"Okay, forty-five minutes are up. Now we have to announce the tenth question."
Ibiki Morino suddenly made a sound, and many candidates looked up at him with heavy expressions.
Are there only fifteen minutes left before the end of the exam?
"First, you have to choose whether to answer question ten."
Do you want to answer? What do you mean?
Temari did not have the same cheating methods as her two younger brothers. She was able to finish writing because Kankuro sent her an answer after finishing the cheating.
In the stressful environment deliberately created by Ibiki Morino, she did not hold back and asked.
"Leave it to us to choose? What if you choose not to answer the tenth question?"
Ibiki Morino's calm voice responded to her.
"If the candidate does not choose to answer the tenth question, he will receive zero points directly, which means he fails. Correspondingly, his two companions will also be eliminated."
There was a buzz of discussion in the examination room.
"Also..."
Ibiki's voice sounded again, not loud, but like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's tense nerves, "There is one more rule."
And?
The candidates' hearts were raised again and they held their breath.
Ibiki's eyes swept over every pale face, and then announced the last rule:
"If you choose to answer the question..."
He deliberately lengthened his tone.
"... But there are no correct answers..."
There was a brief pause, and the fear reached its peak.
"... Then, the candidate will be permanently deprived of the qualification to participate in Chunin Ninja Exams in the future!"
Disqualified forever!
Like the final death knell.
With a "buzz" sound, many candidates' minds went blank.
If you choose not to answer, you will get zero points and your teammates will be eliminated.
If you choose to answer the question, if you get it wrong, you will never be Chunin again in this life!
Where is the multiple choice question here?
This is clearly a fork in the road leading to despair!
No matter which side you choose, there seems to be no hope!
Huge fear, pressure, and confusion about the future flooded the entire examination room like a tide.
Many candidates with poor psychological quality turned pale as paper and their bodies began to tremble slightly uncontrollably.
The luck and confidence that I had used to "answer" the first nine questions by various means were shattered in the face of the naked and cruel rules that related to my future Ninja career.
Ibiki Morino stood quietly on the podium, like a rock and like a god who judges fate.
He just wants to use this tenth question, this unprecedented "choice" and "punishment", to torture these young Ninja's will, determination, and awareness of their "Chunin" qualifications!
Pressure!
In this almost suffocating heavy silence, Naruto seemed unusually calm.
His eyes did not stay too much on the imposing examiner on the podium, but turned his head slightly and looked at Hinata sitting next to him.
He could clearly feel the tension in Hinata's body.
She lowered her head, clenching the corners of her clothes tightly with both hands, her knuckles turning white from the exertion, and her slender shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly.
Her pure white eyes were lowered, and her long eyelashes trembled like frightened butterfly wings. She was obviously under tremendous psychological pressure.
Naruto's heart twitched slightly.
He knew that according to the original trajectory, Hinata would eventually choose to continue answering questions.
But "knowing" is one thing, "seeing her struggling with fear" is another.
He couldn't sit back and watch.
Under the cover of the table, Naruto quietly slid his right hand off the table, and then held Left Hand, who was tightly grasped by Hinata's clothes.
Hinata's hands were cold and still shaking slightly.
Naruto's palms are warm and dry, with a reassuring power.
His movements were very light, but they could not be refused.
Hinata trembled all over, raised his head suddenly like a frightened deer, and looked at Naruto with his pure white eyes in shock.
Two red clouds flew up instantly on his face, and even the roots of his ears were dyed crimson.
She subconsciously wanted to withdraw her hand, but Naruto held it firmly and with just the right amount of strength, giving her support without making her feel uncomfortable or forced.
"Ming, Naruto-kun..."
She whispered and frantically wanted to say something.
Naruto didn't look at her, he still looked straight ahead, as if he was just doing something ordinary.
He said in a voice that only two people could hear:
"Don't worry."
His voice was calm, without any tension or anxiety that should be expected when facing a "desperate situation". Instead, it carried a strange and reassuring temperature.
"I'm here."
Three simple words, but they seemed to have a huge power, instantly dispelling the vast haze and coldness in Hinata's heart.
The warm touch came from the back of her hand, all the way to the bottom of her panicked heart.
Ibiki stood on the podium like a rock, with those sharp eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, like searchlights, slowly scanning every young face below that was pale, struggling, or determined.
The despair and pressure that permeated the examination room was exactly the "testing ground" he deliberately created and was happy to see its results.
Enjoying the struggle of the "person being interrogated" is also a little bit of fun for him as ANBU Interrogation Department.
However, when his cold eyes swept across the examination room, he captured a "little episode" that was incompatible with the solemn atmosphere around him.
Naruto Uzumaki, Kid, who has blond hair and is considered "famous" in Konoha, is tilting his head slightly and whispering something into the ear of Miss Hyuga Clan on his right.
Although Girl's cheeks were flushed and his head was lowered at this moment, his body was no longer as tense and trembling as before, and he even faintly shook Naruto's hand at some point.
The secretive, comforting and dependent interaction between the two people cannot be hidden from the eyes of torture experts with astonishing insight like Ibiki.
Naruto didn't want to hide it at first. The examiners were all Konoha, so they would naturally turn a blind eye.
Ibiki On the face with staggered scars, the corners of the mouth curved slightly upward, almost imperceptibly.
'This Kid... he's not stupid.'
It can be seen from the last time he asked Third for Kakashi and Hanare for Marriage Application Form, Ibiki.
This Kid is definitely good at this.
Inoichi's daughter probably likes him too.
Interrogation Department and Analysis Division have had many contacts, and he and Inoichi Yamanaka can be considered colleagues.
'I really didn't expect that one day I would be able to eat melons and eat them next to Inoichi.'
So, who will Kid choose?
You can't possibly want both, right?
Thinking of this, the smile on Ibiki's face almost couldn't help but expand.
However, his expression at this moment was completely different in the eyes of the candidates below who were extremely nervous and frightened.
His scar-covered face was twisted into an almost ferocious look because of the corners of his mouth that he tried his best to restrain but couldn't help but raise.
Coupled with the oppressive feeling brought by his black trench coat and the cruel rules just announced, this smile looks like a sinister smile after a conspiracy has succeeded and he is enjoying the frustration and pain of everyone!
It was as if he was happy to see these young Ninja struggling in despair, collapsing in fear, and giving up under pressure.
This "smile" was like the last straw, crushing some candidates with weak psychological defenses.
Some people covered their heads and struggled internally, while others slumped on their chairs with gloomy faces.