Everyone had been bracing themselves, ready to face the judgment of fate, only for Ibiki to suddenly say something like that!
It was like throwing a punch with all their strength, only to hit cotton, with the damage rebounding straight back onto them. It felt awful!
What did he mean, everyone passed? What happened to the tenth question?
Naruto's expression froze, and the pencil in his hand fell onto his desk.
For a moment, everyone seemed to have turned into an idiot, staring blankly at Ibiki.
Ibiki said nothing, quietly waiting for them to digest the news.
Then a ninja stood up and protested, "What the hell are you playing at? We haven't even answered the tenth question! How did we suddenly all pass?!"
It wasn't that he didn't want to pass the exam. It was just too strange. The atmosphere had been so tense before, and everyone had mentally prepared themselves to face the executioner's block, only for all that thunder to produce barely any rain. It felt like they had been played, and that was incredibly irritating!
Even though the outcome was welcome, being toyed with still left them annoyed. That was only human nature, so everyone stared intently at Ibiki, waiting to see how he would explain himself.
Ibiki wasn't angered by the rude remark. He seemed like an entirely different person now. Although he wasn't smiling, even the scars on his face looked softer. He was no longer as aggressive as before, no longer putting them under such heavy pressure.
He said, "There was never a tenth question. Or rather, the tenth question was that choice you just made!"
At those words, the somewhat noisy examination room quieted down a little. Some of the quicker thinkers seemed to have vaguely grasped something and lowered their heads