Chunin Exams Begin

"Mori Takuma! If you don't get up now, you're going to be late for the exam!"

Takuma crawled out from under his covers and pulled open the window. Tenten was standing downstairs, her hands cupped around her mouth like a megaphone, looking up and shouting.

When he arrived at the school gate, Yakumo and Tetsu were already there.

Tenten waved goodbye and went off to find the other two members of Team Guy.

Takuma walked up to the pair, scanned his surroundings, and lowered his voice. "Once we go in, remember one thing: no matter if you know how to answer the questions or not, don't panic. Just scribble something for the first few questions; the point is to kill time."

Yakumo frowned. "Kill time? Why?"

"I suspect the written test isn't the real assessment." Takuma gathered his thoughts. He knew the criteria, but he couldn't explain how, so he had to frame his reasoning based on common sense. "Think about it. The Chunin Exams happen every three years, and the elites from every village are here. If the standard was just academic, then ninjas who specialize in Taijutsu wouldn't even need to participate. Konoha isn't that stupid. The real test is likely a stress test, or perhaps something else entirely. Whatever it is, those who panic will be eliminated first."

Yakumo thought it over and found the analysis reasonable. Tetsu rasped out two words: "Logical."

Yakumo stared at him for a moment. "You don't seem nervous at all."

"I am nervous, my face just happens to look calm."

The corner of Yakumo's mouth twitched, and she said nothing more.

The exam room was set in a large classroom on the third floor, and the hallway was already packed with people.

Takuma's gaze lingered for a moment on a white-haired young man with round-rimmed glasses and a gentle smile.

"Excuse me, coming through..."

Naruto waved his arms as he squeezed through the crowd, followed by Sasuke, who looked like he had lost the will to live, and Sakura.

"Yo! Takuma! You're here for the Chunin Exams too!"

Takuma remained expressionless.

Naruto came over, beaming, and threw an arm around his shoulder, only to be dragged away by Sakura, who grabbed him by the collar.

Tetsu stared at Kabuto's back and said in a low voice, "That white-haired guy—something's off."

"I know. Don't worry about it. Let's go in."

Takuma found a seat in the middle of the room, and the other examinees began to take their places.

The moment Takuma saw the face at the podium, he felt at ease. It was indeed Morino Ibiki, the captain of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force.

It matched the plot from his memories perfectly; the trick with the tenth question was his doing.

"Welcome to the first stage of the Chunin selection exams," Ibiki said, his voice low. "I will state the rules only once. First, no fighting, leaving your seat, or harming other examinees during the exam. Anyone who violates this will have their entire team disqualified. Second, cheating is allowed, provided you are not caught by the proctors. There are proctors observing you in the room; you lose two points for every time you are caught. The maximum score is ten, and you are disqualified if you lose all your points. Third, each question has a different point value, and if your team's total score drops below zero, you are disqualified. If any single member of a team is judged to have failed, the entire team is disqualified."

"The exam begins."

Takuma looked down and scanned the paper. There were ten questions. The first nine were standard, professional-level Chunin questions, while the tenth was blank, marked with "To be announced in forty-five minutes."

It was exactly this process. There was no need to take the first eight questions seriously; Ibiki never intended to use them for the assessment from the start. The real test was only the final one.

Time ticked away, second by second. Examinees were constantly being escorted out of the room for being caught cheating, with three chairs emptying each time.

Every time the sound echoed, the remaining examinees grew more nervous. Takuma remained unmoved, continuing to "answer" the questions at a leisurely pace, occasionally looking up at the ceiling.

At the forty-five-minute mark, Ibiki stood at the podium once more.

"I will now announce the content of the tenth question. Before I do, I am adding a new rule... For the tenth question, you may choose whether to answer or not. If you choose not to answer, you are disqualified on the spot, and your entire team is disqualified with you. If you choose to answer but get it wrong, you will be permanently barred from taking the Chunin Exams. You will be a Genin for the rest of your life."

The classroom fell into a deathly silence.

Takuma let out a quiet sigh of relief.

It was exactly the same.

"What, no one is raising their hand?" Ibiki's voice scraped against everyone's nerves like a dull blade. "Those who choose not to answer may raise their hands now. You and your teammates will leave the exam room immediately, and you can try again next year. If those who choose to answer get it wrong, don't even think about becoming a Chunin for the rest of your lives. Think about your teachers, your families. Now, choose."

More and more people raised their hands, and the number of people in the room dwindled rapidly.

Naruto suddenly stood up, raised his right hand, and then slammed it down onto the desk with such force that his test paper bounced.

"Don't underestimate me! I won't run away! Even if I'm a Genin for the rest of my life, I'll still become Hokage!"

The entire room froze.

Those who had raised their hands stopped in their tracks, and the proctors' gazes focused squarely on Naruto.

Ibiki stared at him for a full five seconds, and for the first time, a smile appeared on that scarred, terrifying face.

"Then, I declare that everyone remaining here has passed the first stage of the exam."

A system notification chimed in his mind: [Witnessed "Chunin Exams: First Stage Written Test" completion. Obtained a lottery chance.]

[Lottery result: One Transformers Energon Cube. Can be used to quickly replenish Chakra. Single-use item.]

[System prompt: Lottery items can be stored in the system's internal space. The host may also store previously obtained items in this space.]

A fist-sized cube emitting a faint blue glow appeared in the system space. Takuma was a bit speechless—why did it skip him and draw the prize directly this time? Still, at least he didn't have to hide it.

Why hadn't he noticed this function before? Takuma asked in his mind.

[The storage function unlocks automatically after the host draws a non-consumable item for the first time. The Energon Cube is a consumable item, but its crystalline energy structure is classified by the system as a "storable entity," which triggered the unlock condition.]

Takuma pondered for two seconds and understood: everything he had drawn before was either an ability that merged directly into his body or a pure consumable.

He withdrew his consciousness from the space, feeling fairly good.

This time, the system had actually done three useful things: the lottery gave him a legitimate item, it unlocked storage, and it proactively explained the unlock conditions.

Although the condition sounded like something the system had made up on the spot, he decided not to argue logic with a mysterious cheat code.

Just as Ibiki finished speaking, the classroom windows shattered with a roar.

A figure performed a graceful flip in mid-air and landed steadily in front of the podium.

Konoha Special Jonin, Mitarashi Anko, stood there with a dango skewer in her mouth, her outfit somewhat of an eyesore.

"Now is not the time for you to be celebrating!"

Anko put one hand on her hip, her gaze sweeping over the remaining examinees. "I am the proctor for the second stage of the exam, Mitarashi Anko. Get your spirits up, the real show is just beginning!"

The classroom was silent.

The examinees, having just endured a mental breakdown, were still immersed in the daze of surviving the ordeal, and were startled by the shattered glass and the female ninja who had just crashed through the window.

"There are more people left than I expected. Looks like you went easy on them this time?"

Ibiki pushed up his forehead protector. "It's not my doing. There are a few interesting ones this year."

Anko followed his gaze across the room, pausing for a moment on Naruto, then lingering on Takuma before withdrawing her gaze and turning to all the examinees.

"Still too many people. I'll be eliminating at least half in the second stage."

"Good luck." Ibiki and the other proctors stepped aside.

Anko strode to the center of the room. "The content of the second stage is a wilderness survival exercise. If you don't understand, go ask your team leaders. Dismissed!"