intelligence officer to verify and complete it (inferred from the hand seals of the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique). Finally, on the run, that captured member suddenly reappears (how to choose when a captured teammate appears). So, that's it! I understand!

Adding the proctor's hints—naming those you cheated from, admitting responsibility, and reporting others—my deduction cannot be wrong!

At this moment, one must protect the intelligence officer! Isolate or even kill the captured member to prioritize completing the mission and delivering the intelligence to the designated location! That's it, it must be this!

So, in this moment, does the 'captain' need to step forward, kill the 'captured members' who were just called out, and take all the responsibility?

Bang! Kanna kicked his chair aside and stood up.

"Kanna?" Ao's expression remained unchanged as he checked the list. "Are you here to report someone, or to turn yourself in?"

"Heh, naturally, I am here to report," Kanna said with a smile.

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of many changed—these were the candidates who had, openly or secretly, cheated off Kanna's paper.

"But! But, Lord Ao, before that, I have something else to say," Kanna said with a grin.

"Oh? Go ahead," Ao said with an unreadable expression.

"It's like this. For an elite jonin from the Intelligence Division like you, Lord Ao, perhaps no one can deceive you. But we are all just genin. If we are cheated off by others without our knowledge, then we shouldn't be at fault, right? After all, everyone is busy writing their own answers and doesn't have much energy to pay attention to their surroundings."

"Hmm." Ao pondered for a moment and nodded. "That is true. As long as the person being cheated off didn't do it intentionally, they are innocent. That is beyond doubt. What else do you want to say?"

"I want to say," Kanna chuckled, his expression turning serious as he pointed at Kyu Shichito, "He! He cheated off me!"

"What? Hey!" Kyu Shichito's face changed on the spot, and he prepared to argue.

But Kanna interrupted him immediately, his tone sharp. "And him! Mujin Kurumi, he also cheated off me!"

The two people Kanna pointed out were candidates who had used common cheating methods, such as glancing at the papers of those sitting nearby. It lacked technical sophistication, but because the distance was so close, the proctor couldn't say much; after all, as long as one masked the movement of their eyes, it was generally impossible to detect.

"However!" Kanna continued, "I also want to turn myself in. I used a certain ninjutsu to cheat off the papers of the following students."

"There is Tachibana Rei, Jia Ma, Yuji, and Linqin Yu Yuli. They didn't notice my actions, so none of this has anything to do with them. That is all!"

Kanna pointed out those who had used various high-level methods to cheat, then sat down to await his fate.

In reality, Kanna's logic had a major contradiction, because the answers of these people were basically identical. It was clear that all the answers originated from one person: Momochi Zabuza. He was the only Anbu member in the room who knew how to solve them all, and he sat right in the center of the room—the seating arrangement itself was quite interesting.

Although Kanna was a bit nervous, he was confident. He had figured out the meaning of this final hidden question. As long as the relevant conditions were met, he would pass: report others (abandon the worthless 'captured'), take responsibility (sacrifice oneself to protect the important intelligence officer), and finally deliver the intelligence (let the intelligence officer pass smoothly and eliminate the proctor's suspicion of them).

Ao's lips curled into a faint smile. He ignored Kanna and said, "Since that is the case, Kanna, Kyu Shichito, and Mujin Kurumi are disqualified. Tachibana Rei, Jia Ma, Yuji, and Linqin Yu Yuli are innocent. Now, is there anyone else who wishes to report or turn themselves in?"

"You bastard! Just you wait!" The guy named Mujin Kurumi pointed at Kanna and cursed, his face full of indignation.

Kanna remained unmoved, putting his hands behind his back and signaling Ringo Ameyuri not to step forward.

Ameyuri understood and gave up on the idea of standing up to report or turn herself in. Clearly, she had roughly understood the procedure for passing from Kanna's actions.

However, this exam didn't need too many people turning themselves in. Those named by Kanna were effectively under his protection; as long as they waited quietly, they would naturally pass.

"I! I want to report someone too!"

Soon, an impatient candidate stood up and pointed at a few others.

"Yong Kong, this guy cheated off me, and Yura is the same."

The candidates he pointed out kept their faces dark and said nothing.

"Are there any more?" Ao asked again.

"Me too!" Another person stood up, then rattled off a few names, "It's them, they copied me!"

"Mm." Ao was noncommittal. "Any more?"

This time, Zabuza also stood up and said in a deep voice, "Like Kanna Nanako, I will report others first, then turn myself in."

"Oh?" The smile on Ao's face grew wider. He nodded and said, "Please, go ahead."

Zabuza first casually reported a few ordinary examinees, then pointed out several "intelligence agents" whose work he had copied. Kanna smiled without a word, watching Zabuza's performance from behind.

After Zabuza, several other examinees followed a similar method: report first, then confess. Very quickly, everyone in the examination hall had been named; not a single person was left out.

This also indirectly proved that Kanna's words were all nonsense. Many people here had discovered who the "intelligence agents" were and who the "ordinary team members" were. The claims about having no energy to pay attention to their surroundings were all just excuses; a ninja's focus would never be fixed on only one thing.

Clap, clap, clap! Ao began to applaud.

"So many people colluding to cheat—truly rare, spectacular! Absolutely spectacular!" Ao intimidated them with a wicked sense of humor. "In that case, I can also tell you the final verdict."

"Kanna, Zabuza," and this group were those who turned themselves in.

"Also Tachibana Rei, Jia Ma, Yuji, and Linqin Yu Yuli," these people were the ones being protected.

The people whose names were called stood up one by one, waiting for the sentence.

"I announce that these people—" Ao paused, then waved his hand, a gratified smile appearing on his stern face.

"All pass!"

(PS: A written exam like this actually has hidden questions?)