---
"Let's go."
Ye Dou was the last to arrive, but he was the first to walk into the building—taking the lead as if he were the captain.
As they reached the second floor, they saw a commotion up ahead.
A group of Genin were gathered around something. At the center of it all was Rock Lee, just like in the original story, caught in the illusion trap set by the disguised Chūnin examiners to test awareness.
Ye Dou didn't bother stopping. He simply walked past without a glance.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Naruto asked loudly.
"Idiot," Sasuke muttered, annoyed. "This is the second floor. Room 301 is on the third."
He glanced at the crowd of deceived Genin, scoffing. "Hmph. If this is what the Chūnin Exams are like, it's a joke."
---
[Room 301 – Chūnin Exam Hall]
Ye Dou, Naruto, and Sasuke arrived at Room 301 without further delay.
The moment they pushed open the door, the air changed.
Inside were dozens of Genin from different villages, many of them wearing headbands with foreign insignias—Hidden Rain, Grass, Sound, and more. As the Konoha trio entered, eyes turned.
In here, everyone was a potential enemy. Even teammates, under the right circumstances, could become disposable.
Ye Dou scanned the room. His gaze stopped on a few Grass-nin in the back. Using his heightened perception, akin to Observation Haki, he assessed them.
"Chakra signatures… this isn't Orochimaru."
He relaxed slightly.
Despite his disgraceful reputation for turning rogue, Orochimaru was a former Konoha Sannin and a Kage-level threat. His expertise in forbidden jutsu and experimentation made him especially dangerous.
The so-called "Legendary Sannin" weren't given that title lightly. Whether it was Tsunade's raw power and medical mastery, Jiraiya's Sage Mode and infiltration skill, or Orochimaru's ruthless pursuit of immortality—they were all terrifying in their own ways.
Just as Ye Dou finished scanning the room, a mocking voice cut through the air.
"Tch. Letting kids like this take the Chūnin Exams? Konoha really is getting soft."
It came from a Hidden Cloud (Kumogakure) Genin.
Naruto clenched his fists. Always the hothead, he shot back immediately. "What'd you say, bastard?!"
In seconds, an all-out shouting match broke out. Konoha's "Rookie 9" and others from their village quickly rallied behind Naruto, trading insults with Genin from other nations.
In the corner of the room, a Hidden Sound (Otogakure) ninja observed silently.
"So that's Uchiha Sasuke…" he thought, analyzing the boy's movements. "Twelve years old and hasn't awakened his Sharingan? Is Orochimaru-sama really planning to use him as the next vessel?"
The Sound-nin—secretly one of Orochimaru's pawns—had a mission: gather intel on Sasuke.
After being burned by Uchiha Itachi and left to die, Orochimaru had shifted his attention from Itachi to his younger brother. He believed he could eventually take over Sasuke's body using the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique—a forbidden jutsu that allowed the user to transfer their soul into a new host.
But before that, he had to confirm Sasuke's potential.
In truth, Sasuke had already awakened his Sharingan after the encounter with Haku in the Land of Waves, but due to inexperience, he couldn't maintain or control it freely yet.
The Sound-nin's eyes then shifted to another candidate—Ye Dou.
"Yagami Ye Dou… not much aptitude in ninjutsu or genjutsu, but his taijutsu is elite. During the Land of Waves mission, he pursued an enemy jōnin-class target solo. Given enough time, he might become the next White Fang of Konoha."
He knew Ye Dou had accomplished a B-rank mission alongside Team 7—something extremely rare for new Genin. The intel gathered during covert surveillance had made one thing clear: despite his cold methods and violent style, Ye Dou was incredibly dangerous.
BOOM!
A thick cloud of smoke suddenly filled the room. Everyone fell silent.
Out from the smoke stepped a man with a scarred face and cold eyes: Morino Ibiki, head of Konoha's torture and interrogation unit, and the chief examiner of the first phase of the Chūnin Exams.
"I've kept you waiting," he said in a calm, emotionless voice. "I'm Morino Ibiki. I'll be your examiner today."
The room tensed. Ibiki's presence alone made the air heavier.
Two long, gruesome scars ran down his face—visible proof of the torture he endured during the Third Shinobi World War. Captured by enemy forces, Ibiki had survived brutal interrogation but never revealed a single Konoha secret. His mind was a fortress.
Even now, beneath his uniform, his body bore countless scars. But it wasn't just his resilience that made him infamous—it was his unmatched skill in psychological warfare.
"Hand in your application forms," Ibiki ordered. "Take a number. Sit where you're assigned. The written test will begin shortly."
No one dared question him.
Within minutes, the examinees were scattered throughout the large classroom, separated from their teams.
---
Ye Dou found his seat.
As he turned slightly, he saw Hyūga Hanabi—younger sister of Hinata—smiling at him from across the room.
"Ye Dou, good luck," she whispered.
He raised an eyebrow. "You sure about this?"
Hanabi nodded. "Even if I don't know the answers, I've got my Byakugan. My sister's the smart one—but I'm sneaky!"
Clearly, she was planning to cheat using her clan's dōjutsu.
Ye Dou didn't reply. He simply turned back to his desk, calm and expressionless, ready for the trial ahead.
---
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