All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
"Isn't this the first time you've introduced yourself, Kabuto?" Sakura asked.
—No. It's the seventh. —Kabuto replied.
Bakugo looked at the gray-haired young man with even greater distrust when he said it was his seventh time. There was something about him that didn't give him a good feeling.
"They give exams twice a year, and this is my fourth year," Kabuto explained.
"What a veteran! You must have become quite an expert by now!" Sakura exclaimed.
—Yeah, well...—Kabuto commented
"I don't know if it's appropriate to consider a loser who only fails an exam an expert," Bakugo said, closely analyzing any hint of a change in the gray-haired man's attitude.
—Look who was talking, BAKA-GO! I remind you that you were the one who always failed the practical classes and ended up passing at the last minute.—said Sakura, reprimanding her classmate.
"Heh, your partner's right. Someone who fails six times in a row can't be considered an expert," Kabuto said, scratching the back of his neck. "But still, let me give you a hand..." He took a deck of cards out of his pocket. "...with my ninja cards."
"What the hell is that?" Sakura asked, interested.
"It's hard to explain, but..." Kabuto began the explanation, but Bakugo stopped paying attention.
"That four-eyed bastard is hiding something. I'm sure of it. He's not the first two-faced guy I've encountered," Bakugo thought, vaguely remembering Shindo from Ketsubutsu Academy. "I don't give a shit what that four-eyed bastard has to say. Where have Big Eyes, Weird Eyes, the Pumpkin Stopper, the Fan Bitch, and the Mummy gone?"
There were too many people to see his targets—more than 150 at first glance. He was also distracted by the looks of superiority and contempt he received from the audience, especially those from other countries.
"Fucking bastards," Bakugo thought in frustration. "I need to release this stress from the helplessness I'm feeling from not being able to beat them up for looking at me like that. I'm in the middle of an exam and I don't want to get disqualified."
—...Konoha (leaf), Suna (sand), Ame (rain), Kusa (grass), Taki (waterfall) and Oto (sound). All of them have sent candidates with exceptional jutsus to the exam. The hidden village of sound is small. It emerged recently and no one knows anything about it. The sound ninjas are a mystery, I have no kind of inf... What the hell? —Kabuto stopped talking when he realized that Bakugo was jumping onto a desk with a feline leap, being the center of attention.
All the exam participants looked at Bakugo curiously at his strange behavior. The ash-blond man put his hands in his pockets. He first looked to the left of the room and then to the right. Then he took a deep breath.
"Hey, gang of extras! I know you're all insignificant, but at least I hope you don't make it too easy for me when I beat you up," Bakugo said.
In the room, some challengers pulled out their kunais and made a throat-slitting gesture, a subtle way of saying Bakugo was a dead man. The most interesting reactions came from the arena trio and Guy's group.
"That's the same impertinent brat who dared to call me a bitch," Temari commented.
"It was Kaskuso Batudo or something, wasn't it? I really want to shut him up," Kankuro said.
"It's Katsuki Bakugo. And if you value your life, you better not touch a hair on his head. He's mine and mine alone," Gaara said with a sinister smile.
"What an idiot," Tenten thought, covering her face.
—Bakugo...—Lee thought. —You're still as bold and passionate as I remember.—
—Katsuki Bakugo, you're just crying out to be destroyed. Don't worry, I'll be the one to answer your pleas and finish you off. —Neji thought.
Bakugo ignored the threats he was receiving, got off his desk, and returned to the group as if nothing had happened.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, IDIOT?" Ino yelled angrily. "DO YOU WANT US TO GET KILLED?"
"I didn't like the way those bastards were looking at us," Bakugo replied, closing his eyes and leaning against a wall. "This exam will be more interesting now."
"Heh," Sasuke thought, amused. "Funny way you have of making friends, Bakugo."
"Well said, Bakugo. Dattebayo!" Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear. "You took the words right out of my mouth."
"What do you mean, 'Well said,'" Kiba said indignantly. "It's because of you, they're going to come after us right away. You're a crazy fool, Bakugo! Because they'll be the first one they'll go after you!"
"Then let them come, Dogface. It'll make it faster to reach the top," Bakugo replied.
"Bakugo-kun," Hinata thought with a mixture of admiration and concern for the ash-blonde's behavior.
"This is going to be a real pain," Shikamaru said, scratching his head.
"Yum, yum, yum," Choji agreed, munching his potatoes non-stop.
"This boy..." Kabuto thought, his interest in him increasing.
"Baka-go..." Sakura whispered, brimming with anger as she cracked her knuckles. "The name Baka-go clearly suits you."
Before the pinkette could slap him for his foolishness, the three sound ninjas moved quickly towards Bakugo's group. The ash-blond heard the genin zigzagging and stood on guard.
"Back off, Sakura," Bakugo ordered with a serious expression, pushing the pink-haired girl back. He immediately drew his greatsword from his back.
"Huh?" Sakura said, confused because she didn't know why Bakugo was so serious. After a moment, she understood when she saw three ninjas with the sound tape walking towards them. "Watch out!" she shouted, worried.
