Testing Room
Everyone looked at Ibiki stunned as he pointed to the back of the room. "First, you candidates from the Village Hidden in the Sound, knock it off. I didn't declare that this was a fighting round. You want to fail before we've begun?"
Dosu turned to face him. "Sorry, It's our first time. Guess we're a little jumpy."
Ibiki said, "I'll say this once so listen up. There will be no combat between candidates without the permission of your proctor. Even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks about messing with me will be disqualified immediately, got it?"
"No fatal force." Zaku scoffed. "That's no fun."
Ibiki said, "Now if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the Chunin Exam. Hand over your paperwork. In return you will receive a number. This number determines where you will sit. The written test will begin once you are all seated."
"Did he say… written test?" One of the ninjas behind Ibiki showed the papers causing Naruto to freak out. "No! Not a written test! No way!"
Some Time Later…
All the Genin were randomly sitting in one of the rows. Everyone had been split up from their teams. Naruto was stressing about the test. Daichi saw Naruto near the front and sent him what support he could through his thoughts.
Ibiki taped the board with some chalk. "Everyone, eyes forward. There are a few rules you need to be aware of, and I won't answer any questions. You better pay attention the first time around. Rule 1: The written part is conducted on a point reduction system.
Contrary to what you've had before, you all begin with a perfect score of 10 points. 1 point is deducted for each answer you get wrong, so if you miss 3, your final score will be 7. Rule 2: Teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all their members."
This came as a shock to everyone.
Daichi sweat dropped, "W-well it's not so bad. Naruto might not be able to do it, but I don't expect him to. The rest of us should be able to make up the point difference."
Ibiki continued. "Rule 3: The sentinels positioned around the room are there to watch for any signs of cheating. For every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. Be warned, their eyes are sharp. If you're caught 5 times you will be dismissed."
Daichi closed his eyes. "Why would he say we get more than one chance if we are caught cheating? There must be a reason for this."
"If you want to be considered Shinobi, show us what exceptional Shinobi you can be." Ibiki stated. "1 more thing before you begin. If any candidate should get a 0, and/or fail the test, then the entire team fails."
This shocked Hinata, Sasuke, and Daichi.
"Naruto…" Hinata worriedly thought.
Daichi thought, "This isn't good. Naruto you can get at least get 1 point, right?"
"Damn it!" Sasuke thought. "You better at least get one-point Dobe."
Ibiki said, "The final question won't be given out until 15 minutes before the end of the testing period. You will have 1-hour total." The clock struck 3:30. "Begin!"
All the Genin began the test. Naruto managed to calm himself and start the. Daichi looked at the test finding that the questions were hard to understand. If they were hard for him, he could just imagine how hard they must be for Naruto.
Daichi continued reading through the questions as he thought about this test. It was clear there had to be something more to this. Naruto began freaking out as he tried to find a question he could answer.
Daichi had scanned the paper 3 times over and came to a solution. "You had me stumped for a minute there, but I get what this is. You're not testing our knowledge. You're testing our information gathering skills.
Our job is to get answers to these questions from those around us while not getting spotted by the sentinels, but those we choose to copy from must also be right. There's no point in gathering information from wrong sources."
This began to dawn on the other candidates as well. "Fortunately, I have just the Jutsu to help me do that." He looked around casually before weaving his hand signs under the table. "Fusion Clone Jutsu."
Outside the Academy
A fusion clone of Hinata appeared outside and immediately ducked into the bushes nearby.
Testing Room
Daichi wove another hand sign. "Byakugan!"
Daichi could now see all around himself. He began to scan the room until he noticed that the person behind him was moving at a consistent, steady pace, so the Fusion member began copying the answers. Others began to do the same with their various skills.
Sakura was smart enough to answer questions. Kankuro had his puppet as one of the sentinels. Kiba had Akamaru, on his head, scanning for answers. Dosu listened to the sounds of pencils on paper and chose the one who weren't stopping often.
Shino had his bugs fly around and look at papers. Tenten had some mirrors up top that fed both her and Lee answers from Shino. Daichi had caught up to the person he was getting answers from and decided that it was time to help Naruto.
He pretended to look over the test like he was seriously thinking about his answers. As he did, he began to tap his pencil on the desk sending out a code Naruto and he had worked out back in the academy days.
"That…" Naruto listened to the code coming from somewhere in the class and knew it had to be Daichi. 'The test is to see how well we cheat without being caught. Keep your eyes on the paper, and I shall relay the answers." He was grateful. "Thank you, Daichi!"
Neji and Hinata used their Byakugan to look for answers. Sakura kicked herself into overdrive answering question after question. Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy the movements of the person in front of him.
Ino used Mind Transfer Jutsu to enter Sakura's mind and look at her answers. By this point, people began to fail left and right. Gaara used his powers to create a sand eye that hovered over a paper.
Some Time Later…
Ibiki smiled. "Now that we've weeded out most of the hopeless cases, it comes to the main event. 15 minutes to go." He addressed everyone. "Alright, listen up. Here's the tenth and final question."
Everyone stopped.
Sasuke thought, "Man, this guy's full of himself."
Ibiki said, "Before I give you the question, there are more rules you must be aware of." At that moment, Kankuro walked back into the room surprised by the silence. "Ah, just in time. I hope you found your trip to the bathroom enlightening. Well, take your seat." Kankuro walked back to his seat dropping something in front of Temari. "These rules are unique to question 10. Listen carefully and try not to let them frighten you."
"If even the rules are scary." Naruto gulped, "What's the question like?"
Daichi thought, "The only reason he would single out a question would be if there was something deeper to it like the other 9 questions. Something different from those questions."
"Rule 1, each of you are free to choose not to be given the final question." Ibiki stated. "It's your decision."
