Shinju sat down calmly under Gaara's furious glare.
The moment he sat, a strange sensation hit him.
It was as if his head had slammed into a massive bell — his mind trembled.
A second later, he realized what was going on.
It must be Yamanaka Ino using the Mind Body Switch Technique on him, trying to take control of his body to see the paper he had just finished.
Looks like his classmates really were pulling out all the tricks to cheat.
Thinking about how Ino was his classmate, and how she had been pretty nice to him and Naruto in the past, Shinju decided to just let her soul enter his body so she could copy a couple of answers.
Consider it doing a good deed.
Two seconds later, Shinju's expression froze.
At the moment, the one controlling his body was Yamanaka Ino.
Perfect!
She had actually entered Shinju's body directly!
She could apologize to him after the exam — for now, she just had to quickly check his answers...
Ino's eyes darted over Shinju's paper.
After about seven or eight seconds, the Mind Body Switch Technique was released, and Shinju's consciousness returned.
While his body was occupied, Shinju had tried to communicate with Ino's mind using his own consciousness.
He had wanted Ino to use the same technique on Naruto to help him finish the exam.
Unfortunately, once Ino was inside his body, his consciousness felt trapped — unable to make contact with hers. Naturally, his idea never got across.
So, if he wanted to help Naruto finish the exam, he'd have to find another way.
Wait a second!
∑(°Д°)
Shinju suddenly thought of something.
The Mind Body Switch Technique wasn't a kekkei genkai!
Which meant... could he use it too?
Realizing this, Shinju began practicing the technique on the spot.
A bizarre scene soon unfolded in the exam room.
Students suddenly collapsed, then staggered back to their seats... only to collapse again.
Five minutes later, Shinju succeeded!
Excited, he immediately used the Mind Body Switch Technique on Naruto, taking control of his body to answer the questions for him.
Since he had already completed the test once, Shinju breezed through it this time.
In less than ten minutes, all nine questions were done.
...
When Naruto's consciousness returned, he stared in shock at his fully filled-in paper!
He had only spaced out for a moment — how was his test already complete?!
Could it be that his hidden "genius scholar" persona had awakened and finished the test for him?
As expected of the Chosen One!
(⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎
...
With about fifteen minutes left until the forty-fifth minute mark — when the tenth question would be announced — Shinju decided to make some money.
He targeted a certain student in the room who was clearly struggling with the questions. The student's expression suddenly changed.
Shinju was using a variation of the Mind Body Switch Technique he had figured out — Mind Link Technique (mental communication) — to speak directly into their mind.
"I can give you all nine answers... but you'll need to pay a fee," Shinju said through the link.
"How much?"
Every student linked by the Mind Link Technique asked the same question.
"One thousand ryō each."
Shinju named his price.
Ryō were the universal currency in the ninja world.
Buying a full set of answers for that price? Not a bad deal.
Quite a few ninja agreed to pay the thousand ryō.
After that, Shinju kept only those willing to pay in the Mind Link channel...
And began reading out the answers to questions one through nine.
Faces lit up with excitement as the paying students frantically scribbled down answers...
On the podium, Chief Examiner Morino Ibiki frowned.
What was going on with this year's group of examinees?
Why did they all look like they'd just taken some kind of stimulant?!
Since all he had to do was read out the answers via Mind Link to the paying students, Shinju was making easy money!
He quickly calculated — he had earned several tens of thousands of ryō from this round alone!
Jackpot!
Once he finished, the linked students all breathed a sigh of relief.
They had managed to finish without incident.
At the same time, a question lingered in their minds.
Who was that voice?
Could it be someone they didn't even know?
If so... could they just not pay the thousand ryō?
Soon, it was the forty-fifth minute — time for the tenth question.
Morino Ibiki stood on the podium and said loudly, "Before I announce the tenth question, I have something to tell you."
"For this final question, you may choose to accept or not accept it."
"If you accept, but answer incorrectly, you will be disqualified immediately — and your two teammates will also be disqualified, barred from ever taking the Chunin Exams again."
"If you do not accept, you will be eliminated on the spot, but you may take the Chunin Exams again in the future."
The entire room erupted in an uproar.
"What?!"
"What kind of exam rule is that? That's insane!"
"Either way, we get kicked out?!"
"If the deciding question is the last one, then what's the point of all the previous ones?!"
"Who made this rule? I'm filing a complaint!"
"Too bad — I made the rules for this exam."
Ibiki's voice was cold, his presence oppressive.
Everyone immediately fell silent, holding their breath.
This was not someone you wanted to mess with.
(*￣3￣)
"You have three minutes to decide whether to stay. Think carefully — don't drag your teammates down with you!"
With that, the three-minute countdown began.
Under the pressure of this dilemma, students began raising their hands one after another.
Many chose to withdraw not only for their own sake, but also to avoid dragging their teammates down and costing them their Chunin Exam eligibility forever.
Shinju's eyes moved to Naruto again.
Using the Mind Link, he urged Naruto not to recklessly give up.
As long as Shinju could solve the last question, Naruto and Sasuke would be safe.
Thanks to years of grueling exam training in his previous life, Shinju was confident that no matter how tricky Ibiki's final question was, he could find a clue and solve it!
If he couldn't... then no one in the room could!
That was how confident Shinju was in his test-taking skills.
The three minutes ended.
Almost half the examinees had left the room.
Ibiki's gaze swept over those who remained.
"Then I announce... all of you who are still here have passed the first round of the Chunin Exams! You advance to the next stage!"
The entire class: (꒪⌓꒪) ,ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!,∑(°Д°)
What??
They passed!!!