"Ah, this exam paper isn't mine either! Where the heck is my paper?"
"Examiner, that strange gust of wind in the exam room just now mixed up all our exam papers. Can we wait until we find our papers and start the exam over?"
Ibiki frowned, exuding an air of authority even without showing anger.
"Idiots! The exam papers are just like the classified information you need to protect during your regular missions. If you can't even protect your mission secrets, what right do you have to ask me to restart the exam?"
"But I worked so hard to finish mine..."
"You still have five minutes left. That's enough time to finish it!"
Under Ibiki's strict policy, the examinees could only silently return to their seats and continue working on their exam papers.
Naruto quite agreed with Ibiki's view. If you couldn't protect your own things, who else could you count on?
He secretly gave Ibiki a big thumbs-up, which made Ibiki's veins bulge on his forehead. He really wanted to rush off the stage and give this smart - alecky kid a good hard slap.
This kid made such a big commotion while cheating. Should he be called bold and careful, or just plain stupid? But according to the exam rules, they could only deduct two points from this kid even though he caused such a commotion!
................
As time passed, minute by minute, the 45th minute of the exam arrived. Ibiki stood on the stage and cleared his throat.
"Now, this is the last question. Before answering this question, you have a chance to choose whether to answer this question or not."
The examinees below started to make a racket.
"Of course we should answer it!"
His dark face showed a hideous smile, which made people feel uneasy.
"Don't be in a hurry. Listen to me. If you choose not to answer the last question, you'll automatically be considered as having given up. If one person in a group chooses to give up, the other two in the group must also leave! And if you choose to answer but get it wrong, all three of you in the group will be stuck as Genin for the rest of your lives!"
There was a deathly silence in the exam room...
"This is impossible! You have no right to do this!"
There were quite a few examinees in the room. They came from various villages, and their villages didn't necessarily have good relations with Konoha. Why should the promotion of their villages' Genin to Chunin be decided by an examiner from another village?
"Idiots! Since you've come to take this exam, it means that all the countries have entrusted your future fates to me! You'd better believe I have this right. Otherwise, if you answer the question wrong without knowing what's going on and end up being Genin for life, it'll be too late to regret then!"
The examinees below sat there on their stools, stunned. Seeing that the atmosphere had reached this point, Ibiki continued.
"The Chunin Exams are held twice a year. It's okay to give up and wait for the next one. Now, start making your choice. Will you answer the question or not?"
Under this huge pressure, many examinees raised their hands to indicate that they were leaving the exam room. The group members who were affected didn't say a word and silently left.
Naruto lowered his head, deep in thought. He wasn't the smartest guy, but based on the previous question - answering format, cheating was permitted. Even though his cheating methods weren't very clever, the risk of the last question was just too high. What should he do? Should he give up?
What if he got all the questions wrong and dragged Sasuke and Sakura down, and they could only be Genin for the rest of their lives? What then?
As Naruto lowered his head, deep in painful thought, quite a few people left the large exam room.
"Anyone else leaving?"
Ibiki stood on the stage, steadying his voice as he asked. There were still too many remaining candidates. Looking at those wavering candidates, he knew he had to reduce the numbers further. Just then, Naruto raised his hand.
"You're also giving up..."
"Are you kidding me!"
He slammed his folded hands hard on the table, making a deafening noise that drew everyone's attention in the exam room to him.
"Be a Genin for a lifetime? Are you kidding! From the moment I became a Ninja, I've decided to become the Hokage! My dream will never be stopped by any form of obstacle. Even if I fail this final exam and remain a Genin for life, my goal is still to be the Hokage!"
He stood up and turned to look at the remaining candidates in the exam room.
"If I give in here, it means I'm giving in on my own dream! I definitely can't do that!"
Naruto's words, filled with strong determination, reached everyone present. The candidates who were previously hesitant and confused now had clear and bright eyes.
Yeah, as Ninjas, which day aren't they living on the verge of death, constantly in life - and - death battles?
It's just an exam. If they give in here, will they also give in during missions in the future? No, they represented the hope and honor of their villages and would never give in!
Ibiki looked at Naruto with a bit of a headache. This brat was shouting so loudly during the exam. However, his words were really powerful. Those who were wavering just now seemed to have taken a reassurance pill and were now full of energy!
Looking at the number of people present, Ibiki silently sighed. It's a pity that there were still 26 groups left. Oh well, he'd just leave it to the next examiner.
"Then I announce that all 78 people in the exam room have passed and can participate in the next round of the exam!"
What?
"Ah? How come? Don't we need to answer the last question?"
The exam room was filled with questions, and many candidates got angry. Wasn't this just fooling them around?
"In the first nine questions of the first exam, the rule of losing two points for cheating was set to test a Ninja's intelligence - gathering ability. Those who cheated stupidly would drag their teammates down. That's why a group would be eliminated if one person was caught cheating five times! And this last question, whether to answer it or not, is to test how you all make decisions in the face of difficulties and whether you have the courage and perseverance to complete the mission!"
Looking at the silent crowd below, Ibiki grinned.
"Congratulations, you've all passed this exam!"
...
"Ha! I knew he was just being mysterious!"
"What?"
I'm scared out of my wits! How could there be such perverted questions?"
Just as the candidates were happily discussing the details of this exam after surviving the tough test, a round iron ball broke through the glass and flew in.
"Who is it?"
The back part of the round iron ball opened up, and a curvaceous woman stepped out.
"Dear candidates, I'm Anko Mitarashi, the Examiner for the next round of the exam!"
However, her exaggerated appearance didn't receive an enthusiastic welcome from the candidates. Instead, they were looking at her as if she were a crazy person.
The scene was a bit awkward for a short while. The female Examiner couldn't help getting angry at Ibiki beside her and loudly questioned him.
"Hey! Ibiki, weren't the questions in the first exam too easy? Why are there still so many people left!"
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