How Dare You Give Me a Zero!

"Monkey, why did you change the exam questions I set without authorization?"

In the Hokage's office, Danzo, who was watching the exam site in a crystal ball alongside the Third, issued his interrogation.

"I didn't change that much, Danzo." The Third took a puff of his pipe and replied calmly.

"What kind of intelligence is 'name and blood type'? You even slashed the total score in half!"

Danzo's brows furrowed tightly. "And what about the point deductions for intelligence leaks? Why didn't you include those?"

"This is a Chunin exam, Danzo." The Third sounded slightly displeased. "Your standards are far too harsh, and they aren't very friendly to candidates from the great clans."

"That is a risk that ninjas from great clans must bear!" Danzo argued his case firmly.

"Fine, fine... I'm not going to argue with you." The Third waved his hand. "Didn't I shorten the exam time? The effect is about the same."

"Hmph! Such an exam is meaningless. I think it would be better to just cancel it entirely!"

"..."

The Third didn't respond, continuing to smoke his pipe while watching the live feed.

Danzo glared coldly at the Third for a moment, then let out a cold snort and fell silent.

A minute passed.

"You didn't delete my rule about interrogating for intelligence on the spot, did you?" Danzo asked in a cold voice.

"That rule was in there!?" Now it was the Third's turn to be unable to sit still. "How did I miss that?"

"Heh! Does that even need to be written down? Isn't it normal to extract intelligence through torture under extreme conditions?"

"You've gone too far, Danzo... They are all children of Konoha! You would have them torture their own comrades!?"

"You are the one who is too soft, Monkey! This is the world of ninjas; there are no comrades, only missions!"

"I am the Hokage, Danzo! I do not agree!"

"Hmph! You will regret this sooner or later, Monkey!"

"..."

After a fierce clash, the two glared at each other for thirty seconds before tacitly sitting back down to continue watching the crystal ball.

Fortunately, in the exam room shown in the crystal ball, there was no situation where candidates were torturing other candidates.

Moreover, what brought the Third great relief was that, despite the circumstances, several candidates had already begun to hand in their papers early.

"These children truly understand the importance of intelligence. Not bad, not bad..." The Third happily puffed on his pipe, the previous unpleasantness seemingly forgotten.

"Hmph!" Danzo snorted coldly.

The Third switched the view to another exam room.

The situation here... was somewhat special.

"Hm? Little Ruohuo?" The Third looked at the figure in front of the podium, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

"Hm? An Uchiha?" Danzo also stared intently at that figure, his mind recalling the intelligence on this Uchiha brat.

Inside the exam room, Ruohuo looked at the proctor with a serious expression, every strand of hair on his buzz cut seemingly shouting in defiance.

"On what grounds did you give me a zero!"

"On the grounds that I am the proctor!" the burly proctor shouted. "You wrote down twenty Konoha ninjas on your test paper—what kind of intelligence is that!?"

"Why wouldn't that count as intelligence!" Ruohuo raised his voice as well. "Are they not Konoha ninjas? Could they possibly be ninjas from other villages!?"

Ruohuo argued his case stubbornly. "On the battlefield, is such intelligence not important? Don't you need to identify the enemy's identity before you make a move!"

"You should have given me twenty points!"

"I suggest you go back and rewrite it immediately, or your entire team will be disqualified!"

Ruohuo's voice was loud, but there was something inexplicably comical about his childish voice clashing with this proctor.

"This little guy..." The Third chuckled and shook his head, his face wrinkling like an old chrysanthemum.

It seems Orochimaru is destined to be disappointed...

Such an answer clearly wouldn't pass the first stage of the exam.

But that was fine.

Although the war was tense, Konoha was nowhere near the point of needing children on the battlefield.

Letting a little guy like this stay in the village for a few more years wouldn't be a bad thing after all.

However...

"I think this Uchiha brat is right, Monkey."

Danzo suddenly said.

"Hm?" The Third paused, looking at Danzo with a puzzled gaze that gradually sharpened, his expression turning serious.

"He is still a child, Danzo." The Third said in a deep voice. "You had best not have any dangerous ideas."

Old friends for many years; you know my strengths, and I know your depths.

The Third, immediately grasping what Danzo was thinking, issued a stern warning.

"Furthermore, he is Orochimaru's student; it is not your place to interfere."

"I am merely speaking from a logical standpoint, Monkey." Danzo's expression was indifferent, a stark contrast to the irritable old man he had been moments before.

"This Uchiha brat is right. On the battlefield, before initiating any action against an enemy, one must at the very least confirm the enemy's identity."

"His answer certainly deserves points..." Danzo's single eye narrowed. "This was your oversight as well, Monkey."

"Under my rules, examinees who write down the correct intelligence have points deducted, so even if every candidate wrote such an answer, they would not gain a single extra point."

"It was you who arbitrarily altered my rules, leading to this loophole. You must take full responsibility."

Danzo's words were reasonable and grounded, his logic crystal clear.

Yet, the Third remained unmoved from beginning to end.

He fixed a sharp gaze upon Danzo, two eyes locking onto one, continuously exerting pressure.

"I will say this again: he is still a child, and he is Orochimaru's student, Danzo..."

"You had best not set your sights on him."

"These are the rules." Danzo remained equally unmoved, retorting, "Monkey, what exactly are you afraid of? Is it me, or is it the Uchiha?"

"You are too weak, Monkey..." Danzo shook his head.

"I am the Hokage, Danzo!" The Third raised his voice.

Danzo stood up. "You will regret this, Monkey!"

"Is this good enough!"

Inside the crystal ball, Ruohuo's youthful voice rang out once more.

The two old men on either side of the desk paused, looking over in unison, only to see the examiner's expression filled with astonishment.

"Since you knew so much... then why did you answer the test like that just now?"

The examiner had barely finished speaking before he immediately realized the truth. "Did you only see it just now while on the podium?"

"You didn't put the roster away properly, so can you really blame me?"

Ruohuo tilted his head up, his nose in the air. "You said it yourself, all the information is in the examiner's hands. If I don't get the intelligence from you, who else am I supposed to ask?"

The roster was quite comprehensive, listing names, blood types, zodiac signs, ninja registration numbers, and even the supervising jonin.

"Heh! Not bad... to think you could even deceive me."

The examiner let out a cold laugh and took back Ruohuo's test paper.

"Congratulations, kid. You've passed..."

Ruohuo adjusted his forehead protector, ignored him, and walked out with a cool demeanor.

The examiner watched Ruohuo's retreating figure, let out a scoff, checked the time, and flashed a sinister grin at the examinees in the room.

"Only one minute left, candidates..."