"Could it be that those two are deliberately trying to get eliminated?"
The Third Hokage stared at the screen, watching Naruto rest his chin on his hand while spacing out. His gaze gradually grew deeper.
"Probably not," Kakashi said calmly—an unusually flat tone for him. "I think they've both realized the true purpose of Ibiki's first nine questions. And Sasuke has already seen through the disguise of one of the proctors planted among the examinees—he's sitting not far ahead and to Sasuke's left."
"Oh?"
Hearing that, the Third Hokage picked up the remote again and switched the camera to Sasuke. On closer inspection, there was indeed a faint sneer on Sasuke's face. From time to time, his eyes flicked toward a frantic examinee in front of him—the very undercover proctor Ibiki had slipped into the room.
Yamato glanced sideways at Kakashi and said, "Even if they figured out that the first nine written questions are meant to test their ability to cheat, they still don't know the content of the tenth question. If neither of them writes anything, they'll definitely score zero. And if they fall into Ibiki-senpai's trap during the final question…"
"Exactly. The key is the tenth question," Kakashi replied evenly, eyes fixed on Sasuke's image. "The first nine questions of the exam are nothing but misdirection. As long as you clear Ibiki's tenth question, the earlier scores don't matter at all."
"Well…" Yamato hesitated before continuing, "We know the full rules of the first exam, but Sasuke and Naruto shouldn't. What if they really are scared off by Ibiki-senpai?"
Kakashi shot Yamato a sideways glance. "They took the top three spots among the newest graduating class. Their theoretical foundations are solid—they're not idiots. Faced with Ibiki's trap, they'll choose to answer. And besides, I don't think my subordinates would fall for something that obvious."
"Unless," Kakashi added coolly, "someone among the three genuinely doesn't want to pass this exam."
"Hm…"
The Third Hokage nodded faintly. He switched the camera back to Naruto and said in a low voice, "I agree. They shouldn't be intimidated by Ibiki."
Yamato didn't respond, only casting Kakashi a knowing look.
Kakashi understood immediately, but said nothing more. He turned back to the screen, a faint glimmer flashing in his eye as if lost in thought.
Mirror World
"Congratulations! You have obtained experience in materializing chakra to construct Susanoo!"
"Congratulations! You have obtained Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu usage experience!"
"Congratulations! You have obtained experience in the secret technique: Unsealing Ocular Power!"
Inside the Mirror World, Naruto looked at the floating data windows in mild surprise.
In the past, he'd only gained experience in using Susanoo. This time, however, he received detailed experience on how to materialize chakra itself to form Susanoo. The reward concerning the "unsealing of ocular power" was even more interesting. Rather than truly "unsealing" anything, it was essentially a technique that stimulated the body's chakra to forcibly overdraw the Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power.
Naruto skimmed the annotation. A non–Eternal Mangekyō user like Uchiha Itachi could use this method to forcibly manifest a complete Susanoo. However, once the ocular power was exhausted, the user's eyes would be sealed, permanently losing their sight—and the caster would die soon after.
Naruto noted that the principle behind this technique bore similarities to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular-power fusion method.
The fusion process for the Eternal Mangekyō was not as simple as swapping eyes. One first had to use a specific secret technique to seal one Mangekyō's ocular power inside the brain, then transplant another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan and fully merge the two sets of ocular power. Only if the fusion succeeded would the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan be born.
However, the success rate of this method was extremely low. It could only be attempted among Uchiha, and even between blood relatives—brothers or parent and child—success was far from guaranteed. Throughout history, many Uchiha slaughtered their own kin in pursuit of the Eternal Mangekyō, yet in the end, only Uchiha Madara ever succeeded.
As for why, in canon history, only Madara and Sasuke awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Naruto suspected it was either because both were reincarnations of Indra's chakra, or because the transplanted eyes had been given willingly—or perhaps a combination of both.
Madara's Eternal Mangekyō came from his younger brother Izuna, who voluntarily gave him his eyes on his deathbed. Sasuke's case was similar—Itachi had meticulously arranged everything, willingly leaving his eyes to Sasuke.
"Naruto, they've just announced the tenth question outside. The chubby kid next to you is panicking on your behalf."
