Chunin Exams (5)

"Then I shall only count your individual score. Very well, stop talking now," Ibiki said to Yin Xiang. Yin Xiang nodded, "Then I am finished."

"Eh?!" The entire room was stunned, and everyone turned to look at Yin Xiang. Yin Xiang stood up and placed his test paper on the desk, "Even without the last question, nine points should be enough to pass, right?"

"What?" The proctors were also taken aback. How did he manage to solve these problems? The questions for this exam were clearly not things these genin could solve; the true purpose was to test the genin's ability to gather intelligence.

They had arranged for people capable of solving the questions to be present, yet he had finished the test while Ibiki was still speaking.

"Are you sure?" Ibiki looked at Yin Xiang and asked.

"I am sure," Yin Xiang said.

"Good, then wait for the results." Ibiki walked over, took Yin Xiang's test paper, and handed it to a proctor, who began to grade it.

The other examinees also noticed the purpose of the exam and began using their own methods to cheat. Some were caught and immediately eliminated; naturally, some stood up to demand proof, only to be suppressed by force.

One after another, people were kicked out. Yin Xiang's test paper was finished being graded, and every answer was correct.

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

"Sigh," Yin Xiang sighed. Being too smart was also a form of loneliness. Although Yin Xiang already knew the final outcome, he still had to wait patiently.

Finally, forty-five minutes passed, and it was time to announce the tenth question.

Ibiki said this was the rule of despair, "First, you must choose whether or not you want to answer this tenth question."

"We have to choose? Then what happens if we choose not to answer the tenth question?" Temari couldn't help but ask from the side.

"If you choose not to, the examinee will be judged as having a score of zero on the spot, which means failure. Naturally, your two teammates will also be eliminated together."

"What is this about!"

"In that case, we definitely have to choose to answer."

"A rule where you get dragged down and eliminated is just too unreasonable," the examinees below were in an uproar.

"Furthermore, there is one more rule: if you choose to answer but get it wrong, then the examinee will be stripped of the qualification to take the Chunin Exams forever!" This was truly a rule that induced despair.

It was mental torture. If one chose to answer and got it wrong, they could never take the Chunin Exams again; if one chose not to answer, this Chunin Exam would be considered a failure.

"How can there be such a stupid rule!" Kiba stood up and shouted at Ibiki, "After all, there are guys here who have taken the Chunin Exams many times!"

"Heh heh, hahahaha." Ibiki laughed after hearing this, "Your luck is too poor. This year, I am the rule. Besides, didn't I give you a way out? Those who lack confidence should just honestly choose not to answer and come back to take the exam next year or the year after."

Sakura felt very panicked inside, How can this be? That means as long as one of the three chooses not to answer, all three will be eliminated. If you choose to answer but get it wrong, that person can only be a genin for the rest of their life. No matter which you choose, it's terrible. Any normal person wouldn't be able to make this choice. Cold sweat dripped down Sakura's face.

"Then, let us begin. For this tenth question, those who will not answer, please raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, please leave this place," Ibiki said, looking at the examinees present, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

Everyone was struggling internally. Yin Xiang sat with his arms crossed, leaning against his chair. He had no teammates, only himself, so the pressure was much smaller for him, and he was confident he could answer correctly.

Afterward, many people raised their hands one after another and left the exam hall. In fact, by this time, Sakura had already made up her mind; even if Naruto raised his hand, she wouldn't blame him, but Naruto was slow to raise his hand.

Just as Sakura was about to raise her hand for Naruto, Naruto raised his own. A moment later, Naruto slammed his hand onto the desk and stood up, "Don't underestimate me! I won't run away! I'll take the test! Even if I'm a genin for the rest of my life, I'll become Hokage on sheer guts alone! It's fine! I'm not scared at all!" Naruto shouted at Ibiki, then plopped back down.

"I will ask one more time. This is a choice that gambles with your lives. If you want to give up, do it now," Ibiki said, looking at Naruto.

"To live by what I say, that is my Ninja Way!" After Naruto stood up and spoke, the anxiety in the hearts of the people in the classroom vanished. There were 79 people left, which was more than Ibiki had anticipated.

After Ibiki exchanged glances with the proctoring Chunin, he looked at the genin, "Your resolve is excellent. Then, for everyone remaining here, I judge you to have passed the first exam!"

"Huh?" Naruto's hand went limp, and his pen dropped onto the desk. He hadn't expected this.

"Wait a minute! What is this situation! Passing all of a sudden? Where is the tenth question?" Sakura stood up and looked at Ibiki.

The serious expression on Ibiki's face finally broke into a smile, "Hahaha, such a thing never existed from the start. If you really have to say it, the choice you just made was the tenth question."

"Wait a minute!" Temari shouted from the side, "Then what about the questions before this! Weren't they completely useless!"

"They were not completely useless. The first nine questions already fulfilled the purpose of the exam, which was to test each of your intelligence-gathering abilities," Ibiki said.

"First, the key point of this exam was hinted at in the initial rules. The method of deciding whether to pass based on a three-person unit was meant to apply unimaginable pressure on you, the fear of dragging your teammates down."

"Mm-hmm, I figured that's what this exam was about," Naruto said, putting on a show, though in reality, he hadn't thought of it at all.

"However, the questions for this exam were, of course, not things you genin could solve. Naturally, it would turn out this way; most people in the hall would realize this. To get points, you could only cheat. Therefore, this exam was premised on cheating."

"Thus, as targets for cheating, I selected two Chunin who knew all the answers and had them lurking among you from the start."

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