Room 301.
At the podium, Ibiki Morino's scar-covered face was darker than the bottom of a pot.
"If you don't want to take the exam, get out now."
Ibiki's voice echoed through the classroom.
Son Goten sat in his seat, twirling a pencil.
He stared at the exam paper he had been given, his eyes as wide as saucers.
Question one: Calculate the correction angle for a Shuriken in a force-seven crosswind when the distance between the apex of its parabolic trajectory and the target is fifty meters, accounting for the air resistance coefficient.
Question two: Decode the enemy undercover ninja's contact code using the following ciphertext, and briefly explain your decryption logic.
Question three: ...
Son Goten slammed his pencil onto the desk.
What the hell was all this?
He knew every word individually, so why did putting them together turn them into some unreadable heavenly script?
This was harder than suppressing his ki to an ordinary person's level!
"You've got to be kidding."
Son Goten slumped over his desk, puffing out his cheeks.
A Saiyan's brain was built for fighting and finding delicious food. These scraps of paper that he couldn't even eat were an insult to his intelligence.
They wanted him to calculate a Shuriken's trajectory?
One Kamehameha would blast both the person and the mountain flat. What angle would he need to calculate?
The scratching of pencils came from all around him.
Some people were cheating with ninjutsu.
Mirrors on the ceiling reflected light, sand flowed across the floor, and there were even bugs buzzing around.
Son Goten curled his lip.
Since everyone was showing off their special talents, he couldn't fall behind either.
He closed his eyes.
Ki Sensing, full power.
A three-dimensional image of the entire classroom instantly formed in his mind.
Every person's heartbeat, every breath, even the friction of pencil tips scraping across paper was clear and distinct.
He didn't need to look.
In this world of perception, nothing could hide.
Son Goten swept the "radar" of his attention diagonally forward.
A short-haired girl sat there, her head lowered as her pencil flew across the page.
Hinata Hyuga.
"Found you, my straight-A wife."
The corners of Son Goten's mouth lifted slightly.
Through his ki perception, every movement of Hinata's pencil tip looked like a glowing line.
But he soon frowned.
Too much trouble.
Reconstructing the words from the movements of her pencil tip alone would take too much brainpower with such a densely packed exam paper.
It would burn through a lot of sugar, leaving him very hungry after the exam.
He needed a more direct method.
Son Goten opened his eyes and leaned forward slightly.
He happened to be sitting diagonally behind Hinata.
"Hey..."
Son Goten lowered his voice to a mosquito-like hum.
"Hinata, honey... Hinata, honey..."
The girl in front of him suddenly stiffened.
Hinata's pencil hand trembled, and ink spread into a small black spot on her paper.
She turned her head slightly, her cheeks already red to the tips of her ears.
"G-Goten..."
Hinata's voice was quieter than a mosquito. Without listening closely, it would have been impossible to hear her.
"Don't talk. You'll lose points."
"This question's too hard. I don't know it, and it doesn't know me."
Son Goten stared at Hinata's back without a trace of shame.
"Hurry and move your paper to the side so I can see."
Hinata looked around in a panic.
The proctors were watching every corner like hawks.
She bit her lip and carefully moved her paper two centimeters toward the edge of the desk.
Son Goten narrowed his eyes.
No good.
Her arm was blocking more than half of it.
His eyesight was good, but this angle was too awkward.
"Honey, a little farther. I can't see."
Son Goten grew a little anxious.
He glanced from side to side, confirming that the proctors hadn't noticed this blind spot.
Then.
He stretched out his leg beneath the desk.
Son Goten gently reached forward with his toes, touching Hinata's calf with perfect accuracy.
It felt soft and warm.
Son Goten lightly scraped his toes along Hinata's calf.
This was his self-invented "Morse code."
It meant: Hurry up, I'm going to fail.
"Eep!"
Hinata let out a short cry, her whole body jolting as though she had been electrocuted.
Her face instantly turned as red as a ripe tomato, and a wisp of white steam even rose from the top of her head.
That tingling sensation shot from her leg straight to the crown of her head.
