Despite the upcoming exams, Hinata's daily life remained unchanged. She continued her training as usual, calm and disciplined, while quietly making her preparations.
Her mastery of the Gentle Fist, combined with the two times optimized Byakugan, gave her a decisive advantage over most opponents. In addition, she possessed several powerful secret techniques—
the Ten Gods Vacuum Strike, a deadly offensive art;
the Rabbit Hair Needle, a precise long-range restriction technique;
and her three puppets, each enhancing her tactical versatility and amplifying the power of her Byakugan.
During her spare moments, Hinata carefully studied the list of participating villages and their specialties, familiarizing herself with the types of shinobi she might face. She already understood her own strengths well—now she was working to understand her potential enemies.
Days passed swiftly, and soon, the day of the Chunin Exams arrived.
…
Hinata woke early, dressed neatly, said goodbye to her parents and Hanabi, and met up with her teammates. Together, they arrived at the exam venue an hour ahead of schedule.
It had been Hinata's idea to arrive early; she wanted time to observe the other examinees before the test began. Kiba and Shino agreed without argument. Over the past year, both had been thoroughly conditioned—after countless defeats at Hinata's hands, they subconsciously saw her as the leader of their team.
To outsiders, though, the dynamic appeared very different.
They saw Kiba Inuzuka swaggering confidently at the front, Shino Aburame walking calmly behind him with quiet intensity, and Hinata Hyuga trailing last—her small face tense, her expression timid and uneasy.
The moment Team 8 entered the classroom, the room's attention shifted to them.
The Hyuga eyes were unmistakable—the pale, opalescent Byakugan that only their clan possessed. Under the weight of so many stares, Hinata lowered her gaze, fidgeting with her fingers. Whispered voices rose among the other candidates.
"That's the Hyuga clan, huh? Konoha's so-called elite family… they don't look that impressive."
"What's with those eyes? All white like that—it's creepy!"
"Hey!" Kiba's temper flared instantly. "You got something to say?!"
The challengers didn't back down. One of them slammed a hand on his desk.
"So what if we said something? What are you gonna do about it?"
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough!" Kiba barked, baring his teeth—almost literally.
Being raised in the Inuzuka clan, surrounded by ninja hounds since birth, Kiba's behavior often resembled that of a dog. When provoked, he bit back—figuratively and sometimes literally.
The classroom erupted into chaos, voices shouting over one another.
Meanwhile, the Chunin examiners observing from the shadows outside quietly took notes.
Amid the commotion, Hinata lowered her head slightly and secretly activated her Byakugan. Her gaze swept across the room, seeing through everything—the walls, the desks, even the hidden recording seals. She noticed that Kiba's exam number, along with several others, had been subtly marked.
Has the exam already begun? she wondered silently.
Reaching out, she caught Kiba's wrist, pulling him back.
"Kiba, stop," she whispered softly.
Her calm voice and firm grip snapped him out of his fury. The fight dissolved before it could escalate.
At that moment, Hinata caught another subtle flicker in her Byakugan's vision—a circle drawn around her own exam number.
She blinked, thoughtful.
Around her, the other candidates resumed their whispering, sneering at her apparent timidity.
"Look at her—so cowardly. How did she even become a genin?"
"Probably here to make up the numbers. Easy points for someone else."
Hinata remained silent, her expression demure, unbothered by their mockery. Her quiet demeanor was misleading; to strangers, she appeared fragile, meek, harmless.
But anyone who truly knew her—or had fought her—would never make that mistake.
In the shadows, one of the Chunin examiners watching from above noted silently,
"If I hadn't reviewed her file myself, I'd never have guessed… this timid girl is the Hyuga clan's main branch heir."
One by one, more teams filed in—familiar faces among them:
Team 7 – Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
Team 10 – Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino.
And Team 3, led by none other than Neji Hyuga, who had graduated early.
…
As the allotted exam time neared its end, the examiner for the first round suddenly appeared, his voice cutting through the room like a whip.
"Get back to your seats, you useless trash!"
