Sunny Helper and Panda Eyes

"Long time no see, Ryusuke."

While Ino and the other two girls went aside to chat, Nara Shikamaru walked in with his hands clasped behind his head and greeted Ryusuke as well.

Glancing at the examinees watching them warily, many of whom still had tear streaks and fear on their faces, Nara Shikamaru instantly understood what had happened. "Looks like you gave them a pretty brutal lesson."

"Long time no see, Shikamaru, Choji."

Ryusuke smiled. "I was just reminding them whose home field this is."

After saying that, Ryusuke greeted Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha, who had walked over. "Long time no see, Naruto, Sasuke."

Seeing that Ryusuke had not ignored him, Naruto's face immediately lit up.

Just as he raised his hand to respond, Sasuke Uchiha beside him suddenly stepped in front of Ryusuke. Tilting his head up at Ryusuke, who was over ten centimeters taller than him, he provocatively declared with a proud expression, "Seeing you here for the Chunin Exams puts my mind at ease... This time, I'll show you the strength of the Uchiha Clan."

"Judging by the look of you, you must have awakened the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai."

Ryusuke smiled gently. "I'm also curious about the power of the Sharingan. I hope we meet in the upcoming exams."

"You'll see it."

At that moment, Sasuke Uchiha seemed to have returned to how he had been in fifth grade.

Ever since he had lost to Ryusuke in the fifth-grade No-Rules Duel, this proud genius had been silent for an entire year.

Back then, he had already given up any hope of surpassing the monstrous Ryusuke in the basics.

But now, Sasuke Uchiha no longer seemed to regard Ryusuke as much of a threat.

Only after awakening the Sharingan on his own, with both eyes evolving into the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, had Sasuke Uchiha realized the difference between having a Kekkei Genkai and not having one.

Ryusuke was merely a civilian. If he still only knew those same few moves, then he was no longer worthy of being his opponent.

Even so, Sasuke Uchiha still wanted to fight Ryusuke. He wanted to reclaim the dignity he had lost over the past few years from this guy.

Ryusuke did not know what Sasuke Uchiha was thinking. Otherwise, three words would definitely have come to mind—Sunny Helper!

The sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and Uchiha Sasuke thought he was tough again.

Seeing the self-assured Sasuke Uchiha, Ryusuke did not discourage him.

A little confidence was good. That way, Sasuke would keep coming to challenge him, and Ryusuke's chances of obtaining Indra's Chakra would be higher.

"Don't disturb everyone here. Let's find our seats first."

Hearing Ryusuke's voice, Ino and the other two girls, who had been whispering nearby, immediately walked over.

The three teams then began looking for their seats.

Because Ryusuke had intimidated the entire room, the gathering of the three teams did not provoke public outrage. Yakushi Kabuto also could not find an excuse to join in and show off his superb acting skills.

Along the way, every examinee whose gaze Ryusuke swept over lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes at all.

Only a few genin who had not been affected earlier and were highly confident in their own strength fearlessly met Ryusuke's gaze, their eyes filled with fighting spirit.

Ryusuke soon found his seat.

However, when he saw who was seated beside him, a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.

The moment he sat down, a voice suppressing its excitement sounded beside his ear. "What's your name?"

Turning his head to glance at the young man beside him, who carried a gourd on his back and had dark circles as black as ink, Ryusuke knowingly asked with a smile, "My name is Ryusuke. And you?"

"My name is Gaara."

Gaara's face remained expressionless, but his excited, murderous tone made it seem as though he were wearing a savage grin. "You're strong. You're an opponent worth killing."

"I can smell a strong scent of sand on you. Your face and body are covered in armor formed from sand, aren't they?" Ryusuke said in a vaguely mocking tone. "As expected of a ninja from the Land of Wind. You really know how to play with sand."

"..."

Gaara remained expressionless, but he was slightly startled inside—and even more excited.

This guy had seen through his Sand Armor at a glance. He truly was different from those people.

If he could get this guy's blood, Mother would surely be very happy!

At that thought, sand that ignored gravity and a terrifying aura surged from Gaara's body, frightening Temari and Kankuro, who had been watching him from not far away. Their faces filled with panic as they prepared to get up and calm Gaara down.

Just then, Ryusuke said lightly, "If you make a move now, you'll be disqualified from the exam."

Hearing this, Gaara's aura paused slightly before slowly subsiding.

"If I meet you in the upcoming exams, I'll kill you," Gaara said expressionlessly.

"You can't do it."

Ryusuke shook his head and smiled. "My affinity happens to counter yours, unless your strength surpasses mine by several levels."

Gaara said nothing more.

But in his heart, Ryusuke had already surpassed Sasuke Uchiha as his preferred prey.

Bang—

The sound of a balloon bursting suddenly echoed through the entire examination room.

A huge cloud of white smoke appeared out of thin air at the front of the room.

After the smoke dispersed, chief examiner Ibiki Morino and his team of proctors made their grand entrance.

Since no conflicts had occurred, Ibiki Morino did not waste any words. After explaining the rules, the first stage of the Chunin Exams began.

When the test papers were handed out, most of the examinees showed troubled expressions.

Ryusuke also frowned slightly.

The questions on the paper were not particularly difficult for him, but they were much more advanced than sixth-grade material.

Once he thought of what this exam was truly testing, Ryusuke understood.

If the questions were not difficult, how could they force these examinees to cheat?

Ryusuke picked up the pen handed out with the test paper and began answering the questions.

Before long, the examinees also began showing off their abilities, using all kinds of methods to copy other people's answers.

Even Gaara beside Ryusuke used the Sand Eye.

Ryusuke glanced at Gaara, the corners of his lips curving slightly upward.

He was very curious about what Gaara's expression looked like beneath his Sand Armor when he saw these questions.

During this time, quite a few examinees also chose to copy Ryusuke's answers.

Ryusuke noticed all of their methods, but he did not care and simply let them copy.

The true question of the first exam was the unrevealed tenth question, which was meant to psychologically torment the weak.

Anyone unable to withstand that pressure would choose to forfeit.

These other questions were merely incidental.

However, competing for first place had already become a habit for Ryusuke.

Even knowing the true nature of this exam, he had no intention of turning in a blank paper.

Besides, Ryusuke had always preferred playing it safe. Who knew whether a butterfly effect might occur?

If he did not write a single answer and a butterfly effect truly happened in the end, would that not make him a joke?

Soon, more than half of the one-hour answering period had passed.

"Everyone, put down your pens."

With Ibiki Morino's voice, the moment to reveal the tenth question had finally arrived.

The previous chapter had omitted the seat numbers. It has been corrected.