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Swish! Soon, the two candidates Ye Dou had identified began to act. Their pens moved swiftly, as if guided by divine intervention—their answers flowing with unnatural speed, like they already knew the solutions.
Meanwhile, many other examinees had also begun to grasp the hidden objective of the written test and started to "take the exam" in their own unique, ninja-like ways.
Ye Dou waited a moment before giving the cue: "Let's begin."
Hyuga Hanabi calmly closed her elegant eyes and opened them again—Byakugan activated.
In an instant, her field of vision sharpened with clarity. Veins bulged beside her temples, and she locked onto the answer sheet of candidate number five in the third row.
"He's already finished the paper… How did Ye Dou spot the right person so quickly?" she thought, mildly impressed. "Well, if he can identify them, he should be able to copy the answers too."
At that moment, Ye Dou raised his pen and instructed, "Tell me the answers. And you—get down from my head."
"You're asking for my help? Show some respect, won't you?" the mongoose muttered indignantly from atop his head. But noticing the increasingly grim expression on Ye Dou's face, it reluctantly leapt down.
"Tch. Fine. Don't want me up there? No big deal. But remember—if you want to live a long life, you need to accept a little green on your head. Even Naruto gets it. What kind of ninja are you if you can't handle a tiny bit of shame?" the mongoose grumbled under its breath, too wary to say it aloud.
With a disgruntled sigh, it hopped over to Hanabi and began whispering the answers word by word into Ye Dou's ear.
Shuuk! Suddenly, a kunai flew across the silent classroom and pierced a candidate's answer sheet with a dull thud.
The startled genin jumped up, panicking. "You—you—what are you doing?!"
"Five wrong answers. You're out," the proctor said coldly, his scarred face impassive. It was one of Morino Ibiki's assistants—an intimidating presence in his own right.
He scanned the room with a chilling gaze. "And the rest of his team—leave the room. Immediately."
Despair and disbelief washed over the eliminated genin's face. His teammates, faces pale and eyes downcast, had no choice but to follow him out.
The silence that followed was heavy. The tension in the room skyrocketed.
With every announcement of failure, at least one team was forced to leave. The temperature in the classroom seemed to plummet—fear, anxiety, and dread hung in the air like a storm cloud. Some genin outright gave up, unwilling to risk dragging their teammates down.
Those left behind began to understand: this wasn't just a test of intelligence—it was a trial of nerve, of teamwork, of pressure endurance.
[Heaven-Defying Ability]
"As shinobi, you will face missions that allow no retreat," Morino Ibiki said, his voice stern and unwavering.
"In moments like those, you must show the resolve to break through your situation. That's the potential we seek in the next generation of Chūnin."
"Those who can't risk everything—who simply bet on uncertain outcomes and abandon their missions—are cowards. Weak-willed trash like that aren't qualified to lead."
Time passed. The written exam approached its climax, yet the final question hadn't appeared. Then Morino Ibiki finally delivered it—the tenth question.
A multiple-choice prompt with only two options: advance or withdraw.
For those who had already cheated and risked elimination, the weight of the decision was crushing. But that was the essence of the test: the examiner was the rule, and in this room, Ibiki held absolute authority.
He could declare anyone a failure based solely on his judgment.
"Damn, that was intense…"
"This wasn't anything like our Ninja Academy graduation test."
"Morino-san is terrifying…"
At last, the first exam concluded. Against the odds, all of Konoha's genin—Team 7, Team 8, Team 10—had passed.
Unlike normal school tests, the Chūnin Exams were a series of escalating challenges. Each stage was a staircase—pass, and you climbed higher; fail, and your journey ended. For many, this was their first true taste of what it meant to be a ninja.
"Hey, we passed! Let's go celebrate!" someone suggested.
"Yeah! We haven't all gotten together since graduation. Let's call it a mini party."
"Let's eat ramen!"
"Oh! If it's for food, count me in too!"
The newly victorious genin chattered excitedly, full of relief and pride. After all, no genin team had passed the first exam in five years—this class had just made history.
"Ye Dou, do you want to come?" Hanabi asked softly.
"I'll pass. I'm going back to train," Ye Dou replied, already heading toward the exit.
"Still the same as ever," someone muttered. "No sense of fun."
"Whatever. Let's just go without him."
They were used to Ye Dou's aloofness by now.
Only Uchiha Sasuke lingered. "I'm not going either. I need to train."
He turned and walked away as well.
Despite the many times Ye Dou had overpowered him in spars, Sasuke had become far stronger than he once was—and he knew there was still a long way to go.
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