All Kinds of Test-Takers

1. The written test used a point-deduction system, with each person starting with a perfect score of 10. There were 10 questions in total, and each wrong answer deducted 1 point.

2. Whenever an examiner discovered "cheating or behavior deemed to be cheating," 2 points would be deducted immediately for each occurrence.

3. Whether the written test was passed would be determined by the "team total score" of each three-person ninja squad—10 points per person, 30 points for three people.

4. If all questions were answered incorrectly or a person was caught cheating five times, reducing their score to 0, the other two members of the same ninja squad would also be deemed to have failed, and the entire team would be eliminated.

5. The examination lasted 60 minutes.

The rules for the first test were written clearly in white chalk against the blackboard.

"These are the rules for the first test. Now, turn over the covered exam papers in front of you to the answer side."

After putting the chalk back into its box, Ibiki Morino, the chief examiner, glanced at the clock hanging on the examination room wall.

The clock read exactly four in the afternoon.

"The test begins!"

Ibiki announced the official start of the examination.

Naruto glanced at the test rules Ibiki had written on the blackboard, then turned his attention to the paper before him.

The first question on the paper was codebreaking.

Just like the questions he remembered.

Naruto lost interest in the following eight questions and fixed his gaze directly on the final one.

[10. At the 45-minute mark, the chief examiner will personally present a question. Write the correct answer according to the chief examiner's question. You will have 15 minutes to answer.]

It seemed the core of this written test had not changed.

Of course... how could Ibiki have imagined that the questions he had painstakingly prepared by applying interrogation techniques to an examination

would be an open-book test for the current Naruto?

Having confirmed the purpose of Ibiki, the chief examiner for the first test,

Naruto no longer felt nervous about this exam.

What was more, because his seat was near the back, Naruto began observing the reactions of the other examinees with interest.

Naruto noticed that no one had started writing yet.

At the very start of the test, all the examinees behaved as though they had agreed beforehand.

They first read through the papers, looking for questions they were confident they could answer first.

However, Ibiki had deliberately increased the difficulty of the nine questions already printed on this exam paper.

Yet the questions were not so difficult that the examinees could not understand them at all.

Ibiki's questions were highly targeted. The examinees could understand what was being asked, but they had no way to answer correctly.

Moreover, they would clearly realize that blindly answering these questions by "leaving it to luck" would never produce the correct answers.

The questions on the paper were simply not something Genin-level ninja could answer.

It did not take long to read through the paper.

Yet no one in the room had begun answering, which already explained the situation.

However, the Chunin hidden among the examinees had not started writing either, leaving Naruto briefly puzzled.

Could it be that this time, Ibiki had not arranged for Chunin who knew the answers to mingle among the examinees like in the original story?

The moment the question surfaced in his mind, Naruto dismissed it himself.

Those two Chunin disguised as examinees had probably received Ibiki's instructions not to start answering immediately.

With a 60-minute time limit, the tension of not knowing the correct answers would turn into irritation and oppression as time passed.

The less time remained, the more examinees unable to answer would lose their composure.

They would become unable to think through the true purpose of the test and act rashly—not using ninja methods to cheat, but resorting to the stupidest kind of ordinary cheating.

These examinees without any talent as ninja were Ibiki's highest-priority targets for elimination.

Besides those types, there were also examinees who could not answer a single question, failed to notice the purpose of the test, and did not even dare to cheat.

They would place their hopes on the on-site question that would come after the 45-minute mark.

But most of the interrogation techniques Ibiki had prepared for this test were concentrated in the final question.

Even examinees who answered the first nine questions would find it difficult to bear the consequences of getting the final question wrong.

Those who had not earned any points to begin with would only break down faster when faced with Ibiki's on-site question.

But there were exceptions.

Naruto looked at the pink-haired figure seated in the middle of the examination room, a few rows in front of him.

Having finished reading the paper, Sakura had already begun answering.

She was the first examinee in the entire room to put pencil to paper.

