Thanks to Naruto, who sat off to one side with his legs crossed, even the one minute allotted for free discussion in the exam room was remarkably orderly.
"Who exactly is that guy..."
"Idiot, don't look at him! We've only got a minute. Hurry up and work out a strategy!"
"A strategy... how are we supposed to do that? We won't even be in the same exam room, and they said no cheating. All those proctors will be watching us."
"Speaking of watching us, I sure don't want to be in the same room as that little blond—"
"Do you have a death wish?!"
His teammate immediately panicked and cut him off.
"Are you kidding me? This exam uses our team's combined score. Lose one person, and our maximum score is automatically a third lower than everyone else's. Don't get us disqualified over something you say!"
"Let's figure out what to do instead. The proctors definitely didn't give us this minute to complain."
Everyone kept their voices low, afraid of attracting Naruto's attention.
Of course, some weren't intimidated by Naruto's performance and instead studied him with interest.
"...Tch. Another brat putting on airs."
Kankuro's face was full of disdain. Although he had barely registered Naruto's movements earlier and was deeply shocked, he never lost to anyone when it came to running his mouth.
"He's a proctor. Keep that temper of yours in check, or he might single you out later."
Temari gave her younger brother an exasperated warning.
"..." Gaara said nothing, but he kept staring at Naruto's face.
For some reason, deep inside him, he felt something rise toward this boy who was still wearing that "sinister grin"...
A profound loathing and rejection.
The leader of the Kirigakure team, on the other hand, looked openly impressed by Naruto.
"That