The second hand of the clock continued to tick and Ibiki closed his eyes briefly and smirked as he opened his eyes to look out over the room.

"I think we're almost finished shaking off the losers." He chuckled under his breath, and a candidate in the first row glanced up at him. "Then, I guess I'll move onto the main issue. It's now been forty-five minutes, so I'll start."

"All right! Here is the tenth question!"

All eyes immediately rose to look at the proctor and Naruto gripped his pencil tightly and gulped.

"Here it comes! I have to put everything on the line for this question!"

"Hmph." Sasuke watched Ibiki carefully and furrowed his brows. "Making such a big deal."

"This is the final obstacle." Sakura smiled confidently and sat straighter in her seat.

"Kankuro, come back already!" Temari glanced over toward the door of the classroom and clenched her hand on her lap beneath the desk. "If he starts the tenth question, your cheat sheet has no meaning!"

"But, before that..." Ibiki stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to add some rules for the last question.

The door creaked open and Kankuro stepped inside, followed by the puppet proctor. He stopped and his eyes widened at the quietness and Ibiki chuckled to look at him.

"Aren't you lucky?" Ibiki smirked. "It looks like playing with the dolls wasn't a waste, after all."

Kankuro's eyes narrowed slightly. "This guy... He's figured Crow out!"

"Anyway, sit down already."

Kankuro walked back to his desk, passing Temari's and carefully dropping a small ball of paper onto her desk unnoticed, then sat at his seat once more.

"Now, let me explain." Ibiki took a step forward. "These are the Hopeless Rules!"

"Well, anyhow." Kakashi let out a sigh and leaned forward, resting his arms against his legs as he looked at Asuma. "There's nothing to do when the subordinates are gone, huh?"

"Well, it'll get busy soon enough." Asuma took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled smoke.

"Hm?" Kakashi sat up slightly. "Why?"

Asuma tapped his cigarette against the grate of the ashtray beside him and the ashen tip crumbled off, then he brought it back to his lips.

"This year's first proctor... I hear that it's Ibiki Morino."

Kakashi's eyes widened at the name, then closed partially as he made a face. "Well then, passing the first exam already seems iffy." Kakashi sighed and leaned back and rested his arm on the back of the seat. "Of all the people, that sadist..."

"Sadist?" Kurenai repeated and Asuma smirked slightly and turned to her.

"Kurenai, you're a new Jonin, so you wouldn't know."

She paused and pursed her lips momentarily, then turned to Kakashi. "Who is that person?"

"He's a real professional." Kakashi answered.

"Professional? Of what?" Kurenai furrowed her brows and looked at Asuma.

Asuma let out a small cloud of smoke and smirked. "Torture and interrogation."

Kurenai's eyes widened. "W-What?"

"Well, there may be no physical torture in the Exam itself," Asuma continued. "but he's sure to use his skill as an interrogator to torment them psychologically. That is... the Leaf Village's ANBU Torture and Interrogation Unit Marshall, Ibiki Morino."

"Ibiki completely understands how the human psyche works." Asuma blew out a small cloud of smoke and tapped his cigarette over the grate again and met Kurenai's eyes. "And the most horrifying part is... that by cornering people psychologically, he controls their psyche and reveals the fundamental weakness of a human."

Naruto gulped at Ibiki's serious expression.

"Hopeless Rules...?!"

"First, you guys will have to choose whether or not you will even take this tenth question!"

"Huh?" Sasuke's eyes widened. "Choose whether or not to take the question?"

"What? Choose?!" Temari furrowed her brows at the proctor. "What happens if you choose not to take the tenth question?"

"If you choose not to take the question, then your score will be zero." Ibiki smirked. "In other words, you fail! And, of course, the same goes for the other two in your group!"

"W-What?!" The Genin around the room protested. "What is that supposed to mean? Of course everyone will choose to take the question! This is ridiculous! As if we have a choice!"

"Also, there's one more rule." Ibiki closed his eyes and looked down for a moment.

"What?! Another one?!" Sakura bit her lip and squeezed her hands into balls. "Get on with it, already!"

"If you choose to take it and are unable to answer it correctly, then you will have to..." Ibiki opened his eyes and looked back up at them dramatically. "...relinquish your right of taking the Chunin Exam forever!"

Everyone's eyes widened and Naruto gritted his teeth as he trembled.

"What kind of ridiculous rule is that?!" Kiba narrowed his eyes and stood, pointing his finger at Ibiki. "Besides, there are plenty of people here who have taken the Chunin Exam multiple times!"

Ibiki chuckled darkly and looked at the boy as the room fell silent.

"You're just unlucky. I make the rules this year. But, I did give you the option to go back!"

Kiba's eyes widened and Akamaru whimpered at the man's stare and laid down on top of Kiba's head.

"For those of you who aren't confident, you can choose not to take it, and then take the exam the next time." He chuckled again.

