Kabuto nodded slowly and started shuffling his cards with practiced ease. His fingers moved swiftly, injecting a slight amount of chakra into the deck. The chakra made one of the cards glow faintly and rise from the stack, floating to the top as if drawn by an unseen hand.
"First up… Hyūga Neji," He said, reading from the glowing card.
"He's one year older than you guys. His mission experience includes twenty D-Rank missions and eleven C-Rank missions."
Kabuto's tone turned more impressed as he continued.
"His squad leader is Might Guy. And… in just this year alone, his taijutsu has improved drastically. Not just his taijutsu—his overall skills have skyrocketed."
Kabuto looked up at the group. "Last year, he caught the attention of several jōnin. He was considered the number one rookie. A genius!"
Everyone listened closely, absorbing every word.
"But for some reason," Kabuto continued, frowning slightly, "he didn't take the Chūnin Exam last year."
He paused for a second.
"This is his first time entering the exam—same as you guys."
Kabuto then added, "He's teamed up with Tenten and Rock Lee."
The name Rock Lee made Naruto smirk.
Kabuto flicked the next card forward and fed a thread of chakra into it.
"Next… Gaara of the Sand."
His voice slowed, the tone slightly more serious.
"His mission experience includes eight C-Rank missions… and one B-Rank."
Kabuto looked up from the card, his brow furrowing slightly.
"All… as a genin."
"W-what…?" Shikamaru's voice cracked slightly.
"A B-Rank?" Sakura asked, her voice just above a whisper. "That's… way too advanced for a genin."
Kabuto nodded. "Exactly. Normally, genin are never sent on B-Rank missions unless something extraordinary happens."
He tapped the card once more.
"He's from the Sand Village, of the Wind Nation. A rookie, same as you."
Kabuto's voice lowered further. "But there's one more thing…"
Everyone leaned in, listening.
"It seems…" Kabuto said slowly, "he's returned from all of his missions… uninjured."
A stunned silence dropped over the group; only Naruto was calm.
'Not even a scratch?'
"A B-Rank mission as a rookie genin… and he came back without a single injury?" Shikamaru muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's not normal…"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his interest clearly piqued. He glanced at Sakura.
"Who is this Gaara you asked about?" He asked, his voice low but firm. "He doesn't sound like any ordinary genin."
Sakura folded her arms, recalling the moment earlier.
"Naruto and I… we just came across him and his teammates a while ago," She said quietly. "That's all. But the moment we saw him… There was something about him."
She frowned slightly, shivering at the memory. "His eyes… They didn't feel human."
Naruto, standing beside her, kept his expression still. But he remembered that encounter, too.
After all, he knew Gaara was the Jinchuriki of the one tail, Shukaku.
Kabuto quietly tucked his cards away, but the impact of his information lingered heavily in the air.
Just at that moment, an explosion of white smoke blasted across the front of the room, swallowing the gathered genin in a thick mist.
POOF!!
A few startled gasps came from the group, and some reached for their weapons on instinct.
The entire atmosphere shifted in an instant.
The smoke slowly began to clear, revealing the silhouettes of those inside.
Sharp outlines emerged like ghosts from a fog, and then, with heavy footsteps echoing through the stunned silence, a man stepped forward.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and looked like he had walked straight out of a nightmare battlefield.
"My name is Ibiki Morino," He said calmly, his voice like gravel being ground beneath a boot. "And I am the Proctor for the first test of the Chūnin Exam."
He stood at the front with a cold, calculating gaze.
Ibiki Morino was no ordinary ninja. His presence alone was like a sledgehammer of authority. And the most striking thing about him… was his face.
It was marked with scars that were deep, old, and brutal. Jagged lines ran across his brow, down his cheekbones, and one particularly nasty mark stretched from just under his eye to the corner of his jaw.
Each scar told a story of pain.
A story of survival.
He wore a dark trench coat over his black standard Konoha shinobi uniform. His coat was long and heavy, almost like a cloak, and he kept it open in the front, letting it sway with each movement. His flak vest looked more battle-worn than any other shinobi in the room.
The kunai holsters on his thighs were filled to the brim.
His boots thudded against the ground with every step.
Ibiki's aura screamed interrogator. His eyes weren't just looking at the genin—they were studying them. They were measuring their courage, testing their composure. His sharp, deep-set eyes scanned through the group as if he could already sense who would crack first.
The silence was suffocating.
Sakura instinctively took a step closer to Sasuke. Even Naruto narrowed his eyes.
'He's no joke… This guy's seen hell.'
Ibiki came to a stop, folding his arms behind his back with military precision. Then he spoke again.
"This is a good opportunity," He said in a loud, stern voice, "so I'll say this now."
The genin stood straighter.
"There will be no battles, no competitions, no sparring... without the permission of the proctors," He barked. "You don't move unless you're told."
A few heads nodded quietly.
But Ibiki wasn't finished.
"And even if you get permission," He added with narrowed eyes, "actions that could lead to the death of another examinee… will not be permitted."
His tone sharpened to a cutting edge.
"This isn't a warzone. It's a test. You will act accordingly."
The weight of his words dropped like anvils.
"And any pig that screws with my conditions…" His voice deepened, growling now. "…or messes with me... will be disqualified immediately."
He let those words hang in the air, stretching the tension like a blade to the throat.
"Got it?"
There was no movement or sounds, only dozens of genin staring at him in stunned silence, some swallowing hard, others visibly sweating.
The air was thick with pressure. It was as if Ibiki was staring straight into their souls.
Even the confident ones like Kiba and Choji looked rattled.
This guy… Sasuke thought to himself, watching carefully. He's not here to babysit. He's here to break us down.
Ibiki's cold gaze swept over them again.
"Tch… This exam looks to be easy," came a cocky voice from the back of the room.
All the genins turned their heads simultaneously, wanting to see the fool who just spoke.
A genin with a smug expression and crossed arms leaned back with a half-smile on his face, clearly unimpressed.
He snorted and gave Ibiki a bored look. "You're just trying to scare us. This is all bark, no bite."
The room froze, and everyone turned their eyes back to Ibiki.
Ibiki's expression didn't change. He didn't blink. He didn't even twitch.
But the air shifted.
It dropped in temperature like someone had opened the gates to a frozen tomb.
Ibiki slowly walked forward. His boots echoed louder now. The smug genin's smirk faltered slightly, but he tried to hold his ground.
Ibiki stopped directly in front of him.
"You think it's easy?" He said, his voice low, almost a whisper.
The genin gave a stiff nod.
Ibiki leaned in, just inches from the boy's face.
"Good," He whispered. "That'll make it easier to crush your ego when you break."
He stepped back.
The room was silent again, with no one daring to speak.
Naruto's fists tightened at his sides, not from fear, but excitement.
'This is more than a test,' He thought. 'This is a mental warzone. This guy is the real deal!'
Sasuke kept his expression neutral, but a flicker of anticipation burned in his eyes.
Sakura could feel her heart pounding. Even she didn't know if it was fear or excitement anymore.
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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