Although Naruto Uzumaki was loud and aggressive, the Hidden Mist team, enveloped in a glowing white light, couldn't hear anything from the outside world. Naturally, Naruto's shouting fell on deaf ears.
However, the other teams could hear him loud and clear. One by one, their gazes turned toward Naruto Uzumaki.
He had become the most talked-about figure in recent times. Everyone knew he was destined to be one of the strongest forces in the ninja world.
At the very least, his combat potential far surpassed that of the current Kage of the Five Great Nations.
While it's true that a genius who hasn't matured yet isn't necessarily guaranteed to succeed—and may even die before reaching their peak—Naruto Uzumaki was different.
He had the full backing of Konohagakure behind him.
The largest and most influential village in the shinobi world.
His growth was practically inevitable… unless the Akatsuki managed to capture him first.
Nagato, who held the authority of the exam host, was also watching Naruto.
As the host, he held control over "interactions."
This meant Nagato could select individuals to come directly to him and engage—under his supervision. And once the exam ended, the two selected individuals would leave the exam space together.
For now, he decided to observe silently and look for promising talents among the participants.
After all, he had already selected Naruto and Hinata for his side. Adding a few more could help increase pressure and competition among them. That might accelerate their growth.
With this in mind, Nagato remained quiet.
Then, the milky white glow across the platform abruptly faded, transitioning into the brown Iwagakure platform.
This unexpected scene made the confident Terumi Mei freeze for a moment. A blush quickly spread across her face. She looked at Nagato with a hint of embarrassment.
Damn it!
She had answered wrong!
But… the Raikage's answer earlier—also aimed at Akatsuki—was marked incorrect…
Wait!
Terumi Mei suddenly grasped the fleeting insight that had just flashed through her mind.
Back when the Raikage gave his incorrect answer, Nagato—the Akatsuki leader himself—had said:
"Why didn't you say it was a shinobi from the ninja world?"
Was that… a hint?
Could it be that the correct answer was an Akatsuki member, but Raikage's answer was dismissed due to technicalities?
The more Terumi Mei thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Her eyes shifted to Ōnoki, who was now bathed in the selection light.
She believed that Ōnoki had also realized the same thing.
But Akatsuki had many members… Could they afford to guess randomly?
Wait—her own team included someone from Akatsuki!
Her gaze snapped back to the two figures standing behind her.
Damn it. If you know the answer, why not just say it?
What—fail the supplementary exam and hope to escape punishment?
…
Over on the brown team's platform, Ōnoki had come to similar conclusions—but with sharper clarity.
The Akatsuki's "undead duo" was the least likely—though it wasn't impossible. Perhaps after assassinating Rasa, they had deliberately left evidence of their presence.
But Rasa's location was very close to his own at the time. If there had been a battle, Ōnoki would have heard it. No one could assassinate a Kage in complete silence—unless…
Unless the Kage in question was a complete fool and willingly trapped himself in a barrier.
So, should they just guess through all the Akatsuki members one by one?
Ōnoki pondered deeply. With the countdown ticking away, he turned his gaze toward Deidara.
He had no doubt Deidara knew the answer—but also knew he'd never reveal it. The two had just clashed moments ago.
In the end, a shinobi from a different village wouldn't prioritize your best interests.
Ōnoki sighed, then looked at his granddaughter.
"Kurotsuchi. Pick someone from the Akatsuki organization."
Kurotsuchi blinked her big eyes and looked at Deidara again, a mischievous gleam in her expression.
"Hey, Deidara. Grandpa says you're smarter than me—so you choose."
She looked at Ōnoki defiantly, clearly not over the last time he had said she wasn't as sharp as Deidara.
Ōnoki chuckled wryly. She was still holding that grudge, huh?
Still, a random pick was as good as any. And since Deidara was likely to answer regardless, it didn't matter who chose.
He signaled to the rest of the Iwagakure ninja behind him to quiet down.
"…Oh ho ho…"
Deidara suddenly let out a strange, eerie laugh.
He had assumed he'd have to go through trouble just to get a chance to answer, but…
The opportunity had landed right in his lap!
Kurotsuchi. Kurotsuchi!
You used to bully me when we were kids!
You used to interrupt my experiments!
Heh heh heh…
Don't worry.
Seeing the gleam in Kurotsuchi's eyes, Deidara wiped off his excited expression and put on a confident one.
Let me answer. You'll be fine!
Perfect!
I, Deidara, will deliver this with style… hehehe…
"Choose one from the Akatsuki roster…"
Truthfully, Deidara wanted to name himself just to mess with everyone. But if he gave such a half-assed answer, Kurotsuchi would probably throttle him—rules of the exam be damned.
He couldn't pick the leader.
Not Konan, either.
Sasori-sama had a good relationship with him—so he was off-limits too.
So… he needed someone else to take the fall.
His gaze swept across the six other team platforms… and settled on the red team.
Of everyone, Deidara disliked the Konoha bunch the most. Especially those two damned Uchiha.
One dragged him into Akatsuki using his damn Sharingan, leaving him traumatized.
The other… nearly blew him up.
Konoha it is.
And conveniently, the red Konoha team had two Akatsuki members—right up front.
Orochimaru. Uchiha Itachi.
Pick one.
After a couple seconds of deliberation, Deidara leaned toward Uchiha Itachi.
After all, his eyes could allow him to silently eliminate even a Kage.
Next time Iwagakure gets to answer, I'll dump the blame on you, Itachi.
Glancing at Uchiha Itachi with a mix of pity and smug satisfaction, Deidara gave his answer.
"Orochimaru."
As soon as he finished, he turned toward Kurotsuchi with gleeful anticipation—and glanced sideways at Ōnoki, eager to watch them both regret everything.
Quack, quack, quack!
…
The moment his name was spoken, Orochimaru—who had already been tense—stiffened.
He had expected Sunagakure to expose him next round, not this early!
How the hell did Deidara know?!
Seeing Deidara's smug, self-satisfied grin, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. He looked to Nagato.
Was this… a warning from the leader?
Punishment for his recent secret moves?
Orochimaru sighed.
His plan had been to wait until Konoha pieced everything together. Then, after surveying the battlefield, they would conclude:
The Akatsuki attacked Konoha, the Fourth Kazekage betrayed the alliance and joined Orochimaru. The Third Hokage fought to protect Konoha, killed the Fourth Kazekage, drove off Orochimaru, and eventually died of his wounds.
He had even staged the scene carefully to support that version of events.
But no one had expected a question like this to come up in the middle of the exam space.
Now… there was no hiding it.
While Orochimaru was still thinking through damage control, Nagato announced the result—with a tone of visible surprise.
"Brown Team—correct answer."
"NANI???"
Deidara, who was eagerly waiting to gloat at Kurotsuchi and Ōnoki's failure, was instantly frozen.
His expression twisted in disbelief.
"Th-this… This is impossible!!"