Isobu suddenly appeared in front of Naruto.
"Got it," Naruto said with a smile, waving as he exited the Mirror World.
During the earlier battle, Isobu had come by once out of boredom while watching Minamoto Yoshikazu fight. Naruto had casually asked him to keep an eye on the outside world from within the seal.
As Naruto came back to himself, he saw Chōji staring at him with wide, anxious eyes. Just as Chōji was about to speak, Kiba's gloating voice rang out from behind them.
"Heh! Chōji, just give up already. Time's up—there's no way he's passing the Chūnin Exams! And I heard he hasn't improved at all these past six months. He only knows Shadow Clone Jutsu. Ending it here might actually be better for him."
"Akamaru and I have already mastered our ultimate move!"
"Woof!"
Chōji turned his head and shook it seriously. "Even if Naruto only knows Shadow Clone Jutsu, you and Akamaru still wouldn't be his match."
"What did you say?!" Kiba snapped, and Akamaru bared his teeth at Chōji.
"Hehe."
Naruto chuckled. "Chōji, didn't Shikamaru tell you to avoid telling the truth so often?"
"You're awake?" Chōji blinked. "Naruto, you were spacing out just now, right? Did you hear the examiner announce the tenth question?"
"Of course I heard it."
Naruto glanced around. After Ibiki announced the tenth question, the classroom had erupted into an uproar, with many examinees already raising their hands to forfeit.
"So what are you going to do?" Chōji asked nervously, looking at Naruto's blank test paper. "You didn't answer a single question…"
"No choice," Naruto said casually. "Whenever I sit in a classroom, I can't help zoning out. But according to the rules, as long as you don't score zero, you still have a chance. So all I can do now is answer the tenth question."
"What if you get it wrong?" Chōji whispered anxiously, glancing at Shikamaru. "That examiner is terrifying! He said if you answer the tenth question wrong, you'll be permanently banned from taking the Chūnin Exams!"
"That doesn't worry me," Naruto replied lightly. "Even if I get it wrong, being a genin for life doesn't sound that bad."
"…Huh?"
Chōji froze, then suddenly realized something. "You're right! I was way too tense. Sure, genin don't earn much mission pay for snacks, but at least they don't get sent on dangerous missions…"
"Exactly," Naruto nodded. "If trash like me who only knows Shadow Clone Jutsu really became a chūnin, that'd be a problem."
"You're not trash! Shikamaru said you're really strong!"
"He was lying to you."
"No way… Hey, after the exam, let's go buy snacks."
"My treat again?"
"..."
"Tch—two guys with no ambition at all!" Kiba scoffed from the back row, though his own nerves were shot. What if I get the tenth question wrong…?
Hokage's Office – Administration Wing
The Third Hokage stood by the window, calmly exhaling rings of smoke. Kakashi and Yamato stood before the large screen, which showed Naruto laughing and chatting with Chōji.
When Ibiki announced that the remaining examinees had passed—and Naruto frowned slightly—Yamato immediately turned to the Third Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, just as you predicted. Naruto didn't raise his hand. They passed the first exam."
"Hehe."
The Third Hokage slowly walked up to the screen, smiling as he looked at Naruto's expression. "Fortunately, Ibiki was the proctor. Naruto didn't understand the true purpose of the first exam. He may have genuinely intended to deliberately fail the tenth question to withdraw—but ended up passing instead."
"I wonder how Ibiki felt when he collected the papers. In all previous Chūnin Exams, no one ever handed in a blank paper. And this time, under his watch, there were two."
Yamato's mouth twitched. He glanced aside, only to find Kakashi looking completely unfazed, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
After a moment's thought, Yamato said, "But Hokage-sama, the second exam is the scroll-collection battle. What if Naruto avoids fighting or just surrenders his scroll?"
The Third Hokage's smile faded as he turned to Kakashi.
"That won't happen," Kakashi said evenly. "Naruto knows how to judge priorities. Once he enters the Forest of Death, it won't be up to him anymore. When he encounters enemies, his shinobi instincts will kick in immediately."
"And besides," Kakashi added, "Naruto's been fully prepared for a serious fight. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bought so many explosive tags beforehand."
