"Lord Hokage, can I not be the proctor for the first exam?"
While Kazama and the other genin waited in the exam hall for the proctor, Morino Ibiki, the designated proctor for the first round, was in the Third Hokage's office.
"What's wrong, Ibiki? You've always been the proctor for the first exam in previous years," the Third said, clearly puzzled.
"But this year, there's Sanada Kazama. That guy's a monster! The first round is a written test, and to make sure his team passes, he's definitely going to use Tsukuyomi on me. I can't handle that!" Ibiki protested.
He'd seen Kazama use Tsukuyomi on someone who attacked Konoha Hospital. A few seconds later, that person was a gibbering wreck. The memory of that terrifying genjutsu still gave Ibiki chills.
"Hmm, about that…" The Third gave an awkward chuckle.
"You're overthinking it. You're their proctor, after all. Kazama won't go too far. Don't worry!"
"Yeah, right! I trust you about as far as I can throw you, you sneaky old man!" Ibiki grumbled inwardly.
He'd heard Kazama had used Tsukuyomi on Koharu and Homura, two of Konoha's elder advisors, right in front of the Third. Those two were still mentally scrambled from it. If Kazama didn't even respect Konoha's top brass, what chance did Ibiki have?
But he couldn't disobey the Third's orders, so he dragged himself to the exam hall.
"First round: written test. One hour. If you're caught cheating, your entire team is disqualified!" Ibiki announced.
"What?! A written test? That's my worst nightmare!" Naruto wailed, practically howling.
Kazama, though, knew the real point of this test wasn't just answering questions. It was about testing their ability to gather intelligence. In other words, cheating was allowed—as long as you didn't get caught.
When Ibiki declared the start of the exam, he promptly put on a blindfold.
This baffled everyone in the room, including his own subordinates. Ibiki had never done anything like this before.
"Hmph. Ibiki's already trying to guard against me?" Kazama thought, amused.
It was obvious Ibiki was wearing the blindfold to avoid Kazama's Tsukuyomi.
"Too bad you underestimate my Mangekyo Sharingan. Tsukuyomi!"
The moment Ibiki put on the blindfold, he was already trapped in Kazama's Tsukuyomi world.
"Oh no! This is…" Ibiki stammered.
"Welcome to my Tsukuyomi genjutsu space, Ibiki-sensei," Kazama said coolly.
"Damn it! I knew this was coming!" Ibiki groaned, practically on the verge of tears.
Only Kazama could reduce Ibiki, a master interrogator, to this state.
"I'll keep this short, Ibiki-sensei. You know how the Tsukuyomi world works. My request is simple: let me, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura pass this exam. If not, I'll have to entertain myself with you for the next hour. Oh, and by the way, one hour out there? That's a whole year in here. You ready?"
Kazama smirked as Ibiki's vision filled with gruesome torture tools—ones Ibiki himself had used in the past.
"Alright, alright, I give! You win!" Ibiki surrendered.
"Thanks, Ibiki-sensei!" Kazama said cheerfully.
Back in the real world, Kazama plopped his head on the desk and started snoring.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were sweating bullets. The questions on the test were completely incomprehensible.
"We're done for! Are we really going to fail the first round?" Sasuke muttered, feeling utterly helpless.
Just as time ran out, something unbelievable happened. Ibiki announced their team had passed.
Sasuke was floored. He hadn't expected this at all.
"The main goal of this exam was to test your ability to gather intelligence. Only those skilled at collecting information could pass," Ibiki explained.
Sasuke finally understood the test's true purpose. But he hadn't done anything—not even cheated. So why had they passed?
He immediately asked Ibiki about it.
"Well… you passed because of Kazama," Ibiki said vaguely.
"What does that mean?" Sasuke pressed.
Ibiki clearly didn't want to elaborate. "Ask him yourself."
Sasuke was too proud to go begging Kazama for answers. But seeing Kazama's relaxed demeanor, he realized Kazama had outclassed him in every way, leaving him far behind.