'The test wasn't half bad,' Naruto thought to himself. While the Chunin Exams wouldn't be really hard for him, he was hoping that the future parts of the exam would be something very beneficial for his project, or participating in this exam would be a waste of time.
Yayoi turns her head to see Mito and Menma making their way towards her. The three gather, embracing one another and laughing. Yayoi turns her head to see him still seated, not sparing them a glance, and the smile leaves her face for a moment.
It had been her desperation to make him acknowledge her and see her strength that had fueled her to stand up.
A small smile forms on her face again as she gazes at him a bit longer before turning her head back to Mito and Menma. Like she said, she won't give up. Not until she's someone even he has to be proud of.
Ibiki has been watching the ruckus the Genins cause in the room with a deadpan expression on his face. All the fear he had inspired previously was gone like smoke.
What was worst was the fact that there are still 84 participants in the exam, which is incredibly large despite the special nature of this year's Chunin Exam.
'Am I losing my touch...? 'Ibiki thought inwardly for a moment before slightly shaking his head, removing such an idea from his mind.
He glances among the joyous Genin and sees three of the Fourth Hokage's children embracing each other. Among them he saw the blonde teenage girl who is the culprit behind such a bizarre result.
Ibiki saw her turn her head to lay her eyes on someone for a few moments while embracing her siblings. Ibiki follows her line of sight to once again see the white-haired boy in black, the Fourth Hokage's firstborn, sitting not too far away with an indifferent expression on his face.
Yet if one stared at the teenagers behind his dark sunglasses, they could see the eyes so cold that it made their hair stand straight and their bones chill.
This white-haired teenager didn't even bother to pay attention to his siblings; in fact, he acted as if they were strangers in the first place.
Ibiki slightly narrowed his eyes after seeing this and taking a mental note for this one. He already made many rumors about it, but it was certainly surprising seeing it firsthand.
His train of thought grinds to a halt as the sound of the window shattering silences the celebratory noise, whilst smoke fills the front of the class.
"Now's no time to celebrate, brats," a voice calls out from behind the curtain of smoke, which then lifts to reveal a young woman of slender frame with light brown eyes and violet hair tied in a spiky ponytail.
She wears a fitted mesh bodysuit from neck to thigh and a dark orange miniskirt beneath a tan overcoat. A banner tied to two kunai flutters behind her, reading, 'The sexy and single Anko Mitarashi!' '
"You've still got me to worry about. I'm Anko Mitarashi, Proctor for the second round of the Chunin exams," she introduces herself.
Naruto already senses her arrival earlier than anyone, and after listening to her introduction and reading the banner behind him, he sighs inwardly.
'It seems like another boring test,' Naruto thought to himself as he yawned.
Fortunately for Naruto, Anko didn't see him yawning, or else he might suffer terribly in her hand.
...But if such a situation really happens, Naruto won't be the unlucky one, but Anko, since no matter how much trouble Anko causes, Naruto can easily deal with it, and even if by chance she manages to piss off Naruto, then her death won't be a painless one.
She glances around the room before turning her head to Ibiki, who looks back at her, deadpan expression still in place, unimpressed by her grand entrance.
"Why are there so many? How many brats did you pass?" she asks her colleague, eyebrow raised.
"Eighty-four," he responds simply, Anko placing her hand to her chest in a gesture of mock shock.
"Eighty-four?! Oh my. Are you alright there, old timer? Need a seat? Maybe some water?" she teases, the Jonin gazing back at her with an unimpressed frown.
"Don't worry. I'll remind you how it's done. At best, there'll only be twenty of these brats left when I'm through with them." Anko smiles deviously, turning to the Genin, some of whom stiffen in fear at her words.
"Right, the venue for your next exam is Training Ground 44, located nearby, straight in that direction," she said, pointing in the direction of her 'entrance'.
"We're to assemble there in 5. Be prompt, or you will fail," Anko declares before turning to Ibiki with her face smiling cheekily and disappearing in a burst of smoke.
