Forest of Death

"Ah, what a pain. So you guys came to take this troublesome exam too!" Shikamaru yawned lazily, looking completely unmotivated.

At that moment, all eyes turned toward Naruto and the others. Their side was rather noisy, drawing the displeasure of many examinees. Quite a few Genin had carried out life-or-death missions before, and with every gaze focused on them, it gave off a hair-raising feeling at first glance.

Naruto also noticed that they had become the center of attention. Facing everyone's killing intent, he raised his fist.

"No matter who you are, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I absolutely won't lose to you! Prepare yourselves to be defeated by me!"

As Naruto's words fell, the killing intent grew even stronger. Shikamaru could not help rubbing his forehead. This had become even more troublesome.

A few people seemed about to make a move. A white-haired young man wearing glasses had just stepped forward when the Jonin examiners suddenly entered and interrupted him.

The lead Jonin examiner was Ibiki Morino, a burly man with a scar across his face. He roared, "I am your chief examiner, Ibiki Morino. The first round of the Chunin Exams will begin shortly. Hand in your application forms in order, collect your number tags, and take your assigned seats. The written test papers will be handed out soon!"

"A written test?!" Sakura and Sasuke looked toward Naruto, both curious whether he was still the same as he had been at the Academy.

Everyone's seats were assigned. The three members of Team 7 were separated, while Hinata Hyuga of Team 8 happened to sit to Naruto's right.

Once everyone had taken their seats, the test papers were distributed, and Ibiki Morino explained the rules for the upcoming exam.

There were ten questions on the test. One point would be deducted for every wrong answer, and getting every question wrong meant a score of zero. The final score would be based on the team's combined total.

Everyone began with ten points. This exam used a deduction system, with a total possible team score of thirty points. Most importantly, if anyone was caught cheating by a proctor, two points would be deducted per offense. If someone lost all their points, their entire team would be disqualified from the exam.

When he mentioned that most important rule, Naruto clearly sensed two killing intents staring at his back. They were obviously afraid of being eliminated along with him.

"Naruto, let's do our best together!" Hinata spoke softly, still so shy that she looked as though she might faint.

"Yeah, Hinata. Thanks!" Naruto thanked her, then looked at the test paper before him, took a deep breath, and slumped onto the desk. He sent his consciousness into his inner space to ask the Nine-Tails for help.

"Naruto?" All the classmates familiar with Naruto were dumbfounded.

Shikamaru rubbed his forehead and said enviously, "What a pain. I want to sleep too. I have no motivation at all!"

Sakura's inner self was about to explode with rage. "Aah... Naruto, what are you doing?! I'm so mad! How can you sleep at a time like this?!"

Sasuke sighed softly. Although Naruto had changed a lot, he was still the dead last Sasuke knew.

Ino bit her finger, deep in thought. She had been so focused on Sasuke before that she had completely forgotten about Naruto. What is Naruto doing? He's actually sleeping. Tch, that idiot. What if he drags Sasuke down?

Within the inner space, Naruto looked pleadingly at the Nine-Tails, who had now become a shut-in.

"Please, Kurama. You've seen and learned so much. You definitely know how to answer these questions."

"Get lost. Don't touch me! Besides, don't you already know what happens next? What are you worried about?" Kurama yawned lazily. Ever since he had created the Projection Technique, he had used the things from Awen's memories as movies to watch. Later, Kurama had even planned to make games and such.

Naruto said, "Sasuke actually won his spar with Rock Lee before. That must be the butterfly effect Awen talked about. What if the contents of this exam changed because of me? I'd be finished. Please, Kurama!"

Kurama rolled his eyes at Naruto. "Since you know about Awen's memories, why come to me? Awen was a top student. Even with a Divine City household registration, he got into Wudaokou Technical College."

"Huh? Is that really that impressive?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Of course it is. There are over a billion people in that country... Sigh, why am I even saying all this? Hurry up and get lost. Stop bothering me. And if Orochimaru comes out, don't bother me about that either." Kurama narrowed his eyes, and his words left Naruto utterly stunned.

Naruto hurriedly shouted, "Wait, Kurama! Are you really not going to help me? That's Orochimaru, one of the three! How could I possibly be his match right now? And he wants to harm Sasuke too. What if some butterfly effect happens and he decides to forcibly kidnap Sasuke right away? Wouldn't Sasuke be in danger then?"

"Hmph! What does that have to do with me..." Kurama fixed Naruto with his vertical pupils, looking very serious. "Naruto, you're getting more and more presumptuous with me. I only helped you last time because you wanted to save Haku. Besides, you've grown much stronger this past year. Have some faith in yourself. Ninjas need more than personal strength. They need intelligence too, don't they?"

Naruto fell into thought. Intelligence... right. Come to think of it, during the graduation exam, Kakashi had let them pass right away after learning that Naruto had gathered intelligence. He had even skipped the combat portion entirely. And he had intelligence on Orochimaru, as well as his own abilities.

Suddenly thinking of something, Naruto's lips curled upward. "I understand, Kurama. Leave Orochimaru to me. I promise I'll make him suffer."

Back in reality, Naruto woke up and began writing his answers. Sakura and Sasuke, who had been secretly watching him, could not help letting out sighs of relief.

Ibiki Morino watched Naruto suddenly pick up his pen and walked over in confusion. Using the excuse of making his rounds, he glanced at Naruto's test paper and could not help thinking, Strange. His name is Naruto, right? That brat rumored to be the Nine-Tails. He was the dead last at the Academy and loved playing pranks. How could he possibly know these beyond-the-curriculum questions? Or did he use some cheating method that even I failed to notice?!

Thinking of that final possibility, Ibiki Morino watched Naruto even more closely, making the other examinees seated nearby restless as they wondered whether they had been discovered.

Hinata used her Byakugan to look at Naruto's test paper. After secretly copying the answers herself, she looked at his paper again and found that every answer was correct. At that moment, Hinata had the same thought as Ibiki Morino at the front of the room: how had Naruto cheated?

Ino, who had been preparing to use the Mind Body Switch Technique to help Naruto, stopped when she saw this. The exam time slowly came to an end, and after Ibiki Morino announced the psychologically grueling tenth question, Naruto passed the first round without any pressure and advanced to the second exam.

The second exam would be held in the Forest of Death at Training Ground 44, and the danger of this round was real—people could die.