The Chunin Exams (5)

"Then I'll only count your score. All right, no more talking." Ibiki said to Yin Xiang. Yin Xiang nodded. "I'm done."

"Huh?!" Everyone in the room froze and looked at Yin Xiang. He stood up and placed his test paper on the desk. "Even without the last question, nine points is enough to pass, right?"

"What?" The proctors were startled, too. How had he answered these questions? The problems on this exam weren't something Genin could solve. The real goal was to test their intelligence-gathering skills.

They had planted people in the room who could solve the questions. Yin Xiang had finished the test while Ibiki was still talking.

"Are you sure?" Ibiki asked, looking at Yin Xiang.

"Sure," Yin Xiang said.

"All right. Then wait for the results." Ibiki walked over, took Yin Xiang's test paper, and handed it to a proctor, who began grading it.

The other examinees had also figured out the purpose of the exam and began using their own methods to cheat. Some were caught and immediately disqualified. Others stood up and demanded proof, only to be subdued by force.

One by one, people were escorted out. Yin Xiang's test paper was graded, and every answer was correct.

The cheating methods used in the room varied: Neji's Byakugan, Sasuke's Sharingan, Shino's insects, Kiba's dog, Tenten's Manipulation Technique, Gaara's Third Eye, Kankuro's puppet, and Ino's Mind Transfer Jutsu.

"Ah." Yin Xiang sighed. Being too smart was a kind of loneliness. He already knew how things would turn out, but he still had to wait patiently.

At last, forty-five minutes had passed. It was time to announce the tenth question.

Ibiki explained the desperate rule. "First, you must choose whether or not to answer the tenth question."

"If we have to choose, what happens if we decide not to answer?" Temari couldn't help asking from the side.

"If you choose not to answer, you'll be given a zero on the spot. In other words, you'll fail. Of course, your two teammates will be disqualified along with you."

"What is this?!"

"Then obviously we have to choose to answer!"

"Disqualifying our teammates too? That rule is ridiculous!" The examinees below erupted in protest.

"Then there's another rule. If you choose to answer but get it wrong, you'll be permanently barred from taking the Chunin Exams!" That was a truly desperate rule.

It was psychological torture. If they chose to answer and got it wrong, they could never take the Chunin Exams again. If they refused to answer, they would fail this exam.

"How can there be such a stupid rule?" Kiba stood up and shouted at Ibiki. "There are people here who've taken the Chunin Exams many times!"

"Heh heh. Hahahaha." Ibiki laughed at that. "You're out of luck. This year, I am the rules. Besides, didn't I give you a way out? If you're not confident, just choose not to answer. You can come back next year or the year after."

Sakura was panicking inside. How can this be? That means if just one of the three chooses not to answer, all three of us will be disqualified. If we choose to answer and get it wrong, that person will be a Genin for life. Either way, we're doomed. How could any sane person choose? Cold sweat ran down Sakura's face.

"Then let's begin. Anyone who doesn't want to answer the tenth question, raise your hand. After we check your number, you may leave." Ibiki looked at the examinees, his gaze sweeping across each of them.

Everyone was struggling with the choice. Yin Xiang leaned back in his chair with his arms folded. He had no teammates—only himself—so the pressure was much lighter for him. Besides, he was confident he could answer correctly.

After that, many people raised their hands one after another and left the exam room. By then, Sakura had already figured things out. Even if Naruto raised his hand, she wouldn't blame him. But Naruto still hadn't raised his hand.

Just as Sakura was about to raise her hand for Naruto, he lifted his. A moment later, he slammed it down on the desk and stood up. "Don't underestimate me! I won't run away at the last minute! I'm taking the exam. Even if I'm a Genin for the rest of my life, I'll still become Hokage through sheer determination! It's fine! I'm not scared at all!" Naruto shouted at Ibiki, then dropped back into his seat.

"I'll ask you one more time. This is a choice that will determine the rest of your lives. If you want to give up, do it now." Ibiki looked at Naruto.

"I'll stick to what I said! That's my Ninja Way!" After Naruto stood up and spoke, the unease in everyone's hearts vanished. Seventy-nine people remained—more than Ibiki had expected.

Ibiki exchanged glances with the other Chunin proctors, then looked at the Genin. "You've shown admirable resolve. Everyone who remained here has passed the first exam!"

"Huh?" Naruto's hand went limp, and his pencil fell onto the desk. He hadn't expected that.

"Wait! What's going on? How can we suddenly pass? What was the tenth question?" Sakura stood up and looked at Ibiki.

At last, Ibiki smiled, his face no longer stern. "Hahaha. There was no such thing from the beginning. If anything, the choice you just made was the tenth question."

"Wait!" Temari called from the side. "Then what were the first nine questions for? Were they completely pointless?"

"They weren't completely pointless. The first nine questions served the purpose of the exam: testing each of your intelligence-gathering skills," Ibiki explained.

"First, the key to this exam was hinted at in the rules from the start. Having the three of you judged as a unit put you under unimaginable pressure—the fear that you'd drag your teammates down with you."

"Mhm, I figured that was what this exam was all about," Naruto said, putting on airs, though he hadn't actually figured it out at all.

"But the questions on this exam were obviously impossible for Genin to answer. Naturally, most people in the room would realize that. To earn points, they had no choice but to cheat. So this exam was designed on the assumption that you would cheat."

"Therefore, as targets for you to cheat off, I chose two Chunin who knew all the answers and had them hide among you from the beginning."

"It took me a lot of effort to find them," someone said from the side.