Outside Konoha.
Training Ground 6.
"Clang—"
The massive bronze gong rang out.
Its sound spread throughout the entire examination venue.
The Genin who had still been fighting all froze.
Some threw back their heads and roared in frustration.
Others collapsed limply to the ground from exhaustion.
Everything had been decided.
A figure stood atop each of the fifty platforms.
Shikaku Nara stood at the chief proctor's stand, holding a sound-amplifying ninja tool.
"Time is up!"
The next moment.
Several masked Anbu ninja flashed into the arena like ghosts.
They moved with extreme efficiency, quickly carrying the injured off the field.
The spectators in the stands held their breath in unison, waiting for the final tally.
"Next, I will announce the names of those remaining on the platforms!"
Shikaku Nara cleared his throat, his voice deafening under the amplification of Chakra.
"Konoha, thirty-seven!"
The entire venue fell silent for a moment.
The next second.
Konoha's villagers flushed red with excitement and waved their arms wildly.
"We won!"
"We took more than half the spots!"
"Long live Konoha!"
In contrast.
The section occupied by spectators from the other villages seemed to have been drained of all air.
Their faces were ashen, and not one of them spoke.
The Jonin leading the Four Great Ninja Villages gripped the railings so tightly that their knuckles turned white.
"How is this possible...?"
A Kumogakure Jonin muttered to himself.
The ones they had sent were the most elite and talented Genin in their village!
Yet they had all been swept out by Konoha's monster brats as if they were trash!
Ignoring the reactions around him, Shikaku Nara continued reading.
"Kumogakure, five!"
"Iwagakure, three!"
"Kirigakure, two!"
"Sunagakure, two!"
"Takigakure, one!"
This list was like a sharp dagger stabbing into the hearts of the leaders of the four