Submitting a Blank Paper

After hearing Su Bai's words, the entire exam hall fell silent.

Ibiki did not let up. He continued pressing Su Bai. "You'd better think this through. Don't drag your teammates down and make it so they can never become Chūnin either."

Su Bai smiled calmly. "My teammates aren't afraid of being dragged down by me, because we are a team. We share glory and disgrace."

After hearing Su Bai's words, the unease and wavering in the remaining examinees' hearts gradually settled.

Before they realized it, not a single person chose to withdraw from the exam.

Hinata and Sakura looked at Su Bai with eyes full of admiration and appreciation.

Sasuke and Naruto also wore confident smiles.

After some more time passed, Ibiki looked around the exam hall and found that no examinees were raising their hands to withdraw.

He glanced at the assistant examiner beside him. The two exchanged a look and silently reached an understanding.

It seemed that no one would withdraw even if they waited longer.

Ibiki took a deep breath and loudly announced, "Next, I officially declare that all of you have passed the first exam!"

The examinees below were initially bewildered, looking at one another as though they could not believe their ears.

Then, whispers spread throughout the exam hall.

"What's going on? Haven't we answered the tenth question yet?"

"Yeah, we passed just like that? Is this some kind of joke?"

"Could there be some hidden trick to this?"

All kinds of doubts lingered in everyone's minds. No one had expected the exam to end in such an unexpected way.

Everyone began talking among themselves, discussing the sudden development and trying to make sense of it.

Ibiki patiently explained, "The true purpose of the first exam was to test your ability to gather intelligence and your mental state under pressure."

"The earlier questions were extremely difficult in order to push you into finding ways to cheat. Several examinees planted by me were hidden in the exam hall. They wrote down the standard answers so that you could copy them."

"And throughout this entire exam, what was truly being tested was your means and ability to obtain intelligence."

At this point, Ibiki removed his headscarf, revealing a scalp covered in scars.

It was densely covered in drill holes and knife scars, clear evidence that he had endured inhuman torture and interrogation.

In this way, he proved to the examinees how important intelligence was in the ninja world.

Ibiki then explained the purpose of the tenth question. It was nothing more than a test of the examinees' psychological endurance, using the risk of withdrawing from the exam.

Su Bai had little interest in his lengthy explanation. The exam was already over, so the rest did not matter.

The second exam, the survival challenge, was where Su Bai needed to be fully alert.

There would be plenty of battles there, with experience points lying all over the ground.

At the very least, he could raise his fusion rate from 6% to 8%.

It might even reach 9%!

Just as Ibiki finished speaking, a black cloth bundle suddenly flew in through the window.

It arced through the exam hall, and with a sharp smack, two kunai embedded themselves firmly in the wall before the podium.

Immediately afterward, a curvaceous female ninja appeared in front of the cloth bundle. She was Anko, the chief examiner for the second exam and a Konoha jōnin.

Anko used the black cloth to block Ibiki from view, signaling that his task was complete and that he could leave.

She then swept her gaze across the exam hall and complained with a frown, "Why are there still so many of you left? You're really no fun at all."

She snorted, a hint of threat in her voice. "Don't worry. In the next exam, I'll cut your numbers by at least half!"

After saying that, Anko motioned for all the examinees to follow her to the site of the second exam.

After the examinees gradually left, Ibiki remained alone in the exam hall to collect the papers.

When he came to Su Bai's seat, he discovered that Su Bai had handed in a blank paper, which greatly surprised him.

He had not expected the questions and trials he had so carefully designed to be so easily passed in this manner.

Ibiki could not help but smile. "Su Bai, what an interesting young man."

Huge trees blotted out the sky and sun. The iron gate at the entrance bore the large words "Danger: No Entry," radiating an ominous air.

Then, Anko began introducing the examination site.

This was Training Ground 44, known as the Forest of Death...

Su Bai silently assessed his current strength so he could determine his plan of action after entering the forest.

As for Kidō, he had Hado No. 4, White Lightning, which he could use without chanting. It could be applied flexibly for long-range attacks and ambushes.

His Flash Step had reached the intermediate level, meaning that even if he encountered an opponent he could not defeat, he could escape quickly.

With his speed, probably very few people could catch up to him.

His close-combat ability was not bad either. He possessed the basic hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship of Shin'ō Academy.

Su Bai calmly analyzed the situation for the upcoming exam.

Before the second exam, each team would receive a scroll, randomly assigned as either the Book of Heaven or the Earth Scroll.

The rules were simple: within five days, every team had to obtain both the Heaven and Earth scrolls and safely reach the tower at the center of the Forest of Death in order to pass.

However, before entering the examination site, all examinees had to sign a consent form.

This meant that if they unfortunately died during the exam, they alone would bear responsibility, and it would have nothing to do with Konoha Village.

In other words, they could slaughter one another without restraint in the Forest of Death, without worrying about any consequences.

To Su Bai, this rule was practically telling him outright—

"There's tons of experience here. Come on!"

Su Bai rapidly considered how to gain as much as possible from this exam.

According to the original plot, Team 7 would encounter Orochimaru's attack in the Forest of Death.

And Orochimaru was also among the strongest in the ninja world.

He had to pick up the experience from this wave!

With his current strength, facing this major boss of the ninja world head-on would undoubtedly be suicide.

Watching from afar was the best option.

Still, Naruto and Sasuke could be made to give it their all.

Orochimaru had infiltrated the examination site this time to plant a cursed seal on Sasuke, preparing to take his body in the future.

Therefore, he would not truly try to kill Sasuke.

As for Naruto, Orochimaru would be even less willing to act rashly.

If the Nine-Tails' power erupted, it would probably disrupt all of his plans.

At that thought, a plan formed in Su Bai's mind.

Once Orochimaru appeared, he would hide to one side first.

Then, at the right moment, he would cheer Naruto and Sasuke on, provoking them into fighting Orochimaru with all their strength.

That way, he could ensure his own safety while reaping experience points without lifting a finger. It was simply killing two birds with one stone.

While Su Bai was still running simulations in his mind, Naruto had already returned with the scroll.

The Book of Heaven was carefully put away by Sasuke.

The mission began.

The teams entered the Forest of Death.

Not long afterward, Su Bai felt that it was about time to carry out his plan.

He looked around and silently marveled at how vast the forest was and how complex its terrain was. If they became separated from their teammates, they would probably find it difficult to meet up again.

But that suited him perfectly.

Su Bai cleared his throat and said in a tone that allowed no argument, "Next, I plan to act alone for a while."

"Huh? Why?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he asked with a confused expression.