Naruto hung his head in silence. The recent events had introduced him to many powerful ninjas one by one. From Haku and Gaara at the beginning, to Neji and Rock Lee, each of them had their own unique strength.
The confidence he built up during his long - term training with Sasuke was completely shattered in these few days. But he wasn't discouraged at all. After all, his dream was to become the Hokage, and he would never be defeated by these small setbacks.
"Well, even though they're all really powerful, I'll never lose!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto smiling. This newbie didn't know where he got his confidence from, but it was a good thing to be confident.
.................
When the six of them reached the exam room, all the other examinees were already seated. Facing the chief examiner Ibiki's scarred and terrifying face and the tense atmosphere in the exam room, Naruto and Rock Lee couldn't help breaking out in cold sweat.
"Hey, look at those Genin from Konoha Village. They're so bold to be late for such an important exam!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down. Don't you see who those two black - haired guys in the middle are?"
"Which two?"
The speaker looked at the stage. Among the six, four had black hair. Excluding the girl, there were three left.
"Is it that guy in the jumpsuit with a funny haircut?"
"The other two besides him!"
"Oh, they look like pretty boys! So? Are they really that good?"
"You fool. Look at the clan emblem on the short - haired guy. That's the Uchiha clan! And look at the long - haired one. His eyes are so distinctive!"
"Damn it! Konoha sent such powerful Genin this year? That's why! If it were ordinary ninjas, they would have been disqualified for being late for so long!"
"There's nothing we can do. The Chunin Exams will end up being an exhibition match. The Daimyōs of various countries and onlookers will come here. If these two don't take part, the Chunin Exams will lose half of their appeal!"
Compared with the whispering of the examinees below the stage, the chief examiner looked even scarier.
"You've really got a lot of nerve to be collectively late for the first round of the Genin exam!"
Ibiki's hideous face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. The killing intent in his eyes made people shiver.
"No, sir. Please listen to us. It's all Sasuke's fault. He insisted on having a chat with Neji about the written exam, so we were late!"
Naruto tried his best to explain seriously.
"Sir, it's all my fault. Sorry. It has nothing to do with Naruto. Please don't blame him."
Sasuke immediately bent down and bowed respectfully to Ibiki.
Naruto frowned and looked at Sasuke curiously. When did this guy become so well - behaved?
"Hahaha! You're Naruto, right?"
"Yes... yes, sir. Do you have any orders?"
"You're not only bold enough to be late for the exam, but you also try to dump all the blame on your teammate!"
You have absolutely no sense of responsibility as a ninja! You're supposed to be a ninja, but you don't act like one at all! In this match, I'll keep a close and all - out eye on you. I hope you can achieve good results!"
"What?"
This didn't make sense. He was clearly speaking the truth, so why did the chief examiner seem even angrier than before? And "keep a close and all - out eye on me"? Looking at that ferocious face again, he silently swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Forget it. I'm a bit scared!
................
I'm Ibiki Morino, the examiner for this exam. There are three rules for this exam, and here they are. First, each of you starts with 10 points to begin with. One point will be deducted for each wrong answer. The scores of each three - person group will be combined together.
Second, if you're caught cheating once, 2 points will be deducted. If any member of the three - person group gets 0 points, the whole group will be eliminated.
Third, there are only nine questions on the paper. The last question will be announced 45 minutes after the start of the exam. Good luck to all of you. The exam officially begins."
Sasuke looked at the questions set by the chief examiner. They were the same as in his previous life, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. In this case, that idiot Naruto should be able to pass easily.
Naruto was sitting in front of Sasuke, holding his head in his hands, with cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
What should he do? He was the worst at written exams! If he messed up this exam, Sasuke would definitely kill him!
Oh, God! Why are you treating him like this? Aren't they ninjas? Why do ninjas have to take cultural classes? Do you calculate how far the enemy's shuriken can fly while fighting and dodging at the same time?
Isn't this kind of thing resolved by combat instincts?
Naruto was sniffling, feeling that his life was dark. Suddenly, he thought that only getting 0 points would lead to elimination, and it should be okay to cheat a bit, right?
Let him figure out what kind of ninjutsu he could use to cheat. Naruto carefully recalled the ninjutsu he had learned, including Shadow Clone Jutsu, Wind Release, and a little Water Release.
Huh?
None of the many ninjutsu he knew could help him cheat! Was it the will of heaven to doom him?
Right! Why not cause some chaos? While everyone's attention was drawn to the prank, he could sneak a peek at others' papers!
This method works!
Saying that, he formed hand seals and started to act. As a result, when he looked up, his eyes met those of Examiner Ibiki, who gave him a sinister smile.
That terrifying expression seemed to be saying, "If you've got the guts to cheat, just come on! I'll see if you can escape my grasp!"
As time ticked away, there were only 5 minutes left until the last question was announced. What should he do? If he didn't act now, it would be too late!
Naruto looked down at the blank paper, which was even cleaner than his face. Forget it, he'd take the risk. Anyway, he'd only lose 2 points if he was caught.
Wind Release: Airflow Disarray
Naruto formed hand seals and then hid the jutsu under the table, slowly releasing it. Suddenly, a strong wind blew in the classroom, making the papers fly everywhere.
"Ah, what's going on? Why is there suddenly wind?"
"How annoying! There's sand in the wind. It's getting into my eyes!"
The area around the exam room was in chaos. The examiners stepped forward to maintain order. Naruto quickly snatched a fully - answered test Maki, changed the name on it, and calmly wrote 'Naruto' on it.
"Quiet, everyone! If anyone makes another noise, they'll be disqualified right away!"
"How could this happen? Why has my just - completed test paper turned into a blank paper?"
A startled cry in the quiet exam room caught everyone's attention.
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