Stealing the Pillar and Replacing It, Sneak Attack

Before long, the examiner for the first test, Nara Shikaku, arrived and handed everyone a test paper with ten questions, worth ten points each.

Only after answering six questions correctly could one advance to the next round.

"Cheating is forbidden during the test. Ten points will be deducted for every offense. After five offenses, you will be removed from the examination. Begin!"

Nara Shikaku did not put on any mysterious airs. After properly announcing the rules, he began the test.

However, most of his attention was focused on Chentian. He could not be bothered to look at anyone else.

The purpose of this test was intelligence gathering, and by coincidence, a Chunin who had been planted there was seated beside Chentian.

As long as they copied down his answers, they could pass, so Chentian was in no hurry to act. Instead, he watched the others with great interest.

"Number forty-five cheated once. Ten points deducted!"

"Number one hundred and seven cheated three times. Ten points deducted!"

"Number two hundred and thirty-three cheated five times. Leave with your teammates!"

The examiner's voice rang out continuously, making Chentian shake his head again and again. Coming to take the Chunin Exams with skills like that—was this a joke?

It was only now that Chentian noticed everyone else was in teams of three. It seemed he was the only one taking the exam alone!

That damned Minato. He actually didn't tell me about something like this. Just you wait!

After viciously cursing in his heart, he finally forced himself to calm down.

Seeing Chentian sitting there with nothing to do, Nara Shikaku was somewhat puzzled.

He had heard Chentian's name plenty of times. He did not believe a test like this could stump him.

But half the testing time had already passed. Was he still not going to make a move?

Putting himself in Chentian's shoes, Nara Shikaku simply could not imagine what method he intended to use.

"Hm? You finally finished writing?"

At that moment, the Chunin beside Chentian had filled his test paper from top to bottom, every answer correct.

Looking at the Chunin, Chentian gave a creepy grin.

The next moment, he stretched lazily. His left hand rested on the test paper on his desk, while the fingertips of his right hand accidentally touched the Chunin's paper.

Whoosh!

In an instant, Chentian's blank test paper appeared on the Chunin's desk, while the other man's paper landed in his hands.

Other than Nara Shikaku, no one noticed this scene at all. Even the other examiners could not see through it.

Only the planted examiner wore a bewildered expression, questioning his very life.

I came in here so you could copy my answers, but you people would not even spare my test paper?

Do you know how exhausting it was to fill out a paper like this?

Nara Shikaku, the only one who knew what had happened, had the corner of his mouth twitching wildly. If he had not seen Minato use this ninjutsu before, he would not have known what had happened either.

We are testing intelligence-gathering ability, not thievery, damn it!

Looking at the densely filled test paper in his hands, Chentian smiled smugly. He casually changed the name and set it down.

He inwardly looked down on the others. Working so hard to copy answers was just too low!

Earlier, he had merely made clever use of his self-created ninjutsu, Personal Space.

He placed his left hand on his own test paper and stored it away. Then, after his right hand accidentally touched the other person's paper, he stored that away as well.

Then, the instant it was stored, he released it again. As long as he controlled the timing well, no one would be able to notice.

Just like now—even the paper's original owner had a completely baffled expression.

After pulling off the switch, Chentian lay on the desk and began sleeping, too lazy to watch the others desperately signaling at one another.

Half an hour later, the first test ended. Nearly two hundred people had been eliminated for cheating.

Of the more than five hundred ninjas who had originally taken the test, only a little over three hundred remained.

And that was not even the final number. After the examiners reviewed the papers, anyone who scored below sixty would also be eliminated.

By Chentian's estimate, it would be decent if a hundred people remained.

But that had nothing to do with him. It would be best if every last one of them got eliminated, so he swaggered out of the examination hall.

But he did not see that after he left, inside an unknown small ninja village's group, a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old man with several vicious scars on his face stared at him intently and followed him out of the examination hall.

Chentian truly did not know the name of this ninja village, because it was simply too small.

Even their team leader was only a Chunin. No one paid them any attention at all.

After leaving the examination hall, Chentian wandered around alone.

He strolled about aimlessly and, without realizing it, arrived at Training Ground Four. This was where his path as a ninja had begun.

Perhaps because of the Chunin Exams, Might Guy was unexpectedly not there.

Bored, Chentian was about to leave, but the instant he turned around, a savage, terrifying fire dragon came hurtling toward him from behind.

"Earth Style—Earth Wall!"

Rumble...!

"Water Style—Tearing Torrent!"

After blocking the fire dragon, Chentian did not even glance back before releasing a ninjutsu at top speed.

Only after the waterfall-like torrent surged out did he have time to see who had attacked him.

The moment he looked, Chentian understood. Someone from the bounty exchange had actually come all the way to Konoha.

There was a three-petaled white flower on this person's right sleeve. Jiraiya had told him that it was the mark of the bounty exchange.

Chentian remembered this scar-faced man. He was one of the people who had taken the Chunin Exams earlier.

"Good, very good!" Chentian laughed in fury, his voice brimming with killing intent. "You dared come to Konoha, so don't even think about leaving!"

"Fire Style—Fire Dragon Bullet!"

"Water Style—Water Dragon Bullet!"

At once, a water dragon and a fire dragon spiraled toward the enemy.

Meanwhile, Chentian vanished from the enemy's sight with a Body Flicker Technique. Lightning Blade quietly formed in his right hand as he charged forward at high speed.

Seeing Chentian react so quickly, the attacker immediately raised an Earth Wall in defense.

But under the collision of the water and fire dragons, the Earth Wall lasted only one second before shattering.

However, that one second gave him room to evade, allowing him to escape with a Body Flicker Technique.

But in the next instant, Chentian suddenly appeared. His blue right hand stabbed viciously into the attacker's chest.

Poof!

Smoke rose as the man's body suddenly vanished. The one killed had merely been a Shadow Clone.

The man himself had already appeared behind Chentian, thrusting a kunai toward him.

"Lightning Style—Ground Current!"

Chentian had been prepared. The hand seals he had formed in advance immediately took effect.

A bolt of lightning flashed, and the person behind him instantly froze. Chentian swung his right hand, and Lightning Blade mercilessly sliced across the attacker's neck.

The next moment, the man's head and body separated. He was dead beyond doubt.