As the time reached around 12:50, Obito couldn't wait any longer and headed to the bulletin board with Rin and Kakashi to wait for the results to be posted.
"So many people," Obito remarked, a bit stunned as he saw the bulletin board already surrounded by a crowd. He thought that arriving early would give him a better chance, but it seemed that many were even more eager to see the results.
"We can just wait here. After all, this is an exam that concerns promotion, so everyone is quite enthusiastic," Rin said with a smile.
Obito nodded and stood beside Rin, not forcing his way through the crowd.
"Make way," a few minutes later, two Ninja wearing Chunin vests walked over.
The semicircle of people gathered around the bulletin board immediately and consciously made an opening, allowing the proctors to post the results.
"Whew, that was close. I barely passed with 71 points. A few more mistakes, and I would've been eliminated," someone said in a relieved voice.
"You idiot, I gave you the answers, and you only got 67? It's over for you now; you didn't even pass the first round in your first attempt," another person commented, looking exasperated as they teased their companion after seeing the results.
Everyone around the bulletin board was frantically searching for their name and score.
Kakashi, standing to the side, calmly watched the crowd pushing and shoving. This was as he expected: the more anxious someone was to see their score, the less likely they were to have done well. If someone was as confident as he was in passing, they wouldn't be in such a rush to see the results.
"Let me through," Obito said, hearing people start discussing their scores. He then used brute force to push his way in.
He wasn't worried about failing; he just wanted to see his score so he could brag to Kakashi.
Obito entered Total Concentration Breathing mode and, using his physical strength, pushed his way into the crowd.
He looked up towards the top and immediately spotted Kakashi's three-digit score at the very front.
Obito ignored Kakashi's score and began searching for his own.
"Rin-chan, you're amazing! 88 points, 18 points above the passing line," Obito first saw Rin's score.
"So, did you pass?" Kakashi asked.
He wasn't worried about Rin's score; the only weak link in their team's theoretical exam was Obito.
"Kakashi, come look," Obito found his score and, eyes wide, didn't answer Kakashi's question directly but instead called him over.
By this time, the initial crowd had thinned out as people had finished checking their results, so Kakashi easily moved to stand next to Obito.
"80 points! Kakashi, say something!" Obito said excitedly, pointing to his name.
Following Obito's finger, Kakashi saw Obito's score of 80 points.
Kakashi was a bit surprised. While 80 points wasn't an exceptionally high score, for Obito, it was rarer than a person who usually just passes scoring full marks.
Obito's smile was filled with pride; this was an unprecedented high score for him.
"What do you want me to say? Scoring 80 points just means you missed a couple of questions," Kakashi replied lightly.
Obito was momentarily speechless. With Kakashi scoring full marks, it was clear he had answered all ten questions perfectly. If Obito wanted 80 points, he would indeed only need to miss a couple of questions.
"Obito is really impressive. Last time in the Academy exam, he didn't even reach 50, but this time he got 80. You must have studied really hard," Rin said gently, complimenting him.
"Heh, it's not that amazing. I wasn't as serious as you might think," Obito said with a smile, pleased by Rin's praise.
At that moment, Guy and Asuma also arrived to check the results.
"Great, everyone passed!" Guy gave Genma and Ebisu a thumbs-up.
"Same here," Asuma said after checking the results.
"Let's all work hard to become Chunin!" Obito said excitedly, raising his fist. They were all friends and this was their first time taking the Chunin exam.
"It's really interesting. Is the Konoha Chunin exam just child's play? Everyone cheering each other on," Zabuza said with a sneer as he passed by.
"Who knows, maybe," Zabuza's teammate shrugged and replied.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Asuma asked, visibly displeased by their conversation.
The comment seemed to deny both themselves and Konoha, which Asuma found hard to tolerate.
"Just the literal meaning," Zabuza replied indifferently.
He was annoyed by these Konoha Ninjas, wondering why their Mist Ninjas had to start fighting each other from school while Konoha Ninjas seemed so harmonious.
"You'd better take back what you said," Obito said, standing next to Asuma and addressing Zabuza.
Even though Obito had been invited to the Chunin exam, he wasn't going to be polite to such arrogant outsiders.
"Zabuza, Kurosawa, don't cause unnecessary trouble," Hoshigaki Kisame said.
He didn't mind challenging these Konoha Ninjas outside of Konoha, but inside the village, he wanted to avoid any conflict since they were there on a mission for the Chunin exam.