The rest of the rookies were alerted by Sakura's scream. Bakugo was on guard and fully alert, but he was still caught off guard by the knowledge that those genin didn't want to hurt him, but Kabuto.
A girl with long, dark hair and a boy with spiky hair threw a pair of kunais at Kabuto, who dodged them with ease. What wasn't so easy was dodging the attack of a man covered in bandages, but with incredible speed, the young man managed to avoid being hit.
"He's fast," Sasuke, Naruto, and Bakugo thought at the same time.
However, he didn't completely dodge it, as Kabuto's glasses shattered.
"What the hell just happened?" Bakugo thought, annoyed with himself for not understanding what had happened.
"Wait a minute, I saw him dodging the attack. How could he have broken his glasses?" Sasuke voiced what Bakugo was thinking.
Even greater was Bakugo and Sasuke's surprise when they saw Kabuto fall to his knees and begin to vomit.
"Kabuto, what's happening to you?" Sakura asked worriedly, approaching him and helping him up. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you," Kabuto replied, getting up from the ground.
"I don't understand, he saw the attack in time and managed to dodge it. What made him collapse?" Sasuke thought.
"How pathetic... Weren't you supposed to be a fourth-year veteran?" the bandage guy said contemptuously. "Write this on your card. The genin of Sound Village will be chunin by the time this is over." He then turned his head to look at Bakugo. "And you, blondie. You better have learned your lesson about keeping your mouth shut, or else you'll be my next victim."
"The only thing I've learned is that I need to update my nicknames. Because of you, I can't call the sand bastard a mummy anymore. Because it's obvious that the only mummy bastard is you," Bakugo said, pointing his sword at the bandaged guy.
"Heh, after seeing what you've seen, you're still so cocky? I didn't know Konoha was full of idiots," said the bandaged genin.
A large smokescreen brought the discussion to an end as all attention was on this new development.
"All right, you useless brats! Shut up and listen!" came the voice from inside the smoke screen. When the smoke cleared, a dozen examiners appeared, led by a man with large scars on his face. "It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki Morino, your instructor. And, from now on, your worst enemy," announced the man with scars.
All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
A large smoke screen appeared in the center of room 301
"All right, you useless brats! Shut up and listen!" came the voice from inside the smoke screen. When the smoke cleared, a dozen examiners appeared, led by a man with large scars on his face. "It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki Morino, your instructor. And, from now on, your worst enemy," announced the man with scars.
Bakugo put the greatsword on his back and focused his attention on the scarred guy.
"First of all!" Ibiki said, pointing to where Bakugo and the sound ninjas were. "Those from the Hidden Sound Village! Stop it! Who told you to fight? Do you want to fail before you even start?"
"Sorry," the bandage man feigned regret. "Since this is our first time here, we're a little impatient, sir."
"I'll tell you this only once, so listen up. There will be no sparring between candidates without the instructor's permission. And even if I do give you permission, the use of deadly force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who dares to disobey me will be disqualified immediately. Do you understand?" Ibiki threatened.
"Mmmm," the spiky-haired sound genin smiled. "Without deadly force? That's not funny."
"That being said..." Ibiki decided to ignore the sound ninja's comment. "Now, we will proceed with the first phase of the chunin promotion exam. Hand in your forms and you will receive a number in return." He held up a nameplate with the number 1 on it. "That number is where you will be sitting. We will begin the written test as soon as you are seated."
"Written test? Heh. This reminds me of the UA Academy entrance exam, where the first test was a written exam," Bakugo thought. "This will be a piece of cake."
—NOOOOOOOOO, ANYTHING BUT A WRITTEN EXAM!—Naruto shouted, hitting the ground in frustration.
Five minutes later, the more than 150 candidates were already seated in their respective seats. Sasuke was in the front row on the left, Sakura in the back row on the right, and Bakugo in the middle.
"Everyone, face forward," ordered Ibiki, who was writing something on the board. "There are a few rules you'll have to follow. And I won't be answering any questions, so pay attention." Ibiki continued writing on the board with his back to the students. "Okay, the first rule is that the exam is conducted using a point-deducting system. Contrary to what you're used to, you'll all start with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each wrong answer."
—For now, it doesn't change much from a normal exam, either. —Bakugo thought.
—Rule number 2: You will pass or fail based on the team's total score.—Ibiki said.
"It's a good thing I don't have Pelopincho and Pikachu as partners, they're retarded," Bakugo thought, a little nostalgic.
—We shouldn't have any problems. Sasuke is very smart, and Bakugo is an idiot, but at school he always finished at the top of the class on written exams,—Sakura thought.
—Rule number 3: The sentries in the room to your sides will watch you closely in case anyone tries to cheat. For every incident they see, you will be deducted two points—Ibiki continued.
"What kind of loser would cheat on a test?" Bakugo thought, annoyed that there were people like that.
