Exam room 301
As soon as Hongshi walked in, he saw at least two hundred people.
By then, Naruto and the others were already going over information with Kabuto.
"First, Rock Lee. He's a year older than you. He attracted attention last year for his outstanding abilities, but he's never taken the Chunin Ninja Exams before. This is his first time."
"Gaara of the Sand Waterfall. This guy is really impressive. A Genin who's actually carried out a B-Rank Mission. Since he's a rookie ninja from another country, I don't know much else. I've heard he's never been injured on a mission."
"As for Hongshi, he's rather... how should I put it? He's not a very serious Genin. He sleeps all day, so I've gathered very little information, but he performs very well on missions. Like Gaara, he's never been injured. He even fought Zabuza Momochi without getting hurt."
Sasuke's face darkened. "That guy Hongshi... we were all there at the time. I know exactly what happened."
"As for Yuhan, he's pretty strong and specializes in Water Release. There isn't much information on him either."
Just as he finished, Hongshi poked his head over. "Having a chat?"
Everyone immediately stopped talking, and Kabuto put away his Ninja Info Cards.
"Why'd you stop? Go on."
Just then, Naruto shouted, "Aha! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I absolutely won't lose to any of you!"
Everyone's hair stood on end at that.
Hongshi struck the same pose. "My name is Kira Hongshi, and I absolutely won't lose to any of you either!"
"You make yourselves sound so impressive!" The three Sound Ninja jumped up on the spot. "In that case, let's see how strong you two are!"
To make a more intimidating impression, Dosu attacked Hongshi, who looked slow to move, along with the others.
"Taste the Sound Ninja's Ninjutsu! Reverberating Sound Drill!" Dosu, whose entire face was covered in bandages, punched Hongshi square in the chest. Powerful sonic vibrations spread out, assaulting his body.
"..."
Three seconds later, Dosu's eyes widened. "Wh-what? You're unharmed?"
Hongshi chuckled. "Surprised? My turn!"
Just as Hongshi was about to throw a punch, smoke erupted in the exam room, and the proctoring team led by Ibiki Morino arrived.
Hongshi shrugged. "Fine. I'll let you off this time."
Only then did Dosu realize that his clothes were soaked with sweat. Still putting on a brave front, he slowly returned to his spot. "There'll be plenty of chances to run into you later. Count yourself lucky."
Rock Lee said, "(´-ι_-｀) You actually dared to hit Hongshi. You've never learned that lesson the hard way."
The written exam
Hongshi held his pen and looked at the questions on the paper, sweat gathering on his forehead...
"Question one (free points): There are 109 cows, 39 sheep, 57 dogs, and 350 chickens in a ninja village. How many teeth does the village chief have?"
"..."
"Fuck, (╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻, what kind of bullshit question is this?"
Ibiki Morino addressed Hongshi coldly. "Genin Hongshi, please remain calm, then pick up your desk. Two points deducted."
"Sorry, sorry."
"Question two (low difficulty): A Chunin can send a five-hundred-kilogram rock flying with a full-strength punch. If a ninja sends that rock flying twenty meters, how long will he need to stay in the hospital?"
"..."
"(╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻, fuck! Whoever wrote these questions can go die!"
"Hongshi, throw your desk one more time and you're out of the exam room."
Hongshi lost another two points.
Under the surveillance of a dozen or so Jonin, the examinees around him showed off their various abilities: Gaara's Third Eye, Neji's Byakugan, Kiba's dog's eyes, Shino's insects' eyes. In short, they used every trick they had to copy the answers.
These questions actually have answers???
Hongshi simply gave up and sat motionless in his seat.
"Zzzzz."
Forty-five minutes later...
"Now, I'll announce the tenth question!"
By then, many people had already been removed from the exam room.
Ibiki Morino said gravely, "Hmm... I'll add a few rules. You'll decide for yourselves whether to take it."
"We decide for ourselves?"
Temari said, "We decide for ourselves? Then what happens if we don't take it?"
Ibiki Morino looked at Temari. "If you don't take it, you get zero points, and your teammates' scores will also be canceled."
"Then of course we'll take it!"
Ibiki Morino chuckled. "If you take it and fail to answer correctly, you'll never have another chance to take the Chunin Ninja Exams for the rest of your life."
"What!"
"What kind of stupid rule is that? Aren't there plenty of people here who've taken the Chunin Ninja Exams more than once?"
