All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
"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 were participating, with a total of 153 genin candidates. After the forty-five minutes had passed, 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.
"There are 15 minutes left. Now that we've gotten rid of most of the lost cases, it's time for the main event. All right! Listen up, this is the tenth and final question!" Ibiki said.
"The atmosphere has suddenly become tense. I'm sure the son of a bitch is up to something," Bakugo thought, frowning.
"But before I give you the final question, there are a few more rules you should know. I call them the rules of desperation. Listen carefully... and try not to panic," Ibiki announced with a terrifying glare. "First of all, you're free to opt out of the final question. It's your decision."
"What do you mean we're free? If we decide not to do it, then what happens?" Temari asked.
"If you choose not to answer it, regardless of your previous nine answers, you'll get a zero," Ibiki replied. "In other words, you'll fail. And that means the rest of the team will fail as well."
"What a shitty choice! What kind of retard would choose to fail?" Bakugo asked, standing up and slamming his fist on the table.
"You didn't let me finish, brat," Ibiki said, closing his eyes. Bakugo sat down, mentally cursing him. "If you accept the question and answer it incorrectly, you'll not only fail... You'll be banned from taking the chunin promotion exam again!"
"I knew he had something bad in store for us! I didn't imagine it would be this big, though..." Bakugo thought, biting his thumb.
"What nonsense!" Kiba said, standing up from his seat. "This is ridiculous! This rule has to be a lie! There are many people here, like Kabuto, who have taken the exam before and haven't had to go through this."
"Hehehehe," Ibiki laughed, his laugh chilling. "I guess you've all had bad luck this year," he said sarcastically. "I used to not make the rules, but now I do. Of course, if you don't want to take that big of a risk, you don't have to continue with the exam. If you don't feel confident enough, you can drop out and try another year. Hahahahaha."
"Thank you very much..." Sakura thought angrily. "If any of us decide not to show up, then all three of us will fail. That's not going to happen. But on the other hand, if we screw up, we'll never be able to take the test again. It's so unfair. Why can't they just give us a normal exam?"
—Fuck, I don't give a shit about being a chunin. But it's a step that will bring me closer to becoming Hokage and discovering the truth. If I can't be a chunin, there's no way I'll ever become Hokage. Besides, there's bound to be a trick to that stupid question. Fucking scars! —Bakugo thought, clenching his fists tightly.
"Okay, that explained. I'll give you the last question. Those who don't want to ask, raise your hand. Your number will be taken, and you'll be free to go," Ibiki said.
After a few seconds of hesitation, a guy from Konoha sitting behind Bakugo raised his hand.
"I'm leaving. It's over. I can't do this. I'm sorry," the genin said, tears in his eyes.
"Number 50, failed. Which means numbers 130 and 111 fail as well," said a sentry.
That opened the floodgates and there were another 6 hands raised, failing their respective partners and leaving the room.
"What should I do?" Bakugo thought doubtfully. Then he saw Naruto raise his hand. "Huh? The gas canister is quitting too?" He then watched in astonishment as he slammed his hand down on the desk.
—Don't underestimate me! I don't give up or run away! You can act however you want! You won't scare me! I don't mind ever being a chunin! No matter what, I'll be the one to succeed my father as Hokage! I'm not afraid of anything!—shouted Naruto
Naruto's speech meant there were no more resignations. His words caused people to regain confidence.
"Heh," Bakugo thought with a mischievous smile. "There's no way I'm going to give up, not just because of what the gas man said. There's no way the bastard Hokage would agree that his son could never become a chunin. There's something fishy going on here."
—This decision could change your lives. This is your last chance to resign.
"You heard Butanito! No one here is afraid of your threats, Scars!" Bakugo exclaimed, baring his teeth.
Ibiki quickly scanned the 78 participants (26 groups of three). The confidence he saw on their faces prevented him from dwelling on the matter further.
