Ibiki, who was standing at the front of the class, said, "Very well, now is the time for the tenth question of this exam."
As soon as everyone heard Ibiki's words, the entire classroom became totally attentive, ready to listen carefully to every single word that came out of his mouth. The earlier sounds of rustling papers, shifting chairs, and whispering voices slowly died down until the room became almost completely silent. They did not want to miss even a single detail and wanted to answer this tenth question even more carefully than before.
Naruto was the same.
Before, he had been quite fearful that because of him, his team might get disqualified and fail because he only knew the answers to two questions. That thought had been weighing heavily on him from the start of the exam. But now, with the help of Uta, he had completed all nine questions perfectly.
So now, he was worry-free.
A confident smile appeared on Naruto's face as he looked towards Ibiki, his blue eyes filled with determination, as if he was ready for anything that Ibiki might throw at him.
Ibiki continued, "But before you answer this tenth question, there is a condition."
The atmosphere inside the room immediately became tense again.
Ibiki's sharp gaze swept across the classroom as he said, "If you decide not to give an answer to this tenth question, then you will only fail this time and you can walk away and try again next year."
Some of the examinees let out small sighs of relief after hearing that. Failing this time was bad, but at least there was another chance.
However, before anyone could relax completely, Ibiki continued in a cold voice, "But if you give an answer to this question and then that answer is wrong, then you will be banned from taking the Chunin Exam forever."
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire classroom exploded into chaos.
"What?!"
"That is completely unfair!"
"How can there be such a rule?!"
"You don't have the right to do that!"
Many of the examinees immediately started protesting. Some slammed their desks in anger while others stared at Ibiki with disbelief. A few people even began sweating nervously as panic spread across the room like wildfire.
Even Naruto's eyes widened slightly after hearing that condition. Forever banned...? What kind of crazy question is this?
But Ibiki simply remained standing there with his arms crossed, completely unfazed by the noise around him. His expression remained cold and merciless.
Then he said, "I am the proctor of this exam. I have the rights here now. I can do whatever I want. I can make the rules here."
The room instantly became quieter again, but the heavy pressure in the air only grew stronger.
As soon as Ibiki said this, no one really dared to say anything else to him. As Ibiki had said, he was the proctor of the exam, so it could not be helped.
Ibiki continued, "You have the chance. Anyone who wants to walk away and not lose the chance to become a Chunin ever again, you can leave now."
As soon as Ibiki said this, a few of the timid Genins were not able to take the pressure anymore. Sweat trickled down their faces, their hands trembled slightly, and after hesitating for a few moments, they slowly stood up from their seats.
The sound of chairs scraping against the floor echoed throughout the room.
One by one, they started leaving and gave up.
And as they gave up, the teams to which they belonged automatically failed and got disqualified as well. Some teammates looked at the person leaving with anger, some with helplessness, while others simply lowered their heads in silence, unable to say anything.
The atmosphere inside the classroom became even heavier.
Everyone was feeling the pressure.
Everyone was wondering what they should do.
Should they stay?
Or should they leave before losing the chance to ever become a Chunin again?
At that moment, Naruto suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
Bang!
The loud sound echoed throughout the entire classroom, immediately drawing everyone's attention towards him.
Naruto shouted, "However tough that question may be, I'm not going to give up! I'm not going to leave the examination hall like a coward!"
His voice rang loudly through the room, filled with determination and stubbornness.
As soon as Naruto said this, everyone in the class was stunned, not expecting someone to stand up like this and say something like that. Many people stared at him with wide eyes, while some looked at him as if he was crazy.
After listening to this, smiles appeared on Shamrock's face and Uta's face.
They thought to themselves, After all, Naruto is an Uzumaki. He has the Uzumaki blood in him. How can he be a coward?
Naruto clenched his fists tightly and continued glaring towards the front of the classroom. There was not even the slightest hint of fear on his face now.
And Naruto's shout gave firmness to many candidates who had been in a dilemma and were not very confident about the tenth question. Many of them had been seriously thinking of giving up.
But after listening to Naruto's words, they immediately gave up on that thought.
Their expressions gradually became firmer.
Even if they were still nervous, they decided that they would face the tenth question head-on.
As soon as Ibiki heard this and finally saw that no one else in the classroom was going to leave, he looked around at everyone for a few moments.
The room had become completely silent again.