After speaking, Kisame led the way to the location for the second round of the exam.
Zabuza glanced at Kisame and then followed him out.
He and Kisame weren't originally in the same team; they were grouped into a temporary team for this Chunin exam.
Kisame was appointed as the Squad Captain, but Zabuza followed him not just because of his position but because Kisame was very strong. Even though Kisame was only two years older than him, Zabuza felt like he was on par with those Mist Jonin.
"What a bunch of rude guys. If we end up fighting them in the next round, I'll make sure to teach them a lesson," Obito said, shaking his fist.
Having defeated many Chunin in direct combat, Obito believed he had the strength to cause some chaos in this exam.
"Don't underestimate them. The others might be hard to say, but that Shark-faced guy won't be weak," Kakashi warned.
Though he didn't use Sensory Ninjutsu, the experienced Kakashi had sensed that Kisame was not ordinary. His aura was different from that of a typical Ninja.
"I admit I'm a bit weaker in the theoretical exam, but in actual combat, I'm definitely up to the task," Obito said confidently.
"Haha, that's confidence that matches my own. No wonder it's you, Obito!" Guy flashed a big smile and gave Obito a thumbs-up.
"You're something else," Kakashi said, shaking his head. He felt that Obito might face difficulties due to his arrogance.
With Obito's strength, taking on regular Genin would indeed be no problem, but this was a Chunin exam hosted jointly by two major Ninja villages, so the Genin might not be ordinary.
Kakashi thought he might not be the only exception; perhaps Mist had some young Chunin participating in this Chunin exam as well.
If the opponents were those kinds of Chunin, Kakashi didn't think Obito could win easily.
The group arrived at a large open area next to the Academy classroom building.
After waiting for about half an hour, once all the qualified students had gathered, Mutsuki, accompanied by two Chunin, walked up to the students.
"I am Mutsuki Yumi, the proctor for the second exam," Mutsuki introduced himself briefly.
"Yumi-sensei!" Obito, upon seeing Mutsuki, waved excitedly.
"Damn it, it's that guy who ate my strawberry ice cream!" Terumi Mei glared at Mutsuki, firmly engraving the name Mutsuki Yumi in her mind.
Then Terumi Mei glanced at Obito, memorizing his appearance so that if she encountered him during the exam, she could give him a hard time.
"Even though it's not nice to pick on foolish people, your sensei ate my ice cream," Terumi Mei thought, feeling more and more heartbroken. She wished she could have enjoyed two servings of strawberry ice cream that day.
Mutsuki smiled at Obito and then continued, "Before we begin explaining the rules, you need to sign a consent form."
Two Chunin began distributing the consent forms as Mutsuki finished speaking. Each participant received one.
"Since you may be injured or even die during this exam,"
In essence, it was a waiver. After signing, all participants in this exam could use any means to attack their opponents and kill them without bearing any responsibility.
"You can choose not to sign, but if one person doesn't sign, it will be considered as a forfeit for the entire team." Mutsuki then stopped, waiting for the consent forms to be signed.
"Even having to sign a real consent form feels so dangerous."
"Yeah, I was just consulting with someone a few days ago, and there was no mention of this. Is this exam special or something?"
Some Genin who were taking the Chunin exam for the first time started discussing.
"Doesn't that mean it's just like real combat?" Obito said, scratching his head after hearing this.
He didn't feel too affected, thinking it just removed the restrictions on the exam battles.
"Asuma, are we signing?" Raido Namiashi asked Asuma.
"Of course we're signing. If you're afraid of getting hurt, you shouldn't be a Ninja," Asuma signed the consent form without hesitation.
Kurenai also signed promptly.
Within a few minutes, all the students had signed the consent forms, and no one opted out.
They were Ninjas from the Academy, and even the most peaceful Academy teaches killing. They had the courage when it came to life and death.
Then Mutsuki wasted no time, pulling out a map of the Forest of Death and saying:
"This is the location for your second exam, a circular area enclosed by iron fencing. The straight-line distance from the fence to the central tower is about ten kilometers, and there are many poisonous insects and fierce beasts inside."
After introducing the location, Mutsuki took out two scrolls, one white and one dark.
"Each team will receive an initial scroll, which could be either the Heaven Scroll or the Earth Scroll. Regardless of which scroll you receive, you need to collect both types of scrolls and reach the central tower to complete the exam."
"You have a total of five days. If you fail to collect both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and reach the central tower within these five days, you will be disqualified."
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