"I'm warning you, they have very sharp eyesight, and if they catch you five times, you'll fail without having to correct your exams. The guards will deal with anyone foolish enough to get caught cheating," Ibiki said.
"I see you guys," a sentry said with a malicious grin to a pair of sand genin.
"If you want to be considered ninjas, you'll have to prove how exceptional you can be," Ibiki said. "One more thing. If any candidate receives a zero and fails the test, the entire team will fail."
"What the hell are those rules?" Bakugo thought, furious at having to rely so heavily on Sasuke and Sakura to help him pass the exam. "This scarred bastard is starting to piss me off."
"The last rule is that the last question won't be given until fifteen minutes before the end of the exam period. You'll have one hour total to take the exam," Ibiki finished explaining. "Begin!"
Bakugo turned the test over. He noticed there were nine questions, and to the right of each question, a box to write the answer. Finally, in the bottom corner and without an answer box, was question 10, which stated it would be given, just as Ibiki had said, 15 minutes before the end of the exam. After writing his name, he began to read the first question.
—Question 1: Line B in the diagram indicates the trajectory of a shuriken thrown at enemy C by ninja A sitting in a tree seven meters high. Describe and formulate the necessary trajectory if C were located at points D, E, and F. Also, calculate the furthest possible range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer. —Bakugo read, getting more and more pissed off the more he read. —WHAT THE FUCK? THIS IS FUCKING ADVANCED TRIGONOMETRY! Not even back at UA Academy were the exercises this complicated. Hell, and on top of that, it's been over 8 years since I did a similar problem. I don't remember a thing. Can these fucking extras really solve this?—
After a minute of trying to solve the first question, he gave up and went for the second question. After reading it a couple of times, he was about to ask
"This one is even more fucked up than the first question! It's a fucking problem based on the uncertainty principles of mechanical energy! Who the fuck designed this test? Albert Einstein?" Bakugo thought, steam rising in his head. He immediately abandoned the question and went for the third one. "Fuck you! This one requires knowing Morse code to solve the cryptogram! What kind of crazy person came up with the idea of asking these kinds of questions?"
After 15 minutes and after reading the 9 questions a couple of times, Bakugo came to the conclusion that he didn't know the answers to all of them.
—And I was mad at Scar for making me think I could fail because of the big forehead and Sasuke, and in the end it turns out I'm the one who's going to get a zero! I feel like killing someone! —Bakugo thought, snapping his pencil in half. Then he thought about the strange rules Ibiki had made. —He's a bastard! This son of a bitch wants us to cheat without being seen! There are probably several moles in the room who know all the answers...!—
Sasuke came to a similar conclusion.
"This is interesting. I can't understand a single one of these problems," Sasuke thought, his face worried. "Wait a minute, the examiners give more importance to cheating than to the test itself. Why do they only deduct two points instead of an automatic failure? You have to be more than just a written test." After a minute of reflection, he arrived at the exam's purpose. "The real purpose of this exam isn't to test our knowledge, but our ability to gather information."
Returning to Bakugo, he scanned the entire room for the moles in the room. But he had no idea who it could be. What he did notice was that Rock Lee was sitting in the front row, just a little to the left.
—Hmmm, the big-eyes guy must be as dumb as a rock if he's following his sensei's ridiculous fashion to the letter. There's no way he knows any of these questions if not even I know the answers. It's obvious that without help he'll get a zero. He has no choice but to cheat. Cheating the old-fashioned way isn't effective with so many sentries... How does he expect to pass by cheating if he only knows how to do taijutsu? —Bakugo thought, analyzing the back of Lee's neck. —But then again, he's on the weird-eyes' team. I don't believe weird-eyes is going to allow himself to be failed because of the big-eyes. —After a minute of watching, he saw Lee put the Konoha headband on his forehead and write like crazy. —Huh? Where's he cheating from?—
After a few moments, she noticed the ceiling; there was a glass pane that was moving thanks to some strings pulled by her teammate, who was a few rows ahead.
"Heh. So that's how you cheat, you frowny bastard," Bakugo thought, smirking. Then, he undid his headband and held it in one hand. "I've never cheated in my life, and I hope I never do it again. If it only affected me, I'd wait until the last question. But like the one-eyed guy says, leaving your classmates behind is even worse than following the rules. I can't bring down the big forehead and Sasuke because of my pride. I'll make you pay for making me fall so low, you scarred bastard."
Since he couldn't see the answers on the glass ceiling from his position, he used the metal surface of his tape to angle the reflection so he could see them. It took him a few minutes to find the right angle so he could glimpse the answers. Once he did, he memorized them, and when he finished memorizing them, he put the tape back on his forehead.
"We'll still have about five minutes until the scarred bastard gives us the tenth question," Bakugo thought, quickly typing away the answers he'd memorized from Tenten's crystal. "What kind of shit does he have in store for us?"
At the start of the exam, 51 teams of three participated, with a total of 153 genin candidates for chunin. After the 45-minute test, just before the tenth question was given, the guards disqualified 18 teams for cheating five times, leaving only 33 teams of three, or 99 participants.