"Say what?' Sasuke thought. "We're free to choose?"
"So, what's the catch?" Temari asked. "Let's say we decide not to. What happens then?"
Ibiki replied, "If you choose not to take the 10th question, then regardless to your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words, you fail, and that means your teammates fail as well."
People began to murmur. "Not so fast. You didn't let me finish. If you do accept the question, but answer incorrectly, you will not only fail; you will be barred from taken the Chunin Exams ever again!"
"Hey that's bull man!" Kiba stood and pointed at him. "It's ridiculous! What kind of bogus rule is that?! Lots of people here have taken the test before!"
Ibiki chuckled. "I guess you're just… unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. Of course, you don't need to take it. If you're not feeling confident, skip it. You can come back and try again next year. Now then, those who don't want to take it raise your hand. Your number will be recorded, and you'll be free to go."
One ninja quit and, after a few seconds, others began following.
Eventually Naruto stood before slamming his hands on the table. "Don't underestimate me! I don't quit, and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You guys won't scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a Genin for life! I'll still be Hokage someday!"
Sasuke smirked. "If there's one thing the Dobe has, it's guts."
Hinata smiled. "That's the way Naruto."
"Look at what you've done Naruto. You inspired more to stay. No one else is wavering." Daichi thought with a smile. "At least you got the motivational part down."
"This decision is one that could change your life." Ibiki stated. "If for any reason you wish to quit, now's your last chance."
"No way, I never go back on my word." Naruto declared. "That is my Nindo. My Ninja way."
Ibiki thought, "79 left. More than I expected." He checked with the sentinels who nodded. "If nothing else, I admire your determination. For those of you remaining, I have one last thing left to do. That's for me to tell you… that you've all passed the 1st exam."
Everyone was shocked.
"Hold on, what do you mean we passed?!" Sakura shouted. "Where's the 10th question?!"
Ibiki chuckled and smiled. "There never was one. Not a written one at least. Actually, your decision to stay was the answer to the 10th question."
Temari shouted, "Does this mean the other 9 questions you gave us meant nothing?!"
"Not at all. In fact, the opposite is true." Ibiki declared. "The first 9 had an important purpose. To test your ability to gather information under watchful eyes and the most adverse circumstances."
Temari sarcastically said, "That explains everything."
"You see, my objective was not only to test you as individuals, but as a team and how well you function as a part of that team. That's why the test was scored on a team basis. That way you knew everything you did or failed to do would directly affect your teammates.
I wanted to see how well you handled pressure. The first nine questions on the test were difficult. In fact, as you may have realized, too difficult for any Genin to be expected to solve. I expect you quickly came to that conclusion. That you'd have to cheat if you had any hope of passing.
The fact is the test was designed to encourage cheating. It almost demanded it. Of course, it does little good unless you have someone to cheat from which is why I disguised two Chunin who already knew the answers and had them sit in with you. Those who were caught failed.
Better not to cheat, then to cheat clumsily." Ibiki removed his headband revealing his head. "Information. It can be the most valuable weapon in battle. How well you gather it can determine your failure or success. There will be times you'll have to risk your life to get it."
"Man, what a mess." Sasuke stated. "Scares and wounds. Puncture marks. What he must have endured."
Ibiki replaced his head band. "Of course, you must always consider your source of information. Disinformation can be worse than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades or the destruction of a village. That is why I put you in a position where you had to gather accurate information. That's why those who weren't good at it were weeded out leaving you."
Temari said, "Ok, but I still don't get what the 10th question thing is about."
"The tenth question was the main point of the exam." Ibiki held out his arms. "Surly you see that."
"You placed us in a no-win situation." Daichi stated. "Option one: We play it safe and skip the question meaning our team fails. Option two: Press on and have a chance of never becoming Chunin."
"Very good young man." Ibiki chuckled. "Now let me give you all a hypothetical just so you get it. You're tasked with stealing a document from an enemy hold. You have no idea how many men they have or how well armed they are.
You also have reason to suspect they know you're coming, or that you're even walking into a trap. Now, do you have the option to pass on this mission? The answer is no. There will be many missions that will seem suicidal if you think about it, but you do not think about it.
You think of the goal. Of achieving it through courage and discipline. These are the qualities required of a Chunin squad leader. Those who choose the safer of two options. Those whose determination falters in the face of adversity.
Those who would put their comrades lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own. Those who would save their own necks at the price of sacred honor; will not call themselves Chunin so long as I'm here.
As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the 10 questions placed before you. You have earned the right to continue to the next step. I hereby close this portion of the exam. It is complete. There's nothing left, but to wish you all good luck."
Naruto celebrated. "We did it!"
Not even a moment later, something came crashing through the window surprising everyone. It was a woman contained in a banner which she hung from the ceiling using kunai and doing some impressive moves.
The woman in question was tall with a slender frame. She had light brown, pupil-less eyes and violet hair styled in a short, spiky fanned-ponytail. She wore a fitted mesh body suit that covers her from her neck down to her thighs.
Over this, she wore a tan overcoat, dark orange mini-skirt, dark blue belt, and pale grey shin guards. In addition to the typical forehead protector, she also wore a small pendant that looks like a snake fang.
"Heads up boys and girls." The woman declared. "This is no time to celebrate. I am your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi. You ready for the second test? Follow me!"
Ibiki peered out from behind the banner. "You're early… again."
Anko looked at the selection of Genin. "How many are there? Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy. You must be getting soft"
Ibiki said, "Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year."
"Hm, they sure don't look it." Anko smiled. Trust me, by the time I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated. This is going to be fun." She then addressed all the Genin. "Alright you maggots have had it easy, but things will be different starting tomorrow. I'll let your squad leaders know where you're to meet me. Dismissed."