In the latest meeting of the rookies, there was one person I missed.
That's Hinata Huyga.
Well, she does have a "Don't notice me", vibe to her.
Somehow, the "weird-eyed" princess is as canon as she can get and still loves Naruto. Love might be a strong word for her; she ideologies him, that's for sure.
Look at her, opening her answer sheet for Naruto even though she is down 1 point.
2 more and she will be out.
Yeah, that point system they made for the written exam; get caught 3 times, and you are out.
It somehow feels refreshing to see Naruto having someone who cares so much for him.
And I like dogs.
You kick us, we bark at you. You give us love we give you our life. That's just the way we are.
That's Sakura scribbling away like it's nothing.
Others are slowly but surely catching on to the game.
With a sigh, I at last turned over my paper.
1. A shinobi running at 15km/h throws a large shuriken of 1ft diameter at a target moving at 17km/h. Calculate the distance and time at which the target will be impaled considering the shuriken is thrown at 30km/h.
Hmm... I bring out my calculator and get to work.
Considering that the Tork will pull the shuriken sideways and the gyro of the shuriken will work against gravity, then it's easy math.
Just use the formulas.
The other participants are eyeballing me.
What? Never seen a guy with a calculator before?
It's common knowledge that there is always a written exam in the chunin.
2. Write briefly about the nations participating in the 2nd and 3rd Ninja Wars.
That's easy. I, in short, mention the villages, leaders and borders they occupied during the war. Mention the Kanabi Bridge incident. Add some bits about the Minato Namkaje, the Raikage, Lady Chiho and the Sannin for the 3rd war. It's fun writing these legends. For 2nd war, I put bits about Tobirama Senju.
Now, the guards are eyeballing me.
What the heck dude? Is it abnormal to know history now?
3. How would you go about extracting information from a captive shinobi of an allied nation?
That's an unusual question. It's mainly exploring the legal side of the TI department. If an allied Nation Shinobi is somehow caught and proven not to be rouge, then he has to be returned to the respective village, and any interrogation will be against the treaty.
So, I can't interrogate a shinobi of an allied nation. But compensation for any damage caused by shinobi can be requested.
I see Ibiki peeking at my sheet.
. . . . . .
"Can I help you, sir?" I ask.
Ibiki grunts lightly.
"Continue", he says.
Then walks away.
Am I pulling attention?
We are ninjas, not some mindless killing machine or pet-hunting dog.
All these questions on the papers are rudimentary and universal. Every single answer can be hugely varied depending on the village the examinee hails from. A fun experience for the participants and the examiners.
So, why the fuck is this exam hall is so intense?
The temperature is dropping by the second.
It's like we are fighting against the guards to escape a prison.
People cheating and getting caught left and right for some questions that you can answer by using common sense and rudimentary knowledge.
I feel nothing but disappointment. Even my classmates are doing the same.
After answering them all, I wait for the 10th question.
Naruto should be fine after the first one. He always had trouble with physics equations but he had extensive education on history and legal matters from yours truly. Along with strategies and battle tactics. Also, 1 of them was concerning kekkei genkai, but as long he can explain what that is he should be fine.
I look at Sakura. She has a concerned expression upon hearing the requirements for the final answer.
If they get it wrong, the team is banned for life.
"You have 5 minutes to decide. Choose to leave and try again. Or, decide to answer and be banned for life", Ibiki says menacingly.
Sakura glances at me.
"No pressure", I lip speak.
Naruto looked at Sakura, all he did was give her a thumbs up. It looks like he answered a passing grade. The face shows confidence.
We held onto our asses and sit through the exam.
None of the rookies gave up.
And we passed.
"Oh yeah, baby. You better be ready old man! Cause I'm coming for that chair!", Naruto screams in victory.
Despite having a hideous face, Ibiki smiled at that.
It was scarier than his normal face.
"Bang!" something exploded, and the wall shattered.
A bag with green clouds on it yeeted
itself in the middle of the gallery It unfolded midair, and a lady came out.
The lady with a short trench coat and fishnet legging scenes through the classroom. Falls her eyes on Naruto and then me. I give her a wink.
She gives a smile that would make a civilian shit their pants.
"You've gone soft Ibiki saiio", Anko says with a monotone.
"Oh shut the fuck up", Ibiki scoffs.
She holds onto her hip and scans the room one last time. Her eyes fell on me again. I winked at her again.
"At least you kept some with balls", she says in a low voice.
"All right, Maggots. Fall in and follow my instructions. Get your ass movin' ", she goes out the same broken wall.
The class poured out the following her.
Was breaking the wall necessary? For the sake of flashiness, is anything pardoned?
I sigh as I also jump out and catch up with my teammates.
Their over-excitement in this test is of concern.
I can relate to Naruto, but what's up with Sakura?
Hmm..... maybe it's a dad and daughter thing?
######
Ibiki goes through the papers for a quick assessment.
Ends up infront of Naruto's desk.
"Huh...would you look at that? This punk wrote something", he scoffs. But the handwriting is so disgusting that he twisted his already twisted face.
3 seats later, he ends up at the Uchiha's desk.
"Let's see what you wrote", he wonders.
"That's quite the face you are making Ibiki san! What did he write?" one of the guards asks out of curiosity.
He folds the paper and puts it away in his coat.
"This kid has quite the imagination", he says.
That's a face that says, "You don't wanna know". So the said chunin didn't enquire further.
The furrowed brow on Ibiki didn't fade even after the room was cleared.
"[Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style] is the technique used by Minato Namikaje during the 3rd war against sand", Ibiki reads. Then, for the rest of the page, a detailed description of the Raikage's lighting clock.
"He writes them as if he saw them with his own goddamn eyes", he scoffs.
But the decade spent experience in the TI department tells him something is off here.
There are other kids who answered all of them correctly without any help or cheating.
But this one, this one is ticking him off.
Maybe it's just his imagination.
Then a writing glued his eyes to the paper.
"The 2nd Hokage Tobirama Senju, field promoted Sarutobi Hairuzen as an acting Hokage during the 2nd war at the Cloud border ".
"Now that's just nonsense", he grunts.
"It's right though", an old man's voice came from behind.
Ibiki almost jumped out of his skin.
Bows at the Hokage.
"Sorry , Hokage sama. Didn't notice you coming", Ibiki says hastily. Even after years of being a jounin , he has yet to reach that level.
Sarutobi picks up the paper.
"Those were some dark times", he says dreamily.
"Sensei Tobirama , sacrificed himself for us to escape that day", Hairujen says with a sigh.
Ibiki Morino atlast gathered his courage and asked a question that might even cost him his life.
" Who did he fight against?", He asked.
What type of enemy required the life of a shinobi that can invent Jutsus.
Hairuzen's old eyes snapped at Ibiki.
He felt utterly naked and defenceless at the gaze.
This Oldman can kill.
Sarutobi takes a puff out of the his pipe.
"I don't know", he says as Ibiki remembers to breathe.
"The enemy was too far away for us to see", he says with a chuckle.