As time passed, the situation here was bound to alert the Hokage.
Anbu stood guard outside the windows, while Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and the other jonin instructors had all gathered outside the classroom door.
They could clearly see what was happening inside. Using Konoha's unique hand signs, Kakashi silently exchanged information with Ibiki Morino.
Inside the exam room, the air was heavy and suffocating.
Some candidates from other villages had already redirected their resentment toward Konoha.
Even though they couldn't speak, using ninjutsu was still possible. The proctoring jonin had already stopped three foreign genin who tried to attack Konoha candidates.
So far, the death toll stood at two.
Both were Grass ninja.
The first had shouted at the proctor and was judged to have answered incorrectly—executed on the spot.
The second had his ninjutsu brush against Gaara. Before even the proctoring jonin could react, he was crushed into a bloody mess by Gaara's Sand Burial.
With Gaara carrying a detonating tag that no one knew when it might explode, and an unknown "life-harvesting" entity lurking outside, this generation of genin was facing the greatest threat imaginable.
Current participants:
Sand Village: 30
Rain Village: 21
Grass Village: 6 (2 dead)
Waterfall Village: 6
Konoha: 87
Sound Village: 3
Even without considering the rewards, two more deaths were still required to open the barrier.
The worst-case scenario was—
Ibiki and the other jonin, who had inherited the Will of Fire, were already prepared to fill those two slots themselves.
Naruto Uzumaki was slumped over his desk, cold sweat sliding down his blond hair. His eyes were half-closed, like a rain-soaked little fox, anxiously clawing at his scalp.
His exam paper was still completely blank. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura Haruno barely suppressing her gagging, her face pale.
Sasuke Uchiha looked even worse than Sakura, which completely caught Naruto off guard. The guy who was always ahead of him seemed to be trapped in some painful memory, his expression terrible.
Seeing Sakura and Sasuke like this made Naruto even more frantic. He desperately wanted the exam to end.
Otherwise…
Just give up… try again next year…
Naive as he was, Naruto selectively forgot everything that had happened earlier, still thinking that once the exam ended, they'd be able to leave.
His rough, calloused hand slowly lifted. He held his breath, forcing himself not to give up—not to keep being looked down on, not to be called a coward by Sasuke again.
Ever since the Chunin Exams started, it was always Sasuke this, Sasuke that. Everyone wanted to challenge Sasuke.
Honestly, Naruto was happy that Sasuke was getting stronger. But Sasuke was like a blazing light, always drawing everyone's attention. Unlike him… who had to try so hard just to get a couple of annoyed glares.
Still slumped over the desk, he tugged at the forehead protector on his head. It was an old habit—when he wanted to cry, he'd pull his goggles down so no one could see his weakness.
But the cold, metallic feel was different from his old goggles. Unlike other genin, Naruto's forehead protector had once belonged to his academy teacher, Iruka Umino.
That day, after being tricked by Mizuki, he had stolen the Scroll of Seals and gotten Iruka-sensei badly hurt. That was when he learned why the villagers hated him—and that he was the Nine-Tails fox that had killed Iruka-sensei's parents.
And yet—
"He's not a monster. He's my student, a ninja of the Hidden Leaf… Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto clenched the forehead protector in his hand.
The ninja known for "unpredictability" slammed his raised hand down onto the desk.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I won't run away! Even if I stay a genin for my whole life, I'll still become Hokage and prove it to all of you! I'll make the whole village acknowledge me, believe it!" he shouted, his excitement bringing out that weird, slightly corny verbal tic of his, like someone yelling for courage after a drink.
When he finally finished shouting, just as he felt the air loosen and his breathing ease—
Every gaze snapped toward him.
The air became even more suffocating than before.
The proctoring jonin near him looked utterly dead inside.
Outside the classroom, Kakashi's visible eye flew open. He felt the blood in his body turn ice-cold, instinctively murmuring, "Sensei…" as if calling out to the Fourth Hokage might somehow save them.
But no matter how hard they tried—Anbu, sealing teams, everyone—they couldn't shake the barrier separating the inside and outside of the classroom. They couldn't even sense any chakra on it at all. This was clearly beyond any power they understood.
Inside the room, Sakura panicked. Sasuke instantly activated his Sharingan, the black tomoe trembling in his crimson eyes. If one looked closely, there were even faint signs of a third tomoe beginning to form…
What do I do?
Who can stop this?
Am I going to lose it again…?
Just like that night under the full moon…
On the other side, Ibiki rapidly formed hand seals, trying to shield Naruto with his interrogation-based ninjutsu.
[Answer—]
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Everyone stared at Naruto in helpless panic, while his mind went completely blank, memories flashing past like a slideshow.
Damn it… my dream isn't fulfilled yet. I haven't become Hokage. I haven't beaten Sasuke and made him acknowledge me…
[Correct.]
Bang!
Colorful celebration streamers appeared out of nowhere, raining down and landing on Naruto's head in a strangely comical sight.
Nothing was scarier than silence.
The examinees around Naruto were still frozen mid-motion, bodies angled away from him. Ibiki's scarred face twisted into a bewildered expression. No one had expected this outcome.
[Reward 1: Chakra Blade. This item is now bound to the correct respondent. Unless voluntarily gifted to another, it cannot be damaged, dropped, or lost. If the host dies before gifting it, the item will be automatically destroyed. Please take note.]
What?! How was that correct?!
Did some word in Naruto's long rant happen to sound like the right answer? Or was it because the person the Allied Shinobi Forces' commander would protect at all costs was the Hokage?
If so, then the commander of the Fourth Great Ninja War was probably a Konoha ninja!
That was the conspiracy theory that flashed through the minds of ninjas from every village.
Kakashi stared blankly at the blade floating in front of Naruto—
Konoha's White Fang's chakra blade.
That sword was supposed to be destroyed, sitting in his room as a reminder of his past mistakes, a memorial to the man forever buried beneath rubble…
And now, there it was.
Naruto looked utterly dazed, almost stupidly so, staring at the faintly glowing white blade before him.
"What's going on, dattebayo?"
Tilting his head, squinting like a confused little fox, he tried to remember when exactly he'd given the correct answer.
Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and the others who knew Naruto well finally relaxed. They'd almost been scared to death. Shikamaru shook his head with a chuckle—Naruto really was absurdly lucky.
"Th-that's great, Naruto-kun," said the Byakugan girl seated nearby. She'd been completely terrified just moments ago, and now tears of relief welled up in her eyes.
Sasuke and Sakura both let out a breath.
"That dead last…" Sasuke muttered under his breath, slumping weakly back into his seat.
Revived and full of energy, Naruto grabbed the chakra blade.
"Nyehahahaha! Just like I thought! I, Naruto-sama, am destined to become Hokage! One day I'll make all of you acknowledge me, believe it!"
Gaara glanced at the noisy idiot swinging the chakra blade around for show—nearly cutting himself in the process—and gave a perfectly fair assessment.
"Idiot."
Ibiki Morino: …
It was clear that the proctor in charge of the first exam had no idea how to continue. He urgently needed to report to the Hokage.
Just as everyone was still trying to process words like "Fourth Great Ninja War," "Allied Shinobi Forces," and "the person the commander would protect even at the cost of his life," the second reward arrived.
[Reward 2: Choose any one person from the following candidates to be revived.]