Yamato looked surprised. "But if he was already prepared to fight, why did he plan to give up during the first exam?"
"And what about Sasuke?"
"The Hokage already mentioned it," Kakashi replied. "Naruto initially didn't want to take the Chūnin Exams because he was afraid of dragging his team down. It was only after the Hokage reminded him to consider his teammates—and after being stimulated by the news that Hinata was participating—that his attitude changed."
Watching Team 7 leave the classroom together, Kakashi continued, "So in my opinion, even if I don't know Naruto's exact thinking, his objective is understandable."
"As for Sasuke handing in a blank paper—that's just his personality. Once he figured out the purpose of the first nine questions, he naturally focused only on the final truth of the exam. Most Uchiha are like that. You should be familiar with this, Yamato."
Yamato froze briefly, remembering someone Kakashi had once brought into his squad.
"Hm."
The Third Hokage picked up the remote and turned off the screen, his expression turning serious. "Kakashi, you should go inform them of the meeting time and location for tomorrow's second exam."
Late Night – Laboratory in the Land of Snow
"You want to know who's targeting you?" Naruto said with a smile. "Sorry. I can't tell you yet."
"Why?" Sasuke stared at him. "I already followed your script and rehearsed everything with genjutsu. If you don't tell me who it is, I might slip up."
"No, you won't," Naruto shook his head slightly. "You can only act it perfectly if you don't know who it is. Don't worry—when that person arrives, I'll let you know in advance to put on the contact lenses. Just remember: use the taijutsu and Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu from the genjutsu rehearsal and follow the script."
"…So I'm just bait?" Sasuke's pupils shrank.
"No," Naruto replied thoughtfully. "You are the real objective—the reason that person came to Konoha. If you reveal your true strength, they may abandon their plan. And if they don't finish what they came to do, my plan will fail."
"And if my plan fails," Naruto said calmly, "you'll never learn the truth behind the Uchiha massacre."
Sasuke's gaze sharpened. Thoughts flashed through his mind—until he noticed the teasing smile on Naruto's face.
"I know what you're thinking," Naruto said with a grin. "But you won't get the chance."
"If you disrupt my plan," he continued lightly, "I'll kill everyone in the shinobi world who knows the truth about the Uchiha massacre."
"Including Uchiha Itachi."
Sasuke stiffened. After a long silence, he took a deep breath. "Don't worry. I know what to do."
Naruto said nothing more. He formed hand seals, created a Shadow Clone, and sent Sasuke back to Konoha. Then he sat down and entered the Mirror World once again.
The Next Day – 1:30 PM, Entrance to the Forest of Death
After Anko finished briefly explaining the rules of the second exam and everyone signed the consent forms, Sakura went to a nearby pavilion to collect their scroll. Unlike canon, they received the Earth Scroll.
After discussion, the scroll was entrusted to Naruto, who had the most Shadow Clones. Just as he secured it, Kurama's voice sounded in his mind.
"Naruto, how about messing with Shukaku's jinchūriki in the Forest of Death?"
"Bad idea, Kurama," Naruto replied. "Don't forget our plan. We've both seen Kabuto's intel on Gaara. If you secretly provoke Shukaku through tailed-beast communication, the consequences would be unpredictable."
"…Fine. I'm just bored."
"I'd say you're overly excited."
"..."
Sasuke's expression darkened. Perhaps due to preconceived notions, he felt as though countless hidden gazes were locked onto him from the shadows.
At two o'clock, Sasuke's eye twitched as he noticed Sakura staring at him without blinking.
Another half hour passed.
With Anko's loud announcement, the second exam officially began. The gates before each team slammed open with a thunderous boom.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Most of the long-waiting examinees surged forward. Naruto's team dashed into the depths of the Forest of Death as well.
Almost at the same moment, on Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya—who was in training—was summoned before the Great Toad Sage by Fukasaku.
"Jiraiya," the Great Toad Sage said slowly, "you may return to Konoha now."
"Now?" Jiraiya froze. "Has the Chūnin Exam already started?"
His expression dimmed. "Great Toad Sage… could you tell me—"
"Go back to Konoha," the Great Toad Sage interrupted. "Once you return, someone there will tell you everything you wish to know."
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