Konoha.
Inside the examination hall.
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
To the many Genin in the hall, those ten minutes had felt like torture.
Morino Ibiki stood at the podium, a stopwatch pinched between his fingers.
He raised his head, his scar-covered face sweeping across the room.
"Time's up!"
All the examinees stopped what they were doing at once.
Naruto hurriedly dispelled his Miniature Shadow Clone.
His palms were drenched in sweat.
He had been so focused on copying that he had not noticed the time at all.
Sasuke leaned back in his chair as the crimson in his Sharingan quietly faded.
Neji also closed his eyes, cutting off his Byakugan's vision.
On both sides of the examination hall, the Proctor Chunin holding writing boards rose one after another.
Moving in perfect unison, they gathered the recorded lists at the podium.
Morino Ibiki took the lists and flipped through two pages.
The classroom was so silent that a pin drop could be heard.
The hundreds of Genin barely dared to breathe.
"Now."
"I will announce the results of the first examination."
Morino Ibiki tossed the lists onto the desk.
He braced both hands against the podium and leaned forward slightly.
"Other than the trash who were caught cheating earlier."
"Everyone still sitting in this classroom..."
He deliberately dragged out the last word, his gaze razor-sharp.
Sakura nervously twisted her fingers together.
She knew Naruto could never answer those questions, and she had already prepared herself to be eliminated.
"All of you pass!"
The moment those four words came out, the examination hall fell deathly silent.
"What? We passed just like that?"
"But I handed in a blank paper!"
"Is this some kind of joke?! The questions were so hard, and the collective responsibility rule was so