"The written test is scored one point per question. Anyone who scores below five fails."
"If even one person in your team fails, the whole team is eliminated."
Whether it was the five-question pass mark or the rule that the whole team is responsible, it all felt a bit harsh.
The students below looked at each other, unsure whether to speak, but no one said a word.
Sakura quickly flipped through the test in her hands. While there were some easy questions, Naruto definitely wouldn't pass with a five-point requirement!
And it was shared responsibility—if Naruto failed, they'd all be in trouble.
Suigetsu turned to look at Naruto's face and, of course, saw a look like he was already dying.
Yep. Even though they had some kind of connection to Hatake Satoru, that guy didn't give them any special help at all.
Hatake Satoru wrote a few rules on the board, then held up two answer sheets with a smile, looking down at the group of students.
"Let me say this first. These are the two answer keys I'll use to grade your papers."
"I don't like beating around the bush, so I'll just say it—at least two people in your group got the same version of the test."
"So cheating from each other won't help much. Even if two of you manage to get the answers right, one of you will still fail."
"Think carefully about what to do~"
The classroom went quiet. Everyone stared at their test papers and started thinking as fast as they could.
Hatake Satoru had made two very simple questions—the kind that Naruto and Sasuke might barely manage with his help. Everything else was beyond the normal level.
Even with his personal coaching, it only gave them a two-question edge. They'd still fail.
Hatake Satoru pursed his lips like a cat, smiling as he looked at the students below.
If it were someone like Sakura, who's super smart, this wouldn't be a problem. But no way would she get the same version as Naruto or Sasuke, so this was still a dead end.
When the bell rang, everyone lowered their heads and started working seriously. No matter what, they had to at least write down what they knew.
Suigetsu quickly scribbled down the answers to the two easy questions, then grabbed his cup and started sipping through the straw nervously.
After all, Kirigakure Village was known for training elite assassins.
If he failed a written test before even taking action, that'd be way too embarrassing.
Even if he somehow got the right answers—if it was from him…
Suigetsu paused and glanced at the two answer sheets on Hatake Satoru's desk, chewing on his straw with a troubled look.
No way—trying to grab the answers from that guy was even worse than just kicking him out of the room.
What should he do?
"Hmm…"
Kimimaro had already looked over most of the questions. He might not get a perfect score, but passing wasn't a problem.
Even though he didn't expect something like this, the test itself wasn't all that difficult for him.
Before the test started, Kimimaro had glanced at the test paper of the person next to him.
The biggest difference was that question three had a map—he had one, but the other person didn't.
There was no way this was just a simple written test. Hatake Satoru definitely had something else planned.
Kimimaro quickly went over everything Hatake Satoru had said in his mind.
He mentioned that cheating among them was unlikely, and he also talked about the answer location.
The answers!?
Kimimaro suddenly looked up at Hatake Satoru.
There was no need for him to give away where the answers were, and saying cheating wasn't likely was basically meaningless—he didn't punish anyone for cheating at all.
And there were no other exam proctors around, just Hatake Satoru sitting at the teacher's desk with two answer sheets next to him.
Could he really keep an eye on all the students and catch cheaters by himself?
Definitely not.
So even if someone cheated, it probably wouldn't matter.
He was clearly saying vague things to confuse them.
So sneaky.
There were two ways to get the answers: one was to find someone else with the same test and copy from them, and the other was to look at the answers near Hatake Satoru.
Not long after the exam started, many students began to catch on.
Most of them started making moves.
Whether it was copying from their own teammates or trying to sneak a peek at Hatake Satoru's desk, a lot of students were getting restless.
He wasn't a ninja, but he had the ability to control and crush sand.
Gaara had always been curious about Hatake Satoru, and now that he was here at the exam, things just got more interesting.
The sand around Gaara's wrist slowly swirled, forming a hidden eye that quietly floated toward the back of Hatake Satoru.
But this sharp, almost scary man acted like he hadn't noticed a thing and kept resting his face on his hand, lazily watching the students.
"Whoosh!"
With a soft sound, a thin senbon needle shot out and stuck firmly into the bottom of Kimimaro's desk.
A row of long, thin bones quickly moved across the floor just as the nearby students were poking their cheeks, pretending to think.
Haku slightly lowered his head and saw the moving bones under the desk, then started copying the answers they spelled out.
····················
Suigetsu frowned awkwardly. Kimimaro had also sent him a message earlier, but it turned out he got a totally different test—probably because he was the worst among them.
So he had to figure it out on his own.
When Suigetsu looked up, he saw the sand-made eye floating behind Hatake Satoru and his eyes widened in shock.
He's totally going easy on them! With his skills, there's no way he couldn't notice that eye!
The eye hovered for a second, glanced at the answer sheet, then looked at Suigetsu before quickly turning back into fine sand.
Suigetsu clenched his teeth. The more he understood how strong Hatake Satoru was, the harder it was to make a move. Maybe the people who didn't know his power were braver.
"Number 23, number 45, number 66—along with your teammates, please leave the room."
"I've already been very generous with you~ But your cheating is just way too obvious. This level of skill won't cut it."
The three students who were suddenly called out turned pale and stood up right away—they had gone too far with their cheating.
They thought since there was only one teacher and he was wearing an eye mask, he wouldn't notice what they were doing, but they were completely wrong.
The students who were caught accepted it without complaint, but their teammates definitely weren't happy.
As one of the Sand Village ninjas passed by the podium, he frowned slightly, then quickly pulled a kunai from his gear pouch and rushed straight at Hatake Satoru!
"There's only one of you here, so you're the only one making the rules."
"Let me stay!"
---
Read 30 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---