*Now, the rest of the time is mine!*
Morino Ibiki had been clear: fighting and attacking others would result in disqualification. So, if he wanted to stop others from cheating, he had to be indirect.
As Daigan scanned the room for targets, the chunin proctors assigned to monitor Team Otokaze found, to their dismay, that there was nothing left for them to do. In contrast, the unlucky souls who caught Daigan's eye were in for a miserable time.
Aburame Shino, who tried to peek at Daigan's paper, was the first to be taught a lesson. One by one, his flying Parasitic Destruction Insects were sliced apart by tiny, flicked blades of wind.
Above, a small mirror dangled from a nearly invisible wire, the other end of which was held in Tenten's hand. Daigan smiled faintly. A thin layer of sand coated the mirror's surface, leaving Tenten and Rock Lee, who had been hoping to copy the answers, deeply disappointed.
Inuzuka Kiba's use of his ninja dog to spy was too blatant. The proctors ignored it, and there was nothing Daigan could do. The same went for the Byakugan, a form of cheating so overt that even the proctors couldn't say anything about it.
Ignoring the slacker Uzumaki Naruto with his blank paper, and Haruno Sakura and Hyuga Hinata who were trying to answer on their own, as well as the nameless extras, the only ones left to interfere with were Konoha's Team 10.
Chi, who had put down her pencil early and was looking relaxed, was the perfect bait Daigan had prepared.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the ever-ready Chi caught the eye of an eager Yamanaka Ino.
When she saw the blonde girl slump onto her desk, even Chi was slightly stunned. A triumphant smile spread across Daigan's face.
*Hook, line, and sinker, you fool.*
With a slight movement of his palm, the chakra threads of the Human Puppet Performance instantly severed the connection between Chi's mind and body. Coordinated with Chi's own consciousness, which pushed back, the invading mental entity of Yamanaka Ino was trapped, unable to even form a hand seal to return to her own body.
***
Nara Shikamaru, who had been carefully observing Yamanaka Ino, initially thought his teammate had succeeded and was just waiting for the payoff. But after another five minutes passed and Ino still hadn't woken from her Mind Transfer Jutsu, he realized something was wrong. Forming a hand seal, he extended his shadow, preparing to rescue his ambushed comrade.
Before his shadow could reach its target, a senbon dropped from above, pinning the tip of his shadow to the floor. The Rain Ninja who had "accidentally" dropped it, Yumeka, shot Shikamaru a look that was half-smile, half-sneer.
Seeing this, Daigan nearly burst out laughing.
*The power of a role model is truly infinite. I just opened a door, and already people are rushing to get inside.*
A moment later, the Sand Ninja Shishio, attempting to use a genjutsu to help his teammate Koji, had his sand camouflage shattered by a long-range Gentle Fist strike from Hyuga Neji. Meanwhile, the Takigakure ninja Hoki, realizing the Sound trio were identifying answers by the sound of writing, began deliberately tapping his pen on his desk, mimicking the rhythm of writing and completely thwarting the keen-eared Sound Ninja.
Proctor Morino Ibiki's expression remained neutral, but inwardly he was immensely relieved. Before, with only the monitors watching, it was sometimes possible to turn a blind eye. Now, with the candidates sabotaging each other, the situation was no longer entirely under his control.
*If I hadn't kept the tenth question up my sleeve, there probably wouldn't be many people left in this exam. This is…*
The candidates used every trick in the book while pretending to take the test. At the same time, a number of impatient ones were "escorted" from the room by the chunin monitors.
Nara Shikamaru, his heart pounding with anxiety, desperately tried to think of a plan, but the circumstances left him helpless.
*I was careless. I underestimated the difficulty of the Chunin Exam. I didn't account for this kind of scenario in my backup plans.*
An oblivious Akimichi Choji was still waiting for the answers, unaware that his two teammates were in deep trouble.
Shikamaru hadn't yet figured out how the Sunagakure kunoichi, Chi, had trapped Ino, but he suspected the mastermind was likely her arrogant teammate, Daigan.
