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[+200 power stones = +1 extra chapter]
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The noise drew glares from other examinees.
A bespectacled boy Kabuto Yakushi stepped forward with a polite cough.
"Mind keeping it down?" he said, adjusting his glasses. "Look around."
The Konoha genin glanced at the surrounding candidates. Hostile stares bored into them.
Kabuto explained, "Everyone's on edge before the exam. No need to provoke them."
Sakura shrank behind Naruto, whispering, "They do look scary…"
Ino blinked. 'Since when did the brash Sakura act so timid?'
Naruto wasn't fooled. He plucked Sakura from behind him. "Quit exaggerating."
"Yes, Naruto-kun~" Sakura fluttered her lashes, twirling a strand of hair. Then she shot Ino a victorious smirk.
Ino's eye twitched.
Nearby, Temari observed Naruto with amused interest. "Annoying playboy… but he's got charm."
Her gaze flicked to Kankuro. Compared to Konoha's golden boy, her brother looked like a scruffy puppet reject.
Kankuro shuddered. "Why do I feel insulted?"
Meanwhile, Sasuke studied Kabuto. "Who are you?"
Kabuto smiled. "Kabuto Yakushi. I've taken the Chūnin Exams… several times."
Sasuke raised a brow. "So you've got experience?"
"Somewhat." Kabuto tapped a stack of ninja info cards. "Took me four years to compile these. Two hundred profiles, every notable candidate."
Kiba frowned. "Ninja cards?"
"Detailed dossiers," Kabuto clarified. "If there's someone you're curious about, just ask."
Sasuke didn't hesitate. "Hyūga Neji."
Kabuto sifted through his cards. "Ah, Neji. Graduated early under Might Guy. Hyūga prodigy with the Byakugan. Flawless mission record, even B-ranks barely challenge him."
He glanced up. "Frankly? Top five strongest here."
Sasuke shrugged. "Explains the arrogance."
Neji, who'd approached with Rock Lee and Tenten, overheard. His pale eyes narrowed. "Arrogance is an Uchiha trait. Your data isn't what interests me."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, hiding a smirk. 'Perfect. Riling up Orochimaru sama targets against each other? Ideal.'
"Then whose profile do you want?" Kabuto asked.
Neji's voice chilled. "A boy with 'love' tattooed on his forehead."
Recognition flashed in Kabuto's eyes. He pulled Gaara's card.
"Gaara of the Sand. No weaknesses. Like Neji, he's completed B-ranks, but without a scratch."
A murmur spread through the room.
B-rank missions unharmed? That wasn't talent, it was monstrous.
Rock Lee, still stinging from his loss to Sasuke, clenched his fists. "What about Uchiha Sasuke?"
Kabuto's smile turned knowing. "Him? More terrifying than Gaara."
He let the words sink in.
"Sasuke's team undertook one mission, an A-rank. When combat broke out, he soloed three Kiri Swordmaster. All Chūnin-level. All dead."
Gasps erupted. Kirigakure's swordsmen were legendary.
"Worse," Kabuto continued, "Sasuke has the Sharingan. Where Gaara has almost no flaws? Sasuke has none. He's guaranteed to pass."
The room buzzed with panic.
"Three Chūnin?!"
"Why's he even taking this exam?!"
"This isn't fair!"
Rock Lee, however, grinned. "Then I'll train until I defeat him!"
Kabuto waited for the chaos to peak, then dropped his bombshell.
The tension in the examination hall was thick enough to cut with a kunai. Whispers slithered through the rows of desks like snakes through grass.
"Did you hear? That Uchiha kid took down three chūnin by himself," muttered a Suna genin, fingers nervously tapping his pencil.
His teammate swallowed hard. "And he's only second best? What kind of monsters has Konoha been breeding?"
At the front of the room, Kabuto adjusted his glasses, the lenses flashing white to hide his smirk. The information was spreading exactly as planned.
Sakura's knuckles whitened around her pencil. "Naruto," she whispered urgently, "everyone's staring at us."
Naruto leaned back in his chair, completely at ease. "Relax, Sakura. Let 'em stare." His blue eyes flicked toward the Sand siblings. "Though that redhead looks like he wants to wear my skin as a coat."
Sasuke's Sharingan activated briefly. "The one with the gourd? His chakra feels... wrong."
"Ya think?" Naruto snorted. "Guy's probably never heard of shampoo either."
The attempted joke fell flat. Sasuke's gaze remained locked on Gaara, who was now muttering to himself, his fingers twitching like spiders.
Kankuro's puppet-laden back pressed against the wall as he eyed his unstable brother. "Gaara, maybe we should..."
"Silence," Gaara hissed, his teal eyes wide and unblinking. The sand in his gourd whispered restlessly. "That blond one... the beast inside me recognizes him."
Temari's fan creaked in her tightening grip. "That's impossible. The Nine-Tails is..."
"Quiet!" Gaara's voice dropped to a guttural growl. "I can taste its fear. This will be... interesting."
Suddenly, the door at the front of the room slams open with a heavy thud.
A towering, intimidating figure steps inside, flanked by several stone-faced proctors. His scarred face, hidden partially by his Konoha forehead protector and a spiked collar, sends an immediate wave of unease through the room.
This is Ibiki Morino, the head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Unit.
"So… this year's hopefuls, huh?" Ibiki muttered coldly.
The genin fall into a hushed silence as Ibiki's sharp gaze sweeps over them. His presence alone feels oppressive, as if he's already peeling back their fears with just a look.
