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"When are the examiners going to show up?" asked Zaku, one of the Sound Village's trio, sitting on a desk with a deep voice, his clothes covered in the kanji for "death."
"Who knows. We just need to follow Lord Orochimaru's orders," Tayuya muttered, her body wrapped in bandages. She hunched over, her eyes scanning the other villages' participants with a cunning, interrogative gaze.
"Hmph," Kin Tsuchi snorted at her two teammates, a hint of arrogance in her expression.
At that moment, Furen walked over.
Noticing someone approaching, Tayuya's only visible eye reflected a guarded look. After exchanging a glance with Zaku, the two immediately stepped in front of Furen.
"What do you want, Leaf Village boy?" Zaku asked, his hands in his pockets, about to shove Furen when he was suddenly caught by Furen's gaze.
"Mind Body Chaos Technique."
Furen formed a seal with his eyes, and before the other could react, he infiltrated part of Zaku's mind.
Zaku wasn't on the same level as Zabuza. Although Furen couldn't fully control him, he could easily influence Zaku's actions.
Just as Tayuya was about to speak, Furen manipulated Zaku, calmly moving him aside with Tayuya in tow.
"What are you doing…?" Tayuya asked, baffled by Zaku's sudden behavior.
With a smile, Furen watched the two move away and then turned to Kin Tsuchi, extending his hand. "Hello, ninja from the Sound Village. I'm Tsukiyo Furen."
Kin Tsuchi opened her mouth, about to say something, but stopped herself. She typically held a wary attitude towards ninjas from other villages, yet something about Furen's smiling face didn't make her feel any aversion. In fact, she found herself wanting to know him better.
Shaking her head, she tried to shake off this strange impulse, but it was impossible to dismiss. In a soft voice, she extended her hand in return.
"I'm Kin Tsuchi…"
Kin Tsuchi's affection level: +10%
Hearing the system's notification in his mind, Furen smiled again, but didn't continue the conversation. "Your hair is beautiful. Good luck on the exam."
After saying that, Furen walked away, leaving Kin Tsuchi standing there, replaying his compliment in her mind.
Twisting a lock of her hair around her finger, Kin Tsuchi's heartbeat quickened. "Is my hair really that beautiful...?"
Kin Tsuchi's affection level: +10%
As Furen walked away, a puff of smoke appeared at the podium in the center of the exam room, revealing a group of Konoha ninjas. At the forefront stood a dark-skinned man with a face full of scars, dressed in black.
"My name is Morino Ibiki. I am the proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Selection Exams!" the scarred man introduced himself.
"Listen up! No fighting between participants without the proctor's permission. Even if permission is granted, no fatal blows are allowed!" Morino Ibiki warned, his eyes sweeping over the candidates. "Anyone who disobeys will be immediately disqualified from the exam! Got it?"
Seeing that none of the students voiced any objections, Morino Ibiki sat down. "Alright! Now, we will begin the first exam. Pick up your number tags in order and take your assigned seats. The written test will be distributed shortly."
The participants received their seat assignments and took their places as Ibiki began explaining the rules of the exam.
However, Furen wasn't paying attention. He still remembered that in the Chunin Exams, as long as you answered the final question correctly, you could pass.
Taking his seat, Furen looked around at the other participants' placements. "Hmm... Sakura and the others are sitting pretty far from me, but at least Kin Tsuchi is right in front of me…"
Tapping Kin Tsuchi on the shoulder, Furen smiled. "What a coincidence, we meet again."
Kin Tsuchi turned to look at him, her heartbeat quickening again for some reason. She muttered a response and lowered her head, not having listened to a word of Ibiki's explanation of the exam rules.
"Whatever, I'll just look at how Zaku and the others answer… And maybe Tsukiyo Furen, too..." Kin Tsuchi thought, sneaking another glance at Furen, her face slightly flushed.
"Alright, the written exam begins now!" Morino Ibiki shouted, slamming his hand on the desk as a signal for the participants to stop talking. The exam papers were then distributed to each candidate.
Furen took his paper and began writing. Although he already knew how to pass the exam, he had another reason for completing the test.
Fifteen minutes into the exam, Furen paused while writing as Ino's voice echoed in his mind. "Furen, do you need me to help you with the answers?"
Not far from him, Tenten made a hand signal toward Furen, indicating for him to look up. To his surprise, a reflective mirror had been set up on the ceiling at some point, controlled by Tenten's near-invisible chakra strings, reflecting the answers from another test for Furen to see.
From the back-left corner, Sakura was whispering Furen's name, trying to pass him the answers.
Even the usually shy Hinata had activated her Byakugan, ready to help Furen with the answers to the questions he didn't know.
It seemed that almost all the girls in the room were competing to give Furen the answers.
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A/N:
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