"How terrible." Sakura gulped and stared downward. "If one of the three chooses not to take the question, then all three will be failed. But, if you do choose to take it, but get the wrong answer... then, that person will be a Genin for the rest of their life! No matter what, the odds are against us! It's an impossible choice for anyone with normal nerves!"

Naruto gritted his teeth and Hinata frowned slightly as she glanced at him.

"Then, let's begin." Ibiki looked around the room. "The tenth question... Those who will not be taking it, raise your hands! Once your number is confirmed, I'll ask you to leave!"

Naruto tightened his fists until they whitened and he sat frozen in place. "What kind of question is this going to be...? Damn! If I get it wrong, I'll be a Genin for the rest of my life. I absolutely don't want that! But if I choose not to take it...! Then I'll fail Sakura and Sasuke, too! I don't want that, either!"

"I won't raise my hand!" Sakura trembled. "I'm confident that I can answer it correctly. But... Naruto, you're different! You should retreat this time even if it means to ignore us and think of your next chance to take the Exam!"

"I...I..." The boy beside Naruto stood and raised his hand. "I'm quitting! I'm not going to take it!"

"Number fifty failed!" Izumo called out as he read from his clipboard. "Numbers one-hundred-and-thirty and one-hundred-eleven will be failed as well."

"I-I'm sorry... Gennai... Inaho..." The boy clenched his fists and shut his eyes and his teammates stood after a moment. "Damn it..."

"Me too!" Another boy stood up and raised his hand, joined by several others.

One by one, the teams walked out of the room with their heads down and Naruto gritted his teeth and stared down at his empty sheet.

"Naruto..." Sakura's expression fell as she watched him slouching in his seat with his head hung, trembling. "Why don't you raise your hand? That guy... he's always got such a one-track mind. Always saying 'Hokage, Hokage' all the time like a fool." She sighed quietly. "I'm sorry, Naruto. It seems like... I don't want to... crush your unachievable dreams."

Sakura's hand twitched and she slowly raised it, stopping as she saw Naruto's hand raise. Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widened at him, and he kept his eyes shut tightly and clenched his jaw.

Ibiki turned to look at Naruto and studied him. "That kid..."

Naruto's eyes opened and he slammed his palm down on the table, and met Ibiki's eyes.

"Don't underestimate me! I won't run! I'll take it!"

All eyes turned to him and Sakura's widened as he continued.

"But, even if I do end up stuck as a Genin forever, I'll still become the Hokage no matter what it takes! I'm not scared!"

Naruto sat heavily back into his seat and crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes as Ibiki continued to look down at him.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head slightly and leaned forward to rest his arms on the desk. "That guy... he wasn't even thinking of us at all. What audacity!"

"That's right..." Sakura smiled faintly. "This is exactly the kind of fool that you are!"

"I'll ask once more." Ibiki looked at Naruto intently narrowed his eyes. "It's a choice that will alter your life. If you want to quit, now is your chance!"

"Hmph!" Natsumi smirked slightly and leaned back in his seat. "I'm not going to take back my words! This is my Ninja Way!"

Around the room, the other candidates' expressions shifted from nervous to confident.

"Heh. What a funny kid. He completely brushed away those kids' anxieties." Ibiki stepped forward and counted the remaining Genin. "Seventy-eight, huh? Much more left than I expected. It's going to be the same, no matter how much more I push it."

He turned to look at the proctors, who nodded at him, then he nodded back and turned to look back at the blond boy.

"I like your determination!" He paused and looked over the rest of the Genin. "Then... for those who are still here... the first exam... you've passed it!"

Naruto's eyes widened and he dropped his pencil, his mouth gaping open like the rest of the candidates.

"Huh?"

"H-Hey, what does that mean?" Sakura blinked and stood up quickly. "All of a sudden you're telling us that we've passed!? What about the tenth question?"

Ibiki laughed and grinned. "There wasn't such a thing to begin with! You can look at the choice you just made as the tenth question."

W-What?" Sakura blinked again.

"Hey!" Temari stood up. "Then, what were all those nine questions for? Was it all just a waste of time?"

"Not a waste." Ibiki laughed again. "The objective of the nine questions was already accomplished... to test your individual ability to gather information!"

"Ability to gather information?" Temari repeated and slowly sat back down.

"First, the focus of this test was on the system of determining the pass or failure based on the three-person groups that was proposed in the first rule. By grading the exam on a group basis, I added the unimaginable pressure of dragging down your teammates."

"Hmm... I see." Naruto nodded and muttered under his breath. "I kind of felt that was the whole point of the test."

Sakura glared at Naruto from behind. "No, you didn't, you moron!"

Hinata giggled softly and looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"However... the questions on this test weren't things that Genin Ninja would have been able to solve... So, in that case... I imagine that most of you here came to this conclusion: 'In order to score points, I'll have to cheat.' In other words, this test was created under the premise that you all would cheat! That being said, I had two Chunin in the group who knew all of the answers from whom you could cheat."

Ibiki paused for a moment to watch their expressions as two of the boys in the class raised their hands with a smirk and stood.