Then Ibiki said, "The tenth question is… that you all passed. Everyone who is currently in the classroom has passed the first round of the Chunin Exam and is qualified for the second round of the Chunin Exam."
As soon as Ibiki said this, every candidate present in the classroom was left stunned.
For a few moments, nobody even reacted properly.
They were all like, What just happened?
Many of them looked at each other with confused expressions, wondering if they had heard him correctly.
Then Sakura immediately said, "What?"
Temari also frowned and said, "The hard work that we did on completing our exam papers, writing all those nine questions... was all of that useless?"
Ibiki shook his head and said, "Of course not. It tested your information collection abilities, your ability to gather information without getting caught, and you all did very well."
As he said this, many people slowly started to understand.
The earlier questions had never truly been about answering correctly through their own knowledge alone.
It had been about collecting information, cheating without getting caught, and staying calm under pressure.
Then, after saying this, Ibiki reached towards his head and removed the bandana he had been wearing.
As soon as he did, many people in the room widened their eyes.
His head was full of scars.
Some were long, some were deep, and some looked old enough to have been there for years. Under the classroom lights, the scars looked even more frightening.
Ibiki said, "Information is very important. If not, then you can also have these hideous scars... or even worse, death."
As soon as everyone heard that, the room became quiet once again.
Even the people who had been complaining before no longer said anything.
They could now understand why Ibiki had designed the exam like this.
For ninjas, information was one of the most important weapons.
A ninja who failed to gather information properly could lose a mission, lose comrades, or lose their own life.
Finally, with this, the first round of the Chunin Exam came to an end.
At that moment, Shamrock and Uta finally came to the complete conclusion with their genius and intelligence. Not only them, but many of the smart ninjas present there also came to the same conclusion.
Ibiki had just been testing them mentally and psychologically all along.
This had been a psychological test.
And everyone who remained in the room had passed.
Many people in the room also had Naruto to thank for making their resolve firm when they had been on the verge of giving up.
Just then, suddenly, a strange black sphere came flying in from the window at extreme speed.
Crash!
The glass shattered instantly as the black object spun through the air. Many of the candidates flinched in surprise and quickly turned their heads towards it.
In the next moment, a woman appeared at the front of the classroom.
A large curtain unfurled behind her dramatically, hanging from the ceiling through several kunai stabbed into it. The cloth spread out wide, covering the front of the room, and Ibiki himself ended up hidden behind the curtain.
Ibiki shook his head and said, "Ugh, jumping the gun again, this woman."
Everyone looked towards the kunoichi who had appeared so suddenly.
She had purple hair, a confident grin on her face, and an energetic aura around her.
Then she shouted loudly, "Everyone, I am Anko Mitarashi. I will be your proctor for your second round of the Chunin Exam. Be ready, you maggots!"
Her voice echoed loudly throughout the room.
After introducing herself, Anko looked towards the candidates of the Chunin Exam seated at their desks.
However, instead of looking impressed or intimidated, most of them were staring at her strangely because of her sudden entrance.
At that moment, Ibiki's voice came from behind the curtain.
"You are early, Anko."
As soon as Anko heard this, she immediately felt embarrassed.
A small twitch appeared on her face as she realized that her dramatic entrance had not gone exactly as she had planned.
But since she was standing in front of all these Chunin Exam candidates and she was going to be the proctor for the second round, clearly she could not show her embarrassed side to them.
So she quickly straightened herself and looked towards Ibiki, who was standing behind the side of the curtain.
Looking at him from the corner of her eye, she said, "You are going soft, Ibiki. You let so many of them pass."
Ibiki replied calmly, "The quality of candidates this time is clearly very high. What would you expect?"
Anko gave a malicious smirk and crossed her arms.
"Very well then," she said. "If you can't eliminate more candidates, then I will do so. I am going to eliminate almost half of the candidates present right now."
As soon as the Genins present heard this, many of them became slightly fearful.
Some gulped nervously while others exchanged uneasy looks with their teammates.
Almost half?
Just hearing those words was enough to make many of them feel a chill run down their spines.
Then Anko continued speaking, "Very well, all of you gather at 9:00 AM at the 44th Training Ground, also known as..."
She paused for a moment.
A devious smile slowly appeared on her face.
Then she said, "The Forest of Death."
The moment those words left her mouth, the atmosphere inside the classroom seemed to become colder.
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