Sakura could easily tell that Naruto would drop out of the chūnin exams. He had to know that he would never be able to solve the tenth question. He had to give up, or Naruto would never become a chūnin. But she knew he would refuse to give up. Sakura didn't want to see Naruto's dreams shattered, his spirit crushed. Sighing, she raised her hand.
"I give up."
After Naruto and Sasuke complained to her, asking why she had surrendered to Ibiki, Kakashi-sensei came over.
"Why did you surrender?" Kakashi asked, quieting her teammates with a one-eyed glare. "I'm not complaining or anything, I'm just curious."
"I'm smart enough to have been able to answer the tenth question, and Sasuke-kun obviously is, but Naruto definitely isn't. He would have failed, and he would have never been able to become Hokage. I didn't want to take that opportunity away from him. There's always the next exam, after all." She replied.
"You were supposed to act as though the test was a mission. They think that anyone who refuses to take a mission because they're afraid is trash. And they're right. But those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash." Kakashi said, giving her one of his eye-smiles as he did so. "If it were my choice, you would be promoted to chūnin right now. Unfortunately, it isn't." Pausing, he continued. "You three can have the rest of the day off. We're meeting in training ground seven tomorrow, usual time. Don't be late."
And with that, he shunshined away.