"I'll go with you."
The Chunin proctor beside him, Kotetsu Hagane, stood up and bound Shikamaru's hands, then pulled out a black cloth and blindfolded him before leading him out of the exam room.
The other candidates who saw this felt a chill. Apparently, the proctors had taken every precaution even for trips to the bathroom.
Shikamaru didn't care in the slightest. After following Kotetsu Hagane out of the classroom, he deliberately asked, "Where's the bathroom?"
Kotetsu Hagane smacked him right on his pineapple-shaped head.
"I'll lead the way. No more talking."
Shikamaru chuckled, knowing his gamble had paid off.
They were heading in exactly the direction Naruto would be going next—the Third Exam Arena.
Shikamaru had graduated from the Ninja Academy himself. How could he not know where the bathrooms were? There was actually one at either end of the hallway.
He would be taken past either the First Exam Arena or the Third Exam Arena. Luckily, the Third Exam Arena was the one he needed to pass right now.
Meanwhile, inside the Third Exam Arena...
N-Naruto?
Ino stared at Naruto in shock. She wasn't the only one; everyone else who knew him looked just as stunned.
"Number ninety-seven, cheating with a secret technique. Number fifteen, cheating with dojutsu. Six points deducted from each."
Naruto tapped the desk, then turned to catch another cheater.
Neji was stunned too, because the two people who had just been caught were him and Ino.
Naruto hadn't gone easy on them just because they knew each other. On the contrary, he had once again disregarded the rule that being caught cheating cost two points and hit them with a heavy penalty.
Losing six points meant their work on the first six questions had been a waste... their copying, rather. Did that leave them