Chapter 112: The First Exam Ends, The Forest of Death

After Naruto finished explaining Questions Two through Nine, he realized he hadn’t mentioned the first question. Jugo asked him in confusion through their mental connection.

"Um... Naruto, what about the first question?"

Naruto was speechless.

Wasn’t the first question basically free points?

They couldn’t even solve that?

Suigetsu hadn’t even asked!

Naruto had no choice but to explain the answer to the first question as well. As he spoke, he glanced toward Suigetsu.

He saw that Suigetsu’s right hand was constantly moving as he wrote.

Naruto paused.

All right.

He understood.

Suigetsu couldn’t do it either.

A few years ago, Naruto had suggested that Orochimaru release all the Bloodline Limit users.

Otherwise, Suigetsu and Jugo might still be locked away in some underground laboratory.

Both of them had great potential, but they had never received the standardized training of the Sound Village.

They had been trained entirely by Kimimaro.

Considering that Kimimaro was a battle maniac himself, he probably hadn’t taught them much theoretical knowledge either.

Forget it. There was no point thinking about it.

Soon, forty-five minutes passed.

Chief Examiner Ibiki spoke up.

"Question Ten. Before we begin, I need to explain one final rule. First, you must choose whether or not you want to attempt Question Ten."

One of the genin asked,

"What happens if we choose not to answer it?"

Ibiki replied,

"If you choose not to take the question, you will lose your qualification for this exam. Of course, the other two members of your team will lose their qualifications as well."

Hearing this, another genin immediately said,

"Then of course I’ll take it! That’s ridiculous."

Ibiki continued,

"There is one more rule. If you choose to take the question but fail to answer it correctly..."

He paused, then a faint smile curled up at the corners of his mouth.

"...you will permanently lose the right to participate in the Chunin Exams!"

Hearing this, Naruto knew that the rules hadn’t changed.

Before long, Ibiki finished explaining everything.

Quite a few genin chose to give up.

Time passed second by second, and soon the exam was nearing its end.

Ibiki swept his sharp gaze across the remaining genin.

"There is one minute left before the exam ends. Is anyone else choosing to give up on answering Question Ten?"

Several genin revealed conflicted expressions.

Ibiki’s sharp gaze repeatedly fell upon these examinees, creating even more pressure.

"I give up."

Finally, the genin who had been hesitating could no longer withstand the pressure and raised their hands.

Naruto secretly shook his head.

Question Ten still hadn’t appeared.

There were only a few dozen seconds left before the exam ended.

Yet Ibiki was still asking whether anyone wanted to give up on answering Question Ten.

Wasn’t it obvious?

Whether they chose to take the question was the real Question Ten.

Quite a few genin had already seen through it.

It was one thing if these few hadn’t figured it out.

But with only a few dozen seconds remaining, they still couldn’t hold on.

Finally, the clock reached the hour.

The exam was over.

A smile appeared on Chief Examiner Ibiki’s face.

"Congratulations! I hereby announce that everyone who chose to remain has passed!"

After giving the examinees the choice of whether to attempt Question Ten, Ibiki had continuously put pressure on them.

If they chose to take the exam but failed to answer correctly, they would permanently lose the right to participate in the Chunin Exams.

Do you want to take it?

Do you want to answer?

Is anyone choosing to give up?

Every two or three minutes, he would ask again.

Several planted participants mixed among the examinees had taken the lead in giving up.

When they surrendered, they would deliberately say things like:

"I think I’ll give up."

"I’d better not drag my teammates down."

"If I don’t take it this time, I can always try again next year."

"If I get it wrong this time, I’ll never have another chance."

Again and again, they planted doubts in the minds of wavering examinees, making them follow the crowd.

Those with weak resolve had already been eliminated wave after wave.

The people who remained were all mentally strong. Most of them had already seen through the true nature of this examination.

Therefore, when Ibiki announced that everyone who remained had passed, no one asked any questions.

Even those who genuinely hadn’t figured it out didn’t dare ask after seeing that nobody else had any objections.

Seeing this, Ibiki put his hands behind his back and nodded in satisfaction.

"Those of you who chose to bravely answer the question, I believe that when you encounter difficulties in the future, you will also face them head-on.

"As shinobi, you have already demonstrated excellent qualities.

"The first examination of the Chunin Selection Exam is over!

"I wish you all the best of luck in the next exam."

Suddenly—

A shinobi burst through the window with a large banner.

Crash!

The glass window of the examination room shattered instantly!

The female shinobi quickly fired the kunai tied to the four corners of the banner toward the four corners of the room.

The banner instantly unfurled!

Standing in front of it was a curvaceous female shinobi wearing a tight fishnet outfit underneath a short brown skirt, with a flax-colored coat draped over her shoulders.

After briefly sweeping her gaze across the room, she announced,

"I am Anko Mitarashi, the examiner for the second stage of the Chunin Selection Exam!

"Now, for the next examination... you will follow me!"

With that, Anko Mitarashi leaped directly out through the window she had just smashed.

She came and went just as quickly, moving with a decisive and forceful manner that left the examinees unable to react.

They looked at one another, unsure whether they were supposed to follow her.

Naruto was stunned for a moment as well.

After a brief pause, he stood up.

"Let’s follow her."

He turned toward Hinata and Sasuke, gestured for them to follow, and quickly leaped out through the window.

The examinees finally reacted.

One after another, they followed, streaming out through the window.

A few even deliberately put on cool expressions as they jumped through the broken window.

Ibiki picked up his pen and began recording the names of every genin who had broken the window.

Hmm.

Ten times the repair cost?

No.

Make it a hundred times.

Meanwhile...

Anko, who was running at the front, glanced back.

Seeing that all the examinees had followed her, she secretly nodded in satisfaction.

Then she accelerated.

Some of the weaker examinees gradually began falling behind.

The distance between them grew wider and wider.

Anko Mitarashi turned her head and, on a sudden impulse, shouted loudly,

"Anyone who can’t keep up will lose their qualification for the next examination!"

Hearing this, the examinees suddenly became energized as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

Those who had already fallen behind gritted their teeth and pushed themselves, desperately speeding up to catch up.

Seeing this, the corners of Anko’s mouth curled upward.

They ran rapidly toward the outskirts of Konoha.

After more than ten minutes, they arrived beside a forest surrounded by a steel-wire fence more than ten meters high.

No entry.

A large warning sign was attached to the fence.

Several Konoha shinobi were stationed at the entrance, guarding the area.

Anko stopped at the entrance and waved her hand.

The examinees who had been following her stopped behind her as well.

Naruto and the others, who had arrived first, looked completely relaxed.

Those who had gradually caught up after pushing themselves were breathing heavily.

The weaker ones had practically collapsed onto the ground.

Anko turned around and waited for a while.

After confirming that all the examinees had arrived, she secretly nodded.

Placing her hands on her slender waist, Anko announced,

"This is the venue for the second examination.

"Training Ground Forty-Four—the Forest of Death."

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