Two weeks before the exam, the twins dedicated all their time to squeezing the maximum out of Karin. They literally poured as much chakra into her as they could allow themselves. Sometimes it left their hands trembling, their heads spinning, but Karin, eyes burning, kept pushing forward. Even Yamato-sensei—usually calm and rather stingy with emotions—contributed, sharing part of his chakra with her. His reasoning was simple and ironclad: "You two have enough strength to break through the Forest of Death. But when it comes to individual battles, Karin needs reinforcement. Urgently."
[Can't stop being surprised by how reasonable our commander is. Not as over-the-top cheerful as Might Guy, but also no showboating. Just straight to the point.]
Karin didn't spare herself. With fifty shadow clones, constant training until nightfall, in those two weeks she squeezed out of herself what many would take years to build. As a result, she reached a level just a bit higher than the standard Konoha genin. It was still not enough, but at least now she could stand her ground.
And so, the day of the exam arrived.
The participants were ordered to gather at the Academy, in room 301. Most had already gone inside, but some still lingered outside. A few were nervously breathing in the fresh air; others, on the contrary, tried to shake off their nerves with exercise—right on the grass by the steps, a boy with a forehead protector was doing push-ups as if that could somehow help him with a written test.
The Uzumaki twins showed up light. They wore simple shorts, T-shirts, and cheap flip-flops instead of their usual boots. Dragging in a full arsenal to a written exam? Sounded like peak idiocy.
Karin, however, chose to stand out. She wore a black dress with red embroidery, stockings, a neat bow, and her hair carefully styled with particular attention.
"We're not taking a seduction exam," Menma noted lazily, giving her an up-and-down look. "It's just a written test."
"That doesn't mean one should neglect beauty," Karin countered, adjusting her glasses and flicking her hair slightly. "Especially with so many foreigners around."
[There it is—the influence of kunoichi training courses. The result, as they say, is right on her face.]
Menma shifted his gaze to the colorful crowd of participants. Strange outfits, overly inspired expressions—those kinds of faces untouched by the curse of intelligence.
"Obviously," he said with venomous sarcasm, "other countries sent only their elite. All S-rank genin." He pointed with his eyes at a mustached man in a ridiculous hat, squatting right in front of the door.
Karin frowned and looked closer at the so-called "elite." Her shoulders twitched slightly when her eyes landed on some particularly exotic specimens.
"Maybe… maybe I should go back home and change..?" she mumbled.
"Don't even think about it!" Naruko immediately grabbed her arm. "You look awesome! Even I enjoy looking at you."
"Same here," Menma backed his sister up, taking Karin by the other hand. "So make us happy at least for today."
Karin turned scarlet and muttered something incoherent, but it was too late to retreat—the twins dragged her inside.
On the second floor, they ran into a crowd. The hallway was so packed with genin that it was impossible to move forward. The air buzzed with tension, irritation, and chakra. Shouts and the sounds of blows came from the front.
"Ha! A weakling like you dares dream of the exam?!" a male voice shouted.
"Don't even think about it!" a second chimed in.
"You're way too young for this!"
"P-please… let us through…" a girl's voice squeaked.
There was a dull thud, then a fall. The crowd rumbled.
"We're looking out for you!" the first voice boomed again. "The chunin exam isn't child's play. We've failed three times in a row, seen people quit being shinobi after failing, and others just plain die. A chunin is a commander! If teammates die—it's on him! Kids like you don't belong here!"
The crowd parted enough to reveal who was blocking the way. The first was a guy with three plasters on his face—one on his chin, two on his cheeks. His hair looked like he'd met a comb in a past life. Two sword hilts stuck out behind his back. The second looked more modest: bandana, high-collared shirt, backpack slung over his shoulders. Together they stood like a wall in front of the door labeled "301." On the second floor.
[Oh, Shinigami, HOW?! No, I can understand the foreign guests: guys from Rain, the Sand kids—they could genuinely get lost. But our own?! Six years minimum in the Academy and not know where the classrooms are? What kind of idiot do you have to be to stand in front of a door between rooms 200 and 202, and believe it's 301?! You can check that with a couple steps down the corridor! But no—eighty percent of our own Konoha genin are just gawking and even trying to attack these two.]
"That's why we're cutting off those who won't pass anyway," the shaggy one finished pompously.
[Honestly, at that moment, I agreed with him completely… If someone can't even find the right classroom in their own building, putting them in charge of even a dog is already a crime.]
A familiar sly smile appeared on Naruko's face. She leaned toward Karin and whispered something quickly in her ear. Karin nodded doubtfully, but apparently agreed to play along.
"Uncle," Karin addressed the "guards" at the door with the most innocent look. "Please let us through."
The shaggy one grinned, deliberately eyeing her from head to toe. "And where do you think you're going, pretty girl? You should be playing with dolls, not shinobi."
Both "guards" moved in unison, aiming a straight kick at her stomach.
To an ordinary genin, it would've looked lightning fast. But for the Uzumaki twins—with their sharpened senses and animal reflexes—the movement was as slow as a drowsy branch swaying in the wind. Menma and Naruko stepped forward at the same time, catching both legs mid-strike so the soles stopped just a centimeter from Karin's stomach. Their eyes flashed with the same vengeful gleam.
"You picked the wrong girl," Menma said dryly.
What happened next was too quick for most in the crowd to follow. Two identical, ferociously roaring chakra spheres spun into existence in the twins' hands. The Rasengans slammed into their opponents' guts, launching them backward through the door behind them. The panels nearly ripped off their hinges, and then came the pitiful crunch of a teacher's desk—the landing point. Both "guards" blacked out instantly.
The transformation technique dropped, and the crowd saw real Konoha chunin in green flak jackets.
"Ch-chunin?!" someone exclaimed.
"Is this also part of the exam?"
"They just… they just…"
The crowd gasped, some even started panicking for real. But no one noticed that with the guards' unconsciousness, the genjutsu lifted too. Above the door where "301" had proudly hung, the real number appeared: "201."
Naruko quickly took control of the situation. Raising her hand, she addressed the crowd like a leader: "What are you standing around for?! Get inside, quick! This is your chance to take the exam alongside the magnificent me! Or are you planning to wait for the next shift of guards?"
The crowd didn't hesitate for a second. They stormed inside, literally leaping over the fallen chunin, shoving each other with their shoulders just to squeeze through. When the last group had pushed its way into the classroom, Naruko slipped back out gracefully and slammed the door shut.
"That's that," she said with satisfaction. "Now we can head to the real classroom."
[Most of these sheep studied with us in the same class. They know perfectly well what Naruko is capable of, and still they fall for her tricks. Shinigami, take their souls, I'm so ashamed.]
The twins and Karin moved on.
"Too bad winning a fight doesn't automatically earn you a promotion," Naruko sighed dreamily as they climbed the stairs. "I'd already be a chunin by now."
"And I'd already be a jonin," Menma muttered, rubbing his temple. "Because surviving the stupidity of our genin is already a feat."
"Don't be so pessimistic," Karin walked a little ahead, her heels clicking rhythmically against the steps. "I'm sure this is all part of the filtering process. Only the best will make it to the real exam."
They entered a spacious training hall that led to the real room 301. But they had barely taken a few steps when a loud voice called from behind:
"Hey, Uzumaki!"