Chapter 298: When in Trouble, Find a Time Machine First
"I am Shimono Hisanobu, the chief examiner for the theoretical portion of the first stage of the Chunin Exams.
"The test will run until ten o'clock. There are ten questions, and the perfect score is one hundred points.
"Anyone who scores below seventy points will be disqualified immediately. If even one person on a team is eliminated, the entire team is eliminated."
Shimono Hisanobu wrote the exam time on the blackboard, then swept his gaze across the classroom as he finished explaining the rules.
Seventy points.
Kakashi's eyes flicked toward Obito, sitting two rows behind him. Seventy was nothing to Kakashi, but he seriously doubted Obito could reach it on his own.
"You may do your best to finish the exam, as long as you are not caught," Shimono Hisanobu continued. "If you are caught cheating five times, your qualification is revoked on the spot."
He paused, then added calmly, "Cheating is allowed in the Chunin Exams because it is part of the exam.
"These exams do not test only one ability. They test your overall capability. If you cannot answer something yourself, you may obtain information from others to complete it.
"To ensure the exam hall is not filled with people who cannot answer anything, Konoha also sends some ninja to mix among you using Transformation Technique. They will write down correct answers."
Damn it. Seventy is not just passing. That's already high.
Obito cursed inwardly at Shimono Hisanobu, but the complaint only made his nerves spike harder.
Even after grinding practice tests for days, his latest score had barely scraped the sixties.
Obito took a deep breath, forced himself to settle, and decided to pray to Mugetsu first.
Almighty Mugetsu, please send me back seven days so I can study for another seven days!
He clasped his hands under the desk, praying with all the desperation of a man staring at his own execution.
If the almighty Mugetsu did not bend time for him, he was finished.
And if he failed this first stage because his theory was garbage, Rin would be dragged down with him. That thought hurt more than any punch.
Just as Obito was sinking into despair, he suddenly noticed something.
The exam paper looked familiar.
He grabbed it, scanned the questions carefully, and his face flipped from panic to pure joy.
Every single one of the ten questions had a similar twin in the practice sets Mugetsu had given him. Mugetsu had even walked him through the logic. The wording was different, yes, but not by much.
Mugetsu really is almighty!
Obito cheered inside his head, snatched up his pen, and started answering at full speed.
He had never hit seventy before, but this time he believed he could smash through his limit and reach that glorious number.
Even so, Obito knew the breakthrough was not his power. It was Mugetsu's.
Did he just happen to get a sheet full of questions he knows?
Kakashi wondered as he noticed Obito's sudden excitement.
That kind of luck almost never happened to Kakashi, since there was basically nothing within the Chunin Exams scope that he did not know.
He started writing anyway, answering at high speed.
Even though Obito looked confident, Kakashi did not trust him on this front. He planned to finish quickly so he could pass Obito the answers if needed.
Fortunately, there's Obito and Mugetsu.
Might Guy also let out a quiet breath when he saw the paper.
Mugetsu had planned for Obito, but he had not forgotten Might Guy either. Guy struggled with theory just as badly, so Mugetsu had told Obito to take two sets of practice tests that day, one for Obito and one for Guy.
Ebisu did not know any of that.
He was just grateful his luck was decent this time. His seat was directly behind Might Guy, which meant passing answers would be easy if it came to that.
At the start, almost everyone was writing. The room filled with the soft scratch of pens, because no one had finished yet to start copying.
Halfway through the exam, Shimono Hisanobu's voice cut cleanly through the rustling.
"Row four, seat five. You and your teammate may leave."
The Hidden Grass ninja he had pointed out stared in disbelief and blurted, "Aren't there five chances in total?"
"Yes," Shimono Hisanobu replied coolly. "And you have already been caught five times."
The whole room went rigid.
Everyone who was cheating immediately became far more careful. There were no warnings for each count. Once you hit the limit, you were out.
The Hidden Grass ninja had nothing to say. He walked out in frustration, his teammate trailing after him.
With the first team eliminated, the air turned sharp and tense.
Zabuza moved instantly. While everyone's attention lingered on the eliminated team, he cast Hidden Mist Technique without hesitation.
Dense white fog swallowed the classroom. Using the cover, Zabuza snatched the answers from his teammate and began blasting through the questions.
Kakashi had already finished by then, and he had his own prepared answers ready for Obito.
The moment the mist rose, Kakashi flicked his wrist and tossed the answers toward Obito's position from memory.
Behind Guy, Ebisu clicked his tongue at how bold the foreign ninja were, then quickly passed the answers forward to Guy anyway.
The fog came and went in moments. The proctors dispersed it with Wind Release, revealing a hall full of students sitting perfectly straight, as if nothing at all had happened.
"The exam is over."
Everyone immediately lifted their pens.
"The results will be announced at one o'clock."
As soon as ten o'clock arrived, Shimono Hisanobu ordered them to stop.
Obito, who had finished before the final bell, stood up with a relaxed expression.
This was the easiest theory exam he had taken since he started studying.
Outside the room, Rin leaned closer, still worried.
"Obito, how do you think you did? Can you score seventy?"
She had been ready to pass answers in the middle and late stages, but Obito had signaled with his eyes that he did not need them.
She chose to trust him first, then question him after.
"Definitely seventy or more!" Obito declared without a shred of hesitation.
"That's great!" Rin clasped her hands lightly, smiling with real relief. "Then the first stage should be fine."
"You can trust him this time. He's been spoon fed. If he still can't pass, there's nothing I can do," Kakashi said, nodding.
He had thrown Obito every answer. If Obito copied them, there was no way he would fail.
"So it was you, Kakashi…"
Rin was about to thank Kakashi for Obito, but Obito cut her off immediately.
"What do you mean spoon fed? I didn't copy the answers you threw over. I wrote everything myself."
Obito spoke fast, almost panicking.
He did not want Kakashi getting all the credit.
Sure, Kakashi had passed answers, but Obito only glanced at them. He did not copy them.
The real MVP was Mugetsu.
"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked, staring straight into Obito's eyes.
"Of course!" Obito puffed out his chest.
"Then it might be a little troublesome, Rin," Kakashi said flatly, turning to her. "Be ready to get eliminated with him."
Kakashi knew Obito too well. He could tell Obito was telling the truth.
Obito really had not copied.
"Hey, hey, Kakashi, what's that supposed to mean?" Obito shot back, offended. "You think it's impossible for me to hit seventy on my own?"
"Have you ever scored seventy in a Ninja School exam?" Kakashi countered instantly.
"Uh… that was before," Obito muttered, then straightened up. "It's different now. Now I have Mugetsu-sensei helping me."
"You'll find out at one o'clock," Kakashi said. "I hope you're not boasting. If you fail, it's only you and Rin who suffer."
Hearing Mugetsu's name, Kakashi felt a little more confidence settle in his chest alongside the doubt.
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