Written Exam

Shortly afterward, Team 7 arrived as well, but Sasuke was in bad shape, with an injury on his right cheek.

"Sasuke, do you need treatment?" Hinata asked.

"This little injury is nothing," Sasuke said.

My Sasuke is so strong, Sakura thought.

"Sasuke!" Ino shouted as she ran over and hugged him from behind, making Sakura very unhappy.

"Keep it down," someone said. Everyone turned toward him. He wore round glasses, and his ash-white hair was tied in a ponytail.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But you're still rookies, so it's normal that you don't know me," Kabuto explained.

"Have you taken the exam before?" Sakura continued asking.

"This is actually my seventh attempt," Kabuto said with an embarrassed smile, scratching the back of his head.

"Man, then you must be really weak," Kiba Inuzuka said.

"He smells like snakes. Something's wrong," the Nine-Tails said. Naruto sent out a spy fox.

"Quiet! Take your seats. We're starting the written exam now," Ibiki shouted, and everyone fell silent.

A written exam? This is bad, Naruto thought.

A few minutes later, everyone was seated, with the test papers laid out before them.

"This test has several rules. First: everyone starts with ten points, and one point will be deducted for every incorrect answer. Second: your total score will be determined by your entire team," Ibiki explained. Several people gasped.

Kiba Inuzuka, you'd better pass, or I'll kill you, Sasuke Uchiha thought.

Poor Kiba Inuzuka immediately began sweating profusely.

"Third: two points will be deducted every time you're caught cheating. If you're caught five times, your team will fail. You have forty-five minutes to answer ten questions. Begin," Ibiki said.

Naruto picked up his pencil and opened the test paper.

What is this crap? These questions aren't for genin, Naruto thought as he looked around the classroom.

Aside from a few people, everyone else seemed utterly confused.

There's definitely something fishy going on, Naruto thought over Ibiki's earlier words.

Naruto knew that Ibiki was the head of the Interrogation Department and excelled at mental torture.

"If you're caught cheating, points will be deducted." I get it. We can cheat, but we can't get caught, Naruto thought, scanning the classroom again. He noticed that Hinata had activated her Byakugan and was already writing down answers.

Shino used his insects to scout out people who had answers. Kiba Inuzuka used Akamaru on his head to look down at other people's test papers from above.

Tenten used the mirrors on the ceiling to look at other people's papers.

As a bookworm, Sakura Haruno had already begun writing her answers.

Naruto sent his test paper into his mindscape.

The Nine-Tails helped him fill in the answers, and Naruto then retrieved it.

Once he was done, Naruto lowered his head and decided to sleep.

"Now for the final question," Ibiki began, and everyone focused on listening to him.

"First: you may choose whether or not to answer this question," Ibiki said.

"What happens if we choose not to answer?" Temari asked.

"If you choose not to answer, you automatically fail," Ibiki explained.

"Then of course we'll answer it," someone replied.

"But if you answer incorrectly, you will fail and will never be able to retake the Chunin Exams. That means you'll remain genin for the rest of your life," Ibiki explained.

"What?" someone shouted.

"You can't do that. Some people here are retaking the exam," Kiba Inuzuka said.

"I guess you're just unlucky. My exam, my rules. If you don't want to take the risk, give up," Ibiki said. Everyone began thinking, and several people started leaving.

A few minutes later, Ibiki noticed that Naruto was nearly asleep, so he threw a kunai that landed right in front of him. Naruto did not even move.

"Wake up, Naruto!" Ibiki roared.

"Just get this over with," Naruto began. Ibiki raised an eyebrow. "I won't give up. Even if I'm a genin for the rest of my life, I'll become the first genin Hokage," Naruto said with a smile.

Ibiki looked around the classroom.

"If no one else intends to leave, then there's only one thing left to say... You've all passed," Ibiki said.

"What? Why?" Kiba Inuzuka asked.

"It seems you've already figured it out," Ibiki said, pointing at Naruto.

Naruto sighed and began explaining:

"The first part of the exam was about gathering information. If you remember, Ibiki said that we'd lose points if we were caught cheating. That could only mean we were allowed to cheat, as long as we didn't get caught. Information is half of a battle. The final part was to see whether we had the courage to become chunin. You can't give up just because a mission might be difficult..."

"Correct," Ibiki said.

Suddenly, something flew in through the window.

She threw two kunai at the ceiling.

"Examiner for the second round, Anko—" Anko had only just started shouting when Naruto interrupted her.

"Hey, Anko." Naruto waved his arm.

"Damn it, Naruto, you ruined my entrance!" Anko shouted at him.

"Don't be mad, Anko-chan."

"I'll deal with you later, brat. Now, everyone, head to Training Ground 44. Anyone who doesn't arrive within twenty minutes fails!"

Everyone hurried out of the classroom. Naruto and Hinata used the Body Flicker Technique and arrived there at once.