The atmosphere in the examination room was grim.
Ibiki Morino's face, which looked as though it had suffered a thousand cuts, coupled with his icy gaze, put immense psychological pressure on every Genin present.
"You have one hour! There are ten questions, worth one point each, for a total of ten points."
"We use a deduction system. Every time you're caught cheating, you lose two points, until you have none left!"
"Most importantly, if any one member of a three-person squad is disqualified, their two teammates will immediately be eliminated!"
Ibiki's voice swept through like a freezing wind, leaving quite a few candidates pale.
Ye Chuan sat by the window, calmly looking at the test paper in his hands.
The questions covered codebreaking, ballistic calculations, tactical analysis, geographical knowledge, and even some extremely tricky theory...
Given their difficulty, never mind newly graduated Genin-even many experienced Chunin probably couldn't answer them all correctly.
The first exam was essentially a test of a Genin's ability to gather intelligence discreetly under pressure.
And, ultimately, their resolve when facing unknown risks.
The first nine questions were bait, a screening tool. The real crux lay in the tenth question.
Knowing this, Ye Chuan was very relaxed.
He looked up and scanned the room. Most candidates were staring at their papers with furrowed brows and sweat on their foreheads, clearly daunted by the difficulty of the questions.
But soon, some clever ones began to act.
Three tomoe slowly rotated in Sasuke Uchiha's eyes. He was clearly using the Sharingan's perceptiveness to copy the answering movements of the Chunin ahead of him.
Gaara of Sunagakure formed a tiny eye out of sand and floated it above someone else's paper to peek at it.
Kankuro used a trip to the bathroom as an excuse to leave his puppet in the examination room, secretly observing.
Ino Yamanaka closed her eyes, formed hand seals, and activated the Mind Body Switch Technique.
Although he hadn't seen Neji Hyuga or Hinata make any specific moves, presumably they had also activated their Byakugan, using its ability to see through things to obtain the answers.
Although Ye Chuan's Observation Haki could sense the movements of those around him, and even their emotions.
Unfortunately, it couldn't directly read the answers on their papers.
Still...
He looked down at the questions and discovered that, with the knowledge he had gained from nine years of compulsory education in his previous life, he could solve most of them without any trouble.
"Does this count as another form of cheating?" Ye Chuan couldn't help chuckling.
But he didn't actually put pen to paper.
He knew perfectly well that even a flawless set of answers wouldn't mean much.
He knew that even if he didn't write a single word for the first nine questions, he could still pass as long as he made it through the tenth question's test.
Just like Naruto in the original story.
"Speaking of which..." He glanced at the somewhat restless Kiba Inuzuka.
Before entering the examination room, he had specifically warned Kiba Inuzuka never to give up voluntarily.
Hopefully, the guy would remember.
So Ye Chuan simply rested his head on his desk and closed his eyes. He appeared to be sleeping, but in reality, he had activated his Observation Haki to sense the atmosphere throughout the examination room.
Time ticked by, and soon, forty-five minutes had passed.
Most of the capable candidates had already gathered nearly all the answers to the first nine questions through various means.
At that moment, the head examiner, Ibiki Morino, spoke again:
"All right, everyone! That was just the appetizer. Now, I'll announce the tenth question!"
Every candidate grew alert, knowing the crucial moment had arrived.
"The tenth question is a choice! You may choose to 'answer' or 'not answer'!"
"If you choose 'not to answer,' your squad's score will be zero, and you will immediately be disqualified. But you'll have another chance next year!"
"And those who choose to 'answer'..."
"If you answer incorrectly, you and your teammates will lose the right to take the Chunin Ninja Exams forever!"
Disqualified forever?!
The punishment struck like a bolt from the blue, instantly shattering many candidates' psychological defenses!
"How can that be?!"
"We can never take it again? Doesn't that mean we'll be stuck as Genin for life?"
"This is too hard! What if we get it wrong?"
"I... I give up! I'll come back next year!"
Panic spread like a plague.
Many candidates broke down completely, unwilling to risk permanent disqualification.
Soon, someone raised a trembling hand and chose to give up.
And according to the rules, if one person gave up, their entire squad was eliminated!
For a time, more and more people in the examination room raised their hands to withdraw, leaving their teammates no choice but to leave with them.
Ibiki watched it all coldly, seemingly quite satisfied with the effect.
Just as more and more people were giving up and the oppressive atmosphere reached its peak-
"You've got to be kidding!!!" A roar broke the silence.
Naruto Uzumaki abruptly stood up and slammed his fist onto his desk.
"I'm not giving up here! So what if I stay a Genin for the rest of my life?! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage!!!"
His seemingly foolish declaration was like a piece of red-hot iron dropped into ice water, instantly rekindling the fighting spirit in many people's eyes!
"..."
Watching this, Ye Chuan couldn't help making a wry comment to himself.
As expected of the future grandmaster of talking people around.
Seeing that no one else chose to give up, Ibiki smiled.
"Very good. Then, to all of you who found the resolve to stay... I hereby announce..."
"You have all passed the first exam!"
What?!
Everyone froze.
While they were still processing the result-
Crash! Bang!
Someone smashed through the classroom window! A figure landed firmly on the platform, trailing an enormous banner behind her!
The newcomer was a female ninja wearing a trench coat over a fitted mesh outfit. She was none other than the head examiner for the second exam-Mitaraishi Anko!
"All right! You brats who are still breathing!"
"I'm the head examiner for your second exam, Mitaraishi Anko! This is no time to celebrate! Your next examination site is the Forest of Death! Get yourselves together! Follow me!"
With Anko's theatrical entrance, the first exam officially came to an end.
After briefly explaining the situation, Anko led all the successful candidates toward Training Ground Forty-Four in Konoha's forbidden zone-the dreaded Forest of Death.
Ye Chuan's gaze, however, lingered on neither Anko nor the forest. Instead, he discreetly swept his eyes toward the three Genin mingling with the Kusagakure group nearby.
Especially their leader. Although a hood and long hair concealed his face, that venomous-snake-like presence and the immense chakra faintly emanating from him...
Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass Ninja... He really did come.
Ye Chuan snorted inwardly.
The Chunin Ninja Exams really are his favorite stage.
I wonder whether his main target this time is Sasuke's body with its Sharingan, or whether he has some greater scheme?
With this guy here, there are far too many variables in the second exam. I'll have to be doubly careful.
Before you continue