Wait a minute! No, no, that's not right… It seems I completely misunderstood the situation!
Naruto suddenly realized—the core of this exam wasn't the written content itself!
He looked around; Hyuga Hinata had already quietly activated her Byakugan, the veins bulging around her clear eyes. Not far away, Satsuki's eyes had already turned into crimson Sharingan, with three tomoe slowly rotating.
Shino Aburame's parasitic insects were silently transmitting information between the desks, Inuzuka Kiba was using Akamaru to scout, and Gaara was monitoring with his Sand Eye… In the entire exam room, the only one truly "answering questions" seemed to be Sakura Haruno, who was writing furiously.
The real test here was information gathering ability—that is, the core Ninja skills of reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance.
Naruto's gaze locked onto the proctor's colleague, who was disguised as a student and was actually "performing" the act of answering. He must be the target for reconnaissance. After all, what legitimate exam only deducts points for cheating?
Although he knew that according to the original story, he would pass this test even if he submitted a blank paper, Naruto still decided to go through the motions.
With a slight shift of his will, a golden figure visible only to him—the Gold Experience—quietly materialized behind him. It floated lightly above the "actor proctor," its vision perfectly aligned with the test paper. The next moment, the answers written by the proctor were clearly projected into Naruto's vision.
It's a good thing I didn't get Silver Chariot… After synchronously copying all the answers, Naruto tidied his test paper while watching several Genin who were "asked" to leave the exam room because they had cheated too many times and had all their points deducted.
Speaking of which, both the Byakugan and Sharingan were activated so openly; doesn't that count as being caught cheating? Perhaps that's the desired effect, cheating with a Kekkei Genkai or something…
"Now, you need to make a choice—whether or not to answer the tenth question."
Ibiki Morino's low voice echoed in the silent exam room, carrying a heavy sense of psychological pressure.
"If you choose not to answer, you will be immediately given zero points, and your entire team will be disqualified."
"If you choose to answer but fail to get it right… you will lose the right to participate in the Chunin Exams forever."
Under Ibiki's sustained psychological assault, many fear-stricken candidates eventually raised their hands and gave up, leaving the exam room with dejected expressions.
But if you think carefully, you'll realize that Ibiki's words were complete nonsense. As long as one's strength reaches the level of a Special Jonin, how could the Village possibly cut off your path to promotion just because of one exam?
In the original story, Naruto becoming Hokage directly from Genin was an exception, but for someone like Jiraiya, when their strength, reputation, and trustworthiness reached a certain level, they would even be forcibly pushed into the Kage position.
When Ibiki finally announced that all remaining candidates had passed, nearly half of the people in the exam room had already been eliminated.
Strange… Naruto remembered that the number of people who passed the first exam should have been more.
Just as the tense candidates were about to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Bang!"
The classroom window shattered! Under Ibiki's somewhat helpless gaze, a figure agilely flipped and entered. A woman deftly unfurled a large black scroll, on which was written in flowing script:
"Second Exam Proctor - Anko Mitarashi"
"Little ones! This isn't the time to relax!" Her energetic voice instantly broke the solemn atmosphere of the exam room. "I am the proctor for the second exam, Anko Mitarashi! The next exam is about to begin—everyone follow me!"
Naruto subconsciously averted his gaze—see no evil… This proctor's attire was truly too daring; she was actually using something like a fishnet top as her shirt.
Subsequently, all the candidates were led to a place with a completely different atmosphere—the entrance to a "forest" training ground, covered by giant trees and dimly lit. The trees here soared into the sky, their canopies blocking out the sun, and the air was thick with the damp smell of soil and humus.
In another world, many people online speculated that this forest was a remnant of the First Hokage's battles, as its ecology was distinctly different from the outside world, filled with an unnatural grandeur and ancient feel.
Just as Anko Mitarashi stood before everyone, explaining the rules of the second exam with high spirits, Naruto's gaze was firmly fixed on an inconspicuous candidate in the crowd—that person had long black hair, wore simple cloth clothes, and had a conspicuous thick hemp rope tied around their waist… No way, this guy really hasn't changed his ways, just directly snuck in like this?
Naruto recognized him at a glance; it was Orochimaru's classic disguise.
Anko continued to explain the rules. Simply put, each team would randomly receive one scroll, either a 'Heaven Scroll' or an 'Earth Scroll.' The candidates' mission was to collect a set of 'Heaven' and 'Earth' scrolls within a five-day time limit and successfully reach the central tower of the Forest of Death to pass."
"And before receiving the scrolls, everyone must sign this death pledge. The core of this exam is mutual competition; there will be no mercy in battles, and casualties are highly probable."
After receiving the scrolls, Satsuki keenly noticed Naruto's unusual behavior. She followed his gaze and noticed the strangely dressed, long-haired candidate.
"What's wrong, Naruto?" Satsuki asked softly, with concern, "Is there something wrong with that person?"
A strange unease seized Naruto's heart. Looking at Orochimaru's disguised figure and recalling that dark period in the original story, he almost instinctively asked that unsettling question.
"Satsuki…"
"Yes, I'm here."
Satsuki immediately responded obediently, her focused and submissive attitude enough to shock anyone who understood the Uchiha Clan's proud nature.
"What if… I'm just saying if. One day, someone appears and tells you that if you follow him, you can gain incredibly powerful strength… powerful enough to achieve all your ambitions and dreams. Would you… abandon me for that?"
"…?"
Satsuki was completely stunned. Abandon? Ambition? These two words, coming from Naruto's mouth, seemed so abrupt and contradictory.
Naruto's question was completely self-contradictory. Her dream… wasn't it to "be with Uzumaki Naruto forever"?
And the word "abandon" made a strong sense of unease well up in her heart.
Why would he ask such a thing? Does he think I'm the kind of person who would easily give him up for power?
"Alright, if that person can truly give me the power to kill everyone who tries to get close to you, and make your eyes only see me, I might consider it. But before that, I would first kill that person who tried to tempt me with power and separate me from you, for your sake. That way, no one would ever be able to take me away from you, right?"
But she immediately suppressed this dangerous answer, knowing it was definitely not what Naruto wanted to hear at this moment. She looked up, gazing deeply into Naruto's blue eyes with her own dark ones.
"Never. No matter what kind of power, no matter what kind of temptation, nothing is worth more than having you by my side. My ambitions, my dreams, from beginning to end, are only about you and no one else."
"So, please don't ask questions that make me sad, okay? I will never, ever abandon you, and please… never abandon me."
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