Compared to the complicated emotions of those examinees, Ino was much simpler.
That was adoration.
"Jokichi is so handsome!"
Ino hung on his neck like a koala, spinning around everywhere. Yet, despite such conspicuous behavior, no one in the room dared to say anything.
They didn't even dare to shoot cold glances his way.
As long as your power is strong, no matter how high profile you are, or how arrogant and domineering, no one will dare to mess with you.
Compared to Ino's simple liking and adoration, the other classmates felt helpless.
Yes, just helplessness.
Graduating from the same class, the gap in strength was so huge that they couldn't even muster the thought of competing.
Even a lazy person like Shikamaru couldn't help but feel exasperated.
Perhaps only an optimistic and never-give-up guy like Naruto hadn't given up chasing after him!
However, compared to the psychological gap of these classmates, the two Oto ninjas whose companion was frozen into an ice sculpture were on pins and needles.
They wanted to step forward to seek revenge but feared Jokichi's strength and didn't dare to advance. They didn't even dare to demand their companion who was frozen into an ice sculpture back.
That large-scale freezing ninjutsu was unsolvable in this narrow classroom. Even if they were fast enough, they would eventually have nowhere to hide.
Just as they were on pins and needles, feeling at a loss inwardly, a large amount of white smoke rose from the podium with a "poof" sound.
As the smoke dispersed, twenty examiners led by a tall, burly man wearing a black trench coat and scars all over his face made their appearance.
As soon as they appeared, they felt the temperature was lower than outside, and immediately discovered the ice on the ground, walls, and even the ceiling.
Ibiki caught a glimpse of Zaku frozen into an ice sculpture, and his eyebrows couldn't help but furrow.
"This guy and his teammates lose their qualification for the exam."
"What!?"
Inside the classroom, everyone turned pale with fright.
Not punishing the culprit who caused trouble, but instead eliminating the victim right from the start; what kind of operation was this?
"Why?" Kin demanded loudly.
"Those who cannot participate in the exam on time all lose their qualifications." Ibiki looked at Kin and Dosu, saying in a deep voice, "Or are you capable of having him participate in the first exam immediately?"
"But this is—"
Kin was about to explain something, but Ibiki gave no opportunity at all.
He raised his hand to stop Kin from continuing and said sternly, "Don't give me any reasons. If an accident occurs during your mission, causing the mission to fail, are you going to explain the reasons to the client?"
Kin was left speechless.
A failed mission is a failed mission; no matter what the reason, you can't start over.
The ninja world has always been this cruel.
"I understand."
Dosu took Zaku's ice sculpture and left the classroom without saying a word.
Kin looked at Ibiki, then at Dosu walking out. Her face hesitated, and finally, she glared fiercely at Jokichi and chased after Dosu.
They originally didn't know each other. They had formed a temporary team after accepting Lord Orochimaru's special mission and came to Konoha to participate in the Chunin Exams.
Now, before the exam even started, they were eliminated.
The mission had already been declared a failure.
What awaited them was the village's punishment.
Failing a mission because of a verbal altercation...
Kin couldn't accept this reason; it was simply too stifling.
Dosu, however, was very open-minded about it.
Because their mission was destined to be impossible to complete.
Dosu understood this point from the moment he clashed with Jokichi.
They were no match for Jokichi.
And the mission Orochimaru gave them was to kill Jokichi during the exam.
But the opponent's strength was far beyond what they could handle.
Since the mission failed from the very beginning, the reason for failure didn't matter.
...
Inside the classroom.
After the Oto ninjas left, the examiners quickly locked the doors and windows.
Ibiki stood on the podium and spoke.
"The first stage of the joint Chunin Exams is a written test. Line up and come forward to submit your exam applications and receive a number tag. Then take a seat according to your number tag."
Hearing this, everyone lined up and received their number tags in turn. Only Naruto was shivering all over, his face full of worry.
For him, who skipped class and slept every day, a written test was the least desirable exam method.
"Relax!" Jokichi patted Naruto's shoulder and comforted him. "Even if you don't know how to do it, it doesn't matter. Sakura and I are both top students, we'll help you."
Naruto's eyes lit up, his face instantly regained its confidence, and his body stopped shaking.
"I trust you."
"Mhm!"
Soon, everyone finished receiving their number tags and took their seats accordingly.
After briefly explaining the rules on the podium, Ibiki began distributing the test papers.
Jokichi's seat was on the edge, with an examiner sitting right next to him.
Although his entire head, including his eyes, was hidden in bandages, Jokichi didn't doubt his observation skills in the slightest. Wanting to cheat would be extremely difficult.
Fortunately, he had studied diligently when he was at the academy, and with the assistance of the Top Student Glasses, he had confidence in his knowledge.
The exam began.
Jokichi picked up the test paper and looked at it. There were only 9 questions on it. Compared to the exams in his past life with dozens or hundreds of questions, this was undoubtedly much simpler.
However, these 9 questions were extremely difficult, fundamentally not something at a Genin's level.
In fact, the true purpose of this written test was also to test a ninja's information-gathering abilities.
Among these examinees, examiners who knew the answers had been mixed in.
Besides top students like Sakura and Jokichi, very few people could answer them correctly; they all needed to obtain the answers through cheating.
If the cheating methods were too clumsy and they were discovered 5 times, they would be eliminated on the spot, simultaneously dragging their two teammates down to be eliminated together.
Jokichi reviewed the questions for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote rapidly.
Although at first he also thought about handing in a blank paper out of a wicked sense of humor.
But considering he prepared to apply to the Hokage to leave the village for travel later, he had to display comprehensive qualities no less than a Jonin.
The first question was cryptanalysis.
Jokichi knew the answer at a glance. It was a passage from Miyamoto Musashi's "The Book of Five Rings".
The second question was English translation (calculated horizontally).
Please answer the Ten Commandments of Moses. [?]
Can you explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity? [?]
...
Going down the 9 questions consecutively, they included classical Chinese, English, functional calculation problems, chemical experiments, military strategy, and geography. All of them were combined with ninja-related event questions.
The Ninja Academy fundamentally hadn't taught this knowledge. Jokichi was only able to answer them because he often borrowed books from the library to read.
And Sakura...
A true top student, no explanation needed.
The rest of the examinees also started taking action.
Tenten used wire strings to control the mirrors outside the ceiling lights, not only copying the homework but also helping Lee complete his cheating.
Neji directly activated the Byakugan's X-ray vision.
Kankuro's puppet, Gaara's Third Eye, Shino's bugs, Kiba's puppy, Ino's Mind Transfer Jutsu, conveniently helping her teammates copy the answers. Hinata did it herself, while Naruto...
was holding his head and going crazy.
He hadn't understood the true purpose of this exam. He wanted to cheat, but was afraid of dragging his teammates down.
That anxious appearance made Jokichi laugh in exasperation.
He had half a mind to help him cheat to put his mind at ease.
But considering he was clumsy in this aspect, helping him cheat might backfire. He would easily be discovered by the examiners and then eliminated.
Forget it, let him go crazy.
Anyway, he can pass by handing in a blank paper at the end.