Chapter 62
ITACHI UCHIHA
Their time until the start of the exams passed in relative peace after the first incident with Iwa, as it should, given that their retinue was under the protection of one of Suna's most promising S-ranked shinobi.
Pakura of the Scorch Style was one of Suna's most prominent shinobi. She had been a part of the Suna allied force, which had been dispatched to aid Konoha forces during the initial days of the war with Kiri, though later on the forces had retreated as they realised that Konoha had little use for reinforcements against Kiri.
She seemed familiar with her brother, who continued to draw the ire from Iwa, Kumo, and Kir as the day of the exams continued to draw near.
In the end, the day of the exam came, and all of the participants were gathered in a Great Hall, as a jounin named Baki took the platform and addressed them all.
Each three-man cell was divided up, and three groups were formed, each having one member from each participating team. It was all random at first, and soon enough, each group was led to three different classrooms, each having only one door to enter and leave.
They were all seated, as a jounin stepped on the podium and informed them about the first exams. And the exam seemed fairly simple initially.
"The First exam is to be a written test," the proctor, a shinobi named Baki, explained as he stood behind the desk in front of the class.
The exam consists of one hundred questions, each worth one mark. If you answer a question correctly, you are awarded one mark. You get it wrong, and rather than one, two marks are deducted," and that seemed a fairly common practice for competitive exams, but he had an inkling that the exam would not be so simple.
"You will be evaluated as a team," he added, and Itachi raised a brow, as he saw the proctor smile.
"To pass, the collective score of each team must lie between forty and sixty percent. If the collective score is lower than forty percent or greater than sixty percent, the team shall fail the exam and be eliminated," and those words caused quite a commotion.
The smiles and the easy-going attitude vanished in an instant, as everyone realised that this was not going to be as simple as they had hoped.
He heard murmurs, and whispers erupt as many of the students began to frown, until a student from Iwa raised a hand.
"Is this a joke? As shinobi, we are supposed to strive towards excellence, yet this exam promotes mediocrity. Why should we be penalized for knowing more than others?" he taunted, clearly irritated by the exam terms, but Itachi was able to perceive the real purpose of the exams.
"You are right," the jounin agreed, much to everyone's surprise, and then in an instant the room became silent, as the jounin's expression shifted, as he pushed out his chakra and let it ripple across the room.
"But I don't believe I was done talking just yet," and that quickly established the hierarchy in the room, as they realised that this was not a simple exam. These were chunin exams, being held in a foreign nation.
"If any of you do not agree with the exam rules or contents, you are free to leave the Hall. But do know that doing so would result in the elimination of your entire team," the jounin warned them, as the Iwa genin sat back down nervously.
"Now, as I was saying, to pass the exam, your team's total score must be between forty and sixty percent. However, to encourage participants to give it their all, a special prize will be awarded to the person who scores the highest marks in their individual test," and that created quite a buzz.
This time, it was a kunoichi from a smaller village who raised her hand.
"Will the team of the highest scoring person be allowed to pass the exam?" she questioned, but the jounin seemed to have said all he wanted to as he smiled at the girl.
"The prize shall remain a secret until the exam is over, but I can say only one thing," he answered emphatically, before turning to them all.
"The person who wins that prize is certain to reach the Third Exam..." and his words caused a stir, as Itachi smiled, seeing through the ploy.
The jounin then ignored the other genin who had raised their hands as he finished.
"That is all I have to say. You will have an hour for the exam," and then he pointed towards a clock behind him.
"And of course, I do not need to mention that cheating, copying, or any attempt to make contact with your other teammates will result in automatic failure," he said. With that, he gave them all a final look as the proctors distributed the exams.
"Your time begins," and at that, he started the clock, and the sounds of paper flipping spread all around.
"NOW!"
0000
IZUNA UCHIHA
Izuna, along with the rest of the teachers from Konoha, were resting on the roof of one of the exam sites. He had just learned about the details of the First Exam, and he was honestly quite impressed by its design.
"They have cooked up quite an exam," he whispered as he scanned the question paper and set it aside, while they sat on the edge of the roof.
"I think it's quite tame," Konan disagreed, raising a brow as he turned towards her.
"Tame?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Yes, in comparison to the realm world, I would call an exam like this quite tame," and he chuckled.
"You are comparing this exam with war," he retorted, and she looked him in the eye, refusing to back down.
"That is what we are preparing them for, isn't it?" she argued, and the sad part was that she was partly right.
"How would you go about it?" he questioned, changing the topic, and she raised the paper with all the details once more.
"I would have each of the three answer fifty-five questions each," and the thing was that around ninety-five questions were rather simple and could be answered easily, the last five were troublesome and could be solved by only a select few.
"So, you would ignore the prize?" he questioned, and she nodded.
"This is the safest method," and it was a very logical point of view, and that was the purpose of this exam. It was a test of logic, impulse control, ambition, and teamwork.
The three buildings were all separated, and seals were placed around them to ensure that no contact could be established between the three buildings, thereby isolating each team member.
All team members had to reach the same conclusion. Otherwise, if even one of the team members adopted a different strategy, the entire team would lose.
"But a shinobi must have ambition," he argued, looking at the village in front of them, and Suna with its round buildings and glass gardens was quite beautiful, even though Izuna would hardly ever consider living in the place because of the sweltering heat.