She started even earlier than the Chunin who knew the answers and were disguised as examinees.

Perhaps surprised that Sakura, a Genin, possessed such extraordinary reserves of knowledge and was taking the test by "normal means" like an anomaly,

Ibiki watched Sakura with considerable interest for a while.

And as Sakura began writing answers on her paper,

the sound of pencils moving over paper gradually began to rise throughout the room.

The second examinee to begin answering surprised Naruto.

"I didn't expect it to be Karin..."

The speed at which Karin's pencil moved did not look like random scribbling.

It formed a stark contrast with her two Grass Ninja teammates, who were in the same ninja squad as her and were scratching their heads and tugging at their hair.

Karin's theoretical knowledge was actually on par with Sakura's.

But thinking about it carefully, it was perfectly normal for Karin to be a good student.

Whether Sakura or Karin, both of them would become medical ninja with powerful medical ninjutsu in the future.

To become a medical ninja required correspondingly exceptional talent.

But talent was only the entry ticket to becoming a medical ninja. Vast theoretical knowledge was what allowed one to wield medical ninjutsu with ease.

As Naruto enthusiastically observed the various behaviors of the examinees, 15 minutes of the test passed.

The Chunin disguised as examinees finally began answering as well.

If one carefully observed the disguised Chunin, it was actually easy to guess their identities.

There were two Chunin posing as examinees.

The first clue was the number of people.

Ibiki had not had the disguised Chunin participate in the examination as a "ninja squad."

When they lined up to draw their examination seats before the test, perceptive people should have noticed that the number of examinees, which should have been divisible by three, was suddenly short by one.

Or rather... there were two extra people.

The next step was determining who those extra people were.

Naruto's gaze swept over Gaara, Dosu, Neji Hyuga, and Shino Aburame...

Those four had noticed the abnormal number of examinees from the very beginning.

As the two Chunin began answering, the four of them also began using ninjutsu to cheat on the test.

Having personally taken part in this unconventional ninja examination and watched all these different scenes in the test room,

Naruto found it rather interesting.

Unfortunately, even though he knew the purpose of this test, he currently had no means of cheating.

He could only honestly wait until after the 45-minute mark, when Ibiki Morino would reveal the tenth question on the spot.

There were still another 30 minutes before the final question would be announced.

Waiting around for so long was quite tormenting.

Naruto had also grown tired of watching the other examinees make their little moves around the room.

He yawned, and drowsiness suddenly washed over him.

Seriously... whether in my last life or this one, whenever I enter an exam room and can't answer the questions, I start feeling sleepy...

"Naruto, you noticed it too, right?"

At that moment, Temari once again took the initiative to speak to Naruto, just as she had before.

This time, however, her voice was very low, probably to avoid being judged as cheating by the Chunin proctors.

"Noticed what?"

For a moment, Naruto did not understand Temari's abrupt and contextless question.

"The questions on this paper are abnormally difficult."

Temari continued in a whisper.

She did not know whether such a hint would let Naruto realize the true purpose of this test.

Hearing Temari's reminder, Naruto glanced at the paper before her, which was just as blank as his own.

"..."

"I know."

Naruto looked at his own paper again.

Fortunately, after seeing Temari's paper, he remembered that he had forgotten to write his name on his own.

Watching Naruto suddenly begin writing, Temari knew that he had already seen through the "correct" way to cheat on this test.

She looked toward Kankuro, seated ahead of them. Among the three siblings' ninja squad, Temari alone had no means of cheating.

Even if she understood the purpose of the test, there was nothing she could do.

I'm counting on you, Kankuro.

"Okay, I'm done!"

Naruto's voice drew Temari's attention back.

She watched as Naruto shook his still blank test paper.

Done? He had not written a single answer, had he?

Temari was thoroughly confused, unable to understand what Naruto meant by "done."

Then she watched Naruto fold his paper to one side and stack his hands together...

...before simply laying his head on the desk and going to sleep.

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