Goten... was touching her leg?
In the exam room?
During this serious written test?
"Q-quiet!"
Ibiki glared over from the podium.
Hinata shrank into herself in fright, tears welling in her eyes.
Son Goten pulled his foot back and looked at the ceiling as though nothing had happened.
Once Ibiki looked away, he stretched his foot over again.
He rubbed against her again.
This time, he used a little more force, gently pressing against Hinata's white trousers.
"Honey, save me, or I'll have to go back to Ichiraku Ramen and wash dishes for the rest of my life."
Son Goten muttered under his breath.
Hinata felt as though she was about to faint.
The sensation was far too distinct. Goten's foot kept rubbing against her leg like a kitten seeking affection, but also as though urging her on.
If she didn't let him see... he would definitely keep up this "harassment."
Besides, if Goten really failed...
Hinata took a deep breath, fighting back her embarrassment and her heartbeat that was about to go into overload.
She pushed her entire paper right to the very edge of the desk.
Every answer was in plain sight.
"Awesome! Long live my wife!"
Son Goten's eyes lit up, and the pencil in his hand instantly became a blur.
Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch!
His copying speed was astonishing.
In less than two minutes, the once-blank paper was filled from top to bottom.
Son Goten set down his pencil in satisfaction, giving Hinata's leg another light tap with his toes in thanks.
Hinata buried her head in her arms, feeling too ashamed to face anyone.
Time ticked by, second after second.
At last, the final moment arrived.
"Now, I will announce the tenth question."
Ibiki's voice was deep and forceful.
"You may choose not to answer this question. If you don't answer, you get zero points, but you can take the exam again next time."
"If you choose to answer and get it wrong, you will lose the right to take the Chunin Ninja Exams forever and remain a genin for the rest of your life!"
The classroom instantly erupted.
Pressure weighed on every candidate's heart like a mountain.
Quite a few people broke under the pressure, raising their hands to withdraw.
Son Goten propped up his chin and watched the blond-haired boy's back in the front row.
Naruto was still trembling.
But he knew this guy definitely wouldn't leave.
Bang!
Sure enough, Naruto slammed his palm onto the desk and stood up.
"Don't underestimate me! I'll never give up!"
"Even if I stay a genin forever, I'm still going to become Hokage! Speaking my mind is my ninja way!"
His shout rang out with tremendous force.
The wavering candidates' eyes grew resolute again.
Watching this, a hint of a smile appeared on Ibiki's face.
"Very good."
"Since you're all prepared."
"Then I hereby announce..."
Ibiki removed his head covering, revealing his scar-covered bald head.
"Everyone here has passed the first exam!"
The cheers nearly blew the roof off.
"Yes!"
Naruto jumped up in excitement.
Son Goten crumpled his paper into a ball and casually tossed it into the trash.
He immediately rushed to the front and threw his arms around Hinata, who had just stood up and was still a little weak in the knees.
"Honey! You were amazing!"
Son Goten buried his face against Hinata's not-yet-fully-developed chest and nuzzled hard.
"Without your answers, I really would've been done for."
"You saved my life!"
Hinata went as stiff as a board, her face so red it looked ready to bleed.
Nearby, Kiba Inuzuka watched with his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"Hey! Son Goten! Let go of Hinata, you jerk!"
Kiba shouted in exasperation.
Son Goten ignored him completely, still hugging the soft Hinata tightly.
"To repay my wife's great kindness."
Son Goten let go, placed both hands on Hinata's shoulders, and looked utterly serious.
"Ichiraku Ramen tonight is on me!"
"I'll get you two extra eggs! The biggest ones!"
Looking at the face so close to hers, Hinata's brain finally shut down completely.
Thud.
Her eyes rolled back, and she fell straight backward.
"Huh? Honey, what's wrong?"
Son Goten reacted swiftly, catching Hinata around the waist.
"Did you faint from hunger? I told you written exams burn too many calories!"
Son Goten hoisted the unconscious Hinata onto his shoulder like a sack of rice.
"Let's go! Time to get my wife something nourishing!"
Before you continue