Chapter 62:
"Boruto!"
In the plaza for the first round of the exam, Kagura walked up to Boruto.
"Kagura? What are you doing here? I thought you were a Chūnin... don't tell me!" Boruto's face showed a look of surprise.
"I didn't have a choice. Because of this exam, the Daimyō of the Land of Water has been sending emissaries to Kirigakure nonstop," Kagura said with a bitter smile and a nod. Then, turning serious, he suddenly bowed in apology. "Also... I'm sorry!"
"Eh? What for, Kagura?" Boruto was flustered by Kagura's sudden apology.
"I'm guessing it's because of his teammate, Fuefuki Kyohō," Mitsuki said, pointing to the sword Kagura carried on his back.
"That's... the Mizukage's ninja blade, Hiramekarei!" Sarada followed Mitsuki's finger and exclaimed in shock.
"Really, Kagura? You've become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen? Congratulations." Boruto didn't blame Kagura for what Fuefuki Kyohō had done, despite the trouble it caused him. Instead, he was sincerely happy for him.
"Hey hey, Kagura, don't get so chummy with our opponents."
The sharp-toothed Shizuma Hoshigaki walked over with Samehada strapped to his back. Behind him were the other five members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen: Hebiichigo with the Nuibari in hand, Kyohō Fuefuki carrying the Blastsword: Shibuki, Oniyuzu Ichirōta wielding Kabutowari, Onomichi Hassaku with Kubikiribōchō (Executioner's Balde) slung across his back, and Buntan Kurosuki holding the Lightning Fangs: Kiba.
"...Sorry, Boruto," Kagura said.
"It's fine. We're opponents now, after all. If we meet during the exam, I'm not going to go easy on you," Boruto replied.
...
"Looks like everyone's here. I'll now announce the content of the first exam."
"The first round will be... a True or False quiz!" Sai announced, as the words "True or False Quiz" appeared in bright colors on the large electronic screen behind him.
A True or False quiz—simply put, it's a game where the host asks a question and the participants choose either option A or B. These kinds of games often appear on TV variety shows. The wrong answer usually results in some kind of punishment, and to make things more interesting, sometimes even the host gets punished if everyone answers correctly.
In any case, this kind of game was never meant for something as serious as the Chūnin Exams.
"Wait, wait... Is Konoha actually being serious with this?"
Seeing the colorful words on the screen, Shizuma's face showed disbelief. Even Uchiha Itachi had a brief flash of incredulity cross his face.
"The questions will be displayed at Exam Site B, located 20 kilometers from here. I'll be using this stopwatch to record the time. Any worthless Genin who fails to arrive within an hour will lose their eligibility to continue. We've also set up various dangers along the way—anyone caught in a trap and incapacitated will be disqualified as well. Only those who reach Site B within the time limit will qualify to take the quiz..."
While Sai was explaining the rules, Shuyu had already activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Having previously taken the Chūnin Exams, he was all too familiar with Konoha's tricks.
"Knew it. Let's move. The moment they started explaining the rules, the exam had already begun."
The four-member Hanabi Squad left the site simultaneously, a move that was broadcast live from the Konoha Arena by the TV station.
"Dad, did you see that? That's my student! He was the first to realize that Brother Sai's explanation was a waste of time. Pretty impressive, right?" Hanabi said as she tugged on Hiashi Hyūga's arm.
"Yes, yes..."
Come on, it was clearly Shuyu who was impressive. What does this have to do with you? At best, it's vaguely connected to Sasuke. Of course, Hiashi would never say that out loud. He just smiled and nodded before turning his eyes back to the big screen in the Konoha Arena's central seat.
Hiashi knew Uchiha Shuyu well.
Although the Uchiha clan now only had a few kittens and one old cat left, Hiashi would never underestimate this long-time rival for the title of Konoha's top clan.
Even he had to admit—Sharingan really was a cheat-like dōjutsu. Every evolution brought a significant boost in capability.
"Hm? Someone else noticed it too? Is that a Genin from Konoha, or... a Three-Tomoe Sharingan user?"
From Sunagakure, the adopted son of Fifth Kazekage Gaara—Shinki—watched Shuyu as he spoke.
"Never thought goody-two-shoes Konoha would turn cunning. Other villages mostly sent Chūnin, but Konoha just straight-up sent a Jōnin. That means Sunagakure is the only one that obediently sent Genin this time. Kazekage-sama, really now..." grumbled Arashirō, who wore a purple-striped mask.
"If you keep running your mouth, I'll kill you."
Shinki's tone was calm, but the words were chilling. Though he always acted like a well-behaved, quiet child around adults and rarely showed emotion, he would show no mercy if anyone insulted Gaara.
"Okay okay, we're all on the same team, no need to get like this. Besides, everyone knows about the good relationship between Kazekage-sama and Hokage-sama. Maybe we could even team up with that Konoha Jōnin," said Yato, the only blonde female among the three.
"A thirteen-year-old Jōnin..." Shinki muttered, still watching in Shuyu's direction.
With the precedent of Kakashi becoming a Jōnin at twelve, seeing someone make it at thirteen didn't seem that unbelievable anymore.
As both Shuyu's squad and Shinki's squad left at nearly the same time, Sarada—with her single-tomoe Sharingan—also sensed something was off. Soon, more and more people began leaving.
"Everyone, please note—even a one-second delay means immediate... hey, I'm not even done explaining, and they've all run off!"
Sai stood on the platform, eyes still narrowed as always.
"Your explanation was the trap. If they listened to the whole thing, they'd miss the deadline. Don't underestimate these Genin—especially since some Chūnin from other villages are mixed in. This kind of trap won't catch them," Shikamaru said from below, hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, you're right. Since this is the first joint exam among the Five Great Villages, the entire shinobi world is watching. That's why this round includes not only Genin, but also Chūnin—and even has feudal lords subtly competing in the background. Looks like we'll need to bring out the real stuff this time. As the village in charge of setting the questions, Konoha can't afford to be underestimated."
Sai unfurled the scroll on his back, summoning an ink bird. He mounted it and flew off toward Exam Site B, where the quiz would be held.
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