Ibiki's scarred face might as well have been carved from stone as he paced before the blackboard.
"Listen up. I am Ibiki Morino, your examiner for the first test. The rules are simple, you follow them, or you're out. And trust me… you don't want to find out what happens if you break them."
Sakura gulps, her earlier bravado faltering, clutching her desk nervously, Sasuke narrows his eyes, analyzing the situation. Around them, other genin shift uncomfortably, some already sweating under the pressure.
Ibiki smirks, relishing the tension.
"Good. You're already starting to understand… This isn't just some written test. It's a battle of wits, nerves, and survival. Now..." He gestures to the proctors, who begin distributing the exam papers.
"Let's begin."
The room is dead silent except for the rustling of papers. The weight of the moment settles in—the real Chunin Exams have just begun.
Naruto stared at his test. The kanji might as well have been dancing. "Okay... question one: 'Describe the optimal hand signs for a multi-directional shuriken transformation while accounting for wind resistance.'" He blinked. "What the actual hell?"
In his mindscape, Kurama yawned dramatically. "Pathetic. Even the weakest of my jinchūriki could..."
"Yeah yeah, you're super impressive," Naruto shot back mentally. "Now either help or let me fail in peace."
The fox growled but began scanning the room. "Third row, that girl with the glasses, she's writing perfect answers. And the proctor by the window knows all the solutions."
Naruto's hand began moving almost against his will, Kurama's chakra subtly guiding his pencil.
Ibiki's voice dropped to a dangerous level. "Now, before you answer the 10th question… I'll add a special rule."
The room tenses up as he pauses dramatically.
"If you choose to answer the 10th question… and get it wrong… you will be permanently banned from ever taking the Chunin Exams again. In other words… you'll remain a genin for life. "
Gasps fill the room.
"But there's an option. If you're unsure… you can quit now and try again next year with no penalty. So… what will it be?" Ibiki said grinning.
The genin are already sweating from the first nine near-impossible questions when Ibiki drops his final rule.
"There's one more condition… If you choose to answer the 10th question and fail, your entire team will be disqualified alongside you. Permanently."
The room erupts in panic.
Sakura panics, and even Sasuke grits his teeth.
Naruto, however, just grinned. "Jokes on you, my team's stuck with me anyway."
Ibiki's eye twitched. 'This blond brat was... unusual.'
As the clock ticked down, the Kusa genin suddenly stood, chair screeching. "That's not fair! Why punish the whole team?!"
"Disqualified," Ibiki said flatly.
"You can't..."
"Fair? This is war. In missions, your team's failure means death or the collapse of your village. If you can't handle this pressure, quit now." Ibiki nodded to the proctors. "Remove them."
As the protesting team was dragged out, Naruto caught Gaara's manic stare. The redhead mouthed two words:
"Soon, fox."
When the tests were collected, Ibiki made a show of flipping through them, then paused at Naruto's perfect score. His single visible eyebrow climbed toward his headband.
"Well well," he murmured. "Either the Nine-Tails is smarter than we thought... or someone's been very sneaky."
Across the room, Kabuto adjusted his glasses, hiding his surprise. 'Interesting development indeed.'
[Ding~ B-rank achievement unlocked!]
[+2 Simulation Tokens]
[Current Tokens: 5]
Naruto stretched as they exited. "Well that was..."
The tension in the room is thick after Ibiki Morino's brutal first exam. The remaining genin, now significantly fewer, sit in exhausted silence, having barely survived the psychological torture. Suddenly...
CRASH!
A window shatters as a wild-eyed, grinning kunoichi flips into the room, landing in a crouch. The genin jerk back in shock, this is Anko Mitarashi, the Second Exam's proctor.
"WELL, WELL! Look at all you poor little survivors!" Anko licks her lips with a manic energy.
Sakura screamed. Sasuke sighed. Naruto laughed.
Somewhere, a certain fox facepalmed. "I'm stuck with idiots."
"Congrats on not wetting yourselves during Ibiki's mind games… but the REAL fun starts NOW!"
She whips out a scroll with a flourish.
"I'm Anko Mitarashi, and I'll be your guide to HELL, aka the Forest of Death! Hope you've got your wills written!"
The real test was just beginning.
*****
Subject: 📢 Temporary Release Schedule Adjustment – But Bigger Stash Coming! ✍️🔥
Dear Beloved Readers,
First off—THANK YOU! 🌟 Your support, comments, and votes fuel this story more than ramen fuels Naruto. �🍜 (And that's saying something!)
Quick update: To make sure every chapter packs the punch it deserves and to build a fat backlog (so future-you gets binge-worthy updates!), I'm shifting to 2-3 chapters/week for a little while. ⏳⚡
Why?
🔍 Quality over speed: No rushed plots—just sharpened twists and deeper moments.
📚 Stockpiling: Like a squirrel with acorns, I'm hoarding chapters for a future feast!
💤 Avoid burnout: Even shadow clones need rest. (Ask Naruto.)
Good news? Once the stash is ready—BOOM!—back to (or beyond!) the old pace. 🚀
Miss daily updates? So do I! But think of this like training arcs: short-term pain for long-term "Holy crap, that was worth it!" 🔥
Your patience = legendary. Like, "Hokage-level patience." 🙏
Catch you in the next chapter! And hey—drop a comment with your wildest theory. Who knows? You might predict the next plot twist… 😉