In Konoha, the second graduation exam arrived as scheduled. The students who had passed the first round returned to the same auditorium.
Orochimaru soon appeared. He looked over the more than seventy young Ninja before him—the elite of the Ninja Academy.
"Today is the second round of the exam. In terms of strength, you already qualify as Genin, but to me, that is far from enough. I want to see where your limits lie.
"The second round is no different from the first. You will again be divided into ten groups, with three examiners per group. This time, however, every examiner is a Chunin.
"If you believe you aren't strong enough, you may withdraw without consequence. You will still become a Konoha Genin."
The quiet hall grew noisy. A few students whose results had been less impressive hesitated, knowing they were still far from a Chunin's level.
But none of them spoke up. They were all talented young students of the Ninja Academy, and many couldn't bear to admit defeat without trying.
"Lord Hokage, how can we give up before the exam even starts? If we don't dare try, how can we call ourselves Ninja?"
Kakashi looked toward Obito and saw him shouting with excitement. "What an idiot," he muttered.
"Yeah! How can we just give up? I won't!"
"Neither will I!"
More students began shouting, working themselves up for the fight.
Orochimaru nodded, pleased by their fighting spirit.
Figures appeared throughout the hall. These Chunin were the examiners for this round.
"The rules are simple," Nara Shikaku said. "Fight inside the white circle, just as before. Leaving the circle or being knocked down counts as a loss."
A little over ten minutes later, the groups had been assigned, and the exam began.
This round moved even faster than the