Instantly, the room fell silent. Every examinee hurried back to their place, their movements stiff with tension. The examiner held absolute authority here—no one dared defy him.
Hinata glanced sideways at Naruto, who sat beside her. Despite herself, a faint blush colored her cheeks, her usual shyness surfacing.
However, the truth was different now. Since fusing with the soul of a middle-aged assassin from another world, Hinata's old feelings of admiration and unrequited affection for Naruto had dulled significantly. The tenderness remained, but faintly—more like an echo than a flame. Her bashfulness was little more than an act, a reflex from her former self.
"First," the examiner began coldly, "everyone starts with ten points. There are ten questions total—one point each. This exam uses a deduction system: for every wrong answer, one point will be subtracted."
He paused, letting the words sink in before continuing.
"Second, scores will be calculated based on the total for each three-man team. If any member is suspected of cheating, two points will be deducted per incident. If a member's score drops to zero, the entire team will be disqualified."
A collective murmur swept through the room as the test papers were handed out. Hinata took hers and skimmed the questions. Even with her intelligence and training, she realized she could barely answer half of them.
Five correct, at best. The rest were beyond her expertise.
Feigning deep thought, Hinata raised her hands to rub her temples, the motion gracefully concealing the subtle flicker in her eyes as she activated the Byakugan.
No secret could hide from her gaze.
Her sight swept across the room, passing through desks and walls until she found a candidate confidently answering every question. Memorizing the movements of their pen, she silently copied the answers onto her own paper with perfect precision.
When she finished, Hinata allowed herself a quick glance at Kiba and Shino. Both were doing reasonably well in their own ways—nothing concerning. But when she looked toward Naruto, she noticed his paper was still blank.
Not a single answer.
Hinata sighed inwardly. He really doesn't know any of them.
After a brief pause, an idea formed.
She pretended to review her test twice, then carefully folded the paper and set it aside. With a small, believable yawn, she rubbed her eyes and began a few light "eye exercises," disguising the pulsing veins that would have appeared with her Byakugan's activation.
At the same time, she extended her chakra outward, channeling it through the technique she had refined for wireless puppet control. A faint wave of chakra fluctuations radiated from her hands, almost imperceptible.
Naruto suddenly stiffened.
"Wha—what's going on?! Am I… possessed by a ghost?!" he whispered in alarm, sweat forming on his forehead.
The examiner's cold gaze swept toward him, and Naruto immediately went silent. Then, to his utter confusion, his own hands began to move—writing answers on the paper completely on their own.
Within minutes, Naruto's sheet was filled with correct responses. Hinata withdrew her control, closed her Byakugan, and exhaled quietly as everything returned to normal.
…
Forty-five minutes later, the examiner clapped his hands sharply.
"Now, for the final question," he announced. "You may choose whether to take it or not. But be warned—if you take it and fail, you will remain a genin for life. If you refuse to take it, your entire team will be disqualified immediately."
A tense silence spread through the room.
Hinata lowered her gaze in thought. So that's how it is.
This wasn't really a test of knowledge—it was a test of resolve.
If the Chunin Exams were meant to judge one's fitness to become a Chunin, then this question was symbolic. In a real mission, a Chunin might face unknown risks and unpredictable odds. Would they retreat simply because they didn't know what awaited them?
Someone who abandoned a mission out of fear could never be qualified to lead.
Hinata's eyes softened as understanding settled in her mind. Even without knowing the question, the only correct answer is to face it.
When the examiner finally declared that all who stayed had passed, she knew she'd been right.
…
Without giving anyone time to rest, another examiner appeared—harsh, commanding, and radiating killing intent.
"The second round will begin tomorrow," he announced. "It will take place in the Forest of Death, and more than half of you will be eliminated. Prepare yourselves."
The next morning would mark the beginning of the true ordeal.
As the candidates dispersed, Hinata bid farewell to Kiba and Shino before heading home. Behind her, she could still hear Naruto's voice echoing through the halls—something about not lying and his body moving on its own—right before Sakura silenced him with a sharp punch to the head.