The Chunin Exams arrived as scheduled.
Originally, Rinjin had no intention of getting involved in the event, but he received a last-minute notification. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had assigned him to proctor the exams.
And not just one part of the exam—he was to oversee all three stages.
His task was simple: ensure the safety of every participating Genin.
Feeling a bit bored lately, Rinjin gladly accepted the straightforward mission.
Soon enough, the much-anticipated joint Chunin Exams began.
Since the exams were being held in Konoha, the rules naturally followed Konoha's standards:
The first stage was a written test.
The second stage was a field survival challenge.
The third stage was a tournament-style battle.
Inside the spacious tiered classroom of the Konoha Ninja Academy, Jiraiya stood at the front, wearing his standard Konoha Jonin vest. Behind him were seven or eight other proctoring shinobi. His stern gaze swept across the examinees.
"No need for long-winded speeches. Let me explain the rules!" Jiraiya announced loudly.
"Cheating is forbidden. If caught, your entire team will be expelled from the exam, and you'll be banned from ever participating in the Chunin Exams again.
No talking. No bathroom breaks. As shinobi, you're supposed to endure!
As for other rules... it depends on my mood!
Behave yourselves, and I won't make trouble for you. But if you piss me off, I'll invalidate your test scores on the spot!"
How willful!
Standing at the back of the classroom, Rinjin couldn't help but give Jiraiya a thumbs-up.
The actual rules of the exam were definitely not as simple as Jiraiya made them sound. But the guy was clearly too lazy to explain, so he just summed it up with "depends on my mood."
Once the test papers were distributed, the exam officially began.
Team Eleven's three members were seated in different corners of the classroom.
Rii sat in the very last row, sleeping soundly on her desk.
Handa and Fugaku Uchiha were seated in the middle, separated by four or five other examinees.
As the exam began, Jiraiya strolled around the classroom, keeping an eye on the participants. Before long, he wandered over to Rinjin, the two standing shoulder to shoulder like old friends.
"Rinjin, your students are participating too, aren't they?" Jiraiya whispered, his eyes quickly scanning the room.
Hearing this, Rinjin nodded and tilted his chin slightly, pointing out the locations of his three students.
Jiraiya's gaze immediately followed.
The closest, Rii, was sleeping soundly on her desk.
Not far away, Handa was pretending to write diligently, though Rinjin, experienced in exams, could tell at a glance that he wasn't actually answering the questions.
As for the youngest, Fugaku Uchiha, his head was slightly lowered, his gaze discreetly fixed on a ninja in front of him who was writing at lightning speed. Fugaku's hand moved rapidly across his own paper.
As one of the proctors, Rinjin knew that the ninja Fugaku was observing was Konoha's planted "reference answer."
In simpler terms, the first stage of the exam wasn't about testing the Genin's theoretical knowledge. It was primarily a test of their information-gathering abilities.
The "reference answer" was the target for these Genin to extract information from.
The goal of this test was to identify this individual among the examinees and replicate their answers.
As Rinjin pondered, Jiraiya suddenly spoke in a low voice:
"Your Uchiha student seems to be using his Sharingan to copy the 'reference answer's' movements."
"Yeah," Rinjin nodded casually.
Hearing this, Jiraiya cast a curious glance at Rinjin, voicing the question in his mind.
"So how is he going to pass the answers to his teammates?"
"Hehe~" Rinjin grinned mischievously, leaning closer to Jiraiya and whispering, "Take a guess. If you get it right, I'll treat you to a month of barbecue. Every meal, all you can eat. Plus, I'll take you to the hot springs every day."
At these words, Jiraiya's interest was immediately piqued.
You little punk. There's no one in this world who can cheat under my watchful eyes! That month of barbecue is as good as mine.
Determined, Jiraiya shifted his full attention to observing the three students' every move.
Midway through the exam, Fugaku exhaled a long breath of relief, setting down his pen after filling an entire sheet of paper. He glanced smugly at the other examinees around him.
At that moment, his gaze met Handa's, who had been looking around nervously.
Tsukuyomi!
With a silent command in his mind, Fugaku activated the ultimate genjutsu on his teammate.
In the Tsukuyomi realm, countless single desks appeared, each occupied by a version of Handa. In front of each Handa was a pen and a blank test paper.
Fugaku stood beside Handa, holding a whip.
"Handa, memorize the answers quickly! Big Sis Rii is waiting for us to pass them on!"
Hearing this, Handa sighed deeply, his face full of resignation.
Although they had used this method to transmit information countless times before, he still couldn't help but think that using Tsukuyomi to cheat was utterly absurd.
In the real world, less than a second passed as their gazes briefly intersected.
Immediately afterward, Fugaku covered his eyes while Handa clutched his temples, both looking visibly exhausted.
Jiraiya, ever observant, instantly noticed the anomaly. Nudging Rinjin with his elbow, he whispered smugly, "Those two brats just cheated!"
"Oh?" Rinjin responded nonchalantly with a nod.
In truth, Rinjin had already figured out his students' cheating strategy the moment Fugaku started writing furiously.
After all, he had trained these three himself. He knew exactly what they were capable of.
But Jiraiya didn't know that.
"Evidence, Jiraiya. You need evidence. You can't just rely on intuition!" Rinjin retorted with a sly grin.
You suspect me of being a murderer? Then show me the evidence! You can't just accuse me because I happen to be at the crime scene every time. Maybe I was just delivering takeout!
Seeing Rinjin's shameless attitude, Jiraiya's face darkened.
But the truth was, he really couldn't figure out how those two had managed to cheat!
Meanwhile, in the Tsukuyomi realm, Handa had finally memorized all the answers after what felt like an eternity.
Back in the real world, Handa set down his pen and slumped over his test paper, pretending to sleep.
At the same time, his hands, hidden under his sleeves, began forming seals.
Heavenly Transfer Technique!
A faint, imperceptible blue light flickered briefly. In an instant, a test paper filled with answers appeared in Rii's sleeve.
Without hesitation, Rii also formed seals.
Heavenly Transfer Technique!
A blank test paper was sent back to Handa's sleeve.
Sighing heavily, Handa picked up his pen and began writing all over again.
Standing beside Rinjin, Jiraiya's brows furrowed deeply.
For some reason, he felt that the barbecue he had been so confident about was slipping further and further away.
And why was that clueless kid, who had clearly finished writing earlier, suddenly scribbling furiously again?!
Unable to contain his curiosity, Jiraiya strode over to Handa's desk and looked at his test paper.
The next second, his pupils contracted in shock as he muttered under his breath:
"B-Blank?!?"
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