After the awkward silence, the tension on the high platform slowly faded.
The dignitaries and Kage turned their eyes back toward the arena, pretending nothing had happened.
Below, the atmosphere was electric. Over a hundred genin eyed each other with open hostility—
especially several from Oto-nin Village, who nearly started a brawl before the exam even began.
During the three days of pre-exam preparation, there had already been a few "unofficial" skirmishes among participants.
Now, it was time to see who would truly prevail.
The first match began.
Morino Ibiki appeared before the gathered students, giving a brief, cold introduction before leading them toward the testing halls.
The first test: written exam!
Exactly as expected.
Shigeo felt no anxiety.
Back in Moenin Village, he had already warned his students that Konoha's first stage was likely to be a written test.
He'd told them how to handle it—observe carefully, think tactically, and if all else failed, endure until the end.
If they didn't make any big mistakes, they should all pass.
Originally, Shigeo didn't care much about this exam. Win or lose—it didn't matter.
But now, being mocked by spectators and the representatives of the Five Great Villages over his nine students had awakened his competitive streak.
He wouldn't use Bun'ei Ishiki Kyō (Splintered Consciousness Mirror) for something this small.
But he wanted to see, with his own eyes, what his young ninjas could do.
He waved his hand.
Beside him, Mukō stepped forward.
"Tell them to go all out," Shigeo said calmly.
"Yes, my lord." Mukō bowed and left.
Moments ago, Shigeo had told them to relax and take it easy.
Now, after being provoked by the other villages, he was ready to fight back—in his own way.
He would let everyone see the power of Moenin's next generation.
The exam began.
Each testing room was sealed off and watched by a dozen proctors.
Spectators could only follow the scene through massive screens that displayed every move inside.
No outside interference, no cheating assistance.
After all, the first test was about information-gathering.
Ibiki read out the rules:
1. Each test had ten questions, worth one point each. A wrong answer deducted a point.
2. Scores would be calculated as a team total of three members.
3. If anyone was caught cheating, two points would be deducted.
4. If any team member scored zero, the entire team would be disqualified.
Then the test began.
Questions appeared on the screen.
The audience, naturally, started whispering and solving them themselves.
But no matter what they guessed, the outcome inside would not change.
Shigeo sat back, studying his students' faces on the monitor.
Among them—Ao, Ranton Hatsufuyu, Hōzuki Tsukiya, and the young medic Kodomo stood out most.
Ao, trained by his mother Natsusei, had inherited a refined version of Kujaku Myōhō (Peacock Technique).
Even without the meteor's power, his chakra reserves were vast—far beyond normal genin.
Ranton Hatsufuyu possessed a Kekkei Genkai bloodline of Storm Release;
give him a few more years, and he could surpass even elite jōnin.
Hōzuki Tsukiya had been a child found by Kinjishi and later trained personally by Shigeo himself.
His mastery of Suiton (Water Release) already exceeded genin level.
And then there was Kodomo—
a young medical ninja juggling studies between the academy and hospital.
He possessed a rare regenerative bloodline, allowing his injuries to heal rapidly.
With six years of training, even as a medic, he stood above average genin.
With him around, the other eight would have little to fear.
The Chūnin Exams were never mere formality—
for genin, they were trials of life and death.
A strong teammate could save a team; a weak one could doom it.
On the screen, Naruto Uzumaki gritted his teeth, glancing nervously at Sakura and Sasuke.
Sakura, trembling, stole a glance at Sasuke, then Naruto, then scribbled answers desperately.
She knew: one failure meant the whole team's downfall.
Time passed.
The tension thickened. Even spectators were frowning.
"These questions are insane! The first one's a cipher—only ANBU would know that! And the second is… what, a projectile physics problem?!"
A man in the audience groaned. "I can't even solve this as an adult!"
Only the elite jōnin sat quietly. Everyone else scratched their heads helplessly.
In the test rooms, genin sighed and panicked.
Many were close to breaking down—
but a few began to calm themselves, to think.
Moenin's nine students, divided into three teams, remembered Shigeo's advice.
If nothing else, survive to the end.
But they wanted to show him their worth.
Hōzuki Tsukiya condensed droplets of water on the ceiling,
using reflections within each droplet to glimpse others' answer sheets,
then signaled his teammates subtly.
Ao activated his Kujaku Myōhō: Hitomi (Peacock's Eye), a specialized ocular technique from his mother,
watching the movement of others' pens to copy their work precisely.
Ranton Hatsufuyu and Kodomo, working together,
used a fine laser-point chakra link—a pinpoint beam of light—to flash correct answers back and forth.
It was silent warfare,
but the intensity was no less than a ninjutsu battle.
Finally, the test ended.
A large portion of participants failed.
And Moenin Village's three teams—all nine genin passed.
The results shocked the arena.
From over two hundred entrants, less than half remained.
"Hmph," grumbled the Iwagakure representative, voice thick with jealousy.
"Winning the first round isn't much. Let's see if they can survive the next two!"
Their own village had lost two-thirds of its candidates—worse than average.
Others stayed silent.
Because they realized—
Moenin's genin were far stronger than expected.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, frowned.
Konoha had over forty who passed, but nearly half had been eliminated.
By percentage, not impressive at all.
He turned slightly,
eyes cold as steel as they landed on Hyūga Shigeo beside him.
(End of Chapter)
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