Meanwhile, everyone was cheating during the test, with precision and nerve.
Kankuro had disguised his puppet as a sentinel, letting it monitor the surroundings while subtly feeding him answers.
Gaara had his third eye hidden high above the room, crafted from his sand, scanning silently and feeding visual intel back to him like a hawk stalking prey.
Kiba pretended to be taking the test normally, but Akamaru, resting quietly on his head, was looking around, memorizing answers and quietly passing them on with small tail movements only Kiba could understand.
Dosu had closed his eyes, listening to the scratching of pencils all around. His ultra-sensitive ears picked up even the faintest strokes, recreating the rhythm and location of each answer being written, turning sound into patterns, and patterns into answers.
Shino had sent out his kikaichū beetles, hidden from sight, crawling across walls and desks, quietly feeding him information through subtle signals only he could interpret.
Tenten had used a setup of thin chakra threads linked to tiny mirror reflectors, bouncing light signals off surfaces, catching glimpses of answer sheets — a trapline of information feeding her exact data.
Fffsshhh!
A sudden gust of wind and a sharp clang echoed through the room.
A kunai sliced through the air, zipping past Naruto's cheek by mere inches before embedding itself with a sharp THUNK into the desk behind him.
What the hell?!
Naruto's eyes narrowed. His instincts flared, but he didn't move. Slowly, subtly, he turned his head.
A boy, sitting behind him, stood up in panic, eyes wide, face pale.
The sentinel of that column, without an ounce of hesitation, barked coldly,
"You have cheated five times. You fail! Your two teammates, get up as well!"
There was a cold silence.
The three stood up like prisoners hearing their verdict. There were no protests or excuses from them.
Their feet were heavy as they walked out of the room..
The silence was pierced again.
"No.43 and 27… FAIL!!"
Everyone froze.
More names followed.
There were some whispered murmurs and silent exits as the tension kept rising.
Student after student stood up and left — each failure cutting deeper into the rest of the examinees like a knife.
Time ticked forward, painfully slow, and soon, the 45 minutes were up.
"All right!" Ibiki's voice thundered through the room like a war drum. "Now... it's time for the tenth question!"
A wave of nervous energy rippled across the hall.
"But before that... I'm going to add a few special rules for this final question," Ibiki said, his grin sharp like a blade.
Right at that moment, Kankuro returned, walking in casually after his supposed toilet break.
Ibiki turned to him slowly, eyes gleaming.
"Looks like playing with dolls wasn't such a waste of time after all…"
Kankuro's heart dropped. His throat went dry.
He… figured Crow out?! He panicked inwardly, a cold sweat trailing down his neck.
"…Anyway. Sit down," Ibiki ordered flatly, no further comment.
Kankuro obeyed without a word, keeping his expression as still as he could — but his thoughts were racing.
Then Ibiki turned to the rest of the room.
"Now... listen carefully. These are hopeless rules."
The air grew heavier with every syllable.
"First… you will have to choose whether or not to take this final question."
Everyone stared at them, their expression confused.
"If you choose not to take the question... your score will be zero. You fail."
A few eyes widened.
"And of course… the same rule applies to your entire team," Ibiki added with grim finality.
There was immediate unrest among the students as mutterings spread like wildfire.
"What the hell?"
"That's unfair!"
"What kind of rule is that?"
Ibiki silenced them with one sharp glare.
"And one more thing…" He said, voice even lower — more dangerous.
"If you choose to take the question… and you fail to answer it correctly…"
His eyes swept over the room, pausing at faces filled with uncertainty.
"…then you will lose your right to ever take the Chuunin Exam again."
A chilling silence fell like a hammer.
Nobody moved for a few seconds.
Eyes flicked to teammates filled with desperation, uncertainty as the pressure mounted on the students.
And slowly, the fear began to win.
One hand rose.
"No.50… fails!" Ibiki declared coldly. "No.130 and No.111… will be failed as well!"
The ripple turned into a wave.
One by one, examinees stood and walked out — heads low, dreams shattered.
The hall grew emptier, and silent tension filled every corner.
Soon, only a handful of teams remained inside the hall.
The storm wasn't over as the tenth question still had yet to make its appearance.
At that exact moment, high above the tension-soaked exam halls, on the top floor of the academy… a small group of elite Jounin had gathered.
Kakashi leaned lazily against the sofa, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a worn book. He let out a long, tired sigh.
"There's nothing to do when the subordinates are gone, huh?" He muttered, eye visible yet distant, as if already foreseeing trouble.
Asuma, sitting on the sofa opposite him, lit his cigarette with his lighter, took a long drag, and exhaled smoke with a cool, knowing look.
"Well… it'll get busy soon enough," He said calmly.
Kakashi glanced at him. "Why?"
Asuma's expression darkened ever so slightly.
"This year's first proctor…" He paused, letting the tension sink in. "…I hear it's Morino Ibiki."
Kakashi visibly twitched.
"…Well then," He said flatly, "Passing the first exam already seems… iffy."
He reached up to rub his temple, a slight headache already forming behind that mask of his. "Of all the people… that sadist?"
"Sadist?" Kurenai asked, confused by their words, her brows furrowing. She crossed her legs and asked curiously. "What do you mean?"
Asuma turned to her, exhaling a slow trail of smoke through his nose. "Kurenai… you're a new Jounin… so you wouldn't know."
Kurenai looked intrigued now. "Who exactly is this person?"
Kakashi pushed off the railing, his voice low and dry.
"He's a pro. A real professional."
Kurenai blinked. "Professional? Of what?"
Asuma didn't answer immediately. He took another drag, the cigarette glowing red at the tip, the room briefly flickering with heat.
Then, with a cold, steady voice, he turned toward her and said:
"Of torture… and interrogation."
A weight settled in the room, and even the air felt heavier.
Asuma continued, voice smooth but dark.
"Well… there may be no physical torture in the exam itself…"
He let the smoke rise, curling around his words like a serpent.
"…But he'll definitely use his talents as an interrogator to torment them… psychologically."
Kurenai's eyes widened slightly. She understood now.
Asuma's gaze hardened, his tone colder.
"That man… is the Leaf Village ANBU's Torture and Interrogation Unit Marshall… Morino Ibiki."
There was a long silence.
Kakashi crossed his arms, his visible eye narrowing. "Ibiki completely understands how the human psyche works. And the most horrifying part…"
"…Is that he doesn't need to use blades?"
Asuma nodded. "By cornering people psychologically, he breaks them down… bit by bit. And when they shatter, he exposes the true weakness of a human being."
No one said a word after that.
The exam had just begun…
But for many of the Genin down below, it was already a battlefield of the mind.
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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