Menma ignored the obviously calculating Kabuto, his attention locked on the system in his mind.
[Corruption Points +5000]
[Current Corruption Points: 15,000]
[Trust Level: 62% (Cannot Drop Below 45%)]
Because his trust level had exceeded 60%, it was now easier for Menma to gain Corruption Points from Naruto. For example, his recent show-off act, and the praise and envy he received after his appearance, changed things. Even beating up Rock Lee, who had confessed to Sakura, and Lee's teacher, Guy, generated Corruption Points due to vanity and the satisfaction of being admired.
It was different from before, when he only gained them from simple negative emotions or the pleasure of revenge. Menma thought this was normal. After all, the Corruption Points needed to exchange for powerful jutsu were simply too much. If gaining points remained this difficult even in the later stages, he'd start to doubt the system's professionalism.
"5000 points in one go! Did some trick trigger Naruto's brain-dead climax?"
Looking around, Menma quickly spotted the female ninjas peeking at him and Sasuke. They were even secretly shipping them, blushing at their similar yet different auras. However, the moment they noticed Menma's cold gaze, they all turned red and pretended to count ants on the ground.
[Corruption Points +50]
[Corruption Points +50...]
Okay, that was it, Menma thought. It was because he was being praised for his looks, because he was getting the same handsome treatment as Sasuke. That's why Naruto, who was watching from the first-person perspective, was so thrilled. But thinking about the girls' disgusted attitude toward him in Naruto's memories, it all clicked.
His cold expression melted, and he smiled slightly at the female ninjas. They immediately screamed.
[Corruption Points +500!]
"Heh. As expected of you, kid," Menma muttered, turning his gaze away.
He ignored Naruto's question and looked at Might Guy on the exchange list.
[Might Guy]
[Corruption Points: 30,000]
Exchanging all of Guy's current abilities would cost 30,000 — about 15,000 more than the complete Hiruzen Sarutobi. This was because Hiruzen knew too many jutsu. Otherwise, his price might not even reach 10,000—less than Danzo. One of Hiruzen's Mangekyō Sharingan was worth as much as Hiruzen's entire worth, and Kakashi's current worth was also supported by his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Unfortunately, Menma didn't have enough Corruption Points to play with his eyes; he only had one. Therefore, he didn't exchange any, wasting his already limited points.
Regaining his composure, Menma directly opened the detailed list, lacking sufficient points.
[Kage-level Taijutsu]
[Corruption Points: 4000]
[Basic Taijutsu Techniques]
[Corruption Points: 1000]
[Summoning Jutsu: Turtle]
[...]
[Eight Gates]
[Corruption Points: 24,000]
[Gate of Opening]
[Corruption Points: 3000]
[Gate of Rest]
[Corruption Points: 6000]
[...]
[Gate of Death]
[Corruption Points: 24,000]
The exchange method was similar to the Nine-Tails Chakra exchange. However, the Eight Gates were significantly cheaper, costing only 3,000 more per stage. The Gate of Death was equivalent to opening the previous seven gates, hence the Corruption Points required for the full Eight Gates.
If he exchanged for the Gate of Opening first and the Gate of Death later, the points consumed by opening the gate would be automatically deducted.
Menma glanced at his Corruption Points.
[Current Corruption Points: 16,000 (gained 1,000 from selling laughter)]
After a quick calculation, he clicked the exchange button.
[Exchange Successful!]
[Kage-level Taijutsu - 4,000]
[Basic Taijutsu Techniques - 1,000]
[Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain - 12,000]
[Current Corruption Points: 0]
The moment the exchange completed, Menma felt a warm current flowing through his limbs and bones. Simultaneously, his seated body trembled violently, then seemed to grow several centimeters taller out of thin air. The muscles hidden beneath his clothes bulged, displaying perfectly streamlined lines.
Sasuke, seemingly sensing something, abruptly turned his head to stare at Menma. Although Menma was sitting upright, making it impossible to discern anything physically, Sasuke felt that Menma was different from before.
Before he could ask, a loud thump rang out.
Morino Ibiki, draped in a black overcoat, appeared at the front of the classroom with his team of examiners.
"Silence! Everyone back to your seats, prepare for the exam!"
Ibiki's voice wasn't loud, but it was powerful, carrying a heavy, menacing aura that instantly intimidated everyone in the room. Everyone obediently found a seat and sat down.
"My name is Morino Ibiki, and I'm the examiner for your first exam..."
After everyone sat down, Ibiki began explaining the exam rules — basically, fighting and killing were prohibited during the exam. There were ten questions, worth ten points. One point was deducted for each wrong answer, and two points were deducted for each instance of cheating. If one person in a team lost all their points, the entire team would be eliminated, and so on.
Because Naruto had been replaced by Menma, Sasuke and Sakura didn't unleash their killing intent on him as they had in the original story.
As the proctoring ninja distributed the exam papers, the exam officially began.
Menma held the exam paper and looked at it curiously. The first question was about deciphering coded messages. Good—he couldn't answer it. The second question required determining the range of a projectile based on its parabolic shadow, explaining the characteristics of enemies that might appear within that range, and the possible range and basis for the projectile's use.
Good—he couldn't answer that either!
Naruto shook his head repeatedly as he looked at the questions.
"Menma, thank goodness you helped me answer the questions. If I had to do it myself, we might have all been eliminated..."
Naruto hadn't finished speaking when Menma slammed his pen down and stood up.
"What are you doing?!"
"You don't know the answers, and you can't do them either. Are you trying to cheat?!"
"That won't do! You'll lose points!"
"Shut up!" Menma snapped angrily.
He genuinely didn't know the answers, but this exam wasn't really testing knowledge. It was testing information gathering ability—in other words, his cheating ability. But with his strength, did he need to cheat to gather information?
Tailed Beast transformation plus ten or so Tailed Beast Balls would directly nuke the root of the trouble. There was no need to gather any nonsense information.
So Menma got up, intending to offer Ibiki something to eat: like a fist the size of a casserole dish, Nine-Tails chakra, or something like that...
But before he could leave, the examinee sitting next to him quickly handed him a completed exam paper and a slip of paper.
"Sir, this is your perfect score exam paper," the examinee whispered.
After reading the contents of the slip, Menma looked up at Ibiki, who wore a rather ugly, apologetic smile on his scarred face. Clearly, the person who handed him the slip was specifically arranged to sit next to him and help him answer the questions!
Menma was wondering why Hinata was sitting in the back, which was different from the original plot. He originally thought it was because his appearance made her too shy, but now it seemed she had actually been pushed out.
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