Chapter 120: Written Exam and Lottery
In a classroom on the third floor of the Konoha Ninja School, Masahiko looked directly at the elite Chunin who were being tested to become Jonin.
Two months had passed since Masahiko brought out his "trump card techniques," and the written portion of the Jonin exam was about to begin. Masahiko had requested the position of the written exam proctor from Tobirama, wanting to observe the "wonderful" expressions of these candidates up close.
The written exam for the Jonin rank was different from the Chunin exams; it was no longer possible to test them on basic ninja common sense or fundamentals. Instead, it focused more on their handling of various emergency situations during missions.
The exam papers were already in Masahiko's hands. Each paper contained only six questions. The first five were set by Tobirama and the Elders, while the last one was set by Masahiko. Furthermore, the questions on almost every paper were different.
There were 22 Chunin in total. Clearly, each ninja village had sent their true elites. Among them, Konoha ninjas accounted for eight. Aside from Tsunade-kun and Jiraiya-kun, there were several other youths from various major clans. Among them, Masahiko recognized only one other "acquaintance": Dan Katō.
Of the remaining ninjas, the Uzunin Village accounted for three, Sunagakure had three, and Kirigakure had one. The remaining seven were "uncles" from various small hidden villages.
Calling them "uncles" was a bit polite; Masahiko looked at the ninja from Kusagakure (Grass Village) whose appearance seemed even older than Masahiko's own.
"Is this an inspirational story? A sixty-year-old keeping his original intention and participating in the Jonin exam alongside his descendants," Masahiko mused internally. "But compared to the ninjas from the major villages, they are indeed quite a bit weaker."
"Proctor, are we going to start the exam or not?" The classroom, which was gradually becoming noisy, brought Masahiko back to his senses. With a flick of his intent, the twenty-two exam papers floated toward their respective owners.
Seeing the newcomers from other villages stunned by his move, Masahiko was secretly proud.
"This skill is just too cool... it fits my image perfectly."
"Alright, everyone has their papers! The first five questions are bonus questions, worth 20 points each. Answering all of them correctly gives you a full score. The last one is a deduction question and is mandatory. Depending on your answer, some of your points will be deducted. Of course, unless you end up with less than twenty points, you won't be eliminated. However, if you only get twenty points on the written exam, you'll have to reach the final top three in the subsequent combat trials, or it will be impossible for you to become a Jonin!"
"A deduction question?" Everyone present was stunned, especially those "uncles" from the small villages. This wasn't their first time taking a Jonin exam, but it was the first time they had heard of such a thing.
However, as they read their final question clearly, the examination room fell into a dead silence.
"Is Konoha playing with me? How could I possibly accept such a mission!" Hangetsu Hōzuki shouted, slamming the table as he stood up.
Masahiko snickered. Hangetsu's question was: If you are escorting a client through a desert and lose your water source, and the client is about to die of thirst, what would you do?
"It seems you already have an answer in your heart. Don't be in a hurry; sit down and answer slowly," Masahiko said with a smile.
He estimated that Hangetsu couldn't use Water Release in a place like the desert, so there was only one solution left...
The other candidates also had various interesting expressions, but some had already begun to write furiously.
Hearing the sound, Masahiko was startled to see Jiraiya-kun looking confident. He had an ominous premonition.
"I definitely didn't leak the questions to him..."
The others also began answering. Masahiko didn't need to check for cheating because there were basically no standard answers to these questions.
Ten minutes later, Jiraiya-kun walked over with an air of grandeur. "Old Monster, I'm finished!"
Masahiko's mouth twitched as he took the paper.
After looking at it for a moment, he sighed.
"Fine. Since you're done, draw a lot and go back to wait for news." He sighed inwardly. "I really misjudged you..."
Jiraiya-kun's first five questions were estimated to get 80 points, but the last one would result in a 40-point deduction.
The question was: If a client lies about the mission rank and you discover this during the mission, but the client kneels or acts pitiful to beg you, what would you choose?
This was actually the dilemma from Naruto's Land of Waves mission. Masahiko thought Jiraiya-kun would make the same choice as Naruto—choosing to continue the mission out of sympathy. While that would be considered failing as a ninja, it would only result in a 30-point deduction. There was no "zero deduction" choice for this question; even abandoning the mission would result in a 10-point deduction.
But Jiraiya-kun only wrote one sentence: A mission accepted by the Great Lord Jiraiya will definitely be completed.
"This enigmatic self-confidence... and is it really okay to say that during an exam?"
Half an hour later, Masahiko sent off the last candidate. The answers on the papers were truly diverse, leaving him between laughter and tears.
"The highest score: Hangetsu Hōzuki, full marks..." Masahiko snickered. "This kid abandoned his integrity. I expect this Jonin exam will become a shadow over his entire life."
He then looked at the answer sheet belonging to Sasori's father (Kei) and shook his head in silence.
Masahiko shook the now-empty lottery box. As a God of Gambling who could manipulate gravity, making them draw the combinations he wanted to see was simply too easy.
"So, the second phase, the combat assessment, will be the 'Eliminate All Extras' exam."
Through his "dark box operation," he estimated that the small villages would all disappear in the first round of matches.
"Jiraiya-kun is in a bit of trouble... with only 40 points, he'll likely need to rank in the top six of the combat trials to become a Jonin. But it should be fine."
"I wonder what kind of performance he'll show using my Sage Mode," Masahiko muttered.
"Duy's written exam... can he only get twenty points?" Masahiko didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "His paper was the one I specifically selected as the easiest..."
"No wonder with this level of strength, he could only ever be a Genin. If it weren't for Tobirama's sudden idea for a joint Jonin exam, even with Kento-kun around, he would probably stay a Genin his whole life. This mission IQ..."
Meanwhile, at the temporary lodging for the Sunagakure representatives.
"Mother..." the red-haired youth (Kei) spoke hesitantly.
Chiyo paused. "Kei, was the written exam difficult?"
The youth shook his head. "Mother, can you swim?"
Chiyo was completely bewildered.
After a long explanation, Chiyo finally understood and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Was this Lord Masahiko's idea?"
The red-haired youth's final question was: Suppose your mother is an ordinary civilian and accidentally gets trapped in a Water Prison Jutsu, while at the same time, your client is also trapped in another Water Prison. Who do you save first?
This was the classic question from Masahiko's past life: If your mother and I both fall into the water, who do you save first? In the ninja world, the client is placed first in their education, being even more important than a "girlfriend" from his previous life.
Chiyo fell into thought for a moment, her expression complex. "This question..."
"Mother, I would save you first," the red-haired youth quickly said upon seeing Chiyo's complex expression.
Chiyo shook her head, her face showing admiration. "It's not a question of whom you save. It's that there is no correct answer to this question. No matter who you choose, you probably won't get full marks. As expected of Lord Masahiko, he sees through the weaknesses of the human heart."
If Masahiko knew he had received such an evaluation from Chiyo, he would be speechless. He just wanted to "drive a wedge" between mother and son; he was purely bored.
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