The Fastest to Finish

Not a single ninja present didn't want to pass the exam, so naturally, no one was foolish enough to keep making noise after the examiner had told them to be quiet.

"My name is Minato Namikaze. You can call me Examiner Minato. I'll be supervising the first round of the Chunin Ninja Exams."

As Minato introduced himself, he wrote the key points of the Chunin Ninja Exams on the blackboard.

There were ten questions, each worth one point. Every wrong answer would cost one point, and the examinees would be ranked according to their total scores.

Shimizu propped his face up with one hand and listened to Minato's explanation.

"The first round is a written exam. If you cheat—"

Minato paused, then raised his voice for the next part.

"If you're caught, you'll lose two points. If your score reaches zero, you'll fail..."

Minato then handed out the papers to each examinee. The questions were so far beyond their level that many ninjas' eyes widened the moment they saw them.

The examinees' reactions were exactly what Minato had expected. When he'd taken the Chunin Ninja Exams himself, he'd worn the same expression.

Much of the material was well beyond a Genin's knowledge, and some questions even covered topics relevant to Jonin.

That was because this exam wasn't really testing whether the examinees could answer the questions. It was testing their ability to gather information.

The most important kind of battle between ninjas was the battle for information.

Once you knew what ninjutsu your enemy used, it was easy to exploit its weaknesses and come up with a countermeasure.

"This year's examinees are in trouble. The questions are a little harder than last year's."

Behind Minato, an examiner with black markings painted on his head said with glee.

"Yeah."

Minato nodded.

These questions were meant to force them to cheat.

"I hope more of them pass this year."

Minato glanced down at the examinees. In the middle of the exam room, they had stationed two Chunin who knew the answers in advance.

Once an examinee realized the true purpose of the exam, it would be easy to write down the answers—at least for the first nine questions.

Minato kept track of the time, waiting for the clock on the blackboard to reach the right moment so he could announce the tenth question.

"Hmm?"

Minato suddenly noticed one examinee writing as if inspired, without the slightest pause. His head stayed down as he worked steadily through the questions.

His expression was calm, as though he found them effortless.

"That's someone from the Uchiha Clan," the examiner beside him reminded Minato.

"I think his name is Uchiha Shimizu. He has a special talent for medical ninjutsu."

"I see."

Minato vaguely recalled Kushina Uzumaki mentioning him once, but he hadn't paid much attention at the time.

Uchiha Shimizu was just a Genin he didn't know well. Minato was usually busy developing new ninjutsu and didn't have time to keep track of people like that.

Now that he'd seen Shimizu, his only thought was: Well, he's handsome.

In the silent exam room, the other ninjas were still stunned when they heard the steady scratching of a pen.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound struck them like a heavy hammer.

There were people like this at the Chunin Ninja Exams?

He'd started writing just seconds after receiving the paper?

Many eyes discreetly turned toward the source of the sound: Uchiha Shimizu.

Pakura tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear and watched Shimizu out of the corner of her brown eyes.

That guy... He's the Uchiha from yesterday.

At that moment, the only thought in Pakura's mind was: Are all the ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village this good?

She was considered one of Sunagakure's most talented ninjas, yet she could barely bring herself to start writing. Meanwhile, this Uchiha was already plowing through the questions?

"Shimizu's just writing nonsense, right?"

Asuma Sarutobi could hardly believe it. When he heard Kurenai Yuhi was going to graduate early, he'd hurried to graduate early as well.

He'd done plenty of studying at home to prepare for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

But just looking at these questions made his head spin. He couldn't answer most of them.

A little farther ahead, Kurenai Yuhi was biting her bright red lips so hard they were nearly bleeding. Her fingers gripped her pen until they turned pale.

She hadn't even gotten the chance to challenge Shimizu, and she was already at a disadvantage.

He's spent so much time on theory that his practical skills must have suffered. This is my chance.

Kurenai took a deep breath and started answering the questions.

Everyone had limited energy. She didn't believe Shimizu could have an endless supply of it.

"Quiet!"

One of the examiners shouted as the room grew noisier.

"If you make any more noise or whisper to another examinee, you'll fail the exam."

The noisy room finally fell silent again.

"Examiner, can I hand in my paper early?"

Shimizu raised his hand.

He'd learned a lot through repeated practice exams, and now the theory questions were a breeze.

"No. There's one last question, and it won't be announced until later."

"Oh. Then I'll just forfeit that point."

Shimizu's words left Minato speechless. Nothing like this had ever happened in the history of the exams.

The exam had only been underway for about five minutes, and someone was already handing in their paper.

The Chunin they'd stationed in advance probably hadn't even finished writing the answer key yet. If they wrote too quickly, the other examinees would notice, so they had to adjust their pace accordingly.

"Are you sure you want to hand it in early?"

"Absolutely. I'm confident I can pass this exam. I'll take responsibility for whatever happens."

Shimizu placed the paper on his desk. The tenth question was nothing more than a test of whether the examinees had enough resolve.

Didn't his decision to hand in his paper early prove how resolute he was?

Shimizu then walked straight out of the exam room.

This was bound to cause some trouble, but that didn't matter.

Showing off a little talent could sometimes lead to better results.

Hiruzen Sarutobi would certainly try to recruit him, and even Danzo might make him an offer.

That would force Fugaku to think twice about whether it was worth suppressing him.

After Shimizu left, the examinees stared at one another, wide-eyed.

Their psychological pressure shot through the roof. Some of them had already begun to suspect that this exam wasn't really about answering the questions, but was testing something else.

Now Shimizu had answered them with such ease. Wasn't that saying their foundations were inadequate—that they simply didn't know enough?

"This..."

With those words, he'd made it clear he'd bear the consequences himself and press on without hesitation. That was, in fact, the standard answer to the tenth question.

Minato picked up Shimizu's paper and saw it filled with neat, beautiful handwriting. Every solution was correct, and he'd even included multiple ways to solve some of the questions.

"Uchiha Shimizu..."

Minato buried the name in his heart. Perhaps he was witnessing history in the making.

Was he witnessing another Kakashi rise to prominence?

The Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe as he spoke with Uchiha Fugaku beside him.

The Uchiha Clan was responsible for maintaining security in Konoha, while the Anbu handled similar duties.

The two departments often had overlapping responsibilities and clashed, so they needed to coordinate constantly.

"Lord Hokage, this is the list of those who passed the first round this year."

A Jonin entered the room and handed Hiruzen a list printed in black ink on white paper.

Hiruzen gave it his usual cursory glance. It looked much the same as in previous years.

Most of those who passed were from ninja clans; very few were civilian ninjas.

Suddenly, his brows knitted together, and he called out to the Jonin who was about to leave.

"Was the time recorded incorrectly? Five minutes and thirty seconds to pass the exam?"