"What?! That's what it was?!" Naruto's eyes widened and he paled.

"I had a hard time figuring out the guy at first." One boy laughed to the one next to him.

"Yeah, me too."

Naruto laughed and crossed his arms behind his head. "It was so obvious, ya know? There'd be something wrong with you if you didn't notice! Right, Hinata?""

Sasuke made a face and groaned quietly. "He... didn't realize it..."

"However,those who just foolishly cheated, naturally were disqualified." Ibiki continued,taking off his bandanna to reveal the scarring on his head. "That's because... information, depending on the time and situation, it will be more valuable than life. And in a mission or on a battlefield, you will always have to risk your life to fight for it!"

"Horrible burn marks... nail punctures and scratches..." Sasuke muttered to himself. "Those are from torture...!"

Naruto gulped and Hinata covered her mouth in surprise.

Ibiki tied the bandanna back around his head and turned his attention back to the Genin.

"When information is gathered and the enemy or a third party finds out about it, that information is no longer guaranteed to be correct. So, just remember this: To be given wrong information can bring a catastrophic blow to your friends and town. That is why, out of necessity, we forced you guys to cheat in order to test your ability to collect information and we filtered out those who were clearly lacking in those abilities."

A short silence fell over the class, and Temari spoke up again.

"But that last question doesn't make any sense."

"However, this tenth question was the main issue of this first exam."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I'll explain." Ibiki put his hands into his pockets. "The tenth question was to take on the challenge of the question or not. Needless to say, it is a painful decision to make." He held up two fingers. "Those who chose not to take the question would be immediately failed along with their whole squad! And those who chose to answer is and got it wrong... would be robbed of their chance to take the Exam again forever. It's an unfair question."

He slowly walked along the front of the room for a moment as he continued to explain, then stopped to look out at them again.

"Then, what about these two choices? Let's say that you guys did become Chunin. Your mission is to steal a secret document. You have no idea how many Ninja then enemy has, their ability, and other armament they may have. On top of that, there may be the pitfall of an enemy trap. Now this mission... Will you take it? Or not take it? Because you want your life spared... because your partners will be put in danger... can you get away from dangerous missions? The answer is... no!"

"There are going to be missions you cannot avoid no matter how risky or dangers it may be! Showing your courage to your teammates in a tight spot, and the ability to get through the hardships... this is the quality that is needed in a Chunin troop leader!" Ibiki paused and let the meaning of the words settle before he kept speaking. "In a pinch, there are those who cannot risk their own fate, and there are those who waver and give up their chances because they think they will have another chance. I believe that such fools who don't have strong determination have no right to become Chunin! For those of you who chose to take on the question, you can say that you have successfully answered it! You shall be able to take on the adversity that may lie in your way. You've passed through the gates! With this, the first stage of the Chunin Exam has been completed. I wish you all well."

"All right!" Naruto cheered and clenched his fists as he grinned, his outburst drawing all eyes to him. "I did it! I did it! Woo hoo! Yeah!"

Ibiki chuckled to himself as he watched and closed his eyes briefly. "What a funny kid..."

He suddenly looked toward the window as a Kunoichi shot through like a cannonball and shattered the glass. She threw the cloth off of her and threw Kunai to hold it in place on the ceiling and smirked.

"Whaaa!" What's going on?!" Naruto's eyes widened and he fell back into his seat in surprise.

Ibiki let out a short breath and looked at the cloth that blocked his view like a curtain. "Damn, this one..."

"You guys! This isn't the time to be celebrating!" She narrowed her eyes and stuck her arm out with a flourish as she smirked. "I'm the proctor for the second stage of the Exam! Anko Mitarashi! Let's move onto the next stage already! Follow me!"

She pumped her fist into the air and the Genin all blinked and remained sitting in stunned silence. Ibiki peered out from behind the cloth and frowned.

"Read the atmosphere."

Anko scowled slightly as she blushed in embarrassment, frozen in place for a moment.

Sakura made a face and looked at the Kunoichi, her eye twitching slightly.

"This proctor... is a lot like Naruto."

"Seventy-eight?" Anko blinked and lowered her arm, looking around the room. "Ibiki, you let twenty-six teams slide by?! I guess your test was far too easy."

"Conversely, it seems like this time, there are a lot of excellent candidates." Ibiki stepped out to stand in front of the cloth and looked at her.

"Hmph." Anko turned her attention back to the Genin. "Well, all right..." She smirked slightly. "I'll drop more than half of them in the second phase!"

Sakura's eyes widened and she paled. "M-More than half?!"

"Ah... I'm getting excited now." Anki licked her lips and muttered to herself, then looked back at the Genin. "I'll give you the details tomorrow! We'll be changing locations, so get information from your Jonin about the location and time! That's it! You're dismissed."

Ibiki went around the room collecting papers after everyone had gone and blinked at Naruto's as he picked it up, laughing under his breath.

"I didn't think that there would be a guy that would pass with a blank sheet. Naruto Uzumaki... you really are a funny kid."