Hearing Uchiha's words, Kushina laughed.
"Now that's the spirit! I'm already liking this exam. It's been a while, Mikoto."
"I'm glad to see you again, Kushina."
Shikaku, who had been standing nearby, noticed a familiar face, stepped closer, and asked,
"Hey, Kuro, so you're here too. What do you think, are they going to make us suffer?"
"Considering how many shinobi have gathered here, definitely," Kuro replied, glancing around.
"What a pain…" Choza sighed while eating chips.
"I heard more than half the participants get eliminated after the first stage," Inoichi shared.
Other teams were present as well, such as Team Seven and Team Eight, along with older, more experienced ninja. Some looked at others with challenge in their eyes, some with cold calculation, and some with open superiority. The exam had gathered an entire generation of shinobi under one roof, each of whom had something to prove.
Kuro felt it especially clearly.
"It's starting…" Mikoto said quietly.
At that moment, the massive doors at the far end of the hall swung open with a heavy sound. Ten examiners entered.
The conversations died down almost instantly. The air seemed to grow heavier, denser.
One of the shinobi stepped forward, his gaze sharp, without a trace of friendliness.
"Welcome to the Chunin Exam. My name is Yamanaka Teiichi," he announced loudly. "If you are here, it means you consider yourselves worthy of the next rank. The first stage of the exam begins right now. Let me say immediately—this will not be a test of your combat skills, but merely a written exam. Please follow us and take your seats according to your assigned numbers. You will have exactly one hour to write answers to all questions. Anyone caught cheating three times will be immediately disqualified. Also, fifteen minutes before the end, you will be given the final question of the exam. The result will depend on the total points earned by all members of your team. Begin!"
The participants took their seats. Kuro sat next to an Aburame. Sheets with questions were placed in front of them; after reading them, he realized they were truly difficult. Each question concerned tactics, shinobi history, chakra, hand seals, or mathematical calculations. Fortunately, he knew the true purpose of this stage was to test stress resistance and information-gathering skills.
"This is terrible! It's impossible to answer this," Nawaki whispered from the other side of the classroom, staring at the first question.
Barely ten minutes into the exam, Mikoto activated her Sharingan and began quickly copying the hand movements of a participant sitting nearby who was continuously filling out his sheet.
Kuro smirked inwardly.
Still, I shouldn't rely entirely on knowledge from my past life. What if a blank sheet counts as failure in this exam? Or if Nawaki becomes too careless and gets disqualified? I'll have to help him as well.
Unnoticed by the others, his shadow began to move, merging with the shadows of other participants until it reached one of the genin solving problems. Instead of restraining his movements and forcing him to copy, Kuro adjusted to the shadow, completely mirroring his movements.
Time passed. Some participants were eliminated after being caught cheating, while others frantically filled in their sheets. Shikaku had, of course, already finished everything and was sleeping on his desk with a lazy smile, while his classmates used their advantages—insects, dogs, Sharingan, Byakugan—everything was in play. Surprisingly, only for Minato and Kushina did this test become truly problematic due to the lack of suitable techniques.
Namikaze still managed to answer half of the questions on his own, as he was a rather intelligent and diligent student. Being clanless, he always tried to study more than what was required by the academy curriculum. But for Uzumaki this trial could have been her last if not for the Hyuga, who had already finished copying and somehow managed to pass her the answers. At that moment, one should have seen the girl's face—it seemed she believed in all the gods at once.
"Time's up! But before we check your work, the tenth question! However, first you must decide whether you are ready to risk your future for the answer. If not—leave now."
The hall froze in confusion, and soon a question was heard.
"What do you mean by saying we have to risk our future?"
"Oh, it's nothing special really. Simply put, those of you who choose to answer the question but do so incorrectly will lose the right to ever become chunin!"
Upon hearing the examiner's words, a wave of outrage immediately rose in the classroom.
"What nonsense!"
"There are people here taking the exam not for the first time!"
"What right do you have to deprive us of the chance to take it again later?!"
"If you are not confident in yourselves, you can always withdraw and try again next year."
Nawaki clenched his fist. Although Kuro had helped him fill out his test sheet with his shadow, what if the tenth question would be individual for each of them?! Looking once more at his teammates, whose faces showed absolute confidence, he shook his head as if trying to cast away all doubts and said firmly, though quietly:
"We're staying!"
When the first participant stood up and declared his withdrawal, the snowball effect was inevitable. One by one, genin left the hall. Soon more than half the seats were empty.
Yamanaka smiled.
"Congratulations. You have passed the first stage. Based on your answers, a team ranking will be compiled, determining the pairs for the second stage."
The hall erupted with sighs of relief and curses. Kuro smirked.
"Classic. But there are still two stages ahead. The exam has only just begun."
They were given only a few hours of rest between stages.
The genin scattered through the corridors—some silently processing what had happened, some frantically discussing further strategy, and some simply sitting and staring at the wall. The tension had not disappeared; on the contrary, now that only the prepared participants remained, it only thickened.
Kuro sat with his back against a cold wall, silently analyzing what had happened. The first stage had given them an advantage—the team had passed quite confidently and should have earned a high score. Though it did not particularly concern him, because from now on everything would be decided not by cunning, but by real strength, in which he was confident.
A few hours later, a buzz of voices rose in the main hall. A large board displaying the team rankings was put up. The genin rushed toward it almost running, hoping to learn the matchups for the second stage three-on-three team battles—before the others.
"Found it?" Nawaki asked, peering over people's heads.
Mikoto silently looked at the board, her gaze quickly scanning the lines.
Team Nine — 4th place. Opposite them was Team Eight — 13th place. Its members were: Hitori Kin, Watane Atsushi, Uchiha Suyen.
"Suyen Uchiha? So we'll be facing the Sharingan right away. You'll take him, Mikoto," Kuro said. "As for the others, Kin is strong in kenjutsu, I'll handle her. Atsushi is just a heavyweight relying solely on close combat. He's yours, Nawaki."
Mikoto nodded.
"This will be interesting. The main thing is not to reveal all our cards at once."
At that moment, the voice of one of the examiners echoed through the hall.
"Teams who passed the first stage, proceed to the training complex. The second stage of the exam begins immediately."
The specially equipped hall turned out to be much larger than expected. A high ceiling, reinforced walls. The floor was divided into several battle arenas. Balconies lined the perimeter.
And on them already stood the mentors of the teams who had passed.
Orochimaru observed from above, arms crossed, his snake-like eyes lazily following what was happening. Not far away, Kuro noticed Sarutobi Seihu —a sturdy man with short dark hair and the sharp gaze of a veteran. He stood calmly, but his attention was fully focused on his team.
"Now then," the chief examiner's voice rang out. "The second stage of the Chunin Exam will consist of three-on-three team battles. Victory is awarded when the opposing team is completely taken out of the fight or if they surrender. Killing is prohibited, but serious injuries are permitted. We will evaluate not only your strength, but also your teamwork, tactics, and leadership. We will begin with the team that placed first in the written test. Everyone else, please proceed to the balcony."
Orochimaru's team climbed the side stairs to one of the balconies. From here, the arena was visible as if in the palm of one's hand—every strike, every movement, every mistake.
"I didn't think you would pass the first stage so smoothly. But now your strength will decide everything. So don't hold back."
Mikoto nodded, her eyes burning with excitement.
"Of course, sensei. We will win."
Orochimaru gave a short smile and nodded.