"Still, these questions are way too advanced. They shouldn't be something a genin could answer at all…" Wan'er thought again. Recalling the rules of this exam, her sharp mind quickly figured it out.
"So that's how it is. Looks like that scar-faced examiner's goal is to make us cheat without getting caught." Wan'er smiled faintly and then looked around at the other people in the classroom.
"If that's the case, then that scar-faced examiner must have arranged for people who know the answers to be in this classroom from the very beginning."
Sure enough, Wan'er noticed that scattered around the room were several people who had been writing furiously from the start. They wrote extremely fast, as if they hadn't even bothered to read the questions.
"Hmm, seems my guess was right. But even copying someone else's paper is too much trouble." Wan'er frowned slightly, then smiled again. "In that case, I'll just take a nap."
So Wan'er stretched lazily and really did lie down on her desk and fall asleep…
"What's going on? Why is this little girl sleeping as soon as the exam starts?" Ibiki noticed Wan'er lying on her desk and walked over on patrol.
"If I remember correctly, this girl is the younger sister of Kaoru, the youngest jōnin. She didn't write a single word and just went straight to sleep—she's got some nerve. Doesn't she want to pass?" Ibiki stared at Wan'er's completely blank exam paper, utterly speechless.
After all, every other examinee in the room was extremely tense, yet Wan'er actually had the mood to sleep…
Before long, the other examinees also realized the true purpose of this exam.
Hyūga Neji used the penetrating vision of his Byakugan to clearly see the paper of the examinee in front of him and calmly copied down the answers.
Uchiha Sasuke closed and opened his eyes, activating the Sharingan. He perfectly copied others' movements and likewise wrote down the answers.
Tenten used wire attached to her pen to manipulate mirrors on the ceiling, reflecting other people's papers and easily copying the answers. With her help, Rock Lee copied them as well.
The Ino–Shika–Chō trio had Ino use the Mind Transfer Technique to take over Sakura's body and memorize the answers, then relay them to the other two.
As for Hinata, she relied entirely on her own ability. Though she wasn't strong in actual combat, her theoretical knowledge was excellent.
Each showed their own special powers.
As for Naruto, the purple-and-blue bruised look on his face already showed how close he was to despair. Completely failing to understand Ibiki's intentions, he didn't dare cheat at all.
At this moment, Inuzuka Kiba had Akamaru lie on top of his head to spy on the answers of nearby examinees, then used the Inuzuka clan's special dog-communication signals to copy them.
"Great, I'm almost done copying. Hinata's a good student—she'll be fine doing it herself. I wonder how Wan'er is doing?" Kiba thought as he glanced over at Wan'er in the distance.
"What the heck—she's actually sleeping?!" Seeing Wan'er lying on her desk, Kiba's jaw nearly dropped. And judging from the information Akamaru sent him, Wan'er hadn't answered a single question.
According to the rules, if one person in a team scored zero, the whole team would fail. Seeing Wan'er's lazy figure, Kiba couldn't help but worry…
…
When forty-five minutes had passed, most people had nearly finished their papers. At the same time, many had been eliminated for being caught cheating five times and were expelled from the exam room.
"Alright, forty-five minutes are up. Next, I will announce the content of the tenth question!" Ibiki shouted sternly.
The examinees immediately held their breath and focused on Ibiki. Wan'er also woke up at the sound of his shout.
"The tenth question—will you take it or not?"
"If you choose not to take it, you will lose your qualification for the exam, and everyone in your group will also lose their qualification. But if you choose to take it and answer incorrectly, you will never be allowed to take the Chūnin Exams for the rest of your life!"
Ibiki's words were like a heavy bomb, causing an uproar.
No one had expected the tenth question to be like this. Choosing not to take it meant giving up, but choosing to take it and failing meant being stuck as a Genin for life.
"What kind of bullshit rule is this? Aren't there people here who've taken the Chūnin Exam several times already?!" Kiba roared angrily.
Ibiki remained unmoved, his expression cold. "You're just unlucky. I'm the one in charge this year. Anyone who chooses not to take it, raise your hand and you may leave."
This question was almost impossibly difficult—no matter what choice you made, the pressure was enormous.
Under this crushing pressure, many people raised their hands to give up. The once-crowded classroom quickly became sparse.
The Konoha rookies also frowned deeply, especially Naruto, whose head felt like it was about to explode.
"This tenth question is really strange," Wan'er shook her head. "But I'll finish the first nine questions first."
With that thought, Wan'er glanced at the examinee behind her—someone Ibiki had deliberately arranged to be in the room—and her Sharingan slowly began to spin.
"I'll give you one last chance. This is a choice that gambles your entire life. If you want to give up, now's the time," Ibiki said after a moment, sweeping his gaze across the room.
However, everyone's expressions were firm. No one raised their hand.
The atmosphere fell silent.
After a full minute, seeing that none of the examinees' resolve wavered, Ibiki finally spoke loudly: "Then, to everyone who chose to stay, I announce that you have all passed the first exam!"
…
"What? Everyone passed?!"
All of them were dumbfounded. They never expected to pass the first round just like that.
They had thought that passing the first exam would surely require suffering under Ibiki's hands, but the result was completely unexpected.
"Then didn't we do those nine questions for nothing?"
Many people protested. They had used every trick they had just to barely finish the test, only to find it was all for nothing.
Kiba, however, let out a small sigh of relief. That way, Wan'er—who hadn't completed the paper—could pass as well.
"Those nine questions naturally had a purpose. They were to test your ability to gather intelligence."
Ibiki explained patiently. His gentle demeanor made everyone's mouths twitch—this was completely different from the fierce, terrifying man he had been just moments ago.
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