"Yeah, yeah, what a huge battle! I've never seen so many out-of-village ninjas at once!" Naruto leapt onto a high ledge, striking a dramatic pose reminiscent of the Monkey King, Son Goku, and shouted enthusiastically.
"You'll just look like a total idiot doing that, idiot!"
Sasuke frowned at Naruto's antics, immediately distancing himself with a look that clearly said, "I don't know him."
"Hey, c'mon, just let us through already…"
"Listen up! I'm doing this for your own good. The Chunin Exams are no joke. If you mess up, you die. A Chunin is someone who leads a team—that means the lives of your squadmates are on your shoulders. If you fail, you'll be responsible for their deaths! Brats like you won't pass anyway, so I might as well send you packing now!"
As they approached the exam building, they heard the loud voices at the entrance.
Tian Yu, of course, knew this was just the standard intimidation tactic—a ploy used every year by Chunin examiners to weed out the weak-minded.
Originally, Rock Lee and Tenten were supposed to join the "performance" to prank the incoming candidates, but everyone in Konoha knew them too well. Their faces would give it away instantly.
"You have to beat them to get inside? Sounds like a challenge. Should we take them on?" Tenten asked with a mischievous smile.
"Yosh! This is a perfect warm-up! I've always wanted to test my strength against fellow Chunin!" Lee shouted, eyes blazing with enthusiasm and eyebrows twitching.
"It's just two Chunin..."
Neji Hyuga muttered flatly, clearly unimpressed, his pale eyes calm.
Then his gaze shifted subtly to Tian Yu—his true goal.
At that moment, Tian Yu gave a soft chuckle.
"No need. Leave it to me. Sister, I promised to escort you to the exam room, remember?"
Tian Yu, now officially a Jonin—and even serving as an examiner for the second stage of the Chunin Exams—had no reason to participate in the first phase.
But since his younger sister, Tenten, was visibly nervous, he decided to accompany her to the venue personally, using it as an excuse to help calm her pre-exam jitters. So, he brought along Neji and Lee's team too.
As Tian Yu approached the door,
The previously smug and stern expressions of the two guarding Chunin immediately shifted to seriousness. Then, as they recognized him, their tone changed completely.
"L-Lord Tian Yu, do you have any orders?"
"My sister is here for the Chunin Exams. Can her team go in?"
"O-of course! Please, go right in!" the Chunin said with forced smiles and straightened postures.
From behind Tian Yu, Lee and Tenten were stunned.
Wait—what?
You can just... get in like that?
No fighting? No mind games?
Neji remained composed. As a Hyuga from the Branch Family, he'd seen this kind of status-based privilege before. In fact, it would've been odd not to give Tian Yu such treatment.
"I'm jealous~"
A few murmurs rose from the crowd nearby, envious of how effortlessly Tenten's team bypassed the whole ordeal and stepped into the building.
Soon after they entered, the remaining genin teams followed in succession.
Now, all twelve of the original Konoha rookies were gathered in the exam hall:
Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuga.
"Phew, thank goodness he's not taking the exam with us," Kiba muttered with relief, throwing a glance toward the door.
Everyone immediately understood who he meant.
If Tian Yu were among the competitors, he would definitely sweep through them all without effort. It was a consensus that brought a small, shared sigh of relief to the group.
Then, the first written test began.
As expected, Sasuke used the Sharingan to observe and copy other examinees' answers without being caught. Sakura, blessed with sharp memory and academic brilliance, solved the questions on her own with ease. Naruto… scratched his head raw, desperately trying to think but coming up with nothing, just like in the manga.
Tenten, meanwhile, adjusted a sleek pair of tactical glasses—one of Tian Yu's custom-made gifts.
While not especially powerful, they were extremely practical.
Once equipped, the glasses granted her vision comparable to the Byakugan, allowing her to see clearly across the room and monitor other people's answer sheets. Copying answers became trivial.
The only flaw in the tool was its limited range—100 meters.
Still, it was advanced enough that if it weren't for that limitation, it might have drawn attention from enemy nations.
As the test progressed and more and more teams were eliminated for cheating or failing to answer, the intimidating proctor, Ibiki Morino, stepped forward and announced the infamous final question.
"Now comes the tenth question. What you must choose is... to take it or not to take it," he declared grimly.
Take it or not?
The simple question echoed in the minds of the remaining genin.
"What happens if we don't take it?" someone asked.
"If you don't take it, your score is zero. You'll be disqualified from the rest of the exam. Your entire team will be disqualified too," Ibiki said calmly.
He continued, voice heavy with authority:
"But if you do take the question… and fail… you'll lose the right to ever participate in the Chunin Exams again."
The room exploded in whispers and gasps.
This was the psychological barrier—the heart of Ibiki's method. Testing resolve more than intelligence.
"To those of you uncertain of your abilities… it's better to leave now. Try again next year—or the year after. You may still have another chance."
One by one, nervous genin began to raise their hands and leave. Fear was contagious.
From afar, watching through binoculars on a tall building, stood Tian Yu and Anko Mitarashi, the examiner for the second round.
"Ugh… that creepy Ibiki guy. He always gives me the chills. But I gotta admit, he's a master at getting into people's heads. Every year, he scares off at least half the candidates in the written test," Anko said, lazily observing.
She peeked at Tian Yu with some curiosity.
This guy... is a chief examiner… and he never even took the Chunin Exams himself? Unbelievable.
Tian Yu gave a light shrug.
"Fine by me. Those spineless Taki-nin who just left were going to fail anyway. Better that they quit early and save us the trouble in the Forest of Death."
"Wait—you actually know who just left? You weren't even using binoculars!" Anko looked surprised.
The exam room was several hundred meters away—there was no way to see anything without aid.
Tian Yu just gave a faint, knowing smile.
Of course he could see.
Not with a telescope—but with another one of his ninja tools. His system inventory was already loaded with all kinds of gadgets and enhancements.
The glasses he'd given Tenten? Just one example.
Right now, he was using another—sleek contact lenses with observation functions. So subtle, even Anko hadn't noticed.
After all, in this world, most people didn't even know what contact lenses were.
…
Back in the exam room—
A loud slam echoed through the hall as a hand struck a desk.
"I… I'm taking the test!" shouted Naruto defiantly.
All heads turned toward him.
Ibiki narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure? If you fail… you'll never take this exam again."
Naruto looked him dead in the eye.
"I know that… but I'm a ninja now! If I run away here, I'll be nothing but a coward! My big brother would never forgive me if I gave up!"
He clenched his fists, voice rising with conviction.
"I may be a long way from my big brother now, but I won't give up on catching up to him! He told me I'd become an amazing ninja one day—and I promised him I'd walk that path! No matter how hard it gets, I'll keep going!"
His words echoed across the room, filled with raw spirit.
Sasuke, Ino, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, and the others—all of whom had looked uncertain just moments before—suddenly had renewed resolve.
Even if it meant they'd never get another chance, they would not quit now.
Dreams like that… deserved to be protected.
Ibiki, stone-faced as always, gave a rare blink of surprise.
For just a moment… even he was moved.
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