Konoha Ninja Academy, Chunin Exams venue.
The first round of the Joint Chunin Exams was being held in a large tiered lecture hall!
The room was bright and spotless. Sunlight streamed through the wide windows, falling across the pages of the young Genin elite from the various shinobi villages.
But the questions on the exam papers were like an invisible haze of war, full of tactical traps drawn from real battles, labyrinthine intelligence problems, and cold, calculated strategic scenarios.
Qi Luna studied the questions, which were far beyond a Genin's level of knowledge. They couldn't stump him, but he didn't rush to write. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes and naturally clasped his hands beneath the desk, forming a Tiger Seal.
Mind's Eye of the Kagura: Open!
At the same time, he concentrated his chakra and mental energy. Several strands of chakra, finer than a hair and as invisible as spider silk, quietly extended in eight directions.
'Senior Inoichi, can you hear me?'
Yamanaka Inoichi had been preparing to use the Mind Transfer Jutsu to obtain the answers from three Chunin planted in the exam hall who knew the answers. The sudden voice in his mind startled him, and even his hands froze for a moment.
'What is it?'
Though his plan had been disrupted, Inoichi didn't panic. He calmly used Sensory Ninjutsu and an additional application of the Mind Transfer Jutsu to locate Qi Luna and send his reply.
'I'd like to propose a partnership!'
'Go on.'
'I know the answers, and I can use Chakra Threads to link you with your teammates. That way, you can pass my answers on to the rest of your team, and you'll all pass the exam.'
'What do you want in return?'
'My teammates need the answers too. So I'll ask you to do a little extra work and pass them to my two teammates and three other friends!'
'Seven people? Since most of the chakra will come from you anyway, I have no objections. Deal!'
'Pleasure doing business with you!'
'Likewise!'
Qi Luna and Inoichi quickly struck a deal. Meanwhile, the other seven Chakra Threads successfully connected to Minato and the others. Thanks to Qi Luna's vast chakra reserves and precise chakra control, along with the unique effects of the Yamanaka Clan Secret Technique, all nine members of the three teams soon shared the answers!
Working together silently and efficiently, Qi Luna and Inoichi helped all nine secure the correct answers. They rapidly put the information together and filled out their papers with smooth, effortless precision, achieving perfect scores without making a sound!
In the reception room of the Hokage Building, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the scene in his Crystal Ball: Qi Luna sitting with his eyes closed as his teammates worked together in perfect sync. He tapped his pipe with one finger, his undisguised admiration clear in his eyes.
"Under the peaceful sun, perception sharp enough to catch the slightest detail and leadership that guides others without a sound are even more precious than on the battlefield. Uzumaki Qi Luna—this child was born to be an outstanding shinobi!"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, seated beside him, nodded in agreement.
The observers from the other shinobi villages, however, wore increasingly inscrutable expressions...
"The first exam was so easy! I just scribbled down the answers and got a perfect score. Anyone could've done it!"
Kushina was the first to rush out of the exam hall. It was her first perfect score, and in the Chunin Exams, no less, so she was absolutely thrilled.
"We have Qi Luna and Senior Inoichi to thank for that. If you'd taken the exam on your own, you probably wouldn't have answered a single question, would you, Kushina?"
Seeing Kushina get carried away, Akimichi Yoshimaru poured cold water on her without hesitation, his expression full of teasing amusement.
"Yoshimaru! Are you asking for a beating?!"
Caught out, Kushina flew into a rage. Even her red hair swayed with her surging chakra, giving her an intimidating air that made everyone around her feel a little afraid.
"Women are terrifying..."
Nara Shikaku swallowed nervously and muttered to himself.
"We're all friends and fellow villagers. We shouldn't be arguing..."
Unsure what to do, Minato could only try to break up the fight with an awkward smile.
"Hmph. I'll let it go this time for Minato's sake. Don't let it happen again!"
At the sound of Minato's voice, Kushina finally calmed down a little. Still, she clenched her fists and warned Yoshimaru.
"All right, we should get going. The second exam is about to start."
Qi Luna's voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard him clearly. He turned and led the way, his red hair tracing a steady arc in the sunlight filtering through the trees.
Hayama and Nonō immediately followed. The three moved with a wordless understanding, like a tightly coordinated unit, and quietly headed toward Training Ground 44.
Before leaving, Nonō waved to the others.
"We'll be off, then. See you later."
"We should get going too. I hope we can work together again during the second exam."
After exchanging polite farewells, Yamanaka Inoichi left with Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Choza.
"Everyone else has gone ahead. We should hurry too. They'll announce the rules for the second exam in half an hour, so it'd be better to get there early and find out what we can!"
Namikaze Minato offered the suggestion earnestly.
Kushina and Yoshimaru nodded. They were always getting into inexplicable arguments, but when something important came up, they could pull together. Both of them especially listened to Namikaze Minato.
Soon, the Genin who had passed the first round arrived at Training Ground 44, known as the Forest of Death.
It was a lush forest. Sunlight fell along its outskirts, but couldn't dispel the darkness lurking in its depths. It seemed as though countless unknown dangers were lying in wait!
Qi Luna sensed at once how different this forest was from others. It wasn't just the several layers of complex sealing barriers above the forest, or the countless traps hidden among the trees as part of the exam.
The forest itself contained a unique kind of chakra!
'Wood Release...?'
Following Qi Luna's gaze, Nonō said softly,
"This forest... It has a completely different 'scent' from other forests! Along with the traces of sealing formulas, barriers, and Explosive Tags, there are signs of at least three different biological toxins mixed in!"
As a medical ninja and intelligence analyst, she was highly sensitive to unusual changes in the environment.
Hayama gripped the hilt of the sword at his back, his gaze sharpening.
"Looks like the Sealing Squad, Barrier Team, and Trap Squad put a lot of effort into this! Even with the home-field advantage, we can't afford to let our guard down!"
"Yeah. Let's get our mission at the assembly point first. I think I can guess what this exam will involve."
"It'll be testing the teams' wilderness survival, intelligence gathering, and combat abilities. Nothing else."
Qi Luna turned and walked toward the assembly point. He didn't look back. As someone who had read the future script, this familiar scene was nothing he couldn't handle.
When they returned to the assembly point, the examiners in charge of the second round of the Chunin Exams were already taking attendance. If they didn't show up soon, they would probably be considered to have withdrawn, and their entire team would lose the right to continue in the exam!
Additional note:
As the author remembers it, the Forest of Death was created by Hashirama's Wood Release. Though the trees had lost their Wood Release properties over time, they were still much harder than ordinary trees.
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