I'm back after short break and the schedule release of the chapters will be continue from here onwards.
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With Keimei's Shadow Clone.
'It's here,' she thought to herself after sensing the chakra signature below her. Using her fingers, which are wrapped with Wind Style Chakra, she creates a small hole.
After creating the hole, she immediately repositioned herself to see what's under her, and she saw one of the disguised Chunin papers and immediately memorized the answer to the question.
She also realizes the true meaning behind the test, and while she is able to perfectly answer the question itself, she believes that it will be a proper way to show to the judges her information-gathering skills.
With her eyes being enhanced by chakra, she is able to see the content within the paper.
After memorizing the answers, she immediately disappears in a puff of smoke.
Keimei, who was sitting next to Naruto, suddenly fell into a daze for a moment as a wave of memories hit her. After digesting the memories, she immediately picked up the pen and filled in all the answers for all the questions.
After finishing answering the question, she immediately flips the paper and glances at Naruto, who is quietly sleeping, and she can't help but slightly shake her head.
With Menma.
Menma taps his pencil a few times, the sound echoing throughout the silent room, no one paying it any mind. Two minutes pass before he hears the responding set of taps come from his sister rows down.
He smirks to himself as he writes the remaining answers down. With Mito on their team and their level of communication, there's no way they could ever fail this exam. He just hopes Yayoi can keep her head in the game; that being put next to 'him' doesn't distract her.
Meanwhile, Naruto slowly opened his eyes and leisurely raised his head as he stared at Ibiki, who was clearly about to make a move.
Naruto once again felt Yayoi gaze at him, but as always, he ignored it.
"Alright, the time has come for the tenth question to be given," Ibiki announces loudly, his voice resounding throughout the silent room.
The Genin are looking at Ibiki with palpable anticipation, which only makes Ibiki smirk bigger, scaring those Genin nearby.
"But before that..." Ibiki scans every genin in the room with great intensity.
This causes everyone to slightly raise one of their eyebrows and at the same time feel their body slightly tense and ready to make a move at a moment's notice.
"You will be given the opportunity to decide whether or not you wish to answer this question."
This revelation causes confusion for almost all Genins; they couldn't help but mutter to themselves, causing the once silent room to be noisy once again.
"Silence!" Ibiki sternly yells.
Everyone turned quiet and stared at Ibiki, patiently waiting for him to continue, which made Ibiki nod inwardly.
"Please note two rules in relation to this question: first, participants who choose not to attempt the tenth question will automatically forfeit all points and be disqualified along with their teammates, and second, those who answer the tenth question incorrectly will also automatically forfeit all points and, as well as failing the exam, will be barred from ever competing in the Chunin exams again," Ibiki announces.
Confusion transforms into a mixture of disbelief, shock, and outrage. Shouts and protests fill the venue, a number of participants rising from their seats.
Naruto remained quiet despite almost everyone's loud protest. His eyes remain locked on Ibiki, patiently waiting for the tenth question to be given.
Even if he couldn't answer it—which he doubts happened—it doesn't really matter since at the end of the day this exam isn't really that important in his eyes.
Besides, what Ibiki suggests is really quite opposite to the philosophy he lives by.
"Silence! I'll fail anyone who refuses to cooperate immediately," Ibiki warns sternly, his voice resounding throughout the room.
The protesting Genins begrudgingly silenced themselves and took their seats. They begrudgingly accept their position at this moment. They know no matter how much they protest, the proctor wouldn't care, and even the village behind them wouldn't even make things difficult for the proctor for this situation since they are, at the end of the day, Genin, a bottom rank of the ninja forces for their respective villages.
While they had potential, at the end of the day, potential isn't really much use for one's villages if one cannot fully realize it or put it to good use.
"Those who do not wish to take the tenth question, raise your hands!" Ibiki announces while staring intently at every single Genin in the room.
Silence filled the entire room for a few moments. As the time passed, murmurs slowly appeared and became audible. This is also the same moment that Genins slowly raise their hands, and more as the minutes pass.
Chunin exam proctors approach the Genin, requesting their team numbers and calling out to the teammates of those who forfeit to leave the venue with their squadmates.
Many wipe tears from their eyes, while others curse one another, looking on the verge of fighting among themselves as they leave the room.
This reaction is quite normal for the Chunin Exam and even more so for this specific exam since it was so special and the first one in the entire history of ninjas.
Naruto watches everything unfold with an indifferent expression on his face. He really wasn't bothered if his team joined in with those people, and in fact, he even doubted such a situation would arise.
Hinata stared at the genin who were slowly leaving the room with great intent. It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous as the time passed.
She knows that she was the weakest of Team 13. While she was better at martial arts compared to Satsuki, the latter was still above her in terms of other areas as a ninja.
While the thoughts of giving up didn't appear in her mind at this moment, the failure of answering the 10th question did.
'I hope I can answer it perfectly,' Hinata thought while her hand clenched tightly and trembled.
Satsuki leans forward, staring intensely at Ibiki, jaw clenched in anticipation. She didn't even pay attention to the Genins leaving the room.
Satsuki had great confidence that her team would pass this test easily.
Yayoi's hand shakily rises, all participants remaining in the room seated, turning their heads, and some gasping, recognizing the 'hero female ninja.' Suddenly her hand balls into a fist and swings down, impacting with her desk as she stands up.
"You'll have to try harder than that to get me to quit," Yayoi shouts, her voice filling the silent room and earning the attention of all in it.
"I don't care what you threaten me with. It doesn't mean anything because I'll never quit!" she yells.
"Bring on your question already!" she yells, her hair swaying from her head in nine tendril-like bunches.
Ibiki's eyebrows rise in surprise for a moment at the outburst before a small smile, accompanied by a chuckle, graces his lips.
'Seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree at all,' he muses.
Naruto's eyes slowly scan the surroundings to see the expressions of concern and fear shifting to hope. He turns his head once again to Yayoi and slightly shakes his head.
'Does she insist on fueling this competition? 'Naruto thought to himself.
A few silent moments pass, and this makes almost everyone in the room tense before the proctor speaks.
"Very well then," Ibiki slightly nods.
"...You all pass," Ibiki announces out loud, shocking the remaining Genin in the process.
"We...pass?" Yayoi repeats in confusion. "But our exams haven't even been marked."
"The written exams are a decoy," Ibiki responds. "The first round of the exams was presented as a written exam, but rather than testing knowledge, this was a test of two skills you will require in abundance as ninja.
The first is your intelligence-gathering skills. The first nine questions were based on ninja theory beyond the level of even Chunin for the purpose of forcing each of you to use your skills to gather information, all the while maintaining stealth, as you will have to on active duty.
Those who were caught cheating for the maximum number of permitted offenses proved they're not capable of achieving this to the level required to be a Chunin," Ibiki explains.
"And the second is your resilience. This was tested by the tenth question. As a ninja, you will encounter situations in which the circumstances are unfavorably weighed against you.
To remain resilient in those situations, never compromising one's comrades, while giving all for the mission, is a quality essential to being a Chunin.
Those who forfeited proved they don't possess said quality," he finishes, glancing at Yayoi, who slowly begins to smile, finally coming to believe the scarred Jonin.
"That's it then. You're all to wait here until the Proctor for the sec—" Ibiki isn't allowed to finish as the room erupts into raucous celebration as many genin joyfully cheer their advancement into the next round of the exams.