Chapter Eighteen: The First Exam

Chapter Eighteen: The First Exam

“This is way too incredible!” Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.

“Her brother Kakashi is ahead of her in every aspect, despite being a year younger,” Kabuto released another piercing arrow of information.

“Forget it, both of our teachers are freaks!” Sakura said, slumping in defeat.

“Yeah, yeah!” Naruto and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

“We want information on our teachers too.” ×6

“Alright, just give me their names and I’ll get it for you,” Kabuto spread his hands.

——— Upstairs searching for information. Please do not disturb. ———

“So, that means our teachers are all formidable figures as well.” ×6

“That’s right. But the people taking this exam aren’t simple at all. Each one is the elite genin from their respective countries,” Kabuto said, pushing up his glasses.

“Heh heh~ Heh heh heh~~~” Naruto trembled, laughing slyly.

“Hm? What’s wrong with you, Naruto?” Sakura looked at Naruto curiously.

“Ah~~ Listen up, all of you! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I won’t lose to any of you!” Naruto shouted, throwing down a challenge to everyone.

“Hey, hey! Sakura, what’s this idiot doing? He’s obviously making everyone mad!” Ino, Sakura’s arch-rival, shouted at her.

“Don’t talk to me about it. How would I know what that idiot is thinking?” Sakura shouted back, equally annoyed.

“Ah~ This feels so good,” Naruto said, arms folded behind his head.

“Hmph~” Sasuke chuckled lightly, glancing at Naruto.

“Hey, that guy just made it sound like we Sound Ninja are second-rate. Should we teach him a lesson?” A ninja with a musical note engraved on his forehead protector asked the two companions beside him.

“Agreed,” said the short girl on the left.

“Let’s go,” said the one in the back, his clothes embroidered with the large word “Death.”

In an instant, the three sped towards Kabuto as their target.

“Let me fill in the missing details about us Sound Ninja for you!” The first Sound Ninja leapt up, ready to punch Kabuto. The two behind him drew kunai.

“Pa~ pa~ pa~” In a flash, red, blue, and orange figures streaked across the scene.

“Wah~” ×3

“What?” ×7

The three Sound Ninja were instantly pinned to the ground by Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke.

“You guys, ambushes might be part of a ninja's existence, but I prefer a straightforward fight,” Naruto said, holding down the first Sound Ninja.

“I didn’t want to intervene, but our teacher is watching from the sidelines. If we can’t even protect our own village’s ninja, wouldn’t that betray his training?” Sakura said, holding down the short girl.

“Tch~ I just don’t like your clothes,” Sasuke said, pinning down the one with “Death” embroidered on his outfit.

“These three…” Kabuto looked at them in astonishment.

“When did they get so fast?” The remaining six wondered silently.

“Heh, these three kids… Kabuto is Orochimaru’s subordinate, so their act was interrupted. But to keep up with these three, who have about thirty percent of my speed, their growth is impressive—much stronger than in the original story!” Shuster chuckled softly from a corner.

“Boom~ Quiet down, you bunch of idiots!” An explosion rang out, a white mist spread, and when it cleared, a middle-aged man, whose face seemed to have suffered multiple failed plastic surgeries, stood before the genin with a group of people. Of course, Shuster had also used a teleportation jutsu to join the group.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the proctor for the first round of the Chunin Selection Exam, Ibiki Morino!” the man introduced himself to the crowd.

“Ahem~ You guys, stop fooling around or you’ll risk disqualification,” Shuster coughed lightly, addressing Naruto and his friends.

“Yes, Hatake-sensei!” The three immediately used the teleportation jutsu to return to their seats.

“Now, the first round of the Chunin Selection Exam will begin: Naruto, you’re sure to lose the written test. Exchange your application for your number card, then sit at your assigned seat,” Ibiki said coldly.

Soon after, Naruto and his companions, along with the other genin candidates, collected their number cards as instructed by Ibiki and sat at their designated seats. Ibiki then outlined the rules for the exam:

The exam is scored out of ten points, with ten questions—nine written, one oral. The scoring is as a team: if one fails, all fail. Sakura is bound to lose thanks to the idiot Naruto. If cheating or similar behavior is discovered, two points are deducted, and the candidate may be expelled early.

These rules stunned the candidates. Although there were objections, under the pressure of Konoha’s thunderous authority, everyone behaved obediently.

The exam began. Shuster walked over to Ibiki and asked quietly, “Ibiki-senpai, how many candidates do you think will be eliminated in this round?”

“Around two hundred, probably about three-quarters will be removed,” Ibiki replied calmly.

“So, about fifty will remain? There are quite a few elite candidates from each nation this time. I think more than fifty will make it through,” Shuster shared his thoughts.

“Why do you think so?” Ibiki asked, surprised.

“My intuition!” Shuster smiled.

“A woman’s intuition?” Ibiki looked up at the ceiling.

“I am a man, thank you!” A red cross appeared on Shuster’s forehead.

“A man? Sorry, I honestly never realized all these years. My apologies!” Ibiki looked at Shuster in surprise, scanning his chest and neck. Yes, there was no chest, and there was an Adam’s apple.

“Sigh~ And you call yourself an interrogation expert. You only now realize I’m a man?” Shuster looked at Ibiki in exasperation.

“Heh heh~ You’re just easy to mistake, and you always wear those excessively gender-neutral clothes,” Ibiki scratched his head with a dry laugh.

Meanwhile, the genin candidates were taking the first round of the Chunin Selection Exam. Naruto was still trembling at his seat. The pencil in his hand scribbled aimlessly on the desk, while Sasuke seemed to have realized the real meaning of the exam and was watching Naruto.

“Well, let me help a bit. Ibiki-senpai, I’ll reduce the number to eighty first,” Shuster said, then went to the podium, closed his eyes, and released his spiritual sense, enveloping the whole exam hall. At that moment, Hinata began helping Naruto, and Naruto was about to try copying Hinata’s answers…

“Bang…” Just as Naruto was about to cheat, a kunai flew past him, embedding itself in the desk behind him.

“What are you doing? Don’t you know that’s dangerous?” The candidate glared angrily at Shuster, who sat at the podium.

Shuster maintained the posture of having thrown the kunai and said, “You’ve cheated five times. You’ve lost qualification. Likewise, your teammates may leave as well.”

“Huh?” The person stared at Shuster, unable to respond, for he had indeed cheated just five times—no more, no less. Soon, the three quietly left the exam room. Their eyes showed some dissatisfaction with Shuster, but the reputation of Thunder deterred any protest.

“Alright, continue the exam!” Ibiki shouted.

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