Right now, though, they were protected from it by a paper umbrella, and a fan blew at the back, sending cool air their way, as they sat there contemplating.
Choza-san and Inoichi-san sat behind them, along with Pakura, resting as they had a cold coffee, specially prepared for the teachers.
"Do you think the team will adopt your strategy?" he continued, and this time the answer did not come as quickly.
"No," she answered after a minute of thought, and even though she had been their sensei for only some time, she had quite a good read on her three students.
"The team has been instructed to dominate so they will go for that prize," and that was where ambition came into play, for that prize was for the individual, not the team.
If there were any animosity within the team or hidden or obscured agendas, the team would fail the exam. This is because if all three members tried to achieve the highest score, the team would likely fail.
If one went for the highest score, and the other two went for a fifty-score mark, the team would fail again.
"Well, we will know soon enough, won't we?" and just then the Suna kunoichi walked towards them, bringing with her a tray, holding two glasses of cold coffee.
Izuna took the offered drink and found himself surprised by its taste as he took a sip.
"It's quite good," Konan said, sipping it as the orange-haired kunoichi sat down beside them.
"Thank you," the Suna kunoichi smiled, and thanked Konan for the compliment.
"You seem rather calm for someone whose team is being tested," Pakura asked, baiting Konan, who simply answered while sipping the drink.
"Well, what is there to stress about?" she answered nonchalantly.
"If they fail to pass an exam as simple as this, then they do not deserve to be shinobi at all," the Suna kunoichi seemed to take offense at her comment.
"Simple? You are calling this exam simple?" she asked, her brow twitching.
"Yes," Konan replied as Izuna smiled, sipped his coffee, and enjoyed the drama.
"Whoever set the exam set the bar too low. If the genin can calm down, any team could score the required masks with ease," Konan added, as Pakura scoffed.
"But can they subdue their temptation and ambition?" Konan shrugged.
"A true shinobi is simply a tool," Konan began in a somber voice.
"And tools have neither ambitions nor temptations...."
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And an hour later, a Suna shinobi came and gave Pakura the results for the three teams from Konoha.
"Team Inoichi has failed the exam," she announced as Inoichi-san sighed and began to rub his temple.
"Scores for the three members are: Takuya Uchiha, 93; Hito Hyuga, 55; and Mari Watanabe, 55, team average above 60 percent," the man said, shaking his head. It seemed that the Uchiha and Hyuga pride had cost his team the exam.
"Those idiots," he whispered, as she moved on to Choza-san.
"Team Choza has passed the exam," the Akimichi clan head said, smiling warmly.
"Kurenai Yuhi, Ebisu, and Fu Yamanaka each scored fifty marks in the exam," and that was Konan's strategy, and that left only her team now.
Pakura turned towards her and read the final result.
"Team Konan has passed the exam," and Konan's expression did not shift an inch at her words, as if in her mind, it was a certainty that Itachi and the trio would pass the exam.
"Anko Mitarashi zero marks, Saiko Uchiha fifty marks, Itachi Uchiha..." Her eyes moved towards him as she continued.
"...a hundred marks. He is also the genin with the highest marks," and at that, she put down the board.
"Congratulations, Choza, Konan," Inoichi-san said to them, before he added.
"I apologise for my team, it seems I was lacking in my teachings," and the Akimichi clan head placed a reassuring hand on his teammate's shoulder.
"It is fine, Inoichi. Two of our teams still passed," and he nodded.
"Yes, this exam was quite unsuitable for a team with that combination," referring to the Uchiha and Hyuga combination, for the two clans were well-known for their rivalry.
"Now, as the genin with the highest score, Itachi Uchiha will have the opportunity to skip the second test and proceed directly to the third and final stage...."
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.
.
Itachi found himself standing face to face with three of Suna's most prominent shinobi. The man in the middle wore the traditional white cloak and hat of the Kage, and upon it was the same inscription for 'four' as Minato-sama.
He was the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa of the Golden Sand—a shinobi who had single-handedly subdued Suna's bijuu, the one tails.
The two standing beside him were old, but before coming to Suna, his brother had made him prepare extensively on all the important figures of Sunagakure, and the two were amongst the pillars of the village—the infamous Gokyodai, Lady Chiyo, and Lord Ebizo.
"You refuse," the older woman questioned as Itachi nodded.
"Yes," he answered with no hesitation.
"I will participate in the second exam with my team," he announced, but it was the man in the middle who cut in.
"Are you certain about this, Itachi Uchiha? Your team could fail the second exam, and with that, you would lose any chance of becoming a Chunin." And that may be true, but they were a team, and he would not abandon them.
"Yes, I am certain," and there was silence in the room until the Kazekage leaned back and nodded.
"Then so be it, we will find an appropriate award for your achievement," and Itachi nodded.
"Thank you, Lord Kazekage, Lady Chiyo, Lord Ebizo," he said, and with that, he walked out of the room. The three inside each reacted quite differently.
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"A humble Uchiha…" chuckled the old woman. "I never thought I would see the day…"
"That boy has the makings of a true shinobi," whispered Ebizo, his eyes remaining fixed on the door, and added in a small whisper.
"Foolish boy!" he whispered, and glanced towards the chuckling old woman.
"If only you knew just who the examiner is for the second exam..."
0000
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