Hearing Kanon and Naruto's bold provocations, the Sound Trio, led by the bandaged Dosu, bristled with rage. They decided right then and there to teach these arrogant brats a lesson they'd never forget.
Dosu moved with surprising speed, closing the distance in a few strides. But just as he swung his fist toward Kabuto, a slender hand shot between them even faster.
Thwack!
A dull impact echoed through the hall. Kanon had caught Dosu's fist firmly in one hand.
Kabuto, shielded behind her, felt a flicker of genuine surprise. It was the first time he had ever experienced the sensation of being protected.
"Impossible!" Dosu's eyes widened. This girl had slender arms, yet she had completely neutralized his strike. More importantly, Dosu found himself unable to move an inch.
"You bitch!" He prepared to lunge again, but Kanon's eyes flared, revealing the three-tomoe Sharingan. The tomoe began to spin. Genjutsu.
Thud.
Dosu's body went limp, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed onto the floor.
"If you make the Uchiha your enemy, your fate is already sealed," Sasuke remarked, walking up beside Kanon with his hands in his pockets, a cold smirk on his face.
Just as the other two Sound Genin prepared to charge, a massive cloud of white smoke erupted at the front of the hall. A phalanx of proctors appeared, led by a towering, bald man whose face was covered in distinctive scars—Ibiki Morino.
The sight of those scars sent a ripple of tension through the crowd.
Ibiki pointed a finger at the Sound Genin and barked, "You lot from the Sound! No fighting before the exam starts."
"Do you want to be disqualified immediately?"
Ibiki proceeded to layout the rules for the first stage.
"No combat is allowed without the permission of a proctor."
"And lethal force is strictly forbidden!"
"Any pigs who dare to defy me will be failed on the spot!"
Naruto and the others watched the proctor with varying degrees of defiance.
"Now, the first stage of the Chunin Selection Exams will begin."
"Submit your applications and take a number," Ibiki said, holding up a stack of placards. "Sit in the seat corresponding to your number."
"Then, I will distribute the written exam."
The moment the words left Ibiki's mouth, Naruto slammed his hands onto the desk, his face a mask of pure horror.
"A WRITTEN EXAM?!"
"Naruto, you don't have to be that scared," Kanon whispered, giggling as she watched Naruto clutch his head as if his soul were leaving his body.
Ten minutes later, the group was scattered across the room. Naruto was already fidgeting, his face contorted in mental agony. Sakura, resting her chin on her hand, watched him with a pitying smile; she knew that for Naruto, a paper test was the ultimate hurdle.
Kanon scanned the room, and finding no familiar faces nearby, focused her attention on Ibiki.
"There are several critical rules for this first exam," Ibiki announced.
"First, you all start with 10 points. The test has 10 questions, each worth 1 point."
"This is a point-deduction system. Get one wrong, you lose a point. Get three wrong, you're down to 7."
"Rule Two: Whether you pass or fail is determined by the total score of your three-man squad."
Upon hearing this, Sakura and Sasuke felt a wave of helplessness. Kanon looked toward the distant Naruto and gave him a thumbs-up "OK" sign, but Naruto was so panicked he didn't even notice.
He's really losing it... Kanon thought, feeling bad that she couldn't help him from across the room.
"If anyone is caught cheating by a proctor, 2 points will be deducted per instance."
"In other words, some of you may be kicked out before the grading even begins."
"Remember, pathetic cheaters are only destroying themselves! Keep that in mind!"
"Finally... if even one person in a squad gets a zero, the entire team fails!"
Kanon froze. She stared blankly at Ibiki. She had assumed she and the others could carry the weight, but if Naruto got a zero, Team 7 was finished.
Suddenly, Naruto felt a chill run down his spine. Aside from Kanon's worried gaze, he could feel the burning, murderous glares of his other two teammates boring into the back of his head.
"The exam lasts one hour. I will reveal the tenth and final question 45 minutes from now."
"Begin!"
At Ibiki's command, the hall fell silent except for the scratching of pens.
Kanon scanned the paper and realized the difficulty was staggering. Most of these questions were far beyond Academy level, the kind of specialized knowledge she had only learned when she was with Konin. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and began to answer seriously.
Before she even finished the first question, several people were caught and penalized for clumsy cheating.
They were so strict with the warnings, yet people are still being so sloppy? Kanon thought. Then, it clicked.
Cheating... I see!
Sasuke reached the same conclusion at the exact same time. The siblings shared a brief glance across the room, both wearing confident smirks.
Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan, looking toward Kanon.
Kanon activated her three-tomoe Sharingan in return, reaching a silent agreement. She began writing her answers. In the distance, Sasuke smiled; as expected of his sister, she understood the true purpose of the test immediately.
The exam was a test of a ninja's ability to gather information under pressure. Sasuke knew Kanon could solve the problems; he used his Sharingan to track and mimic the movements of her pen.
But Kanon was also "cheating." Her Sharingan focused on Sakura, who was writing diligently. Since Sakura was a top student, her answers were guaranteed to be correct. The chain was formed: Sakura answered the questions, Kanon copied Sakura's movements, and Sasuke copied Kanon's.
Meanwhile, at the front of the room, Naruto stared at the ten questions in total bewilderment. He had survived life-and-death battles, but he didn't know the answer to a single one of these.
Fifteen minutes passed. Kanon watched Naruto slumped over his desk and frowned. Is he giving up?
She immediately dismissed the thought. No way. Naruto was just like her brother, someone who never knew when to quit.
And if he won't quit, I won't let him fail! Kanon's three-tomoe Sharingan flared. She quickly scribbled the answers to the first two questions on a small slip of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and prepared herself.
She now had three paper scraps on her desk: two blanks and one with the answers. She waited for an opening.
The moment arrived when another squad was caught and forced to stand up to leave. As the proctors' eyes tracked the disqualified team, Kanon used her Sharingan to scan for a blind spot in the room's surveillance.
Now! It was time to bet it all on her "faith" and "technique"!
As the three disqualified ninja stood up, Kanon flicked the three paper balls with lightning speed. The scraps collided in mid-air just as everyone's attention was diverted. In the split-second blind spot, the two blank balls acted as deflectors, redirecting the final scrap so that it landed perfectly in Naruto's lap.
Her technique was flawless, she had applied the principles of shuriken trajectory to a wad of paper. Even Sasuke, who had watched the whole thing through his Sharingan, was left in awe.
Naruto, who was currently drowning in despair, felt something hit his leg. He looked down and quickly snatched up the paper.
Opening it, he saw Kanon's handwriting.
Question 1: [Answer]...
Question 2: [Answer]...
I can't guarantee they're 100% right, but fill them in for now.
PS: This is your reward for never giving up. The man who's going to be Hokage can't fall here!
— Kanon Uchiha
Seeing those answers was like finding an oasis in a desert. Naruto turned his head to see the girl with the long black hair and blue Uchiha coat.
His hands shook as he looked at Kanon, who was giving him a sweet, encouraging smile. His eyes blurred slightly with emotion.
Naruto gave her a firm nod and a thumbs-up, signaling his gratitude for the massive risk she had taken. He immediately buried his head back in his work, determined not to let her effort go to waste.