"That brat has given the rest the courage to stay. There are 78 left. More than I expected. But I don't see anyone hesitating. I think this is it," Ibiki thought.
After receiving nods from the sentries, Ibiki was satisfied and began to explain what would happen.
—Good. I admire your determination, applicants. For all of you who have stayed behind, all that remains is to tell you... —Ibiki gave a failing grade, and for the first time his face smiled, but this time with kindness and sincerity.———that you have all passed the first exam!—
—Heh. I knew there was something fishy about it—Bakugo thought, pleased with himself for having made the right decision.
"Huh? What did we pass? But what about the tenth question?" Sakura asked.
"Hehe," Ibiki smiled. "You just answered the tenth question correctly. It's just that it wasn't written down. Your decision to continue was the answer to the tenth question."
"Wait a second!" Temari fumed. "So the other nine questions were just a waste of time?"
"No, not at all. On the contrary, the first nine questions had one primary objective: to test your ability to gather strategic information in adverse situations. The nine questions were very difficult, too difficult for any genin. I imagine most of you came to the conclusion that you would have to cheat if you wanted to pass. The exam was designed to encourage you to cheat. With this, we were able to eliminate those who have been discovered and therefore did not meet the qualities of a good ninja," Ibiki said, beginning to untie his headband. "It is better not to cheat than to do it clumsily. Information can be the most valuable weapon in battle." As he showed his bald head covered in horrific wounds, there were some gasps of fear in the room. "There will be times when you will have to risk everything to obtain it."
—His head is no joke. Burns, punctures... And he's bald, too. —Bakugo thought.
"And of course…" Ibiki covered his head with the tape again. "…you must always consider the source of your information." Bad information is worse than no information. But even with everything I've said, the tenth question was the most important. I've put you in a dead end, which is the kind of situation a chunin must face every day. There will be many missions that will seem almost suicidal to you. But if you are a chunin, you won't think about that; you'll only think about the goal and achieving it with courage and discipline. Courage and discipline are the qualities every chunin must have. Those who choose the safer of the two paths… they won't be able to call themselves chunin. At least not while I'm here."
"Good speech, scarred baldy," Bakugo thought, no longer angry about being forced to copy.
"I declare the first part of the chunin promotion exam complete. I wish the 78 of you who passed good luck for the rest of the exam," Ibiki concluded.
"All right! Great!" shouted several genins in the room, including Ino, Naruto, and Sakura.
Suddenly, a kunai shattered the bedroom window. A woman in tights with purple hair entered through it.
"This is no time to celebrate, boys and girls! I'll be your next instructor! My name is Anko Mitarashi!" the new instructor announced. "Ready for the second test?" Without letting the room respond, she continued. "Well, here we go, follow me!" she exclaimed with her hand raised.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he began to blush with embarrassment.
"You've gotten ahead of yourself," Ibiki explained.
"What a clown we got as an instructor," Bakugo thought, sighing in resignation.
—Ibiki! If my calculations are correct, there are 78 candidates... That's 26 teams! Why did you make the exam so easy? You're getting soft! —Anko complained.
"It could be..." Ibiki said. "Or there could be a much stronger crop of candidates than in other years."
—Mmmm, they don't look like it.—Anko said with disdain
"She's a bitch..." Bakugo thought, frowning.
"Not even a quarter of the people here will pass my test," Anko said with conviction.
"Not even a quarter? Is he joking?" Sakura thought, worried.
"Heh. This is going to be fun," Anko whispered, amused. "Well, worms, you've had it easy so far, but things are about to change. I'll explain the rules of the second exam when we change locations. Now follow me."
The 78 candidates followed Anko to a forest surrounded by fences. At the place where she stopped, there was some kind of checkpoint with curtains and three chunin sitting on chairs, arms crossed, waiting for Anko's orders.
"The second exam will be held here," Anko said, her hands tucked into her jacket and smiling. "It's training ground number 44, but we call it the Forest of Death."