Ibiki Morino said, "Hehehehe. Just your bad luck. This year, I make the rules. But it's not as though you have no options. If you lack confidence, don't take it. You'll have another chance in the future."
Everyone fell silent for a while.
Ibiki continued, "Then make your choice. If you won't take it, raise your hand. Once we've recorded your number, you can leave."
"I... I give up."
"Number 40 withdraws. Numbers 130 and 111 are also disqualified."
"I can't take this anymore. I give up too."
"Sorry, I give up."
"Me too!"
Once someone started, more and more people raised their hands to withdraw. Before long, nearly half had left, and others were still leaving one after another.
Just then, Naruto raised his hand and slammed it down on his desk. "Quit joking around! I'm taking it! Even if I stay a Genin for the rest of my life, I'll keep working toward becoming Hokage. Give me the question! I'm not scared!"
A sharp gleam appeared in Ibiki's eyes. "I'll give you another chance. This decision affects your entire life. It's not too late to change your mind."
Naruto showed no fear. "Speaking my mind-that's my ninja way!"
Ibiki looked around. I never expected this kid to calm everyone down all at once. Eighty-one people left. I really didn't expect that. There's no point waiting any longer.
Those who had been raising their hands slowly lowered them after hearing Naruto's words. No one raised a hand again.
Ibiki's tone relaxed a little. "Your decision was very wise. Now... everyone here, I declare that you have all passed the first exam."
"What? Passed?"
"We all passed? What about the tenth question?"
His earlier gloom gone, Ibiki smiled sincerely. "There actually isn't a tenth question. Or rather, that choice between the two options just now was the tenth question."
"What? Then didn't we do those first nine questions for nothing?"
Ibiki smiled. "The first nine questions tested your ability to gather intelligence. Naturally, those whose cheating methods were clumsy weren't allowed to stay. Gathering intelligence requires considerable skill, of course, and you'll also face all kinds of real difficulties and dangers. The Jonin and Chunin were watching you to give you that sense of danger."
Everyone understood. "So that's it."
Ibiki continued, "The choice afterward, whether to take the question or not, was also meant to test your resolve. If, after successfully gathering intelligence, you had to choose between a life and that intelligence, which would you choose?"
Ibiki removed his head covering, revealing countless wounds on his head: burns, drill wounds, and knife wounds. It was hard to imagine what kind of torture he had suffered in the past. "Would you abandon the mission for your comrades' lives? You can't do that! Because sometimes, intelligence is more important than life!"
"Some missions affect many people's lives and must be accepted no matter what. At times like those, the ability to give your comrades courage and get out of a difficult situation is an essential qualification for a Chunin leading a unit."
"Those who gave up halfway and pinned their hopes on the next time are, in my eyes, weak-willed trash. They don't deserve to become Chunin."
"In any case, you've completed the first exam. Keep working hard from here on."
"This teacher's surprisingly gentle!"
Naruto shouted, "No problem! Just you watch!"
"Heh."
"Bang!" Just then, a dark figure flew in through the window, and two kunai pinned a black cloth in front of Ibiki.
"It's too early to celebrate!"
"Whoa, what is that?"
"What a hot figure!"
Hongshi's body jolted. "What, a beauty??? Oh, yeah, Miss Mitarashi Anko."
Naruto said, "Σ(ŎдŎ ) Were you asleep that whole time???"
Hongshi said, "No, no! I was answering the questions seriously the whole time!"
Yuhan said, "...Could you wipe your drool first?"
Mitarashi Anko's voice rang out loudly. "I'm the head examiner for the second exam, Mitarashi Anko! Your next exam is waiting for you! Follow me!"
"..."
"..."
Three minutes later
"Ahem." Ibiki cleared his throat. "Looks like nobody's paying attention to you."
Sakura said, "Why is this examiner just like Naruto...?"
Mitarashi Anko turned to Ibiki awkwardly. "Eighty-four people, twenty-eight teams? How are there so many left? Wasn't your exam too easy?"
Ibiki said seriously, "This year's Genin are all exceptionally talented."
Mitarashi Anko gave a light snort. "Hmph, leave it to me. I'll cut their numbers by well over half! I can't wait anymore. Come with me. I'll explain the specific requirements when we get there."
With that, Mitarashi Anko left the exam room, and the examinees followed one after another.