The examination hall was the Ninja Academy's largest tiered classroom. All 237 seats were packed, with participating genin from twelve ninja villages already in place.
A row of long tables stood in front of the podium. Morino Ibiki, dressed in a dark overcoat, stood in the middle. The scars on his face cast shadows beneath the classroom lights, while five or six chunin proctors sat neatly beside him.
Three more chairs had been placed on the raised platform behind the podium. Chiba sat in the center chair, Anko sat to the right with one leg crossed over the other as she cracked sunflower seeds, and Yugao sat to the left with her eyes closed in quiet rest.
Morino Ibiki cleared his throat and was just about to announce the written test rules when a voice came down from the platform above.
"Ibiki-senpai, I'll handle the first round today."
Morino Ibiki turned to look at Chiba, and the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched.
He had received no prior notice that the chief examiner would personally take over the first test. The Third Hokage had tasked him with filtering the participants through psychological warfare. The questions had already been prepared, and the rules and signals had been coordinated with the chunin proctors.
"Lord Senju, the written test questions and rules have already..."
"No need."
Chiba rose from the platform. The hem of his ceremonial robe swayed open and settled again with the movement. He jumped down from the edge of the platform and landed on the podium, his landing so light it was nearly silent.
"Ibiki-senpai's psychological tactics are certainly clever, but they're too slow. I don't have the patience to wait while you play guessing games for an hour."
Morino Ibiki's expression did not change, but he took