Arriving at the real Room 301, Hyuga Hinata's silhouette appeared in the doorway.
The classroom was already crowded with Genin from every quarter; noisy chatter and appraising stares blended into a tense atmosphere.
Yet the instant Hinata stepped inside, the area near the door quieted almost involuntarily.
Her pale eyes swept the room calmly, resting on nothing in particular, yet seeming to take in everything at a glance.
The quiet aloofness radiating from her made her like a piece of ice dropped into boiling water, naturally isolating the surrounding clamor.
She chose a seat by the window, inconspicuous yet with a wide view, sat with her back straight, hands folded neatly on her lap, and closed her eyes to rest.
Her formidable Divine Sense was already spreading out like quicksilver, precisely capturing every Chakra fluctuation in the room.
Over by the Sand team, the savage, blood-tinged Chakra stood out most—Shukaku's Jinchuriki, Gaara.
A dangerous weapon.
Looks like everyone who should be here has arrived.
Her heart was calm, like an audience member who already knew the script, waiting for the actors to appear one by one.
'Ah! Hinata!' A bright voice rang out.
Hinata slowly opened her eyes to see Tenten walking over with a smile, Hyuga Neji following behind.
'You're here so early. I knew you'd come—after all, I heard you're really strong.'
Tenten sat beside her, lively and obviously in a good mood; perhaps thanks to the other day's pointers, she had some ideas now.
'The atmosphere in here feels so tense, and there are so many unfamiliar faces.'
Hinata nodded to Tenten.
'Mm, it is the Chunin Exams after all.'
Hyuga Neji stood to one side.
'Young Miss.'
'Mm, do your best. There are plenty of strong opponents this time; you might even suffer a bit,' Hinata replied coolly.
Neji fell silent; if anyone else had said that, he'd have sent a Vacuum Palm their way—he was a Genius, after all.
Unfortunately, the one who said it was Hinata.
Tenten meanwhile complained about how Rock Lee still hadn't arrived—they were almost late.
A short while later, another commotion sounded at the door.
'Ahhh! We're going to be late! It's all your fault, you thick-browed idiot!'
That was Sakura Haruno's exasperated voice.
'Aww, being called that by Sakura-chan hurts so much.'
'Ugh—you're so greasy! There's no way I'd ever like you, so give it up!'
Their figures appeared in the doorway.
Uchiha Sasuke brought up the rear, looking unhappy, clearly brooding over the outcome of some earlier duel.
Their arrival drew even more eyes.
Hinata's two teammates found her as well: Inuzuka Kiba came barreling over with Akamaru, while Shino Aburame followed in silence.
'Whoa, so many people!'
Kiba said loudly; Akamaru barked twice, and Shino pushed up his sunglasses.
Hinata opened her eyes, looked at her teammates, and said nothing.
She knew this exam was only a pretense—a test of Ninja intel-gathering and psychological endurance; buckle under the pressure and you were out.
If one of the three quit, the other two were dragged down, but Kiba and Shino needed no worry from her; both would pass, so there was no need to remind them.
Among the crowd Hinata also spotted Yakushi Kabuto, still human-looking, not yet the snake-man he would become.
'Hoh, the dream-fulfilling Great Master is here.'
She gave him an interested glance; she now knew the Edo Tensei herself, though she'd had no time to refine it and no present use for it.
Still, the jutsu was fascinating; she'd play with it later—perhaps, combined with Spiritual Energy, it could even fully resurrect the dead… Hokage Office.
On the Crystal Ball, Room 301 was shown clearly, the focus lingering on the white-eyed girl by the window.
Smoke curled slowly from Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe.
'This Chunin Exam won't be simple…'
Standing in the shadows, Danzo Shimura's expression was unreadable, thoughts unknown… The instant Morino Ibiki appeared at the head of the proctors, the classroom's clamor cut off.
'Sorry to keep you waiting! I'm the chief examiner for the first test—Morino Ibiki!'
The scar-faced man's voice was low and carried unquestionable authority.
'From this moment, take your assigned seats and keep quiet! No disputes are allowed during the first exam! I'm handing out the papers now!'
Everyone found their places; after he announced every rule, the test sheets were finally distributed.
Many inwardly wailed—especially Sakura, since the score was shared by the whole team.
'That Naruto… he won't mess this up, will he? He's great in a fight, but theory-wise he's still the dead last… What do I do… Is there any way to let him cheat…? Damn, looks like there isn't.'
Sasuke also glanced at Naruto now and then but said nothing; his focus was on how to cheat.
Naruto squinted at the paper, ready to tear his hair out—he couldn't understand a single question.
'What is this? Are these even words? I know every letter, but put them together and I've got no clue!'
Naruto's neighbor was Hinata.
Hinata lifted her pen, looked at the questions, and mused.
'…Maybe just hand it in blank; it doesn't matter, everyone passes in the end anyway.'
She could answer them; even if she couldn't, a quick Byakugan peek would let her copy the NPC examinees who knew the answers.
'Forget it, I'll scribble something—just to kill the boredom.'
…In the Chunin Exam hall, every candidate now showed their hidden tricks, each displaying their Divine Ability.
Gaara formed an eye from sand, relaying its vision to an external false eye to spy answers.
Kiba relied on his partner, a trained ninken, to peek and sync the intel back to him.
Neji simply used the Byakugan's X-ray sight to look through the person in front and read the sheet.
Ino glanced toward Sakura with mischievous intent.
'Heh… sorry, Sakura-chan, but you're top of the class in theory.'
'Mind Body Switch!'
With a heart-shaped projectile she seized control of Sakura's body.
'Hehehe, let me see…'
'Nice move—if it were me, I'd take it to the next level.'
Hinata glanced at Ino's main body.
'Hmm… wonder if Ino's body can still feel right now?'
She also saw Ninja refracting light with tiny blades to steal glimpses, Sasuke copying with his Sharingan,
and someone so bold as to disguise themself as a proctor, strutting openly through the room to scout.
Hinata realized every one of them was a prodigy.
'The people of Konoha are all so talented and fun to talk to—I just love being here.'