Ibiki shakes his head and leaves, saying nothing in the process, as he is already used to his colleague's antics.
Seeing the proctors leaving, Naruto slowly stands up and makes his way towards Satsuki and Hinata, who are already together and waiting for Naruto.
"Do you know how Keimei did it?" Satsuki asks him without even a greeting.
"Do what?" Naruto asks.
"The Shadow Clone? How did she manage to relay the information she saw from Mito's paper?" Satsuki elaborates.
She knows she can't personally ask Keimei about her techniques, but Satsuki is curious about them and wants to know the mechanism behind the method she uses.
While she can't ask Keimei, Naruto knows the Shadow Clone and should be able to deduce the method behind it.
Naruto's lips slightly curled upwards as he stared at Satsuki in great interest—of course Satsuki was oblivious about his interest but saw the smile on his face.
"We managed to pass the test, guys!" Hinata chimed in after sensing the strange atmosphere around the two teammates and trying to change the subject.
Satsuki turns her head and smiles at Hinata. She was, after all, glad that they passed the first test of the exams.
"I wouldn't mind telling you about it since it's going to be helpful information," Naruto calmly said, attracting the two girls' attention.
While the Genin were slowly meeting their respective squads, their Jonin senseis, on the other hand, were peacefully watching their action from the start.
They are currently at the 4th floor of the building in a specific room where all the Jonin senseis of the Genins gathered and watched the test unfold.
Some of the Jonin shake their heads in disappointment, especially those whose Genins failed the test, but no one really blames their students since nobody expected for Ibiki, an infamous ninja of the leaf, to be the proctor.
Some of the Jonin even doubt they can pass the test after the pressure Ibiki places throughout the entire room.
While others are disappointed, some of the Jonin are happy, especially after seeing their students passing the tests despite the pressure they felt from Ibiki.
The one who shows greatest excitement is none other than Might Guy,the greatest which really annoys other Jonin, especially those who came from the village who had bad relationships with the Leaf, such as the Cloud and Stone.
"Kushina-san, it seems Yayoi inherited much of your personality compared to other children," Kakashi said, staring at the TV screen.
"Indeed," Kurenai nods. "I didn't expect such a move from her. Without such passionate speech, I doubt many genin would pass the test."
"It wasn't really a surprise if one thinks about it deeply," Mikoto chimed in.
"Indeed," Kushina nods in agreement.
Knowing Yayoi, she would without a doubt do such things, but everyone was so focused on the test itself that they forgot about her personality, which wasn't really a problem.
"Though the large number of participants is a really unexpected side effect," Mikoto added while staring deeply at the Genins.
"The next test will definitely be much more difficult than anyone can predict," Kakashi said while staring at the windows, which happened to be in the same direction as where the next test will be held.
"Indeed," Asuma chimed in. "Who would have thought that the next test will be held in that place?"
Kakashi secretly glances back at the TV screen and looks at Naruto, who keeps silence throughout the entire time.
'I hope Sasuke and others won't encounter Naruto in the second test; after all, it's still too soon for them to encounter each other.'
Training Ground 44.
"I see," Satsuki muttered as the members of Team 13 stood together with all the Genin who passed the first test present in the area.
"Sharing of memories and sensations," she speaks lowly. "Is this the reason why both of you are strong?" Satsuki asks while staring at Naruto intently. Her voice had a hint of realization behind it.
Hinata, who was also listening, stared at Naruto, trying to confirm Satsuki's deduction.
"Partially," Naruto responds. "The Shadow Clone Jutsu is an extremely valuable technique to learn, but it's strictly for combat situations or potential combat situations."
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu is considered a forbidden jutsu, as using it requires a large amount of chakra, even for Jonin-level ninja. It can't be used by just any ninja, especially casually. There are countless cases of ninja dying of chakra exhaustion due to using it."