Chapter 435: Action
Masahiko felt slightly mentally exhausted.
Dragging over three hundred people into a Genjutsu at the same time, while keeping each person's experience within the illusion unique, was exhausting even for him.
However, the rewards were not small. At the very least, he had overheard the 'inner thoughts' of many children, and some of their ideas were quite interesting... Hehe, an unexpected harvest.
Perking up his ears to listen for a moment, Masahiko nodded in satisfaction. None of the two hundred plus eliminated candidates dared to cause trouble, so it seemed he wouldn't need to exercise his 'right of final interpretation'. Shaking his head, he walked toward the third-floor examination room. The written exam had already begun, and Masahiko planned to watch the candidates cheat for a while, while resting his somewhat overloaded brain.
Inside the written exam room.
Naruto's mood was a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows.
From 'Why is there still a written exam?' to 'Dad supervised my studies these past two days, I can do this!'
After the exam papers were handed out: 'I don't know this, I don't know that, I still don't know anything, completely clueless, why?!'
'Father seemed to have explained this question to me... but when he was giving the answer, I fell asleep... emmm.'
'This won't do! If I get eliminated, the whole squad goes down. What a cursed rule! Let me look at it one more time, I can definitely do it!'
'Ah!! I really don't know how to do it!!!'
Then, the imagery in Naruto's mind shifted into a cartoon-anime style. A tiny Naruto was running frantically in front, while a monster named Godzilla Sakura relentlessly pursued him from behind. Short legs couldn't outrun long legs; he was ultimately caught, crumpled up, and eaten...
"Ah! I'm definitely going to die!" Naruto scratched his hair in a frenzy.
"That candidate over there, no suggestive movements allowed in the exam room. One more time and I will clear you out of the venue!" Ibiki's harsh voice rang out.
"Suggestive? Oh, ah! Sorry!"
Sakura, who was writing furiously, paused her movements: 'The questions this time are so hard. That idiot Naruto probably doesn't know a single one. It's over!'
Sasuke knit his brows slightly. He didn't know how to do more than half of the questions in front of him either. The Chunin Exam written test shouldn't be this difficult...
"Oh? So that's how it is?" Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke wore a look of sudden realization: 'The test is about gathering intelligence? I hope that idiot Naruto can figure this out...'
Naruto was indeed an idiot. He couldn't possibly guess the truth of the exam hidden 'so deeply'. After watching the five-minute animation of himself 'being eaten' in his mind, he felt he couldn't just sit around and await his doom.
If he didn't know how to do it, couldn't he just copy?
Just as he sneakily directed his gaze toward Hinata on his right, the young girl's face flushed slightly as she gathered her courage to expose half of her exam paper toward him.
Naruto's face lit up with ecstasy, but he was suddenly startled by the sound of the door pushing open and hurriedly straightened his posture.
Masahiko walked into the classroom. At a single glance, he caught the frantically deactivated Sharingan and Byakugan, a dissolving Third Eye made of sand, stiff puppet trickery, hurriedly retracted Shadow Imitation Jutsus, Mind Body Switch Jutsus, and so on. He couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.
"Senior, you are here for...?"
"I came to take a look at their exam. The results of this exam involve an immense amount of money, so I must pay close attention. Ibiki, I remember you also wagered..."
"Ahem, Senior, please have a seat!"
Masahiko shot an amused look at Ibiki and sat down in the chief examiner's seat: "Everyone, continue your exam! Don't mind me, feel free to cheat!"
"..."
At moments like this, the invigilating Chunin were the most awkward. Fortunately, there were no fools among the candidates taking the Chunin Exams. Even though Masahiko said so, they still kept things hidden, maintaining a passable appearance on the surface.
Masahiko lightly rubbed his somewhat throbbing temples and turned to Ibiki, whispering: "Will you ask the tenth question in a bit?"
Ibiki paused: "...Yes!"
Masahiko pondered for a moment. He recalled that the tenth question tested the courage to press on in the face of difficulties, which was quite necessary, so he decided not to change it...
His gaze swept over every single candidate in the exam room, ignoring Naruto's pleading expression and the Fat Cat's resentful (?) look. Masahiko's objective was clear—Orochimaru.
'Not here? He didn't dare to come, or does he not plan to participate in the Forest of Death? Given his current state, he shouldn't have much interest in Sasuke anyway.'
...
With Masahiko not causing trouble, the progression of events went exactly as in the original story. The written exam concluded under Naruto's grand and heroic declarations.
Ibiki Morino explained the true purpose of this exam to the candidates, using the scars on his own head to caution them about the importance of intelligence and courage. As he was speaking, the scars vanished...
Masahiko retracted his right hand, which had been enveloped in a gentle white light, and chuckled at him: "It's free of charge."
Ibiki: "..."
It wasn't as if Konoha lacked medical ninjas; there were plenty who could heal him. But as the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force, he kept those scars to intimidate enemies while keeping himself alert... How did they just disappear out of nowhere?
"Senior, thank you for your kindness."
"No need for thanks, continue your speech."
Ibiki rubbed his smooth head and let out a sigh: "Do you have anything to say?"
Masahiko pondered for a moment: "Put your wig on, being bald doesn't look good."
Ibiki didn't want to say anything. He turned around, about to announce the conclusion of the first exam. However, right at that moment, the window on the right was suddenly shattered, and glass shards danced wildly through the air.
Masahiko laughed and shook his head: 'The second examiner is still her.'
Using a 'cloth banner' to block Masahiko and Ibiki from view, the female ninja who loudly and brashly introduced herself could be none other than Anko. She successfully harvested a collection of dumbfounded expressions from the candidates, along with Sakura's evaluation of her as a female version of Naruto.
"They really are quite similar."
Masahiko listened with his hands behind his back. Upon learning that the second exam would begin tomorrow morning and that thirty-two teams would be participating, he flickered away.
'Speaking of which... the first exam didn't give me any Witness Points. Meaning the entire Chunin Exams count as one giant plot event, and they'll be given all at once after it ends. It definitely won't be a small amount!' Masahiko muttered to himself as he walked down the street. 'I wonder how much it'll be. If it exceeds three hundred points, then all my busywork won't have been in vain!'
...
The next day, in front of Konoha's Training Ground 44—the Forest of Death—Masahiko watched the candidates receive their Heaven and Earth scrolls and enter the examination grounds.
"Orochimaru didn't come." Masahiko shook his head, unsure whether to be happy or disappointed.
'If he doesn't come, I'll have to consider the wager. If Tenten really wins the championship, then I will have been busy for nothing!' Masahiko pondered for a moment, his brow knitting slightly: 'Wait, that's not right. We agreed on no under-the-table match-fixing! My thoughts are getting dangerous...'
Meanwhile, in the Hidden Sound Village.
Inside the underground experimental base.
"Lord Orochimaru!" A young man with short silver hair and purplish-red eyes walked briskly over to stand in front of Orochimaru.
"Oh?" Orochimaru licked his lips, his right hand forming the Tiger seal: "Is that guy about to make his move?"
"The mark you left behind has reacted." The young man hummed. "Lord Orochimaru, for this operation, let me..."
"No." Orochimaru licked his lips: "You cannot show your face just yet."
"Why? I haven't stepped outside this place in ages. You need to understand..." The young man chattered on endlessly.
Orochimaru pondered for a moment: "You cannot go to Konoha. But assassinating the Kazekage... is acceptable!"
"...Very well, Lord Orochimaru!"
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