Menma woke up an hour earlier than usual and quickly showered before putting on his regular clothes. After eating some ramen, he attempted to wake Naruto, but it took a few tries before he succeeded.
"We're going to be late." Menma said.
"For what?" Naruto asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
Menma gave him a blank look and responded, "You forgot about the chunin exams?" Naruto's eyes widened in realization, and he quickly got up and ran to the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later.
"We only have ten minutes," Menma said, handing Naruto a cup of ramen. Naruto yawned and began eating the ramen. After finishing, they checked the clock and realized they only had a few minutes left.
"Let's hurry!" They said in unison.
Bounding across rooftops, they rushed out of the apartment to reach the academy as quickly as possible. Soon, they caught sight of the academy gates and darted inside before stopping to catch their breath.
Heading to their respective teams, they were reprimanded for their late arrival. They apologized and stood beside their teammates. Amidst the crowd, Menma caught a glimpse of Temari, who quickly looked away. Smirking to himself, Menma followed the moving crowd into a large classroom.
The first exam for Naruto and his team involved a written paper test, invigilated by a renowned Jonin named Ibiki Morino, who was an expert in interrogation. The mere presence of Ibiki was enough to make the participants anxious.
Prior to the start of the exam, Ibiki explained that there were ten questions in total and each correct answer was worth ten points, while a wrong answer resulted in a deduction of points. The team's success or failure will be determined by the combined score of its members.
However, if even one team member answers all questions incorrectly, the entire team will be disqualified. Sasuke and Sakura were worried that if Naruto falled to answer any questions correctly, it could jeopardize their chances of passing the exam.
After drawing lots, the participants were assigned their seats accordingly. Naruto found himself seated next to Hinata, whose number was right after his own, while Menma was seated beside Temari. They were all separated from their teammates.
Ibiki, the exam proctor, warned the participants that the exam was a written test and cheating would not be tolerated. He instructed them to behave like skilled ninja and began the exam.
Menma and Naruto appeared to have given up on the written exam as they left their papers blank. Hinata tried to help Naruto by whispering some answers, but he couldn't hear her due to her soft voice.
Gaara used his sand eye to cheat, while Neji, Tenya, and Sasuke relied on their dojutsu to glance at other test papers. Ino used her body swap technique to switch with Sakura, memorize the answers, and write them down before switching back.
Tenten discovered a way to see the answers on the mirror on the ceiling and used her invisible chakra strings to help Lee cheat. The sound ninja listened to the tapping and rhythm of the other participants to figure out the answers.
Kankurō requested a toilet break and used his disguised puppet to search for the answers before returning to complete the exam.
After some time had passed, several teams were disqualified and Ibiki addressed the remaining genin, stating, "The tenth question is now upon us. Failing to answer this question means automatic failure and the end of your journey to becoming a chunin." This caused uncertainty and hesitation among some of the genin.
Ibiki offered an alternative, saying, "If you feel unable to answer, you may quit and try again next year. However, failing to answer this question means you will never have another chance to take this exam." He smiled at the genin, and as a result, many teams decided to withdraw from the exam.
After a period of waiting, during which no more genin left the room, Ibiki made a surprising announcement: all of the participants had passed the exam. The majority of the crowd seemed shocked by this news, but Ibiki noticed that Menma, Yuko and Shikamaru appeared unsurprised, as if they had anticipated this outcome.
Ibiki then explained the purpose of the exam, saying, "This was designed to test your courage and ability to gather information. Those who chose to cheat would have been disqualified." However, before he could continue, a woman dressed in full jonin attire burst through the window, interrupting his speech.
Introducing herself to the group of bewildered genin, the woman who had emerged through the window proclaimed, "I am Anko Mitarashi, the super sexy kunoichi, and I will be the Proctor for the next phase of the chunin exam." She flashed a smile at the genin, who seemed taken aback by her sudden entrance.
Yuko, witnessing her sister's playful behavior, facepalmed in exasperation.