The minutes ticked by, and the room grew emptier. With candidates on high alert against one another, cheating became increasingly difficult.
Before long, a restless Kankuro finally began his puppet show. As he and his puppet, disguised as a proctor, walked past Daigan, Daigan's eerie smile sent a cold shiver down Kankuro's spine.
Having safely made it to the restroom to get the answers, Kankuro was so spooked he could barely pee. "The chunin proctors aren't so tough. They didn't notice a thing. But that guy Daigan definitely knew. I owe him one for not causing trouble."
Meanwhile, Uchiha Sasuke, after much effort, finally managed to get the answers. Haruno Sakura was fine on her own. All that was left was the tormented Uzumaki Naruto. Staring at his pristine white paper, the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails tried to sneak a peek at Hyuga Hinata's paper next to him, but a sharp glare from a monitor scared him straight.
As time dwindled, more and more genin, knowing their chances were slim, began to take desperate risks. The closer it got to the end, the more people were kicked out of the room.
It was only then that Morino Ibiki realized his carefully designed test and its intended passing conditions had a small but significant flaw. As long as you held out and didn't quit, you could pass by default, even with a blank paper. The test was out of ten points, with ten questions. One point was deducted for each wrong answer, and two for being caught cheating. A score of zero meant immediate disqualification. The tenth question, a test of spirit, would only be revealed in the last fifteen minutes. This system perfectly sorted the candidates into several categories.
The first, and smallest, category was the strongest: those who were extremely confident and had the skills to back it up. They would naturally answer all the questions correctly and pass, represented by the arrogant Daigan.
The second category was the next best: those who couldn't answer everything themselves but had good intel-gathering skills. Confident and trusting in their teammates, these well-coordinated squads could often pass by the skin of their teeth. Konoha's Team Guy—Hyuga Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee—were prime examples.
The third category consisted of those who followed the rules but lacked ability. They couldn't answer all the questions but were mentally tough and wouldn't be swayed by adverse conditions. They would be given a pass after clearing the tenth question's mental trial.
The fourth category was the weaker candidates whose confidence was not supported by skill. They lacked willpower and would give up at the critical moment. Ibiki held them in low regard, and they were naturally eliminated.
The fifth, and worst, category was comprised of those who lacked even basic ninja skills. Their intel-gathering was poor, they couldn't grasp the core of the test, and they disrespected the rules. Such failures would certainly be disqualified by the monitors.
However, because of Daigan's interference, the number of candidates in the second and third categories—those most likely to pass—had been drastically reduced. He had indirectly raised the difficulty of the test, twisting Proctor Ibiki's original intent.
Looking around the room, it was clear that many of the remaining candidates were completely helpless, caught between the watchful eyes of the proctors and the ambushes of their competitors. Blank papers were everywhere.
This made Ibiki realize that there would be more than just one or two blank papers among the third category of passers. It wasn't that he hadn't considered this possibility, but he hadn't believed anyone would be able to exploit this non-loophole. Before the tenth question was announced, no candidate was supposed to realize the true condition for passing the first test.
But now, thanks to the little brat's reminder, the strongest candidates from the first and second categories realized they could actively kick out their competition.
*The mental pressure on these immature genin is too much! At this rate, there won't be many left by the time we even get to the tenth question!*
The candidates with blank papers, unaware that they could win just by holding out, would inevitably make a last-ditch effort. The spinning hands of the clock were like a tightening noose, driving more and more desperate genin to be caught cheating in the final moments.
Even Daigan's former teammate, Toki, was disqualified when her new teammate, Komaza, was caught cheating for the fifth time.
Not just Proctor Ibiki, but also the chunin monitors, began to sense that something was wrong. They frequently glanced at the head proctor, signaling for instructions on how to proceed.
Ibiki looked at Daigan, who was resting his chin on his hand with his eyes closed, looking as relaxed as if the proctors and other candidates didn't exist. A cruel smile touched Ibiki's lips.
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