After dealing with Tobitake Tonbo, Ino's thoughts finally returned to herself.
Why would she suddenly think of Indra when everything was fine? Who in this classroom was related to Indra? She slightly turned her head, her peripheral gaze falling on Sasuke.
After all, this was an exam hall, and Ino couldn't openly converse with the person behind her.
Passing notes or similar actions were even more inappropriate, so she had to suppress her doubts and focus on the exam paper in front of her.
Some matters were more urgent than others, and Indra's issue wasn't a big deal right now! After finishing her own exam, Ino used the Mind Body Switch Technique to help Choji in the front row complete his paper, and then she waited for the tenth question.
Shikamaru? She didn't need to worry about him at all. That guy usually didn't want to score high, mainly because he found it troublesome. But when he got serious, he could handle all these questions. If he dared to hand in a blank paper, his mother would kill him.
Sasuke rubbed his eyes vigorously. Earlier, he had felt an intense pain in his eyes. The special Dojutsu that had been sealed by the Third Hokage suddenly went out of control, almost breaking through the original seal.
The pain was momentary, and though it still hurt, the sensation was quickly fading.
After spending a bit more time, his eyes finally returned to normal. This time, he didn't dare to imitate Ino again. Instead, he focused his Sharingan on Sakura, mimicking her actions and copying her answers.
The following process was similar to the original timeline. The last question tested the team's cohesion, and Ibiki announced the rules before answering the tenth question—the so-called "despair rule."
The rule was that the examinee had to choose whether to answer the tenth question.
If they chose not to answer, they would be immediately disqualified, and their two teammates would also be eliminated. If they chose to answer and got it wrong, they would be permanently barred from taking the Chunin Exams again. In other words, they would remain Genin for life.
This was a truly despair-inducing question. A wrong choice would have lifelong consequences, and most Genin without significant backgrounds thought this way.
One by one, examinees began to withdraw, giving up on the exam.
The Chunin Exams were held every six months, and each time the questions were different, set by the examiners themselves with no unified standard. Sometimes they were extremely simple, and other times they were incredibly difficult.
If they weren't confident, they could simply wait for the next exam in six months, without gambling their ninja careers.
Many examinees felt they were unlucky this time, encountering examiners who liked to make things difficult, and they left the exam hall cursing under their breath.
As more and more people left, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji remained seated.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Naruto raised his left hand and delivered an impassioned speech, vowing that even if he had to remain a Genin for life, he would continue with the exam!
Then, Anko Mitarashi, with her large chest and boisterous personality, made her entrance, announcing that the second exam would take place the next day.
After leaving the Ninja Academy, Ino bid farewell to Shikamaru and Choji and took a small path, where she saw Uchiha Sasuke waiting for her at the corner.
The place was quiet, and Ino looked around, making sure there were no bystanders, before saying, "Use your Sharingan to look at me again."
Sasuke didn't like this commanding tone, but to unravel the mystery in his heart, he still focused his Sharingan on Ino.
The magatama spun rapidly, and the genjutsu was activated. Ino was pulled into the illusion constructed by Sasuke. However, with her strong spiritual energy and high level of Yin Release, she easily broke free from Sasuke's mediocre genjutsu.
There was no illusion, no old man, no Indra.
Ino was afraid it might be another case of memory loss. She racked her brain, trying to recall, but found nothing unusual.
Had Indra's Sharingan entered a cooldown state?
Ino listed numerous possibilities in her mind, then eliminated them one by one.
After studying the situation for a while, it seemed that today's incident hadn't affected either of them. Sasuke's Sharingan hadn't evolved into the Three Tomoe, and Ino hadn't gained any new attributes or Release Techniques. Immunity to genjutsu was out of the question. It all seemed like a bizarre illusion that came and went without explanation.
If it weren't for Ino firmly remembering Indra's name, even she would have doubted her own memory.
"What exactly did you see?" Sasuke had no memory of the illusion. From Ino's expression and tone, he felt that this woman seemed to possess some information he didn't know.
This infuriated him. It was his Sharingan, so why could an outsider gain some insight while he, the owner, was left in the dark?
Ino pondered for a long time but still didn't offer any explanation.
It was best not to discuss the name Indra openly. Perhaps the Sage of Six Paths was using some ability to monitor the Shinobi World. While he might not be able to watch over millions or tens of millions of people, keeping an eye on the reincarnation of his son should be within his capabilities.
Ino looked at Sasuke with disdain. "Weird eyes. Don't look at me like that again!"
She turned and walked away quickly.
Sasuke wanted to grab her but was a step too slow, only able to watch her leave in haste.
As Ino passed by the Hyuga Clan's residence, she used the excuse of "my family won't be home tonight" to invite Hinata to the back mountain for some Body Techniques training.
The two girls were becoming increasingly familiar, and Hinata's confidence was growing. Ino also needed a somewhat weaker opponent to help her hone her Body Techniques, so they hit it off and often practiced together whenever they had the chance.
Originally, she had also invited Tenten, but Tenten, valuing romance over friendship, had gone off to train with Neji after the exams.
On her way home, Ino saw Yakushi Kabuto leaning against an alley, waiting for her.
Was this guy about to defect from the village? Ino didn't want to get involved with him, but she couldn't pretend not to see him either.
Before she could figure out how to start the conversation, Kabuto suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Kabuto-senpai? President? Are you okay?"
Having worked at the hospital for so long, she could tell that the blood he was coughing up was fresh, deep red in color.
Was he seriously injured? Ino didn't know what kind of act Kabuto was putting on today, but she quickly put on a panicked expression to match the situation.
Kabuto raised a hand. "I'm sorry, I can't go on. That Sound Ninja is just too strong. Cough, cough, cough..."
He continued to cough up blood as he spoke.
Kabuto's acting skills were top-notch. If Ino hadn't known his true capabilities, she would have been completely fooled.
"I am about to leave this world, and it is not my intention. I also wanted to develop the Panacea, to save everyone from suffering, but my injuries are too severe. I don't want to die! Truly, I want to live! Please bury me by the sea."
With a tilt of his neck, Yakushi Kabuto breathed his last!
Is he really dead? Ino couldn't believe it at all. Could Dosu's two strikes really have killed Kabuto? Impossible!
But using her medical techniques and Sense ability, she couldn't detect any trace of life in Kabuto's body—none at all. It seemed he had died completely.